Benjamin Harrison: Difference between revisions

| image = Benjamin Harrison, head and shoulders bw photo, 1896 (cropped).jpg

| predecessor = [[Grover Cleveland]]

| successor = [[Grover Cleveland]]

* [[BattleAmerican ofCivil ResacaWar]]

*** [[Battle of Kennesaw MountainResaca]],

*** [[Battle of MariettaNew Hope Church]]

*** [[Battle of PeachtreeKennesaw CreekMountain]]

*** [[Battle of AtlantaMarietta]]

*** [[Battle of NashvillePeachtree Creek]]

{{Benjamin Harrison series}}

'''Benjamin Harrison''' (August 20, 1833{{snd}}March 13, 1901) was an American politician who served as the 23rd [[president of the United States]], serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the [[Harrison family of Virginia]]—a grandson of the ninth president, [[William Henry Harrison]], and a great-grandson of [[Benjamin Harrison V]], a [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]]. A Union Army veteran and a Republican, he defeated incumbent [[Grover Cleveland]] to win the presidency.

Harrison was born on a farm by the [[Ohio River]] and graduated from [[Miami University]] in [[Oxford, Ohio]]. After moving to [[Indianapolis]], he established himself as a prominent local attorney, Presbyterian church leader, and politician in [[Indiana]]. During the [[American Civil War]], he served in the [[Union Army]] as a [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]], and was confirmed by the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] as a [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] of volunteers in 1865. Harrison unsuccessfully ran for [[governor of Indiana]] in 1876. The [[Indiana General Assembly]] elected Harrison to a six-year term in the Senate, where he served from 1881 to 1887.

A [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], Harrison was elected to the presidency in [[1888 United States presidential election|1888]], defeating the [[History of the Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] incumbent [[Grover Cleveland]] in the [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]] despitewhile losing the popular vote. Hallmarks of Harrison's administration were unprecedented economic legislation, including the [[McKinley Tariff]], which imposed historic protective trade rates, and the [[Sherman Antitrust Act]]. Harrison also facilitated the creation of the [[United States National Forest|national forest reserves]] through an amendment to the Land Revision Act of 1891. During his administration six western states were admitted to the Union. In addition, Harrison substantially strengthened and modernized the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] and conducted an active foreign policy, but his proposals to secure federal education funding as well as voting rights enforcement for African Americans were unsuccessful.

Due in large part to surplus revenues from the tariffs, federal spending reached one billion dollars for the first time during his term. The spending issue in part led to the Republicans' defeat of the Republicans in the [[1890 United States House election|1890 midterm elections]]. Cleveland defeated Harrison for reelection in [[1892 United States presidential election|1892]], due to the growing unpopularity of high tariffs and high federal spending. HeHarrison returned to private life and his law practice in Indianapolis. In 1899 he represented [[United States of Venezuela|Venezuela]] in its [[British Guiana]] boundary dispute with [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain]]. Harrison traveled to the court in Paris as part of the case and after a brief stay returned to Indianapolis. He died at his home in Indianapolis in 1901 of complications from [[influenza]]. Many have praised Harrison's commitment to African Americans' voting rights, and his work ethic, and his integrity, but scholars and historians generally [[Historical rankings of presidents of the United States|rank]] him as an average president, due to the uneventful nature of his term.<ref name="MillerCenter">{{cite web|last1=Spetter|first1=Allan B.|title=BENJAMIN HARRISON: IMPACT AND LEGACY|url=https://millercenter.org/president/bharrison/impact-and-legacy|website=Miller Center|date=4 October 2016 |publisher=University of Virginia|access-date=16 May 2018 |ref=none}} "Because of his lack of personal passion and the failure of anything truly eventful, such as a major war, during his administration, Harrison, along with every other President from the post-Reconstruction era to 1900, has been assigned to the rankings of mediocrity. He has been remembered as an average President, not among the best but certainly not among the worst."</ref>

Harrison's early schooling took place in a log cabin near his home,{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=10}} but his parents later arranged for a tutor to help him with college preparatory studies.{{sfn|Sievers|1968|loc=v. 1|pp=24–29}} Fourteen-year-old Benjamin and his older brother, Irwin, enrolled in [[Farmer's College]] near [[Cincinnati]], Ohio, in 1847.{{sfn|Sievers|1968|loc=v. 1|pp=29–30}} He attended the college for two years{{sfn|Wallace|1888|p=53}}{{efn|name=Farmer's College}} and while there met his future wife, [[Caroline Harrison|Caroline "Carrie" Lavinia Scott]],. She was a daughter of [[John Witherspoon Scott]], who was the school's science professor, who wasand also a Presbyterian minister.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=11, 15}}

Harrison transferred to [[Miami University]] in [[Oxford, Ohio]], in 1850, and graduated in 1852.{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|pp=21–23}}{{sfn|Sievers|1968|loc=v. 1, p. 58}} He joined the [[Phi Delta Theta]] fraternity, which he used as a network for much of his life.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Benjamin Harrison |url=https://phideltatheta.org/news-stories/famous-phis/benjamin-harrison/ |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=Phi Delta Theta |language=en-US}}</ref> He was also a member of [[Delta Chi]], a law fraternity that permitted dual membership.<ref name="fraternities" /> Classmates included [[John Alexander Anderson]],{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=23}} who became a six-term U.S. congressman, and [[Whitelaw Reid]], Harrison's vice presidential running mate in 1892. At Miami, Harrison was strongly influenced by history and political economy professor [[Robert Hamilton Bishop]].{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1pp=10–11|Sievers|1968|2loc=v. 1, pp. 31–34}} He also joined a [[Presbyterian]] church at college and, like his mother, became a lifelong Presbyterian.{{sfn|Wallace|1888|p=58}}

After his college graduation in 1852, Harrison studied law with Judge [[Bellamy Storer (1796–1875)|Bellamy Storer]] of [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]], but before he completed his studies, he returned to Oxford, Ohio, to marry Caroline Scott{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=11–12, 15–1515, 23}} on October 20, 1853. Caroline's father, a Presbyterian minister, performed the ceremony.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=23}} The Harrisons had two children, [[Russell Benjamin Harrison]] (August 12, 1854&nbsp;– December 13, 1936) and [[Mary Harrison McKee|Mary "Mamie" Scott Harrison]] (April 3, 1858&nbsp;– October 28, 1930).{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=27, 29}}

Harrison and his wife returned to live at The Point, his father's farm in southwestern Ohio, while he finished his law studies. Harrison was admitted to the Ohio bar in early 1854,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://millercenter.org/president/bharrison/life-before-the-presidency|title=Benjamin Harrison: Life Before the Presidency – Miller Center|date=October 4, 2016}}</ref> the same year he sold property that he had inherited after the death of an aunt for $800 ({{Inflation|US|800|1854|fmt=eq}}), and used the funds to move with Caroline to [[Indianapolis]], [[Indiana]].{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=26}}{{sfn|Gugin and St. Clair|p=159}} Harrison began practicing law in the office of John H. Ray in 1854 and became a [[Town crier|crier]] for the federal court in Indianapolis, for which he was paid $2.50 per day.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=27, 29}} He also served as a Commissioner for the [[United States Court of Claims|U.S. Court of Claims]].{{sfn|Cowen et al.|pp=92}} Harrison became a founding member and first president of both the University Club, a private [[gentlemen's club]] in Indianapolis, and the Phi Delta Theta Alumni Club.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=22}} Harrison and his wife became members and assumed leadership positions at Indianapolis's First Presbyterian Church.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=7}}

