William Henry Harrison 1773 - 1841

As a young man, William Henry Harrison 1773 - 1841 intended to become a doctor and he studied medicine under Benjamin Rush, but his father Benjamin Harrison V, who was a signatory to the Declaration of Independence, died early, forcing Harrison into a distinguished military career.

Harrison later entered politics and was the running mate of homeopathic supporter John Tyler, who became Harrison’s Vice President when he became president.

His close friend and confident Daniel Webster was a strong supporter of homeopathy and he became Harrison’s Secretary of State. Harrison’s Attorney General John J Crittenden was a great friend of Lincoln’s General George Brinton McClellan’s father (George Brinton McClellan used homeopathic medicine for a possible bout of malaria and typhoid in 1861).

William Henry Harrison said in his inaugural address to the Senate:

“A person elected to that high office, having his constituents in every section, State, and subdivision of the Union, must consider himself bound by the most solemn sanctions to guard, protect, and defend the rights of all and of every portion, great or small, from the injustice and oppression of the rest.

“I consider the veto power, therefore given by the Constitution to the Executive of the United States solely as a conservative power, to be used only first, to protect the Constitution from violation; secondly, the people from the effects of hasty legislation where their will has been probably disregarded or not well understood, and, thirdly, to prevent the effects of combinations violative of the rights of minorities.

and

“The true spirit of liberty, although devoted, persevering, bold, and uncompromising in principle, that secured is mild and tolerant and scrupulous as to the means it employs, whilst the spirit of party, assuming to be that of liberty, is harsh, vindictive, and intolerant, and totally reckless as to the character of the allies which it brings to the aid of its cause.

“When the genuine spirit of liberty animates the body of a people to a thorough examination of their affairs, it leads to the excision of every excrescence which may have fastened itself upon any of the departments of the government, and restores the system to its pristine health and beauty.

Harrison, William Henry - 1773-1841 Ninth President of the United States. Born at Berkeley, VA. During the War of 1812 he distinguished himself at Tippecanoe and on the Thames against the Indians in 1811.

He was sent to Congress in 1816 and served as US minister to Columbia in 1828. He was nominated for the Presidency by the Whigs and elected (1840) on the slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler too,” in the famous “log cabin hard cider” campaign.

Harrison died of pneumonia, a month after his inauguration. Grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the US.