William Henry Harrison: The Life and Legacy of the First American President to Die in Office

by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of Harrison's battles and Harrison's quotes about his career *Includes online resources and a bibliography “Old Tip he wore a homespun coat, he had no ruffled wirt-wirt, But Matt he has the golden plate, and he's a little wirt-wirt!” – A Whig campaign slogan during the 1840 election When one is looking quickly over the lives of the Presidents of the United States, it is easy to overlook William Henry Harrison. After all, he only served as the Chief Executive for 30 days, and he spent the majority of those in bed, fighting for his life and eventually losing. However, to ignore Harrison because he served such a short time in the White House is just as foolish as ignoring Patrick Henry or Alexander Hamilton because they were never elected to the nation’s highest office. In fact, like Henry, Hamilton, and many others from the early days of the Republic, Harrison served his country in many ways and was one of the most consequential figures both in politics and the military, which makes it all the more unfortunate that much the same way Hamilton is remembered for the duel with Aaron Burr, Harrison is remembered for being the first president to die in office. The manner of Harrison’s death, and the length of his inaugural address, have overshadowed the various facets of his life and career. For instance, few people know of his famous family, how he dropped out of medical school to become a soldier, and how he eloped with a young woman and went on to have 10 children with her. Harrison’s early political career also remains relatively unknown; few realize that he spent much of his early adulthood in what was then still wilderness, first as a soldier, then as the Territorial Governor of the Indiana Territory. Older Americans may have heard the phrase used during his election - “Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too” – but even that battle was overshadowed by the War of 1812. Many people look at his austere portrait and do not realize that he served in both the United States House and Senate, and that he also lived in South America as an American diplomat. Even during his short presidency, he accomplished lasting work, laying the foundation for what later became the rules of the American Civil Service system. Thus, even while it is true that he had the shortest presidency in American history, Harrison managed to accomplish more for the long term good of the nation than other men have in a much longer time. William Henry The Life and Legacy of the First American President to Die in Office looks at one of America’s foremost military heroes of the early 19th century. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about William Henry Harrison like never before.

Genres: Presidents, Biography, Us Presidents, History, Nonfiction, The United States Of America, American History

72 pages, Paperback

Published December 6, 2016

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[KOMET · Rating 2 out of 5]

For anyone with an interest in history, biography, and Trivial Pursuit, this is the ideal book for you. It is a short biography of William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) who served the shortest tenure -- 1 month -- as President of the United States (dying in office).

Harrison, who hailed from one of the wealthiest families in Virginia, received an officer's commission in the U.S. Army barely on the cusp of adulthood, went west to the Northwest Territory, and distinguished himself in the Indian wars out there during the 1790s. He then resigned his commission, was later appointed a delegate from the Northwest Territory while in his late 20s, and went on to be appointed Governor of Indiana Territory, in which capacity he dealt much with the Indian tribes in the area.

During the War of 1812, Harrison went back into the Army (achieving some renown as a General in the Battle of the Thames), subsequently served in both the House and U.S. Senate from Ohio, briefly served in a diplomatic post abroad, and twice ran for President - winning election in 1840.

[Babbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather dry and high level account of the life of President Harrison. While this short book was good for a general take on more important events/decisions, it didn't give any real impression on who Harrison was.

[Sean McGowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and not that sweet. The audiobook reader was not very good. Made a bunch of mistakes and did not make it easy to listen too.

This president died in office. He was an Andrew Jackson supporter

[David Reber · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too." The campaign slogan and song for the first Whig candidate, referring to Harrison's win at the Battle of Tippecanoe and his running mate, John Tyler.

An Indian war veteran, Harrison was not in office long enough to score any major accomplishments except by giving the longest inauguration speech in history and having the shortest term.

Benjamin Harrison, the son of one of his ten children, became the 23rd President of the United States.

More of a pamphlet than a book. 72 pages (I only know that because of the Amazon description, pages are not numbered in the book) with 41 pictures and lots of oddly placed white space. Horrible spelling and grammatical errors throughout. The listed author, Charles River Editors isn't a person, it's a publishing company. No credit is given to an author. Only five other biographies were cited where information was pulled. Isn't that kind of like doing a book report? There's no evidence of any real research. In the introduction the writer indicates that Harrison is just as important to US history as Patrick Henry or Alexander Hamilton. Really? Well, this certainly was not proven in this brochure. Maybe the publisher is working on a short musical for Ol' #9?

[Cat Rayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Broad overview in condensed offering.

Details of his military career is the bulk of the book. Harrison had a great deal of interaction with the Native Indians and proved a man of two faces.

Political maneuvering in limited roles, ran two campaigns for President, lost to Van Buren first time, won the second time but died one month after his inauguration.

[Vince Pillig · Rating 4 out of 5]

How long military career.

Did not realize Harrison had such a long military career. It's too bad he died after such short period of time in office. He could have accomplished so much more?

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so short, it almost felt like cheating. But there is no cheating. WHH was only president for a month, so I’m good with a 125 page biography. This covered the highlights, without telling me much about his personality.

[John Mace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Of the 2 things in its title it only really discussed 1. For a much better look at his life - read Accidental Presidents.

[Booreiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

A summary instead of a history.

[Shirley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lame biography

[Ginger Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-written, but concise biography of President William Henry Harrison. It is worth the time to read it!

[Kathy Matteson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief book about William Harrison, written in a factual way highlighting his life as a soldier and politician.