For much of its first two years, the 70th Indiana performed reconnaissance duty and guarded railroads in [[Kentucky]] and [[Tennessee]]. In May 1864, Harrison and his regiment joined General [[William T. Sherman]]'s [[Atlanta Campaign]] in the [[Army of the Cumberland]] and moved to the front lines.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Civil War |url=https://bhpsite.org/learn/benjamin-harrison/the-civil-war/ |access-date=March 12, 2022 |website=Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site |language=en-US |quote=In May 1864, Colonel Harrison and the regiment joined General Sherman’sSherman's Atlanta campaign in the Army of the Cumberland.}}</ref> On January 2, 1864, Harrison was promoted to command the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the [[XX Corps (Union Army)|XX Corps]]. He commanded the brigade at the battles of [[Battle of Resaca|Resaca]], [[Cassville, Georgia|Cassville]], [[Battle of New Hope Church|New Hope Church]], Lost Mountain, [[Battle of Kennesaw Mountain|Kennesaw Mountain]], [[Battle of Marietta|Marietta]], [[Battle of Peachtree Creek|Peachtree Creek]], and [[Battle of Atlanta|Atlanta]]. When Sherman's main force began its [[Sherman's March to the Sea|March to the Sea]], Harrison's brigade was transferred to the District of Etowah and participated in the [[Battle of Nashville]].{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1pp=36–44|Wallace|1888|2pp=209–225}} While encamped near Nashville, during a particularly cold winter, Harrison prepared coffee and brought it to his freezing men at night; his constant catchphrase as he took lead of his men was: "Come on, boys!" Harrison earned a reputation as a strong leader and as an officer who did not abandon his soldiers in battle.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The Civil War |url=https://bhpsite.org/learn/benjamin-harrison/the-civil-war/ |access-date=March 11, 2022 |website=Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site |language=en-US |quote=Harrison’sHarrison's reputation became that of a strong leader. He earned the respect of his men and did not leave them in battle...Mr. Richard Smock remembered an incident while they were camped near Nashville during a very cold winter. Men on the picket line were nearly frozen to death, and Colonel Harrison fixed coffee and took it to them in the middle of the night. Harrison always led the men saying “Come"Come on, boys!”" as he took the lead.}}</ref>

At the Battle of Resaca on May 15, 1864, Harrison faced Confederate Captain [[Max Corput|Max Van Den Corput's]] artillery battery, which occupied a position "some eighty yards in front of the main Confederate lines".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Battle of Resaca |url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/battle-of-resaca/ |access-date=March 11, 2022 |website=New Georgia Encyclopedia |language=en-US |quote=}}</ref> Sherman, renewing his assault on the center of the Confederate lines begun the previous day, was halted by Corput's four-gun, parapet-protected artillery battery; the battery was well placed to bedevil the Union ranks, and became "the center of a furious struggle".<ref name=":0" /> Corput's artillery redoubt was highly fortified "with three infantry regiments in...rifle pits and four more regiments in the main trenches".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The Civil War |url=https://bhpsite.org/learn/benjamin-harrison/the-civil-war/ |access-date=March 11, 2022 |website=Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site |language=en-US |quote=Brigadier General Ward’sWard's brigade, of which Harrison was a part, was ordered to assault and capture this redoubt. The brigade attacked in a column formation, the 70th having the honor of leading the charge. The redoubt was heavily fortified with three infantry regiments in the rifle pits and four more regiments in the main trenches...Harrison captured the battery in hand-to-hand fighting with the gunners. Fierce fighting continued all afternoon. At nightfall, the 70th carried the four captured 121-pound Napoleon Cannons to the rear}}</ref> Harrison, leadingLeading the [[70th Indiana Infantry Regiment|70th Indiana]] Infantry Regiment, Harrison massed his troops in a ravine opposite Corput's position, along with the rest of Brigadier General [[William Thomas Ward|William Thomas Ward's]] brigade.<ref name=":2" /> Harrison and his regiment, leading the assault, then emerged from the ravine, advanced over the artillery parapet, overcame the Confederate gunners, and eliminated the threat. The battery was captured by hand-to-hand combat, and intense combat continued throughout the afternoon.<ref name=":2" /> Harrison's unit, now exposed, found itself immediately subjectedsubject to intense gunfire from the main Confederate ranks and was forced to take cover.<ref name=":0" /> Although no longer in Confederate hands, Corput's four 121-pound Napoleon Cannons<ref name=":2" /> sat in a "no man's land" for the rest of the day until nightfall, when Union soldiers "dug through the parapet, slipped ropes around the four cannons, and dragged them back to [their] lines".<ref name=":0" />

During the Battle of Peachtree Creek, on July 20, 1864, Harrison commanded his brigade against General [[Winfield S. Featherston|W. S. Featherston's]] Mississippi Brigade, stopping the latter's "fierce assault" over Collier Road.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 30, 2014 |title=A Missed Opportunity |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/missed-opportunity |access-date=March 12, 2022 |website=American Battlefield Trust |language=en-US |quote=Thirty-three years old in 1864, Harrison led his brigade forward and helped stop the fierce assault made by Featherston’sFeatherston's Mississippi brigade...Featherston’sFeatherston's Mississippi brigade charged up and over Collier Road and engaged future United States President Benjamin Harrison’sHarrison's Union brigade.}}</ref> At Peachtree Creek, Harrison's brigade comprised the [[102nd Illinois Infantry Regiment|102nd]], [[105th Illinois Infantry Regiment|105th]], and [[129th Illinois Infantry Regiment]]s, the [[79th Ohio Infantry Regiment]], and his 70th Indiana Regiment; his brigade deployed in about the center of the Union line, engaging Maj.Major Gen.General [[William Wing Loring|William Wing Loring's]] Mississippi division and Alabama troops from General [[Alexander P. Stewart|Alexander Stewart]]'s corps.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 16, 2017 |title=Future President Benjamin Harrison's Report on His Brigade at the Battle of Peachtree Creek |url=https://ironbrigader.com/2017/07/16/future-president-benjamin-harrisons-report-brigade-battle-peachtree-creek/ |access-date=March 17, 2022 |language=en-US |quote=Harrison now found himself in command of a brigade consisting of the 102nd, 105th, and 129th Illinois Infantry regiments, plus the 79th Ohio Infantry and his own 70th Indiana. The brigade was deployed roughly in the center of the Union line and was heavily engaged with Major General William W. Loring’sLoring's division of Mississippi and Alabama troops of Stewart’sStewart's Corps.}}</ref> In his report after the battle, Harrison wrote howthat "at one time during the fight,", afterwith his ammunition was dangerously depleted, he sent his acting assistant inspector-general Captain Scott and others to cut "cartridge-boxes from the rebel dead within our lines" and distribute them to his soldiers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 16, 2017 |title=Future President Benjamin Harrison's Report on His Brigade at the Battle of Peachtree Creek |url=https://ironbrigader.com/2017/07/16/future-president-benjamin-harrisons-report-brigade-battle-peachtree-creek/ |access-date=March 17, 2022 |language=en-US |quote=HDQRS. FIRST BRIG., THIRD DIV., TWENTIETH CORPS, Before Atlanta, Ga., August 12, 1864...At one time during the fight our ammunition began to get low and considerable uneasiness was felt lest it might be exhausted. I at once dispatched Lieutenant Mitchell, aide-de-camp, to have a supply brought up, while Captain Scott, acting assistant inspector-general, and others busied themselves in cutting the cartridge-boxes from the rebel dead within our lines and distributing them to the men.}}</ref> According to Harrison's report, the losses from his brigade were "very slight" compared with those of Confederate forces;. heHe thought this was because of battlefield topography, writing: "I believe, that the enemy, having the higher ground, fired too high."<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 16, 2017 |title=Future President Benjamin Harrison's Report on His Brigade at the Battle of Peachtree Creek |url=https://ironbrigader.com/2017/07/16/future-president-benjamin-harrisons-report-brigade-battle-peachtree-creek/ |access-date=March 17, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> Harrison later supported the creation of an Atlanta National Military Park, which would have included "substantial portions" of the Peachtree battlefield, writing in 1900: "The military incidents connected with the investment and ultimate capture of Atlanta are certainly worthy of commemoration and I should be glad to see the project succeed."<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 30, 2014 |title=A Missed Opportunity |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/missed-opportunity |access-date=March 12, 2022 |website=American Battlefield Trust |language=en-US}}</ref>

After the conclusion of the Atlanta Campaign on September 2, 1864, Harrison was among the initial Union forces to enter the surrendered city of Atlanta; General Sherman opined that Harrison served with "foresight, discipline and a fighting spirit".<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Spetter |first=Allan B. |date=October 4, 2016 |title=Benjamin Harrison: Life Before the Presidency {{!}} Miller Center |url=https://millercenter.org/president/bharrison/life-before-the-presidency |access-date=March 12, 2022 |website=millercenter.org |language=en}}</ref> FollowingAfter the Atlanta Campaign, Harrison reported to Governor Morton in Indiana for special duty, and while there he campaigned for the position of Indiana's Supreme Court Reporter and for President Lincoln's reelection; after the election he left for Georgia to join Sherman's [[Sherman's March to the Sea|March to the Sea]], but instead was "given command of the 1st Brigade at Nashville.".<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=The Civil War |url=https://bhpsite.org/learn/benjamin-harrison/the-civil-war/ |access-date=March 19, 2022 |website=Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site |language=en-US}}</ref> Harrison led the brigade at the [[Battle of Nashville]] in December, in a "decisive" action against the forces of General [[John Bell Hood]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Civil War |url=https://bhpsite.org/learn/benjamin-harrison/the-civil-war/ |access-date=March 19, 2022 |website=Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site |language=en-US |quote=After the November election, he left for Georgia to rejoin his old regiment for Sherman’sSherman's “March"March to the Sea.”" Instead he was given command of the 1st Brigade at Nashville and led them in a decisive battle against Confederate General Hood.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Benjamin Harrision Eulogy Signed |url=https://www.raabcollection.com/presidential-autographs/benjamin-harrison-eulogy |access-date=March 19, 2022 |website=The Raab Collection |date=October 27, 1892 |language=en-US |quote=Harrison’sHarrison's brigade participated in the Battle of Nashville in December 1864}}</ref> Notwithstanding his memorable military achievements and the praise he received for them, Harrison held a dim view of war;. accordingAccording to historian Allan B. Spetter, he thought "war was a dirty business that no decent man would find pleasurable"."<ref name=":3" /> Later inIn 1888, the year he won the presidency, Harrison declared: "We Americans have no commission from God to police the world."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Benjamin Harrison – Wikiquote |url=https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Harrison |access-date=March 13, 2022 |website=en.wikiquote.org |language=en |quote=Statement of 1888, as quoted in Treasury of Presidential Quotations (1964) by Caroline T. Hamsberger}}</ref>

