Potus Geeks Summer Reruns: William Henry Harrison's Best Month as President
William Henry Harrison has the distinction of having the shortest time on the job as President of the United States. Counting the day he was inaugurated and the day he died, Harrison was president from March 4 to April 4, 32 days by my count (28 in March and 4 in April). He had run for President twice against Martin Van Buren, losing the election in 1836 and winning in 1840 in a revolutionary campaign that is a story in itself.
When Harrison arrived in Washington after winning the Presidency, he wanted to present himself to the nation both as a military hero and as a learned and thoughtful man, and not the backwoods caricature that he was portrayed to be in the election campaign. He took the oath of office on March 4, 1841, at the age of 68, which was older than the average life expectancy of American men at the time. It was a cold and wet day and Harrison wanted to present a picture of strength and vitality so he decided to speak without wearing an overcoat or a hat. He rode on horseback to the ceremony rather than in the closed carriage that had been offered him, and he delivered the longest inaugural address in American history. At 8,445 words, it took him nearly two hours to read, even though though his friend and fellow Whig Daniel Webster had edited it for length. Harrison then rode through the streets in the inaugural parade, and that evening he attended three inaugural balls.
In his inaugural address, Harrison laid out, in great detail, the Whig agenda, which was essentially a repudiation of the policies of his predecessors, Democratic Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. Harrison promised to reestablish the Bank of the United States and to extend its capacity for credit by issuing paper currency. He said that he would to defer to the judgment of Congress on legislative matters, and use his veto power sparingly. He promised to reverse Jackson's spoils system of executive patronage. He promised to use patronage to create a qualified staff, not to advance the interests of fellow Whigs.
At the time Senator Henry Clay was leader of the Whigs, a powerful legislator and a frustrated Presidential candidate. Clay expected to have substantial influence in the Harrison administration. Clay attempted to influence Harrison's actions, even going so far as to put forth his own preferences for Cabinet offices and other presidential appointments. Harrison refused to accede to Clay's pressure. He is reported as telling Clay, "Mr. Clay, you forget that I am the President." When Harrison named Daniel Webster, Clay's arch-rival for the leadership of the Whig Party, as his Secretary of State, and appeared to give Webster's supporters some highly coveted patronage positions, Clay was upset even more. Harrison's one concession to Clay was to name his protégé John J. Crittenden to the post of Attorney General. This however did not heal the rift between the two men.
In those days, hordes of office seeking applicants came to the White House, which was then open to all who wanted a meeting with the President. Most of Harrison's business during his month-long presidency involved extensive social obligations and receiving visitors at the White House. Harrison wrote, in a letter dated March 10, 1841, "I am so much harassed by the multitude that call upon me that I can give no proper attention to any business of my own." Harrison sent a number of nominations for office to the Senate for confirmation during his month in office. The new 27th Congress had convened an extraordinary session for the purpose of confirming Harrison's cabinet and other important nominees.
Harrison took his pledge to reform executive appointments very seriously. In his brief time in office he visited each of the six executive departments. He issued an order to all departments that electioneering by employees would be considered grounds for dismissal. Harrison resisted pressure from Clay and other Whigs about partisan patronage. When a group arrived in his office on March 16 to demand the removal of all Democrats from any appointed office, Harrison told them, "So help me God, I will resign my office before I can be guilty of such an iniquity!"
Harrison's own cabinet attempted to countermand the president's appointment of John Chambers as Governor of Iowa in favor of Webster's friend, General James Wilson. But at a March 25 cabinet meeting, Harrison asked Webster him to read aloud a handwritten note, which said simply "William Henry Harrison, President of the United States". He then announced to the Cabinet that "William Henry Harrison, President of the United States, tells you, gentlemen, that, by God, John Chambers shall be governor of Iowa!"
Harrison's only official act of note was to call Congress into a special session. He and Henry Clay had disagreed over the necessity of such a session, and Harrison told Clay not to visit the White House again, but to address him only in writing. A few days later however, Treasury Secretary Thomas Ewing told Harrison that federal funds were in such trouble that the government could not continue to operate until Congress' regularly scheduled session in December. Harrison relented, and on March 17 proclaimed the special session.
On March 26, Harrison became ill with a cold. It was wrongly believed that his illness was directly caused by the bad weather at his inauguration. But Harrison's illness did not arise until more than three weeks after the event. His cold turned worse, becoming pneumonia and pleurisy. He tried to rest in the White House, but could not find a quiet room because of the steady crowd of office seekers. Harrison's doctors tried cures, applying opium, castor oil, leeches, and Virginia snakeweed. But the treatments only made Harrison worse. He died nine days after becoming ill, at 12:30 a.m. on April 4, 1841, of right lower lobe pneumonia, jaundice, and overwhelming septicemia. He was the first United States president to die in office. His last words were to his doctor, but have been assumed to be directed at John Tyler. He said, "Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of the government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more."
Harrison served the shortest term of any American president: 30 days, 12 hours, and 30 minutes.