Marion's Blog

Old Tippecanoe - William Henry Harrison and His Time

William Henry Harrison was the ninth president of the U.S. Harrison's 1840 election slogan is like a song that sticks in your head - Tippecanoe and Tyler Too. If you have ever heard that slogan perhaps you wondered like I did about Tippecanoe and its meaning.

I am in the process of reading a biography of each American president. This is a multi-year project!  You can see the list of other presidential biographies I have read here.

Before reading Old Tippecanoe - William Henry Harrison and His Time by Freeman Cleaves I only knew of Harrison as the first president to die in office. He only lived for a month after being inaugurated. Up until Ronald Reagan he was also the oldest president ever elected. Another unique fact about Harrison is that he is the only president to have a grandson also elected president.  Benjamin Harrison the 23rd American President was Old Tippecanoe's grandson.

One might think that the story of a one month president would be boring and short Harrison's presidency may have been short and un-noteworthy but his life was just the opposite. As I have discovered reading other presidential biographies you learn a lot about American history by studying our presidents. Harrison lived and served on the American frontier much of his life. He was the first governor of the territory of Indiana. When Harrison and his family moved to Vincennes the capital of the territory it was a tiny town on the edge of Indian country. The whole population of the territory included only 5,540 whites. Harrison built a brick home there, the first in the region. It was called Grouseland. From it he negotiated a series of treaties at President Jefferson's request to acquire land from the Indians for settlers.

"Nearly all the Illinois country as well as southern Indiana had now been opened to the whites and before attaining his thirty-third birthday, Governor Harrison could survey many millions of acres peacefully acquired in accordance with Jefferson's wish."

Prior to being Governor of Indiana Territory Harrison had enlisted in the army in 1790. He moved up quickly. He must have been a charismatic and inspiring leader because his popularity both with his men and with the country are what led to him becoming president.

I think the story of the battle of Tippecanoe from which he got his nick name would make a great movie full of conflict and nuanced motives. There were not bad guys and good guys. The Indians, Tecumseh and his brother The Prophet built a confederation of Indians who were against ceding  lands to the U.S. They were terrorizing the settlers. I can see their point of view but I can also see the point of view of Harrison, Jefferson and the settlers. They felt that they had fairly received the land from the Indians. Harrison tried to steer a middle ground. The conflict with maneuvering and rights and wrongs on both sides culminates in the Battle of Tippecanoe.

"Two Shawnee brothers, one a statesman, the other a "Prophet," were at the spearhead of a movement, and duly encouraged by the British they  threatened for a time  to check the entire scheme of land acquisition and Territorial advance"

On November 7, 1811 Harrison with his army of 950 officers and men had camped outside Prophetstown the Indian town founded by Tecumseh and the Prophet in 1808. Harrison planned to meet with the Indians the next day. Tecumseh had gone south to enlist the  Creeks and Cherokees in his confederacy. The Prophet told his warriors that they were invulnerable and that his spell had rendered the Americans harmless. The Indians attacked the army's encampment during the night and a fierce battled ensued. The army's victory was not a sure thing but they eventually prevailed. Harrison lost about a fifth of his men, 37  dead and 151 wounded. Indian losses were proportionately as large. They had between 500 and 700 men fighting.

Harrison's roll in the Battle of Tippecanoe was debated for the rest of his life. He spent a lot of time defending it and his tactics. But his role as the victorious general of Tippecanoe contributed greatly to his eventual election almost 40 years later. Harrison's election in 1840 at the age of 68 culminated a long and varied life. Harrison served as ambassador to Columbia in 1829 and as a senator from Ohio from 1825 to 1828.

Old Tippecanoe was a fascinating book. William Henry Harrison wasn't the first or the last American military general hero to be elected President but he served our country well. I enjoyed learning about the role Harrison played in the expansion and development of the United States and the insight this book provides into what was then the west and its influence on American politics.

Presidential Reading Project

Back in July of 2007 I decided to start a project to read at least one book about each of our presidents. I have made some progress and have found this to be a great way to learn more about American history.

I've decided that I need to have a list of the presidents, the books I have read, and links to my blogs about those books. I'll update this post every time I finish another presidential biography.

In looking at this list it shocked me to realize that more than 25% of these presidents served during my life time!