Several weeks after the Battle of Nashville, Harrison "received orders to rejoin the 70th Indiana at Savannah, Georgia, after a brief furlough in Indianapolis";, howeverbut he caught scarlet fever and was delayed for a month, and then spent "several months training replacement troops in South Carolina.".<ref name=":9" />

On January 23, 1865, Lincoln nominated Harrison to the grade of [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] of volunteers, to rank from that date, and the Senate confirmed the nomination on February 14, 1865.<ref>{{citation| last1 = Eicher | first1 = John H. | last2 = Eicher | first2 = David J. | author-link2 = David J. Eicher | date= 2001 |title= Civil War High Commands | page= 747| publisher = Stanford University Press | location = Stanford, CA | isbn = 978-0-8047-3641-1 }}</ref> Harrison was promoted because of his success at the battles of Resaca and Peachtree Creek.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Civil War |url=https://bhpsite.org/learn/benjamin-harrison/the-civil-war/ |access-date=March 12, 2022 |website=Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site |language=en-US |quote=For Harrison’sHarrison's achievements at the battles of Resaca and Peachtree Creek, he was promoted to Brigadier General.}}</ref> HarrisonHe finally returned to his old regiment the same day that news of President Lincoln's assassination was received.<ref name=":9" /> He rode in the [[Grand Review of the Armies|Grand Review]] in Washington, D.C. before mustering out with the 70th Indiana on June 8, 1865.{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1pp=36–44|Wallace|1888|2pp=209–225}}<ref name=":9" />

==Post-warPostwar career==

In 1869 President [[Ulysses Simpson Grant|Ulysses S. Grant]] appointed Harrison to represent the federal government in a civil suit filed by [[Lambdin P. Milligan]], whose controversial wartime conviction for [[treason]] in 1864 led to the landmark [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] case ''[[Ex parte Milligan]]''.{{sfn|Bodenhamer|Barrows|1994|pp=444–445 }}<ref name=Case /> The civil case was referred to the U.S. Circuit Court for Indiana at Indianapolis, where it evolved into ''Milligan v. Hovey''.<ref name=MilliganHovey /> Although the jury found in Milligan's favor and he had sought hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, state and federal statutes limited the amount the federal government had to award to Milligan to five dollars plus court costs.<ref name=MilliganHovey />{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=28}}{{sfn|Wallace|1888|pp=93–94, 119}}

WithGiven his increasingrising reputation, local Republicans urged Harrison to run for Congress. He initially confined his political activities to speaking on behalf of other Republican candidates, a task for which he received high praise from his colleagues.{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1pp=27–28|Socolofsky & Spetter || 2p=8}} In 1872, Harrison campaigned for the Republican nomination for [[governor of Indiana]]. Former governor Oliver Morton favored his opponent, [[Thomas M. Browne]], and Harrison lost his bid for statewide office.{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|p=28}} He returned to his law practice and, despite the [[Panic of 1873]], was financially successful enough to build a [[Benjamin Harrison Home|grand new home]] in Indianapolis in 1874.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=29}} He continued to make speeches on behalf of Republican candidates and policies.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=30}}

In 1876, when a scandal forced the original Republican nominee, [[Godlove Stein Orth]], to drop out of the gubernatorial race, Harrison accepted the party's invitation to take his place on the ticket.{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1p=32|Socolofsky & Spetter || 2p=8}}{{sfnm|Gugin and St. Clair|1p=159 || Kinzer|2p=148}} HarrisonHe centered his campaign on economic policy and favored deflating the national currency. He was defeated in a plurality by [[James D. Williams]], losing by 5,084 votes out 434,457 cast,{{sfnm|Wallace|1888|1p=266|Calhoun|2005|2pp=32 & 58}} but Harrison built on his new prominence in state politics. When the [[Great Railroad Strike of 1877]] reached Indianapolis, he gathered a citizen militia to make a show of support for owners and management,{{sfn|Gugin and St. Clair|p=159}}{{sfn|Foner|p=584}} and helped to mediate an agreement between the workers and management and to prevent the strike from widening.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=33–34}}

When United StatesU.S. Senator Morton died in 1877, the Republicans nominated Harrison to run for the seat, but the party failed to gain a majority in the state legislature, which at that time elected senators; the Democratic majority elected [[Daniel W. Voorhees]] instead.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=35–36}}{{efn|name=Seventeenth Amendment}} In 1879, President [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] appointed Harrison to the [[Mississippi River Commission]], which worked to develop internal improvements on the river.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=8}} As a delegate to the [[1880 Republican National Convention]] the following year,{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=36}} he was instrumental in breaking a deadlock on candidates, and [[James A. Garfield]] won the nomination.

===U.S. Senatorsenator from Indiana===

After Harrison led Indiana's Republican delegation at the 1880 Republican National Convention, he was considered the state's presumptive candidate for the U.S. Senate. He gave speeches in favor of Garfield in Indiana and New York, further raising his profile in the party. When the Republicans retook the majority in the [[Indiana General Assembly|state legislature]], Harrison's election to a six-year term in the U.S. Senate was threatened by Judge [[Walter Q. Gresham]], his intraparty rival, but Harrison was ultimately chosen.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=37}} After Garfield's election as president in 1880, his administration offered Harrison a cabinet position, but Harrison declined in favor of continuing his service in the U.S. Senate.{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1p=60|Socolofsky & Spetter || 2p=8}}

In 1881, the major issue confronting Senator Harrison was the budget surplus. Democrats wanted to reduce the [[tariff]] and limit the amount of money the government took in; Republicans instead wanted to spend the money on [[internal improvements]] and pensions for Civil War veterans. Harrison took his party's side and advocated for generous [[pension]]s for veterans and their widows.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=39}} He also unsuccessfully supported aid for the education of Southerners, especially children of the freedmen; he believed that education was necessary to help the black population rise to political and economic equality with whites.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=39–40}} Harrison opposed the [[Chinese Exclusion Act (United States)|Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882]], which his party supported, because he thought it violated existing treaties with [[China]].{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=40}}

In 1884, Harrison and Gresham competed for influence at the [[1884 Republican National Convention]]; the delegation ended up supporting Senator [[James G. Blaine]], the eventual nominee.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=41–42}} During the [[Mugwumps|Mugwump]] rebellion led by reform Republicans against Blaine's candidacy, Harrison at first stood aloof, "refusing to put his hat in the presidential ring,", but after walking the middle ground he eventually supported Blaine "with energy and enthusiasm.".<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Spetter |first=Allan B. |date=October 4, 2016 |title=Benjamin Harrison: Campaigns and Elections {{!}} Miller Center |url=https://millercenter.org/president/bharrison/campaigns-and-elections |access-date=March 18, 2022 |website=millercenter.org |language=en}}</ref> In the Senate, Harrison achieved passage of his Dependent Pension Bill, only to see it vetoed by President [[Grover Cleveland]]. His efforts to further the admission of new western states were stymied by Democrats, who feared that the new states would elect Republicans to Congress.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=42}}

