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 Benjamin
Harrison is the only United States president from the state of Indiana.
Not only was he the 23rd president (serving from 1889-1893), but
he was also the centennial president, inaugurated 100 years after
George Washington.
The time of Harrison’s presidency was transitional.
Issues that faced colonial America were still germane, but Harrison
also faced issues that plague presidents today. Similar to the attitude
of colonial American expansion, President Harrison brought six states
into the union. This was more than any other president in one term.
Benjamin Harrison was truly one of the first American
presidents to succeed in foreign policy and matters beyond our shores.
He increased the nation as a player in global trading and therefore
dealt with the resulting tariff issues. Relations with Central America
were established during his presidency. The Pan-American Games is
a lasting institution created from this alliance. Our strength as
a naval power and the build-up of all national armed forces can
both be attributed to our 23rd president. Harrison was of the opinion
that our army and navy should not be just a conscripted institution,
but one that attracted competent, highly professional people who
were interested in making the armed forces a career. Our role in
global affairs expanded without a war or the sending of American
troops to be stationed abroad.
Domestic policy is the one area that will forever
haunt the memory of Harrison’s presidency. During the Gilded
Age, the spoils system ruled the day. The Republican Party was less
than pleased with Harrison because he made his political appointments
based upon ability, not as favors to the political machine. The
House of Representatives was run with an iron fist by Speaker of
the House, Thomas Reed. Public business that ran counter to Reed’s
wishes was held hostage by faction and filibuster. The House became
a vehicle of implementing the Speaker’s wishes and he gave
little regard to Benjamin Harrison. A good example, Benjamin Harrison
wanted civil rights legislation addressed during his presidency.
It was never prioritized and docketed due to a congress that would
not budge from its own agenda.
The White House
during Harrison's Term
Many republicans wanted to move from the gold standard
to a new silver standard as a backing for the nation's currency.
Many lending institutions and corporate powers balked and the value
of the U.S. dollar plummeted. During the "panic" many
prominent people (including some of Harrison’s own cabinet
members) lost great fortunes. At about the same time congress approved
the McKinley Tariff into law. This would tax incoming goods at a
higher rate and hopefully encourage people to buy American made
products. U.S. businesses, feeling the sting of recessions, tried
to compensate for lost revenue by raising the prices of goods. The
backlash by consumers against the Republican Party was devastating;
eventually removing the president and a significant number of congressmen
in the election of 1892. In 1892, Benjamin Harrison lost more than
an election, in October, his wife Caroline died in the White House
due to complications from tuberculosis.
Benjamin Harrison paved the way for the future success
of the Republican Party. He helped introduce civil rights legislation,
and established relations with Central America--that resulted in
the Pan-American games. But most importantly, he helped unite the
factions of the Republican Party after the fallout created by the
Congress and helped to create a unified party that would win the
White House back in 1896.
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