Benjamin Harrison

President Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison was born on August 20, 1833 in Northbend, Ohio.   Harrison was the eldest of ten children and usually spent his youth on his grandfather's estate. Benjamin Harrison's early schooling took place in a one-room schoolhouse near his home, but he was later provided with a tutor to help him with college studies. He received his education at Farmers' College for two years and then attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Benjamin Harrison came from a family with many years of political service. His great-grandfather, Benjamin Harrison V signed the Declaration of Independence and William Henry Harrison, his grandfather, was the ninth President of the United States.
Before Benjamin Harrison’s presidency he entered into law practice and became active in the Republican Party. He joined the military in 1862 to fight in the Civil War. During his service he was promoted to Brigadier General. He left military service at the end of the war and resumed his law practice. In 1881, Harrison was elected to the U.S. Senate and served until 1887.
In 1888, Benjamin Harrison received the Republican nomination for president. His opponent was Grover Cleveland. It was a close campaign in which Cleveland won the popular vote but failed to carry his home state of New York, therefore Harrison became the twenty-third President of the United States.
During Benjamin Harrison’s time in office, one notable thing he did was help pass the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. This was the first antitrust law to try and stop the abuse of monopolies and trusts. While the law itself was not that enforceable, it was important as a first step towards making sure that trade was not limited by the existence of monopolies.
Another accomplishment of Benjamin Harrison was, in 1890, he sponsored a tariff that required those wishing to import products to pay a 48% tax. This resulted in a rise of consumer prices.
Harrison was the most active presidents since Abraham...