“living and rejuvenated Republican”
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Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was 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 Father. A Union army veteran and a Republican, he defeated Democratic Party incumbent Grover Cleveland to win the presidency in the 1888 United…
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politics · President of the United States from 1889 to 1893 · politician · military officer · lawyer · statesperson · writer · jurist · also Benjamin Harrison, President Harrison, B. Harrison, Harrison
Born 20 August 1833 · Died 13 March 1901 · Q35678
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2026· 7 entries
“at one time during the fight”
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“If I can be of any service, I will go.”
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Island Free Press: Benjamin Harrison Chambers, Jr
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C-SPAN: Journalist and Author Evan Thomas on Benjamin Harrison - C-SPAN
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Encyclopaedia Britannica: Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland: Controversy over Hawaii
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Tribute Archive: Benjamin Harrison King Obituary | Coplin Family Funeral Home LLC | Park Hills, MO
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1948· 1 entry
Mary Dimmick Harrison, his second wife, was buried beside him
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1901· 5 entries
Died 1901-03-13.
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“I knew that my staying up would not change the election result if I were defeated, while if elected I had a hard day ahead of me. So I thought a night's rest was best in any event.”
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“The Status of Annexed Territory and of its Free Civilized Inhabitants”
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“God forbid that the day should ever come when, in the American mind, the thought of man as a 'consumer' shall submerge the old American thought of man as a creature of God, endowed with 'unalienable rights.”
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“The virtues of courage and patriotism have given recent proof of their continued presence and increasing power in the hearts and over the lives of our people.”
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1899· 1 entry
Represented Venezuela in its British Guiana boundary dispute with the United Kingdom
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1898· 1 entry
Harrison served as an attorney for the Republic of Venezuela in its British Guiana boundary dispute with the United Kingdom
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1896· 2 entries
Some of Harrison's friends in the Republican party tried to convince him to seek the presidency again, but he declined
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Harrison remarried, to Mary Scott Lord Dimmick, the widowed niece and former secretary of his deceased wife
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1894· 1 entry
Harrison lived in San Francisco, where he gave law lectures at Stanford University
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1893· 1 entry
And forwarded its proposals to Washington
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1892· 5 entries
Due to the growing unpopularity of high tariffs and high federal spending
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Harrison nominated George Shiras
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Congress allocated $20,000 to the Commissioner of Labor "to make a full investigation relative to what is known as the slums of cities" with a population of 200,000 or more in 1890
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And two weeks before the election, on October 25, she died from the disease
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The treasury surplus had evaporated and the nation's economic health was worsening – precursors to the eventual Panic of 1893
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1891· 4 entries
A diplomatic crisis emerged in Chile, otherwise known as the Baltimore Crisis
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Harrison proclaimed that the nation was in a "new epoch" of trade and that the expanding navy would protect oceanic shipping and increase American influence and prestige abroad
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Relating to convict labor that prohibited, as one study noted, "work outside the prison enclosure or machine production of commodities"
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The administration began negotiations with the British that eventually led to a compromise over fishing rights after international arbitration, with the British government paying compensation in 1898
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1890· 3 entries
Harrison saw the enactment of the Dependent and Disability Pension Act, a cause he had championed in Congress
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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 memb
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John Wanamaker joined with other Philadelphia devotees of the Harrisons and made a gift to them of a summer cottage at Cape May
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1889· 4 entries
Harrison went before Congress and said:
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And made the following remarks: "We have come into the serious but always inspiring presence of Washington
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Career landmark: President of the United States (1889–1893).
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The United States, the United Kingdom, and the German Empire were locked in a dispute over control of the Samoan Islands
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1888· 4 entries
Privately wrote that "the one man remaining who in my judgment can make the best one is Benjamin Harrison"
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Career landmark: President-elect of the United States (1888–1889).
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The year he won the presidency, Harrison declared: "We Americans have no commission from God to police the world
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“We Americans have no commission from God to police the world.”
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1887· 1 entry
Largely as a result of the Democratic gerrymandering of Indiana's legislative districts, Harrison was defeated for reelection
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1885· 2 entries
The Democrats redistricted the Indiana state legislature, which resulted in an increased Democratic majority in 1886, despite a statewide Republican majority
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Career landmark: United States senator (1885–1887).
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1884· 2 entries
Harrison and Gresham competed for influence at the 1884 Republican National Convention; the delegation ended up supporting Senator James G
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Blaine became the front-runner for 1888, but removed his name from contention
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1883· 1 entry
Career landmark: United States senator (1883–1885).
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1882· 1 entry
And was elected as commander (president) of the Ohio Commandery on May 3, 1893
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1881· 3 entries
The major issue confronting Senator Harrison was the budget surplus
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Career landmark: United States senator (1881–1883).
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The Republican-controlled Indiana General Assembly elected Harrison to a six-year term in the Senate, where he served from 1881 to 1887
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1880· 1 entry
His administration offered Harrison a cabinet position, but Harrison declined in favor of continuing his service in the Senate
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1877· 1 entry
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
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1876· 1 entry
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
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1872· 1 entry
Harrison campaigned for the Republican nomination for governor of Indiana
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1865· 1 entry
Lincoln nominated Harrison to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from that date, and the Senate confirmed the nomination on February 14, 1865
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1864· 4 entries
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"
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Harrison commanded his brigade against General W
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Harrison faced Confederate Captain Max Van Den Corput's artillery battery, which occupied a position "some eighty yards in front of the main Confederate lines"
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Harrison was promoted to command the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the XX Corps
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1862· 2 entries
And the newly formed 70th Indiana was mustered into federal service on August 12, 1862
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President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for more recruits for the Union Army; Harrison wanted to enlist, but worried about how to support his young family
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1860· 2 entries
Harrison established a new firm with William Fishback, Fishback and Harrison
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Was elected reporter of the Indiana Supreme Court
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1858· 1 entry
Harrison entered into a law partnership with William Wallace to form the law office of Wallace and Harrison
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1857· 1 entry
Harrison was elected Indianapolis city attorney, a position that paid an annual salary of $400 (equivalent to $13,821 in 2025)
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1856· 1 entry
And campaigned on behalf of Republican presidential candidate John C
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1854· 1 entry
And became a crier for the federal court in Indianapolis, for which he was paid $2
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1852· 1 entry
Harrison studied law with Judge Bellamy Storer of Cincinnati, but before he completed his studies, he returned to Oxford, Ohio, to marry Caroline Scott on October 20, 1853
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1833· 2 entries
In North Bend, Ohio, the second of Elizabeth Ramsey (Irwin) and John Scott Harrison's ten children
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Born 1833-08-20.
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