1. George Washington, 1789-1797
His Excellency George Washington by Joseph-Ellis

2. John Adams, 1797-1801
John Adams by David McCullough

3. Thomas Jefferson, 1801-1809
Thomas Jefferson by R.B. Bernstein

4. James Madison, 1809-1817
James Madison a Biography by Ralph Ketcham

5. James Monroe, 1817-1825
James Monroe - The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon

6. John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829
John Quincy Adams - A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul C. Nagel

7. Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837
American Lion - Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham

8. Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841
Martin Van Buren by Ted Widmer

9. William Henry Harrison, 1841
Old Tippecanoe - William Henry Harrison and His Time by Freeman Cleaves

10. John Tyler, 1841-1845
11. James Knox Polk, 1845-1849
12. Zachary Taylor, 1849-1850
13. Millard Fillmore, 1850-1853
14. Franklin Pierce, 1853-1857
15. James Buchanan, 1857-1861
16. Abraham Lincoln, 1861-1865
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

17. Andrew Johnson, 1865-1869
18. Ulysses Simpson Grant, 1869-1877
19. Rutherford Birchard Hayes, 1877-1881
20. James Abram Garfield, 1881
21. Chester Alan Arthur, 1881-1885
22. Grover Cleveland, 1885-1889
23. Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893
24. Grover Cleveland, 1893-1897
25. William McKinley, 1897-1901
26. Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-1909
27. William Howard Taft, 1909-1913
28. Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921
29. Warren Gamaliel Harding, 1921-1923
30. Calvin Coolidge, 1923-1929
31. Herbert Clark Hoover, 1929-1933
32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933-1945
No Ordinary Time - Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

33. Harry S. Truman, 1945-1953
34. Dwight David Eisenhower 1953-1961
35. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961-1963
36. Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963-1969
37. Richard Milhous Nixon, 1969-1974
38. Gerald Rudolph Ford, 1974-1977
39. James Earl Carter, Jr., 1977-1981
40. Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1981-1989
41. George Herbert Walker Bush, 1989-1993
42. William Jefferson Clinton, 1993-2001
43. George Walker Bush, 2001-2009
44. Barack Hussein Obama, 2009-

4 Books

I've finished four books in the last few weeks, what with my vacation and all. In addition to describing the four books here I have added them to my list of books read this year.  I will soon be creating a summary of the presidential biographies I have read and will add the Martin Van Buren biography to my list. Here are the 4 books:

a book of bees by Sue Hubbell

I was reading the Fabulouslorraine blog a few weeks ago and she recommended this book. Among other interesting topics Lorraine blogs about bee keeping. A book of bees by Sue Hubbell is a fascinating book and very well written. On the first page she says:

"I have had bees now for fifteen years, and my life is better for it. I operate a beekeeping and honey-producing farm in the Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri. I keep three hundred hives of bees"

From there she goes on to describe a year of bee keeping. It almost made me want to get some hives.

Different Seasons by Stephen King




I read Different Seasons by Stephen King while I was fishing in Canada. My secret of catching fish is reading while I fish :-)  Different Seasons is a collection of four novellas. The first is the story that the movie Shawshank Redemption is based on. Shawshank Redemption is one of my all time favorite movies and the story is as good as the movie. I didn't enjoy the second novella, Apt Pupil, as much, although it was thought provoking and disturbing. The third novella "The Body" was made into Rob Reiner's movie Stand by Me. I enjoyed the fourth novella Breathing Lessons. It was a bit weird but still intriguing.

The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick



The Perfect Poison is a mystery set "Late in the reign of Queen Victoria"  It was light and entertaining but didn't want me make to want to read more of this series.

Martin Van Buren by Ted Widmer



I am working on reading at least one book about each American President. I just finished reading a short biography of Martin Van Buren, President number eight. It was interesting because a very large financial crisis, The Panic of 1837 hit right after Van Buren took office. The panic was one of the reasons that he was a one term president. Van Buren was also one of only two presidents with no college education or military service.

Van Buren deserves much of the credit for the creation of our two party system. I found the following quotes enlightening.

"evidence of opposition parties is one of the most important ways to measure the vital signs of an emerging democracy............  Van Buren, while not a radical thinker, deserves full credit for realizing this truth ahead of his compatriots.....  Not only is the spirit of party not hostile to democract\y, it is essential to it...... there is a fundamental balance at its core - an internal gyroscope, based on brute competition - that has allowed this system to continue, with only a few modifications, from 1828 to the present. That gyroscope was built by Van Buren, and every time we ask another country to replicate it, we are paying silent homage to him."

