Road to the Presidency: Benjamin Harrison
At the age of 14, Benjamin Harrison enrolled in Farmer's College near Cincinnati, Ohio in 1847. He attended the college for two years and it was there that he met his future wife, Caroline Lavinia Scott. She was the daughter of the science professor, John Witherspoon Scott. Harrison transferred to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1850 and graduated in 1852. After completing college, Harrison took up the study of law at the Cincinnati law office of Storer & Gwynne. Before completing his law studies, Harrison returned to Oxford to marry Caroline Scott on October 20, 1853.
Harrison returned to live on his father's farm while finishing his law studies. He inherited $800 after the death of an aunt, and used the money to move with Caroline to Indianapolis, Indiana in 1854. Harrison was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in the office of John H. Ray. He became a crier for the Federal Court in Indianapolis. While in Indianapolis, Harrison became a founding member and first president of the University Club.
Harrison's father was a supporter of the Whig party and Benjamin Harrison joined the Republican Party shortly after its formation in 1856. He campaigned on behalf of the Republican presidential candidate John C. Frémont and ran for the position of Indianapolis City Attorney that year also. Harrison won his election and received an annual salary of $400 from his new job.
In 1858, Harrison entered into a law partnership with William Wallace. They called their firm Wallace & Harrison. In 1860 he ran as the Republican candidate for reporter of the Indiana Supreme Court and won his election. He served as Republican State Committee Secretary. When his law partner Wallace was elected as county clerk in 1860, Harrison and William Fishback, formed a new firm named Fishback & Harrison. They worked together until Harrison joined the Army after the start of the American Civil War.
When the war began, Harrison wanted to enlist, but worried about how to support his young family. But a visit with Governor Oliver Morton convinced Harrison to enlist after he saw distressed Morton was over the shortage of men enlisting. Morton asked Harrison to recruit a regiment, and Harrison took up the challenge. He recruited throughout northern Indiana. Morton offered him the command of the regiment, but Harrison declined because he had no military experience. He was commissioned as a captain and company commander on July 22, 1862. Governor Morton promoted Harrison to the rank of colonel on August 7, 1862, and the newly formed 70th Indiana became part of the Union Army on August 12, 1862. The regiment left Indiana to join the Union Army at Louisville, Kentucky.
The 70th Indiana performed reconnaissance duty and guarded railroads in Kentucky and Tennessee. But in 1864, Harrison and his regiment joined General William Tecumseh Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. On January 2, 1864, Harrison was promoted to command the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the XX Corps. He led the brigade at the Battles of Resaca, Cassville, New Hope Church, Lost Mountain, Kennesaw Mountain, Marietta, Peachtree Creek and Atlanta. When Sherman began his March to the Sea, Harrison's brigade was transferred to the District of Etowah and participated in the Battle of Nashville. On January 23, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Harrison to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers, and the Senate confirmed the nomination on February 14, 1865. When the war was over, Harrison rode in the Grand Review in Washington, D.C. before leaving the service on June 8, 1865.
In October 1864, while he was still in the army, Harrison was reelected reporter of the Supreme Court of Indiana and served four more years. President Ulysses Grant appointed Harrison to represent the federal government in a civil suit brought by Lambdin P. Milligan, whose wartime conviction for treason had been reversed by the Supreme Court. Harrison convinced the court to award very little in damages against the government.
Local Republicans saw Harrison as a strong candidate due to his war record and his legal reputation. They called on Harrison to run for Congress. In 1872, Harrison sought for the Republican nomination for governor of Indiana. He was unsuccessful and returned to his law practice. In 1876, when the Republican nominee for governor dropped out of the race, Harrison accepted the Republicans' invitation to take his place. Harrison was defeated in the election by James D. Williams, but he was able to enhance his profile. When the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 took place, Harrison helped to mediate between the workers and management.
Former Governor Morton, now United States Senator Morton, died in 1878, and the Republicans nominated Harrison to run for the vacant seat. But the party failed to gain a majority in the state legislature, which selected senators at the time. The Democratic majority elected Daniel W. Voorhees instead. In 1879 President Hayes appointed Harrison to the Mississippi River Commission, which worked to develop internal improvements on the river.
At the 1880 Republican National Convention, Harrison worked to bring about the nomination of James A. Garfield. His profile at the National Convention made him the party's presumptive Senate candidate. He gave speeches in favor of Garfield in Indiana and New York, and when the Republicans retook the state legislature, Harrison was selected to represent the state in the US Senate. After Garfield's election as president in 1880, Garfield offered Harrison a cabinet position, but Harrison declined it, choosing instead to continue as a senator.
