Customer Reviews

William Henry Harrison: Our Ninth President (Spirit of America: Our Presidents)

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I usually start reading these volumes in the "Our Presidents" series thinking I pretty much know all the important things about the particular president in question. William Henry Harrison: son of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, made his reputation as a general at the battle of Tippecanoe, the first Whig elected President, died a month into his term from pneumonia contracted on a rainy inauguration day, and his grandson Benjamin Harrison was also elected President. So basically I thought of William Henry Harrison as one of those generals who kept getting elected President in the 19th century with decidedly mixed results. Of course, Ann Graham Gaines quickly proves me wrong in this informative juvenile biography.

The minor point would be that Harrison was not made a general until sometime after the battle of Tippecanoe that gave him his famous nickname and one of the great political slogans in American History. However, the major point would be Harrison had what is arguably the most impressive political resume of anyone ever to win the White House (previously I would have said that honor went to George Herbert Walker Bush). Harrison started out as a soldier but resigned from the army to become secretary of the Northwest Territory before going on to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, appointed governor of the Indiana Territory by John Adams, reelected to the U.S. House, then elected to the Ohio State Senate and then the U.S. Senate from Ohio, and appointed minister to Columbia by John Quincy Adams. His political career apparently ended by Andrew Jackson's election, Harrison actively campaigns for the presidency as early as 1835 before joining the Whig Party and being elected in 1840. In the middle of this political career he had time to be a general during the War of 1812, so while he was a soldier, he was also a formidable politicians.

Ironically, William Henry Harrison served the shortest term of any President. Gaines can only sketch out what Harrison might have done while in office, but such speculation surely pales in comparison to his overall political career. It is interesting that the Harrison family is not mentioned in the same breath with other American political families of note, to wit, the Adams, Roosevelt, Kennedy and Bush families. The book is illustrated with historic paintings, prints, and such from this time period, although I was disappointed that the daguerreotype of Harrison, the first taken of a sitting President (we have one of John Quincy Adams as well), was not included. The margins of the volume are filled with Interesting Facts, such as Harrison being the last President born before the American Revolution as well as being the oldest President ever to be inaugurated up to that time at 68 years of age. Detailed sidebars provide more information about Tecumseh, Presidential Campaigns, and Death in the Highest Office.

There has been some mention of Benjamin Harrison in the press, since he was the last President to lose the popular vote but win in the Electoral College, so it is rather ironic that there are such strong parallels between the other Harrison and the other Bush. Still, the greater irony is that one of the most forgotten Presidents did so much that has been forgotten. William Henry Harrison might be a historical footnote, but his political and military resume makes it a rather lengthy footnote.

Looked like a great book. Unfortunately we didn't realize it was a kids book so we sent it back for the Old Tippecanoe book.

loved this book had trouble finding many books about this President and this one was very thorough