In 1885 the Democrats [[redistricting|redistricted]] the Indiana state legislature, which resulted in an increased Democratic majority in 1886, despite ana overallstatewide Republican majority statewide.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=43–44}} In 1887, largely as a result of the Democratic [[gerrymandering]] of Indiana's legislative districts, Harrison was defeated in his bid for reelection.{{sfn|Gugin and St. Clair|p=159}} FollowingAfter a deadlock in the [[Indiana Senate|state senate]], the state legislature eventually chose Democrat [[David Turpie]] as Harrison's successor in the Senate.{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|p=66}} Harrison returned to Indianapolis and resumed his law practice, but stayed active in state and national politics.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=45–46}} A year after his senatorial defeat, Harrison declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination; he dubbed himself a "living and rejuvenated Republican,", a reference to his lack of a power base.<ref name=":4" /> Thereafter, the phrase "'Rejuvenated Republicanism' became the slogan of his presidential campaign."<ref name=":4" />

The initial favorite for the Republican nomination was the previous nominee, James G. Blaine of [[Maine]]. After his narrow defeatloss againstto Cleveland in 1884, Blaine became the front-runner for 1888, but decided to removeremoved his name from contention.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=HarpWeek {{!}} Elections {{!}} 1888 Biographies |url=https://elections.harpweek.com/1888/bio-1888-Full.asp?UniqueID=1 |access-date=March 18, 2022 |website=elections.harpweek.com}}</ref> After Blainehe wrote several letters denying any interest in the nomination, his supporters divided among other candidates, with Senator [[John Sherman (politician)|John Sherman]] of [[Ohio]] as the leaderforemost among them.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=47}} Others, including [[Chauncey Depew]] of [[New York (state)|New York]], [[Russell Alger]] of [[Michigan]], and Harrison's old nemesis Walter Q. Gresham—now [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit|a federal appellate court judge in Chicago]]—also sought the delegates' support at the [[1888 Republican National Convention]].{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=47}} Harrison "marshaled his troops" to stop Gresham from gaining control of the Indiana delegation while simultaneously presenting himself "as an attractive alternative to Blaine."<ref name=":5" /> Blaine did not publicly endorse any of the candidatesanyone, but on March 1, 1888, he privately wrote that "the one man remaining who in my judgment can make the best one is Benjamin Harrison."{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=8}} Later atAt the National Conventionconvention, which took place in June, Blaine "threw his support to Harrison in the hope of uniting the party" against President Cleveland; nonetheless, but the nomination fight that followed was "hotly contested"."<ref name=":4" />

The convention opened on June 19 at the [[Auditorium Building (Chicago)|Auditorium Building]] in Chicago, Illinois.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Guide to the Republican National Convention Collection 1884–1888 |url=https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.REPUBLICAN1888 |access-date=March 18, 2022 |website=www.lib.uchicago.edu}}</ref> Proceedings began with an announcement of the party platform; Lincoln was extolled as the "first great leader" of the Republican Party and an "immortal champion of liberty and the rights of the people."<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Republican Party Platform of 1888 {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/republican-party-platform-1888 |access-date=March 18, 2022 |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu}}</ref> Republican presidents Grant, Garfield, and Arthur were likewise acknowledged with "remembrance and gratitude.". The "fundamental idea of the Republican party" was declared to be "hostility to all forms of despotism and oppression,", and the Brazilian people were congratulated for their [[Abolition of slavery in Brazil|recent abolition of slavery]].<ref name=":7" /> The convention alleged that the "present Administration and the Democratic majority in Congress owe their existence to the suppression of the ballot by a criminal nullification of the Constitution." Anticipating a principal part of Harrison's campaign, the convention also declared itself "uncompromisingly in favor of the [[American System (economic plan)|American system of protection]]," and protested "against its destruction as proposed by the President and his party."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Republican Party Platform of 1888 {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/republican-party-platform-1888 |access-date=March 18, 2022 |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu |quote=We are uncompromisingly in favor of the American system of protection; we protest against its destruction as proposed by the President and his party. They serve the interests of Europe; we will support the interests of America. We accept the issue, and confidently appeal to the people for their judgment. The protective system must be maintained. Its abandonment has always been followed by general disaster to all interests, except those of the usurer and the sheriff. We denounce the Mills bill as destructive to the general business, the labor and the farming interests of the country, and we heartily indorse the consistent and patriotic action of the Republican Representatives in Congress in opposing its passage.}}</ref> The tariff was later to become the "main issue of the campaign" in 1888.<ref name=":5" /> The admission of six new states during Harrison's term, between 1889 and 1890, was anticipated with the declaration: "whenever the conditions of population, material resources...and morality are such as to insure a stable local government," the people "should be permitted...to form for themselves constitutions and State government, and be admitted into the Union."<ref name=":7" /> The convention insisted that "The pending bills in the Senate to enable the people of Washington, North Dakota and Montana Territories to...establish State governments, should be passed without unnecessary delay."<ref name=":7" /> The convention began with seventeen17 candidates for the nomination.<ref name=":6" />

Harrison placed fifth on the first ballot, with Senator Sherman in the lead, and the next few ballots showed little change.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=50}} As the convention moved forwardproceeded, Harrison became "everyone's second choice in a field of seven candidates.".<ref name=":4" /> Then, after Sherman "faltered in the balloting,",<ref name=":4" /> Harrison gained support. Blaine supporters shifted their support among candidates they found acceptable, and when they shifted to Harrison, they found a candidate who could attract the votes of many other delegations.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=51–52}} Intending to make it undeniably clear he would not be a candidate, Blaine left the country and was staying with [[Andrew Carnegie]] in Scotland when the National Conventionconvention began,. andHe did not return to the United StatesU.S. until August;, and the delegates finally accepted Blaine'shis refusal to be nominated.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Muzzey |first=David Saville |url=https://archive.org/details/jamesgblainepoli0000muzz |title=James G. Blaine: A Political Idol of Other Days |publisher=Dodd, Mead, and Company |year=1934 |location=New York |pages=372–374, 383}}</ref> After New York switched to Harrison's column, he gained the needed momentum for victory.<ref name=":5" /> HarrisonThe wasparty nominated asHarrison thefor party's presidential candidatepresident on the eighth ballot, by544 a count of 544votes to 108 votes.{{sfn|Wallace|1888|p=271}} [[Levi P. Morton]] of New York—a banker, former U.S. Minister to France, and former U.S. congressman—was chosen as his running mate.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=9}}<ref name=":4" /> At their [[1888 Democratic National Convention|National Convention in St. Louis]], Democrats rallied behind President Cleveland and his running- mate, Senator [[Allen G. Thurman]] from Ohio; Vice President [[Thomas A. Hendricks|Hendricks]] had died in office on November 25, 1885.<ref name=":4" /> After returning to Americathe U.S., Blaine visited Harrison at his home in October.<ref name=":8" />

Harrison's opponent inreprised the general election was incumbent President Grover Cleveland. Harrison reprised a more traditional [[front porch campaign|front-porch campaign]], abandoned by his immediate predecessors; he received visiting delegations to Indianapolis and made over 90 pronouncements from his hometown.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=11}} The Republicans campaigned heavily in favor of [[tariff|protective tariffs]], turning out protectionist voters in the important industrial states of the North. The election took place on Tuesday, November 6, 1888; it focused on the swing states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Harrison's home state of Indiana.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=10}} Harrison and Cleveland split the four, with Harrison winning New York and Indiana.{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1p=43|Socolofsky & Spetter || 2p=13}} Voter turnout was 79.3%, reflecting large interest in the campaign; nearly eleven million votes were cast.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=57}} Harrison received 90,000 fewer popular votes than Cleveland, but carried the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]], 233 to 168.<ref name="EV 1888" /> Allegations were made against Republicans for engaging in irregular ballot practices; an example was described as [[Blocks of Five]].{{sfnm|Socolofsky & Spetter || 1p=13|Williams || 2pp=191–192}} On October 31 the ''Indiana Sentinel'' published a letter allegedly by Harrison's friend and supporter, [[William Wade Dudley]], offering to bribe voters in "blocks of five" to ensure Harrison's election. Harrison neither defended nor repudiated Dudley, but allowed him to remain on the campaign for the remaining few days. After the election, Harrison never spoke to Dudley again.{{sfn|Williams|pp=191–192}}

Harrison was sworn into office on Monday, March 4, 1889, by [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] [[Melville Fuller]]. His speech was brief—half as long as that of his grandfather, William Henry Harrison, whose speech remains the longest inaugural address of a U.S. president.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=1–2}} In his speech, Benjamin Harrison credited the nation's growth to the influences of education and religion, urged the cotton states and mining territories to attain the industrial proportions of the eastern states, and promised a protective tariff. Of commerce, he said, "If our great corporations would more scrupulously observe their legal obligations and duties, they would have less call to complain of the limitations of their rights or of interference with their operations."{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=3}} Harrison also urged early statehood for the territories and advocated pensions for veterans, a call that met with enthusiastic applause. In foreign affairs, Harrisonhe reaffirmed the [[Monroe Doctrine]] as a mainstay of foreign policy, while urging modernization of the Navy and a merchant marine force. He gave his commitment to international peace through noninterference in the affairs of foreign governments.<ref name="Benjamin Harrison Inauguration" />

