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Presidency of Benjamin Harrison (American Presidency (Univ of Kansas Hardcover))

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Not only is he one of America's lesser known presidents, Benjamin Harrison is not even the better known of presidents named Harrison. His grandfather, William Henry Harrison, bears the name most Americans remember if they recognize the Harrison name at all. Old Harrison made his name as a dashing military hero; his grandson decades later would fight well under Sherman and attained the rank of brevet brigadier general, but as events would unfold, the country was awash in brevet generals in 1888.

The University Press of Kansas began its presidency series with a treatment of George Washington's tenure in 1974, and as of this writing has brought the series as far along as the presidency of George Bush, Senior. A survey of the series indicates that coincidentally or not, all the volumes to date are remarkably similar in length, just under three hundred pages in most cases. Critics may argue that presidencies such as Lincoln's or FDR's might merit more ink than, say, Franklin Pierce or our subject at hand, Benjamin Harrison. Having read several volumes, I would say that the success of the series to date has been bringing the achievements of the lesser known presidents to more public prominence. Presidents such as Hayes and the second Harrison have done better by this series than have Nixon or Kennedy, whose volumes naturally have had to compete with the products of the likes of Sorensen, Manchester, Caro, Dallek, etc.

The University Press has attempted to stay focused upon the presidencies themselves, which has had the effect of dulling some of our more charismatic leaders and their colorful pasts. [One wonders how the editors will come to grips with Monica Lewinski, when that day inevitably arrives.] Diminishment of charisma is not a problem when treating of Harrison. He was Robert Taft before there was Robert Taft, a tweedy Midwest lawyer who successfully put the excitement of war behind him and nurtured a competent, unflappable, and predictable personality. He won and lost a senate seat prior to the Republican convention of 1888, and became an eighth ballot nominee when it became clear that his party's reigning Hamlet, James G. Blaine, would not run, apparently for reasons of health.

Harrison's pragmatism led him to undertake the formation of his cabinet as an exercise in party unity. One can probably argue that Harrison's presidency never really survived the selection process, for Harrison, in a gesture of perhaps insecurity and stubbornness, refused to allow state party bosses their traditional say in cabinet appointments. Harrison chose a cabinet of men like himself: Midwesterners, brevet generals, Presbyterians. And, until the very last moment, no Blaine. Maine's favorite son assumed himself a shoo-in as Secretary of State. Blaine, a master of denial whose illnesses compromised his effectiveness in Harrison's cabinet, and Mrs. Blaine, put out by her perception of Harrison's lack of reverence for her husband, were simply two of many disgruntled forces in the Republican Party. That the Democrats would storm back in the 1890 congressional elections--aided by a distinct lack of Republican enthusiasm--was predictable early in the Harrison presidency.

Harrison's domestic policy prior to 1890 focused upon issues which, to one degree or another, had been problematic since the Civil War. Tariff restraints, currency debates, civil service reform, civil rights, management of western territories, Indian affairs [including the battle at Wounded Knee], immigration, labor issues and safety were regular staples of government debate. With the House and Senate nearly evenly matched till the 1890 elections, there were no spectacular federal breakthroughs for which Harrison could claim victory. The authors do note that the president deserves more credit for his efforts to establish federal land reserves in the teeth of opposition from the lumber industry. It is also worth noting that more states were formed under Harrison's administration than under any other president; the northwestern alignment of states, as we know them today, took shape with apparently minimal controversy.

Harrison's alienation from party leaders, an unremarkable first two years, his administrative inexperience, and a rather cold demeanor did not augur well for a long tenure in the White House. The disastrous [for Republicans] returns of 1890 assured that Harrison in all likelihood would not lead the ticket in 1892. [His wife's illness and death in that year would make such considerations irrelevant when the time came at any rate.]