Harrison served in the Senate from March 4, 1881, to March 4, 1887. He chaired the U.S. Senate Committee on Transportation and the U.S. Senate Committee on Territories. In 1881, the major issue that he was dealing with was the budget surplus. Democrats wished to reduce the tariff and limit the amount of money the government took in, while Republicans instead wished to spend the money on internal improvements and pensions for Civil War veterans. Harrison advocated for generous pensions for veterans and their widows. He also supported aid for education of Southerners, especially the children of the freedmen and believed that education was necessary to help the African-American population to improve their position, politically and economically. Harrison opposed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which his party supported, because he believed that it violated existing treaties with China.
At the 1884 Republican National Convention, the party ended up supporting James G. Blaine, the eventual nominee. When Blaine lost the election, his party's defeat for the oval office cause him penalties in the Senate. Harrison had brought about passage of his Dependent Pension Bill, only to see it vetoed by President Grover Cleveland. His attempts to bring about the admission of new western states were stymied by Democrats, who feared that the new states would elect Republicans to Congress.
In 1885, the Democrats redistricted the Indiana state legislature, which resulted in an increased Democratic majority in the 1886 election. Harrison was defeated in his bid for reelection to the senate as a result. Harrison returned to Indianapolis and his law practice, but remained active in state and national politics.
In the 1888 election, the favorite for the Republican nomination was the party's previous nominee, James G. Blaine of Maine. But when Blaine decided not to seek the nomination, there was no real front runner. Blaine did not publicly endorse any candidate as a successor, but on March 1, 1888 he privately expressed a preference for Harrison as the nominee. At the convention Harrison placed fourth on the first ballot. The Blaine supporters shifted their support to Harrison, and he was nominated as the party's presidential candidate on the eighth ballot. Levi P. Morton of New York was chosen as his running mate.
Harrison's opponent in the election was incumbent President Grover Cleveland. He conducted a traditional front-porch campaign. He received visiting delegations to Indianapolis. The election focused on the swing states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Harrison's home state of Indiana. Harrison and Cleveland split these four states, with Harrison winning in New York and Indiana. Voter turnout was 79.3%, reflecting a large interest in the campaign and nearly eleven million votes were cast. Harrison received 90,000 fewer popular votes than Cleveland, but he carried the Electoral College 233 to 168.
Harrison was known as the Centennial President because his inauguration celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first inauguration of George Washington in 1789. Harrison's Inauguration ceremony took place during a rainstorm in Washington D.C. Outgoing U.S. President Grover Cleveland attended the ceremony and held an umbrella over Harrison's head as he took the oath of office.
Harrison returned to live on his father's farm while finishing his law studies. He inherited $800 after the death of an aunt, and used the money to move with Caroline to Indianapolis, Indiana in 1854. Harrison was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in the office of John H. Ray. He became a crier for the Federal Court in Indianapolis. While in Indianapolis, Harrison became a founding member and first president of the University Club.
Harrison's father was a supporter of the Whig party and Benjamin Harrison joined the Republican Party shortly after its formation in 1856. He campaigned on behalf of the Republican presidential candidate John C. Frémont and ran for the position of Indianapolis City Attorney that year also. Harrison won his election and received an annual salary of $400 from his new job.
In 1858, Harrison entered into a law partnership with William Wallace. They called their firm Wallace & Harrison. In 1860 he ran as the Republican candidate for reporter of the Indiana Supreme Court and won his election. He served as Republican State Committee Secretary. When his law partner Wallace was elected as county clerk in 1860, Harrison and William Fishback, formed a new firm named Fishback & Harrison. They worked together until Harrison joined the Army after the start of the American Civil War.
When the war began, Harrison wanted to enlist, but worried about how to support his young family. But a visit with Governor Oliver Morton convinced Harrison to enlist after he saw distressed Morton was over the shortage of men enlisting. Morton asked Harrison to recruit a regiment, and Harrison took up the challenge. He recruited throughout northern Indiana. Morton offered him the command of the regiment, but Harrison declined because he had no military experience. He was commissioned as a captain and company commander on July 22, 1862. Governor Morton promoted Harrison to the rank of colonel on August 7, 1862, and the newly formed 70th Indiana became part of the Union Army on August 12, 1862. The regiment left Indiana to join the Union Army at Louisville, Kentucky.