Harrison acted quite independently in selecting his cabinet, much to the Republican bosses' dismay. He began by delaying the presumed nomination of James G. Blaine as Secretarysecretary of Statestate so as to preclude Blaine's involvement in the formation of the administration, as had occurred in President Garfield's term.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=20–22}} In fact, other than Blaine, the only Republican boss initially nominated was Redfield Proctor, as Secretarysecretary of Warwar. Senator Shelby Cullom's comment symbolizes Harrison's steadfast aversion to use federal positions for patronage: "I suppose Harrison treated me as well as he did any other Senator; but whenever he did anything for me, it was done so ungraciously that the concession tended to anger rather than please."{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=33}} Harrison's selections shared particular alliances, such as their service in the Civil War, Indiana citizenship and membership in the Presbyterian Church.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=20}} Nevertheless, Harrison had alienated pivotal Republican operatives from New York to Pennsylvania to Iowa with these choices and prematurely compromised his political power and future.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=22–30}} His normal schedule provided for two full cabinet meetings per week, as well as separate weekly one-on-one meetings with each cabinet member.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=85}}

[[Civil service]] reform was a prominent issue following Harrison's election. Harrison had campaigned as a supporter of the [[merit system]], as opposed to the [[spoils system]].{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=32}} Although some of the civil service had been classified under the [[Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act|Pendleton Act]] by previous administrations, Harrison spent much of his first months in office deciding on political appointments.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=32–36}} Congress was widely divided on the issue and Harrison was reluctant to address the issueit in hope of preventing the alienation of either side. The issue became a [[political football]] of the time and was immortalized in a cartoon captioned "What can I do when both parties insist on kicking?"{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|pp=83, 86}} Harrison appointed [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[Hugh Smith Thompson]], both reformers, to the [[United States Civil Service Commission|Civil Service Commission]], but otherwise did little to further the reform cause.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=39–41}}

In 1890 Harrison quickly saw the enactment of the [[Dependent and Disability Pension Act]] in 1890, a cause he had championed while in Congress. In addition to providing pensions to disabled Civil War veterans (regardless of the cause of their disability), the Act depleted some of the troublesome federal budget surplus. Pension expenditures reached $135&nbsp;million under Harrison (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|.135|1893|r=1}}&nbsp;billion in {{Inflation/year|US}}), the largest expenditure of its kind to that point in American history, a problem exacerbated by [[Pension Bureau]] commissioner [[James R. Tanner]]'s expansive interpretation of the pension laws.{{sfnm|Socolofsky & Spetter || 1pp=36–37|Calhoun|2005|2pp=72–73}} An investigation into the Pension Bureau by Harrison's Secretary of Interior [[John Willock Noble]] found evidence of lavish and illegal handouts under Tanner.{{sfn|Williams|p=193}} Harrison, who privately believed that appointing Tanner had been a mistake, due to his apparent loose management style and tongue, asked Tanner to resign and replaced him with [[Green Berry Raum|Green B. Raum]].{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=34–36}} Raum was also accused of accepting loan payments in return for expediting pension cases. Harrison, having accepted a dissenting congressional Republican investigation report that exonerated Raum, kept him in office for the rest of his administration.{{sfn|Williams|pp=193–194}}

One of the first appointments Harrison was forced to reverse was that of James S. Clarkson as an assistant postmaster. Clarkson, who had expected a full cabinet position, began sabotaging the appointment from the outset, gaining the reputation for "decapitating a fourth class postmaster every three minutes". Clarkson himself statedsaid, "I am simply on detail from the Republican Committee&nbsp;... I am most anxious to get through this task and leave." He resigned in September 1890.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=34–36}}

The [[tariffTariff]] levels had been a major political issue since before the Civil War, and they became the most dominant matter of the 1888 election.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=51}} The highHigh tariff rates had created a surplus of money in the Treasury, which led many Democrats (as well as the growing Populist movement) to call for lowering them. Most Republicans preferred to maintain the rates, spend the surplus on [[Public works|internal improvements]], and eliminate some internal taxes.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=49}}

Representative [[William McKinley]] and Senator [[Nelson W. Aldrich]] framed the [[McKinley Tariff]], thatwhich would raise the tariff even higher, including making some rates intentionally prohibitive.{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1pp=100–104|Socolofsky & Spetter || 2pp=51–52}} At Secretary of State James Blaine's urging, Harrison attempted to make the tariff more acceptable by urging Congress to add [[Reciprocity (international relations)|reciprocity]] provisions, which would allow the president to reduce rates when other countries reduced their rates on American exports.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=51}} The tariff was removed from imported raw [[sugar]], and U.S. sugar growers in the United States were given a two cent per pound subsidy on their production.{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1pp=100–104|Socolofsky & Spetter || 2pp=51–52}} Even with the reductions and reciprocity, the McKinley Tariff enacted the highest average rate in American history, and the spending associated with it contributed to the reputation of the [[51st United States Congress|Billion-Dollar Congress]].{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=51}}

Members of both parties were concerned with the growth of the power of [[Trust (19th century)|trusts]] and [[Monopoly|monopolies]], and one of the first acts of the [[51st United States Congress|51st Congress]] was to pass the [[Sherman Antitrust Act]], sponsored by Senator [[John Sherman]] of Ohio. The Act passed by wide margins in both houses, and Harrison signed it into law.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=53}} The Sherman Act was the first Federalfederal act of its kind, and marked a new use of federal government power.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=92–93}} While Harrison approved of the law and its intent, but his administration wasdid not particularlyenforce vigorousit in enforcing itvigorously.{{sfnm|Socolofsky & Spetter || 1p=54|Calhoun|2005|2p=94}} However, the government successfully concluded a case during Harrison's time in office (against a Tennessee coal company),{{efn|name=coal case}} and had initiated several other cases against trusts.{{sfnm|Socolofsky & Spetter || 1p=54|Calhoun|2005|2p=94}}

One of the most volatile questions of the 1880s was whether the currency should be backed by [[Bimetallism|gold and silver]], or by [[gold standard|gold alone]].{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=94–95}} The issue cut across party lines, with western Republicans and southern Democrats joining in the call for the free coinage of silver, and both parties' representatives in the northeast holding firm for the gold standard. Because silver was worth less than its legal equivalent in gold, taxpayers paid their government bills in silver, while international creditors demanded payment in gold, resulting in a depletion of the nation's gold supply. Owing to worldwide [[deflation]] in the late 19th century, however, a strict gold standard had resulted in reduction of incomes without the equivalent reduction in debts, pushing debtors and the poor to call for silver coinage as an inflationary measure.{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1pp=94–95|Socolofsky & Spetter || 2pp=55–59}}

The silver coinage issue had not been much discussed in the 1888 campaign, and Harrison is said to have favored a bimetallist position.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=53}} However,But his appointment of a silverite Treasury Secretary, [[William Windom]], encouraged the free silver supporters.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=56–57}} Harrison attempted to steer a middle course between the two positions, advocating a free coinage of silver, but at its own value, not at a fixed ratio to gold.{{sfnm|Socolofsky & Spetter || 1p=58|Calhoun|2005|2p=96}} This failed to facilitate a compromise between the factions. In July 1890, Senator Sherman achieved passage of a bill, the [[Sherman Silver Purchase Act]], in both houses.{{sfnm|Socolofsky & Spetter || 1p=58|Calhoun|2005|2p=96}} Harrison thought that the bill would end the controversy, and he signed it into law.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=59}} TheBut the effect of the bill, however, was the increased depletion of the nation's gold supply, a problem that would persistpersisted until the second Cleveland administration [[Grover Cleveland#Economic panic and the silver issue|resolved it]].{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=60}}

After regaining the majority in both Houseshouses of Congress, some Republicans, led by Harrison, attempted to pass legislation to protect black Americans' civil rights. Harrison's Attorney General, [[William H. H. Miller]], through the Justice Department, ordered the prosecutions for violation of voting rights in the South; however, but white juries often failed to convict or indict violators. This prompted Harrison to urge Congress to pass legislation that would "secure all our people a free exercise of the right of suffrage and every other civil right under the Constitution and laws".{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=89–90}} HarrisonHe endorsed the proposed [[Lodge Bill|Federal Elections Bill]] written by Representative [[Henry Cabot Lodge]] and Senator [[George Frisbie Hoar]] in 1890, but the bill was defeated in the Senate.{{sfn|Wilson|pp=32–33}} FollowingAfter the failurebill failed to pass the bill, Harrison continued to speak in favor of [[African American]] civil rights in addresses to Congress. Most notably, on December 3, 1889, Harrison had gonewent before Congress and statedsaid:

