Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison
Portrait by Eastman Johnson, 1895
23rd President of the United States
In office March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1893
Vice President	Levi P. Morton
Preceded by	Grover Cleveland
Succeeded by	Grover Cleveland
United States Senator from Indiana
In office March 4, 1881 – March 4, 1887
Preceded by	Joseph McDonald
Succeeded by	David Turpie
Personal details
Born	(1833-08-20)August 20, 1833 North Bend, Ohio
Died	March 13, 1901(1901-03-13) (aged 67) Indianapolis, Indiana
Cause of death	Influenza-related pneumonia
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Caroline Scott Harrison (1st wife) Mary Scott Lord Dimmick (2nd wife)

Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833 – March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States (1889-1893). He was the grandson of President William Henry Harrison and the only grandson of a president to become president himself. His home was in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was a member of the Republican Party and was elected to the White House in 1888 by beating the incumbent, Grover Cleveland, of the Democratic Party. Harrison was the first president of the United States to use electricity in the White House. After he served one full four-year term as president, Cleveland ran again. This time, Cleveland beat Harrison.

Harrison's first wife was Carrie Harrison. After she died, he married Mary Dimmick Harrison. During the American Civil War, Harrison was a colonel in the Union Army (later a brevet brigadier general). He was also a successful lawyer and argued many cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Harrison died of influenza-related pneumonia at the age of 67 in Indianapolis.

Presidency

President Benjamin Harrison as president wanted to increase tariffs, which are taxes on goods that come into the country, for two reasons:

• He thought that more money would got to the U.S. government. That would allow it to fund important things.
• He believed in protectionism. He thought that a high tariff would encourage Americans to make more of their own things, instead of buying them from other countries.

Harrison spent the money received from the tariffs to give money to injured veterans of the American Civil War.

Harrison got criticism for being the first president to have a billion-dollar budget for the government..

He also signed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which gave the U.S. government the power to regulate big businesses.

Other websites

• Benjamin Harrison's White House biography Archived 2009-01-17 at the Wayback Machine