Ted Widmer's Van Buren  biography was the first biography I have read from the American Presidents Series. At first I was really put off by how non academic it was. Widmer makes all sorts of contemporary references, to people like George Bush and Rush Limbaugh. But eventually I just decided to take it for what it was a light readable biography of Van Buren.

American Lion - Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham

I'm working on reading a biography of each American president. I just finished American Lion by Jon Meacham about Andrew Jackson our 7th president.

Meacham says:

"Running at the head of a national party, fighting for a mandate from the people to govern in particular ways on particular issues, depending on a circle of insiders and advisers, mastering the media of the age to transmit a consistent message at a constant pace, and using the veto as a political, not just a constitutional, weapon, in a Washington that is at once politically and personally charged are all features of the modern presidency that flowered in Jackson’s White House. Jackson was a transformative president."

I found it interesting to see how so much that was new in Jackson's time is still with us today. For example I didn't  realized that before Jackson presidents only used the veto when they believed legislation was unconstitutional.

Jackson was also the first president not from the east coast. He was from Tennessee. Duke and I visited his home, The Hermitage, when we were in Nashville on our honeymoon.

John Quincy Adams - A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul C. Nagel

One of my goals is to read a biography of each of our presidents. I just finished reading John Quincy Adams - A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul C. Nagel. JQA was president number six.

I also have a goal to read 100 books in 2009. I may not make it but the list so far in 2009 is here.

According to Nagel, John Quincy Adams' presidency "was a hapless failure and best forgotten." Which made me think about how a man's life should not be judged by his time in office. Adams' life as a diplomat and secretary of state before his Presidency and as a congressman and anti slavery fighter after the presidency was very successful and included many substantial accomplishments and contributions.

Did you know that he can take much of the credit for the establishment of the Smithsonian Institute? In 1835 James Smithson, an Englishman, "left his entire estate, amounting to somewhat more than $500,000 in gold, to enable the United States of America to increase knowledge among its citizens." Adams worked for over ten years to keep the Smithson bequest form being "wasted upon hungry and worthless jackals." The Smithsonian Institution was founded in 1846.

Adams kept a journal of daily entries about his life for fifty years. Nagel says "Adams' Diary is rightly acclaimed the most discerning and useful personal journal kept by an American ...... By joining so many descriptions of his inward state with innumerable astute reports on his larger life, Adams created a diary that deserves to rank near if not next to that of Samuel Pepys."

A Puiblic Life a Private Life is primarily the story of Adams life based on this diary. That is what makes the book so fascinating and different from other Presidential biographies I have read. You see Adams the man with all his warts and all his strengths. You see why he was so loved by his family and you can see how much he reviled those he perceived as enemies.

I very much enjoyed this book. Adams watched the smoke of the Battle of Bunker Hill with his mother, Abigail, from a hill near his house when he was 9. He lived to be 80 and died in the Capitol after trying to rise to give a speech against the Mexican American war. He traveled extensively both as a diplomat and privately. His view of the world during his 80 years grabbed my imagination.

In his introduction Nagel explains how his objective in this book is to illuminate the previously unexplored private side of JQA as well as his public side. Nagel says "Indeed, after completing this book I find myself not only admiring Adams for his many achievements but actually liking the man - despite his frequently exasperating behavior, now to be understood with sympathy." I couldn't have said it better myself!

Teenager traveling 1968 or 1781

When I was 16 I boarded at my school in Brisbane, Australia while my Dad was on temporary assignment in New York City. I still remember how much I loved being independent and how much I looked forward to traveling alone (with my younger sisters) from Brisbane to New York to see my parents at Christmas time. I was extremely upset when Mom and Dad arranged for some friends of theirs to travel with us part of the way.  As a 16 year old I considered myself no longer in need of adult supervision.

I have just started reading Paul C Nagel's biography of our sixth president John Quincy Adams. JQA's independent traveling as a teenager amazed me. Especially when you think that trips took weeks and could be very dangerous.

In 1781 JQA was in Holland with his father who was on a diplomatic mission. It was decided that JQA should go as a secretary to Francis Dana on a mission to St Petersburg, Russia. Adams and Dana left on July 7, 1781 for the 2,000 mile trip. They stopped in Berlin, Germany and Riga, Poland and arrived in St Petersburg on August 27.