<{{blockquote>|The colored people did not intrude themselves upon us; they were brought here in chains and held in communities where they are now chiefly bound by a cruel slave code...when and under what conditions is the black man to have a free ballot? When is he in fact to have those full civil rights which have so long been his in law? When is that quality of influence which our form of government was intended to secure to the electors to be restored? ... in many parts of our country where the colored population is large the people of that race are by various devices deprived of any effective exercise of their political rights and of many of their civil rights. The wrong does not expend itself upon those whose votes are suppressed. Every constituency in the Union is wronged.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=62}}</blockquote>}}

He severely questioned the states' civil rights records, arguing that if states have the authority over civil rights, then "we have a right to ask whether they are at work upon it."{{sfn|Wilson|pp=32–33}} Harrison also supported a bill proposed by Senator [[Henry W. Blair]], whichto would have grantedgrant federal funding to schools regardless of the students' races.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=65–67}} He also endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court ruling in the ''[[Civil Rights Cases]]'' (1883) that declared much of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1875]] unconstitutional. None of these measures gained congressional approval.{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1pp=89–90|Smith || 2p=170}}

<{{blockquote>|That the President of the United States may, from time to time, set apart and reserve, in any State or Territory having public land bearing forests, in any part of the public lands wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations, and the president shall, by public proclamation, declare the establishment of such reservations and the limits thereof.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=71}}</blockquote>}}

Within a month of the enactment of this law Harrison authorized the first forest reserve, to be located on public domain adjacent to [[Yellowstone National Park]], in Wyoming. Other areas were so designated by Harrison, bringing the first forest reservations total to 22&nbsp;million acres in his term.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=72}} Harrison was also the first to give a prehistoric Indian Ruinruin, [[Casa Grande Ruins National Monument|Casa Grande]] in Arizona, federal protection.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org/learn/benjamin-harrison-1/president|title=President|last=Administrator|first=Joomla!|website=www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org|access-date=September 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918235906/http://www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org/learn/benjamin-harrison-1/president|archive-date=September 18, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During Harrison's administration, the [[Lakota people|Lakota]], who had been forcibly confined to [[Indian reservation|reservations]] in [[South Dakota]], grew restive under the influence of [[Wovoka]], a [[medicine man]], who encouraged them to participate in a spiritual movement known as the [[Ghost Dance]].{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=106}} Though the movement called for the removal of [[white Americans]] from indigenous lands, it was primarily religious in nature, a fact whichthat many in Washington did not understand; assuming that the Ghost Dance would increase Lakota resistance to U.S. government, they ordered the [[United States Armed Forces|American military]] to increase theirits presence on the reservations. On December 29, 1890, the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]'s [[7th Cavalry Regiment]] perpetrated a [[Wounded Knee Massacre|massacre of over 250 Lakota]] at the [[Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]] near [[Wounded Knee Creek]] after a botched attempt to disarm the reservation's inhabitants. TheAmerican soldiers buried the massacre's victims, many of whom werethem women and children, were buried in [[mass grave]]s by American soldiers.{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|pp=121–122}}{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=106–107}}

In response to the massacre, Harrison directed Major-General [[Nelson A. Miles]] to investigate and ordered 3,500 U.S. troops to be [[Ghost Dance War|deployed to South Dakota]], which suppressed the Ghost Dance movement.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=106}} The massacre has been widely considered as the last major engagement of the [[American Indian Wars]].{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|pp=121–122}} Harrison's general policy on [[Native Americans in the United States]] was to encourage their [[Cultural assimilation of Native Americans|assimilation]] into white society and, despite the massacre, he believed the policy to have been generally successful.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=92}} This policy, known as the allotment system and embodied in the [[Dawes Act]], was favored by liberal reformers at the time, but eventually proved detrimental to Native Americans as they sold most of their land at low prices to white speculators.{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1pp=112–114|Stuart || 2pp=452–454}}

During Harrison's time in office, the United States was continuing to experience advances in science and technology. A recording of his voice is the earliest extant recording of a president while he was in office. That {{Audio|Benjamin Harrison speech.ogg| thirty-six-second recording}} was originally made on a wax [[phonograph cylinder]] in 1889 by [[Gianni Bettini]].<ref name="Vincent Voice Library" /> Harrison also had electricity installed in the White House for the first time by [[General Electric|Edison General Electric Company]], but he and his wife woulddid not touch the light switches for fear of electrocution and would often gowent to sleep with the lights on.{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|p=96}}

Over the course of his administration, Harrison marshaled the country's technology to clothe the nation with a credible naval power. When he took office there were only two commissioned warships in the Navy. In his inaugural address he said, "construction of a sufficient number of warships and their necessary armaments should progress as rapidly as is consistent with care and perfection."{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=97}} Harrison's Secretary of the Navy [[Benjamin F. Tracy]] spearheaded the rapid construction of vessels, and within a year congressional approval was obtained for building of the warships {{USS|Indiana|BB-1|2}}, {{USS|Texas|1892|2}}, {{USS|Oregon|BB-3|2}}, and {{USS|Columbia|C-12|2}}. By 1898, with the help of the Carnegie Corporation's help, no lessfewer than ten modern warships, including steel hulls and greater displacements and armaments, had transformed the United StatesU.S. into a legitimate naval power. Seven of these had begun during the Harrison term.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=102}}

Harrison and [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] Blaine were often not the most cordial of friends, but harmonized in an aggressive foreign policy and commercial reciprocity with other nations.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=74–76}} Blaine's persistent medical problems warranted a more of a hands-on effort by Harrison in the conduct ofconducting foreign policy. In [[San Francisco]], while on tour of the United States in 1891, Harrison proclaimed that the United Statesnation was in a "new epoch" of trade and that the expanding navy would protect oceanic shipping and increase American influence and prestige abroad.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=119–121}} The [[First International Conference of American States]] met in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] in 1889; Harrison set an aggressive agenda, including customs and currency integration, and named a bipartisan delegation to the conference, led by [[John B. Henderson]] and [[Andrew Carnegie]]. The conference failed to achieve any diplomatic breakthrough, due in large part to an atmosphere of suspicion fostered by the Argentinian delegation. It did succeed in establishing an information center that became the [[Organization of American States|Pan American Union]].{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|p=108}} In response to the diplomatic bust, Harrison and Blaine pivoted diplomatically and initiated a crusade for tariff reciprocity with Latin American nations; the Harrison administration concluded eight reciprocity treaties among these countries.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=117–120}} On another front, Harrison sent [[Frederick Douglass]] as ambassador to [[Haiti]], but failed in his attempts to establish a naval base there.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=126–128}}

In 1889, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the [[German Empire]] were locked in a dispute over control of the Samoan Islands. Historian George H. Ryden's research indicates Harrison played a key role in determining the status of this Pacific outpost by taking a firm stand on every aspect of Samoa conference negotiations; this included selection of the local ruler, refusal to allow an indemnity for Germany, as well as the establishment of a three -power protectorate, a first for the U.S.. These arrangements facilitated the future dominant power of the U.S. in the Pacific; Secretary of State Blaine was absent due to complication of [[Low back pain|lumbago]].{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=115–116}}

Throughout the 1880s various European countries had imposed a ban on importation of United StatesAmerican pork out of an unconfirmed concern of [[trichinosis]]; at issue was over one billion pounds of pork products with a value of $80&nbsp;million annually (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|.08|1885|r=1}}&nbsp;billion in {{Inflation/year|US}}). Harrison engaged Whitelaw Reid, minister to France, and [[William Walter Phelps]], minister to Germany, to restore these exports for the country without delay. Harrison also successfullypersuaded asked the congressCongress to enact the Meat Inspection Act to eliminate the accusations of product compromise., The president alsoand partnered with Agriculture Secretary Rusk to threaten Germany with retaliation – by initiating an embargo in thea U.S. againstembargo on Germany's highly demanded beet sugar. By September 1891 Germany relented, and was soon followed by Denmark, France, and Austria-Hungary soon followed.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=131–136}}

The first international crisis Harrison faced arose from disputed fishing rights on the [[Alaska]]n coast. [[Canada]] claimed fishing and [[Seal hunting|sealing]] rights around many of the [[Aleutian Islands]], in violation of U.S. law. As a result, the [[United States Navy]] seized several Canadian ships.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=137–138}} In 1891, the administration began negotiations with the British that would eventually leadled to a compromise over fishing rights after international arbitration, with the British government paying compensation in 1898.{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|pp=135–136}}{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter | pp=139–143}}

In 1891, a diplomatic crisis emerged in [[Chile]], otherwise known as the [[Baltimore Crisis|''Baltimore'' Crisis]]. The American minister to Chile, [[Patrick Egan (land reformer and diplomat)|Patrick Egan]], granted asylum to Chileans who were seeking refuge during the [[1891 Chilean Civil War]]. Egan, previouslyPreviously a militant Irish immigrant to the U.S., Egan was motivated by a personal desire to thwart Great Britain's influence in Chile;{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=146}} his action increased tensions between Chile and the United StatesU.S., which began in the early 1880s when Secretary Blaine had alienated the Chileans in the [[War of the Pacific]].

