Benjamin Harrison
Twenty-Third
President,
1889–1893
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“There is nothing in the condition of our country or of our people to suggest that anything presently necessary to the public prosperity, security, or honor should be unduly postponed.”
—Inaugural Speech, 1889, speaking of federal spending.
Cold Comfort:
"If you pricked him, he would bleed ice water." That's how Civil War veteran Benjamin Harrison was once described. Harrison became president 48 years after his grandfather, William Henry Harrison, had been in the White House. In the race for the presidency, he beat Grover Cleveland over an issue that is still hotly debated: he vowed to keep tariffs high on imported foreign-made products in the belief that doing so would protect American jobs.
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Portrait by
Eastman Johnson
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circa 1895
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NPG.68.4
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Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
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Fast Facts
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Party: |
Republican
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Date of Birth: |
Tuesday, August 20, 1833
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Date of Death: |
Wednesday, March 13, 1901
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Vice President: |
Levi P. Morton
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First Lady: |
Caroline Scott Harrison
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