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9. William Henry HARRISON was a member of the new Whig Party and served less than one term in 1841.
Before becoming president, Harrison was a military hero for defeating Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe in IN. Afterwards, he was promoted to major general in the subsequent War of 1812, served as the first congressional delegate from the Northwest Territory and the first Governor of Indiana Territory. After the war, Harrison moved to Ohio, where he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1824, the state legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate. His father had signed the Declaration of Independence, and his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, later became the 23rd president.
Died of pneumonia after just 31 days in office. He became sick after giving the longest inaugural address ever (over 2 hours) on a bitterly cold March day. He was the first president to die in office, and he served the shortest term of any president. Because he was the first president to die in office, his death sparked a constitutional crisis. Its resolution left unsettled constitutional questions as to the presidential line of succession until the passage of the Twenty-fifth Amendment in 1967.
Oldest president (at 68 years old)until 1981 when Ronald Reagan was sworn in at age 69. Then in 2017 Donald Trump became the oldest president ever inaugurated at 70 ½ years old. Harrison, who was born in 1773, was the last president to be born as a British royal subject in the original Thirteen Colonies before the American Revolution which began in 1775.
“Tippecanoe and Tyler too!” was his campaign slogan. This referred to his defeat of Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe in the Indiana Territory and Tyler, his running mate. Tyler was a Southerner who was on the “ticket” to attract states’ rights Southerners and thus appeal to a larger group. (All from Wikipedia)