The 70th Indiana performed reconnaissance duty and guarded railroads in Kentucky and Tennessee. But in 1864, Harrison and his regiment joined General William Tecumseh Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. On January 2, 1864, Harrison was promoted to command the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the XX Corps. He led the brigade at the Battles of Resaca, Cassville, New Hope Church, Lost Mountain, Kennesaw Mountain, Marietta, Peachtree Creek and Atlanta. When Sherman began his March to the Sea, Harrison's brigade was transferred to the District of Etowah and participated in the Battle of Nashville. On January 23, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Harrison to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers, and the Senate confirmed the nomination on February 14, 1865. When the war was over, Harrison rode in the Grand Review in Washington, D.C. before leaving the service on June 8, 1865.
In October 1864, while he was still in the army, Harrison was reelected reporter of the Supreme Court of Indiana and served four more years. President Ulysses Grant appointed Harrison to represent the federal government in a civil suit brought by Lambdin P. Milligan, whose wartime conviction for treason had been reversed by the Supreme Court. Harrison convinced the court to award very little in damages against the government.
Local Republicans saw Harrison as a strong candidate due to his war record and his legal reputation. They called on Harrison to run for Congress. In 1872, Harrison sought for the Republican nomination for governor of Indiana. He was unsuccessful and returned to his law practice. In 1876, when the Republican nominee for governor dropped out of the race, Harrison accepted the Republicans' invitation to take his place. Harrison was defeated in the election by James D. Williams, but he was able to enhance his profile. When the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 took place, Harrison helped to mediate between the workers and management.
Former Governor Morton, now United States Senator Morton, died in 1878, and the Republicans nominated Harrison to run for the vacant seat. But the party failed to gain a majority in the state legislature, which selected senators at the time. The Democratic majority elected Daniel W. Voorhees instead. In 1879 President Hayes appointed Harrison to the Mississippi River Commission, which worked to develop internal improvements on the river.
At the 1880 Republican National Convention, Harrison worked to bring about the nomination of James A. Garfield. His profile at the National Convention made him the party's presumptive Senate candidate. He gave speeches in favor of Garfield in Indiana and New York, and when the Republicans retook the state legislature, Harrison was selected to represent the state in the US Senate. After Garfield's election as president in 1880, Garfield offered Harrison a cabinet position, but Harrison declined it, choosing instead to continue as a senator.
Harrison served in the Senate from March 4, 1881, to March 4, 1887. He chaired the U.S. Senate Committee on Transportation and the U.S. Senate Committee on Territories. In 1881, the major issue that he was dealing with was the budget surplus. Democrats wished to reduce the tariff and limit the amount of money the government took in, while Republicans instead wished to spend the money on internal improvements and pensions for Civil War veterans. Harrison advocated for generous pensions for veterans and their widows. He also supported aid for education of Southerners, especially the children of the freedmen and believed that education was necessary to help the African-American population to improve their position, politically and economically. Harrison opposed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which his party supported, because he believed that it violated existing treaties with China.
At the 1884 Republican National Convention, the party ended up supporting James G. Blaine, the eventual nominee. When Blaine lost the election, his party's defeat for the oval office cause him penalties in the Senate. Harrison had brought about passage of his Dependent Pension Bill, only to see it vetoed by President Grover Cleveland. His attempts to bring about the admission of new western states were stymied by Democrats, who feared that the new states would elect Republicans to Congress.
In 1885, the Democrats redistricted the Indiana state legislature, which resulted in an increased Democratic majority in the 1886 election. Harrison was defeated in his bid for reelection to the senate as a result. Harrison returned to Indianapolis and his law practice, but remained active in state and national politics.
In the 1888 election, the favorite for the Republican nomination was the party's previous nominee, James G. Blaine of Maine. But when Blaine decided not to seek the nomination, there was no real front runner. Blaine did not publicly endorse any candidate as a successor, but on March 1, 1888 he privately expressed a preference for Harrison as the nominee. At the convention Harrison placed fourth on the first ballot. The Blaine supporters shifted their support to Harrison, and he was nominated as the party's presidential candidate on the eighth ballot. Levi P. Morton of New York was chosen as his running mate.
Harrison's opponent in the election was incumbent President Grover Cleveland. He conducted a traditional front-porch campaign. He received visiting delegations to Indianapolis. The election focused on the swing states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Harrison's home state of Indiana. Harrison and Cleveland split these four states, with Harrison winning in New York and Indiana. Voter turnout was 79.3%, reflecting a large interest in the campaign and nearly eleven million votes were cast. Harrison received 90,000 fewer popular votes than Cleveland, but he carried the Electoral College 233 to 168.
Harrison was known as the Centennial President because his inauguration celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first inauguration of George Washington in 1789. Harrison's Inauguration ceremony took place during a rainstorm in Washington D.C. Outgoing U.S. President Grover Cleveland attended the ceremony and held an umbrella over Harrison's head as he took the oath of office.