Harrison turned his attention to foreign affairs in the last half of his presidency. By 1890 it was beginning to dawn upon politicians of both parties that affairs in Central and South America were taking on an added importance in this country's commerce and defense. For most of the century America's chief concern had been the designs of foreign powers from across the sea. Now the necessity of an ocean-to-ocean canal involved this country more deeply into the relations of South American countries themselves. Harrison was not the first, and certainly not the last, president to assert American hegemony on the South American continent, and his warlike gestures toward Chile were of a cloth with McKinley and certainly Roosevelt, who admired Harrison's belligerence. Harrison also saw the importance of American military and fueling bases in the Pacific in the face of growing German interest in the region. It is not clear that Harrison fully appreciated the unfolding of the new international military order in the way that an Alfred Thayer Mahan or Theodore Roosevelt would, but he can be commended for fidelity to a policy that made the American position in South America and the Pacific much more tenable. And, it should be noted, Harrison conducted his foreign policy without the help of Blaine, who was too ill to assist and too proud to step aside.

Harrison was re-nominated by the anti-Blaine forces of his own party but without wholesale Republican support. The death of his wife during the campaign presaged the elector outcome and Cleveland's re-emergence.

This book is an excellent summation of the Benjamin Harrison presidency and covers the tumultuous changes that were occurring in the 1890's. Harrison was the last of the civil war presidents to achieve the presidency and led with a military like clarity that was reminiscent of Grant. Harrison broke the rules of Gilded Age politicians by appointing a cabinet of unknowns and not answering to party machines and stalwarts alike. He was the true commander in chief managing the army at a time during the end of the Indian Wars and Wounded Knee as well as beginning the building of a navy that would allow McKinley to begin an American "empire". Benjamin Harrison also served as his own secretary of state due to the illness of Blaine allowing Harrison unprecedented control that Gilded Age presidents did not typically have. Overall this book hones in on these topics and more following the Harrison presidency and how it impacted America. It is an excellent and brief summation of an important Gilded Age president and well worth the read.

For those looking to learn about the administrations of the Gilded Age and for that matter, post Civil War Presidencies, the material is scarce. Aside from Ullyses Grant, who has merited more ink than many of the Presidents, mostly because of his heroics during the Civil War, most of the men who served after Abraham Lincoln, and before Theodore Roosevelt are relegated to historical obscurity.

So it is with our 23rd Chief Executive, Benjamin Harrison, a one termer, who served between the Adminastrations of Grover Cleveland. Harrison, by the account of this author, Homer Socolofsky, was a decent man, an accomplished President, and sadly, a man whose efforts, and time in office have been misunderstood and unsung.

This really is not a biography. It recounts and explains his time in office, and his accomplishments. In this, it succeeds. In many ways, Harrison was our first modern President. He used a telephone, travelled the country widely, and saw the reality and potential of the US as a major World power. He engaged in diplomacy, some friendly and some not, with European countries, and began the process of bringing Hawaii into the fold as a US protectorate, territory and later, a US State.

His Presidency was hampered a series of tragedies, first to his Cabinet members, and later to his wife. He seemed to somewhat grasp the fast moving times he led, as the US began to brace for industrialization, and the west, as it was known, forever changed.

Harrison has gained a new respect by many historians, and a new understanding. Although a man who was thought to be standoffish and distant, he was in many ways, a statesman.

This is a short book, and does not really recount any of his early influences, his Presbyterian background, or perhaps, his most important influence, that of his participation in the Civil War. It does not delve into the Harrison White House, or the touches the first lady, Caroline Harrison brougth to the office.

It did engender an understanding of his accomplishments and challenges of his times and of the office. For a real biography, one needs to look elsewhere. Still, an informative and scholarly book, and a beginning into the understanding of the Benjamin Harrison Presidency.

The title of the book is the Presidency of Benjamin Harrison, but I really expected a little more about the man, and not just about the politics. This is a good compendium of the legislation during his term, but I wanted to know more about the man. Unfortunately the only other biography is a three part rather long read, for which I was not prepared. In my quest to read about the American presidents, this was a low point in my reads.

Obviously not one of the most known presidents, this book does a very good job of describing the presidency of Benjamin Harrison. The author did a good job of describing Harrison's personality in the oval office and I always enjoy learning what makes the mind of President tick. The book does a great job of describing the foreign affairs in this time frame of the United States and international issues did seem to be the predominant use of Harrison's time in office. I've made it a goal to read a book about every president and this book turned out to be an excellent choice to learn about Harrison.

Benjamin Harrison is one of those presidents we seldom hear anything about or study. His presidency as with many of these unknown presidencies is rather interesting. Reading about them shows the continuity of government and in many cases the supporting players and how history was affected. I found it an interesting read.