The crisis began in earnest when sailors from {{USS|Baltimore|C-3|6}} took [[shore leave]] in [[Valparaiso]] and a fight ensued, resulting in the deaths of two American sailors and the arrest of three dozen others.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=127}} ''Baltimore''{{'}}s captain, Winfield Schley, based on the nature of the sailors' wounds, insisted the sailorsChilean hadpolice beenhad bayonet-attacked bythe Chilean policesailors without provocation. With Blaine incapacitated, Harrison drafted a demand for reparations. The Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Manuel Matta replied that Harrison's message was "erroneous or deliberately incorrect," and said that the Chilean government was treating the affair the same as any other criminal matter.{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1pp=128–129|Socolofsky & Spetter || 2pp=147–149}}

Tensions increased to the brink of war –: Harrison threatened to break off diplomatic relations unless the United StatesU.S. received a suitable apology, and said the situation required, "grave and patriotic consideration". The presidentHe also remarkedsaid, "If the dignity as well as the prestige and influence of the United States are not to be wholly sacrificed, we must protect those who in foreign ports display the flag or wear the colors."{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=151}} The Navy was also placed on a high level of preparedness.{{sfnm|Calhoun|2005|1pp=128–129|Socolofsky & Spetter || 2pp=147–149}} A recuperated Blaine made brief conciliatory overtures to the Chilean government whichthat had no support in the administration; he then reversed course, and joined the chorus for unconditional concessions and apology by the Chileans, who ultimately obliged, and war was averted. Theodore Roosevelt later applauded Harrison for his use of the "[[big stick]]" in the matter.{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|p=134}}{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=150–151}}

In the last days of his administration, Harrison dealt with the issue of [[Hawaii]]an annexation. Following [[Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii|a coup d'état]] against Queen [[LiliuokalaniLiliʻuokalani]], theHawaii's new government of Hawaii, led by [[Sanford B. Dole|Sanford Dole]], petitioned for annexation by the United States.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=204–205}} Harrison was interested in expanding American influence in Hawaii and in establishing a naval base at [[Pearl Harbor]] but had not previously expressed an opinion on annexing the islands.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=125–126}} The United StatesU.S. [[Consul (representative)|consul]] in Hawaii, [[John L. Stevens]], recognized the new government on February 1, 1893, and forwarded theirits proposals to Washington. With just one month left before leaving office, the administration signed a treaty on February 14 and submitted it to the Senate the next day with Harrison's recommendation.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=204–205}} The Senate failed to act, and President Cleveland withdrew the treaty shortly after taking office.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=132}}{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|p=147}}

Harrison appointed four justices to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]. The first was [[David Josiah Brewer]], a judge on the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit|Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit]]. Brewer, theThe nephew of Justice [[Stephen Johnson Field|Field]], Brewer had previously been considered for a cabinet position. Shortly after Brewer'shis nomination, Justice [[Stanley Matthews (judge)|Matthews]] died, creating another vacancy. Harrison had considered [[Henry Billings Brown]], a [[Michigan]] judge and [[admiralty law]] expert, for the first vacancy and now nominated him for the second. For the third vacancy, which arose in 1892, Harrison nominated [[George Shiras Jr.|George Shiras]]. Shiras's appointment was somewhat controversial because his age—sixty—wasage—60—was olderhigher than usual for a newly appointed Justicejustice. Shiras was also drewopposed the opposition ofby Senator [[Matthew Quay]] of Pennsylvania because they were in different factions of the Pennsylvania Republican party, but his nomination was nonetheless approvedconfirmed. Finally, at the end of his term, Harrison nominated [[Howell Edmunds Jackson]] to replace Justice [[Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (II)|Lamar]], who died in January 1893. Harrison knew the incoming Senate would be controlled by Democrats, so he selected Jackson, a respected Tennessee Democrat with whom he was friendly, to ensure his nominee would not be rejected. Jackson's nomination was indeed successful, but he died after only two years on the Court.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=188–190}}

Harrison attended a grand, three-day [[Legacy of George Washington#Centennial celebration|centennial celebration]] of George Washington's inauguration in [[New York City]] on April 30, 1889, and made the following remarks: "We have come into the serious but always inspiring presence of Washington. He was the incarnation of duty and he teaches us today this great lesson: that those who would associate their names with events that shall outlive a century can only do so by high consecration to duty. Self-seeking has no public observance or anniversary."{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=160}}

The Harrisons made many trips out of the capital, which included speeches at most stops – including Philadelphia, New England, Indianapolis and Chicago. The PresidentHarrison typically made his best impression speaking before large audiences, as opposed to more intimate settings.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=157}} The most notable of his presidential trips, theretofore unequaled, was a five-week tour of the west in the spring of 1891, aboard a lavishly outfitted train.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=171}} Harrison enjoyed a number of short trips out of the capital—usually for hunting—to nearby Virginia or Maryland.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=166}}

During the hot Washington summers, the Harrisons took refuge in [[Deer Park, Maryland]], and [[Cape May Point, New Jersey]]. In 1890, John Wanamaker joined with other Philadelphia devotees of the Harrisons and made a gift to them of a summer cottage at Cape May. Harrison, though appreciative, was uncomfortable with the appearance of impropriety; a month later, he paid Wanamaker $10,000 ({{Inflation|US|10000|1890|fmt=eq}}) as reimbursement to the donors. Nevertheless, Harrison's opponents made the gift the subject of national ridicule, and Mrs. Harrison and the president were vigorously criticized.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=168}}

The treasury surplus had evaporated and the nation's economic health was worsening – precursors to the eventual [[Panic of 1893]].{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=107, 126–127}} Congressional elections in 1890 had gone against the Republicans; and although Harrison had cooperated with congressional Republicans on legislation, several party leaders withdrew their support for him because of his adamant refusal to give party members the nod in the course of his executive appointments. Specifically, Thomas C. Platt, Matthew S. Quay, Thomas B. Reed and James Clarkson quietly organized the Grievance Committee, the ambition of which was to initiate a dump-Harrison offensive. They solicited the support of Blaine, without effect however, and Harrison in reaction resolved to run for re-electionreelection – seemingly forced to choose one of two options – "become a candidate or forever wear the name of a political coward".{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=81}}

It was clear that Harrison would not be re-nominatedrenominated unanimously.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=134–137}} Many of Harrison'shis detractors persisted in pushing for an incapacitated Blaine, though he announced that he was not a candidate in February 1892.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=134–137}} Some party leaders still hoped to draft Blaine into running, and speculation increased when he resigned at the 11th hour as Secretarysecretary of Statestate in June.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=138–139}} At the [[1892 Republican National Convention|convention]] in [[Minneapolis]], Harrison prevailed on the first ballot, but encountered significant opposition.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=140–141}}

The Democrats renominated former President Cleveland, making the 1892 election a rematch of the one four years earlier. The tariff revisions of the past four years had made imported goods so expensive that now many voters shifted to the reform position.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=147–150}} Many westerners, traditionally Republican voters, defected to the new [[People's Party (United States)|Populist Party]] candidate, [[James B. Weaver|James Weaver]], who promised free silver, generous veterans' pensions, and an [[Eight-hour day|eight-hour work day]]. The effects of the suppression of the [[Homestead Strike]] reboundedredounded against the Republicans as well, although the federal government did not take action.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=145–147}}

Harrison's wife Caroline began a critical struggle with [[tuberculosis]] earlier in 1892, and two weeks before the election, on October 25, she died from the disease.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=149}} Their daughter [[Mary Harrison McKee]] assumed the role of [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] after her mother's death. Mrs. Harrison's terminal illness and the fact that both candidates had served in the White House called for a low -key campaign, and resulted in neither of the candidates actively campaigning personally.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|pp=198–199}}

Cleveland ultimately won the election bywith 277 electoral votes to Harrison's 145, and also won the popular vote by 5,556,918 to 5,176,108; this was the most decisive presidential election in 20 years.<ref name="EV 1892" />{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=199}} It gave Harrison the distinction of being the only president whose predecessor and successor were the same man.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

After he left office, Harrison visited the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] in Chicago in June 1893.{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|p=150}} After the Expo, Harrison returned to his home in Indianapolis. Harrison had been elected a companion of the [[Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States]] in 1882, and was elected as commander (president) of the Ohio Commandery on May 3, 1893. For a few months in 1894, Harrison lived in San Francisco, California, where he gave law lectures at [[Stanford University]].{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=158}} In 1896, some of Harrison's friends in the Republican party tried to convince him to seek the presidency again, but he declined. He traveled around the nation making appearances and speeches in support of William McKinley's candidacy for president.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=160–161}}

From June 1895 to March 1901 Harrison served on the Board of Trustees of [[Purdue University]], where Harrison Hall, a dormitory, was named in his honor.{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|p=150}} He wrote a series of articles about the federal government and the presidency whichthat were republished in 1897 as a book titled, ''This Country of Ours''.<ref name="Harrison 1897" /> In 1896, Harrison at age 62 remarried, to [[Mary Dimmick Harrison|Mary Scott Lord Dimmick]], the widowed 37-year-old niece and former secretary of his deceased wife. Harrison's two adult children, Russell, 41 years old at the time, and Mary (Mamie) McKee, 38, disapproved of the marriage and did not attend the wedding. Benjamin and Mary had one child together, [[Elizabeth Harrison Walker|Elizabeth]] (February 21, 1897&nbsp;– December 26, 1955).{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|p=153}}

In 1898, Harrison served as an attorney for the Republic of Venezuela in theirits [[Schomburgk Line|British Guiana boundary dispute]] with the United Kingdom.{{sfn|Moore|Hale|2006|p=155}} An international trial was agreed upon; he filed an 800-page brief and traveled to [[Paris]], where he spent more than 25 hours in court on Venezuela's behalf. Although he lost the case, his legal arguments won him international renown.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|pp=160–163}} In 1899 Harrison attended the [[Hague Convention of 1899|First Peace Conference]] at [[The Hague]].{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

Harrison was an active [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] and served as an Elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis and on a special committee on creed revision in the national [[Presbyterian General Assembly]]. However, heHe died before he could cast his vote at the meeting.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Administrator|first1=Joomla!|title=Benjamin Harrison|url=http://www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org/learn/benjamin-harrison-1|website=www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org|access-date=February 12, 2018|language=en-gb|archive-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213080339/http://www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org/learn/benjamin-harrison-1|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ringenberg|first1=William C.|title=Benjamin Harrison: The Religious Thought and Practice of a Presbyterian President|jstor=23330850|journal=American Presbyterians|volume=64|issue=3|pages=175–189|date=1986}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Benjamin Harrison's Obituary:[From page 1 of The New York Times, March 14, 1901] BENJAMIN HARRISON DEAD|url=http://starship.python.net/crew/manus/Presidents/bh/bhobit.html|website=starship.python.net|access-date=February 12, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203174801/http://starship.python.net/crew/manus/Presidents/bh/bhobit.html|archive-date=February 3, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Benjamin Harrison|url=http://www.god-and-country.info/BHarrison2.html|website=www.god-and-country.info|access-date=February 13, 2018}}</ref>

Historian Charles Calhoun gives Harrison major credit for innovative legislation in antitrust, monetary policy and tariffs. Historians have often given Secretary of State Blaine credit for foreign-policy initiatives., However,but Calhoun argues that Harrison was even more responsible for the success of trade negotiations, the buildup of the steel Navy, overseas expansion, and emphasis on the American role in dominating the [[Western Hemisphere]] through the [[Monroe Doctrine]]. The major weakness which Calhoun sees was that the public and indeed the grassroots Republican Party was not fully prepared for this onslaught of major activity. The Democrats scored a sweeping landslide in 1890 by attacking the flagship legislation, especially the McKinley tariff, because it would raise the cost of living of the average American family. McKinley himself was defeated for reelection.<ref>Charles Calhoun, ''Benjamin Harrison'' (2005).</ref><ref>Charles Calhoun, "Reimagining the "Lost Men" of the Gilded Age: Perspectives on the Late Nineteenth Century Presidents". ''Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era'' (2002) 1#3: 225–257.</ref>

According to historian R. Hal Williams, Harrison had a "widespread reputation for personal and official integrity". Closely scrutinized by Democrats, Harrison's reputation was largely intact when he left the White House. Having an advantage few 19th-century presidents had, Harrison's own party, the Republicans, controlled Congress, while his administration actively advanced a Republican program of a higher tariff, moderate control of corporations, protecting [[African American]] voting rights, a generous Civil War pension, and compromising over the controversial [[bimetallism|silver issue]]. Historians have not raised "serious questions about Harrison's own integrity or the integrity of his administration". {{sfn|Williams|p=191}}

Following the [[Panic of 1893]], Harrison became more popular in retirement.{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=6}} Scholars have argued that Harrison'shis economic policies contributed to the Panic of 1893.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Taylor|first=Mark Zachary|date=March 23, 2021|title=Ideas and Their Consequences: Benjamin Harrison and the Seeds of Economic Crisis, 1889–1893|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/08913811.2020.1881354|journal=Critical Review|volume=33|pages=102–127|doi=10.1080/08913811.2020.1881354|s2cid=233706114|issn=0891-3811}}</ref> His legacy among historians is scant, and "general accounts of his period inaccurately treat Harrison as a cipher".{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=x}} More recently,

<{{blockquote>|historians have recognized the importance of the Harrison administration—and Harrison himself—in the new foreign policy of the late nineteenth century. The administration faced challenges throughout the hemisphere, in the Pacific, and in relations with the European powers, involvements that would be taken for granted in the twenty -first century.{{sfn|Socolofsky & Spetter|p=x}}</blockquote>}}

Harrison's presidency belongs properly to the 19th century, but he "clearly pointed the way" to the modern presidency that would emergeemerged under [[William McKinley]].{{sfn|Calhoun|2005|p=166}} The bipartisan [[Sherman Anti-Trust Act]] Harrison signed into law by Harrison remains in effect over 120 years later and was the most important legislation passed by the Fifty-first51st Congress passed. Harrison's support for [[African American]] voting rights and education would bewere the last significant attempts to protect [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]] until the 1930s. Harrison'sHis tenacity atin foreign policy was emulated by politicians such as [[Theodore Roosevelt]].{{sfn|Batten|p=209}}

Harrison was memorialized on several postage stamps. The first was a 13-cent stamp issued on November 18, 1902, with thehis engraved likeness of Harrison modeled after a photo provided by his widow provided.<ref name="arago" /> In all Harrison has been honored on [[US Presidents on US postage stamps#Benjamin Harrison|six U.S. Postagepostage stamps]], more than most other U.S. Presidentspresidents. HarrisonHe also was featured on the five-dollar [[National Bank Notes]] from the third charter period, beginning in 1902.<ref name="Hudgeons Hudgeons 2000" /> In 2012, a dollar coin with his image, part of the [[Presidential $1 Coin Program]], was issued.<ref name="US Mint dollar coin schedule" />

In 1908, the people of [[Indianapolis, Indiana|Indianapolis]] erected the [[Benjamin Harrison (Niehaus)|Benjamin Harrison memorial statue]], created by Charles Niehaus and Henry Bacon, in honor of Harrison's lifetime achievements as military leader, U.S. Senatorsenator, and President of the United Statespresident.<ref name=INgov>[http://www.in.gov/iwm/2354.htm INgov], accessed September 18, 2012</ref> The statue occupies a siteis on the south edge of [[Indiana World War Memorial Plaza#University Park|University Park]], facing the [[Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse]] across New York Avenue.{{sfn|Greiff|p=173}}

In 1951, [[Benjamin Harrison Home|Harrison's home]] was opened to the public as a library and museum. It had been used as a dormitory for a music school from 1937 to 1950.<ref name="NPS Benjamin Harrison Home" /> The house was designated as a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1964.<ref name="Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site" />

Theodore Roosevelt dedicated [[Fort Benjamin Harrison]] in the former presidentHarrison's honor in 1906. It is located in [[Lawrence, Indiana]], a northeastern suburb of Indianapolis. The federal government decommissioned Fort Harrison in 1991 and transferred 1,700 of its 2,500 acres to Indiana's state government in 1995 to establish [[Fort Harrison State Park]].{{sfn|Conn|p=94}} The site has been redeveloped to include residential neighborhoods and a golf course.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

[[Category:Deaths from influenza in the United States]]