Soon it was decided that John Quincy should return to Holland alone so he could continue his studies. He left St Petersburg for Stockholm on October 30, 1782. He was 15. He spent a couple of days in Helsinki and dined with the commander of Swedish forces in Finland. He then arrived in Stockholm on November 22. Adams loved Sweden and the Swedish people. Nagel says "It must have been a reassuring experience for a boy of fifteen to talk on equal terms with leading citizens of Stockholm." He was especially taken with the Swedish women. "For him, Sweden would always be "the land of lovely dames." He admitted that he had never forgotten the "palpitations of heart" these women caused him--- "and of which they never knew."

From Stockholm he went on to Goteborg then Copenhagen then Hamberg and finally back to Holland on April 21. "Meanwhile, a frantic John Adams was asking everyone who had been in Northern Europe if they had seen his wondering son, for Johnny made little effort to keep his father apprised of his whereabouts."

Adams always had very happy memories of this independent trip. "It was a time of few worries and much freedom" I can understand why it was such a happy time for him.

A Perfect Union, Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation

I just finished reading Catherine Allgor's book,  A Perfect Union, Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation. Here are a few of things I found interesting:

• One of Dolley Madison's biggest contributions was that she created ways for the men who were the American Government to get things done. In 1800 the congress had no structure or rules. The new government of the U.S. and the men who were a part of it believed that there was only one possible common good and that anyone who didn't agree with their view was wrong. People like John Madison and Thomas Jefferson believed that there should only be only one party in American politics.

"Unfortunately, two different camps believed this. To each one -- the Federalists and the Republicans-- the other party was a "faction," a source of danger and disorder and a very personal as well as national threat.  In such an atmosphere. legislators did not even tolerate a discussion that included difference."

Dolley didn't like conflict. She created friendships with everyone. She brought the politicians who thought of themselves as individuals and enemies together socially. She held weekly gatherings called drawing rooms and everyone was invited.

"In or out of the government, only at Dolley's events could political enemies get to know one another in circumstances that demanded the best of them. Government officials fought physically on the floor of congress, in their boardinghouses, and on the street; but they dared not strike one another with ladies present. ..... If for no other reason than this, the drawing room contributed to the construction of a workable government."

• Two of the things that Thomas Jefferson detested most were " the English and political, intellectual woman."  Elizabeth Merry the English ambassador's wife during the Jefferson administration embodied these things. In contrast Dolley Madison was always very careful to be what woman of the time were expected to be, nurturing, polite and seemingly uninterested in politics. In fact she was a smart and very political woman.

• Picture this :-) On June 1, 1812 when the House of Representatives was debating the resolution to go to war with Britain the Federalist tried to stop the war resolution with a filibuster.

 "The Republicans responded by throwing spittoons, a surprisingly effective move. The sudden clang of metal stopped the speaker in mid-sentence, allowing the Republicans to declare the delaying tactic ended."

• Dolley stayed at the White House until just a few hours before the British marched into Washington and burned the White House. The true story of her staying until the large painting of George Washington had been saved is part of our identity as Americans.

• Dolley created the "unofficial office" of First Lady.

"The First Lady answers the crucial need for the ceremonial in American politics; quite deliberately, the Constitution downplays the role of the ceremonial in its formula for a weak central government, ruled by law and not by personality."

"Ceremonial symbolism, which operates on emotional and psychological levels, unites people. In ordinary times, Dolley's performance supplied a kind of structure that allowed the government to function, unifying (or at least gathering) the branches of government and the individuals within those branches. Dolley also held the nation together in a time of crisis, and, by her ceremonial symbolism, allowed Americans, many of who might never leave the town of their birth, to imagine themselves as part of a larger entity--- as citizens of the United States of America"

• The author, Catherine Allgor is a fascinating woman. According to her biographies and interviews on the web she worked as an actress for eleven years and then went back to school to study history. She attended Mount Holyoke College and then got her PhD from Yale. In a short autobiography in 2000 after her first book Parlor Politics was published she said;

"Being a historian, I am conscious of dates and anniversaries. Holding my first book in my hands this fall would be meaningful moment enough. But it was exactly ten years ago this fall that I sold my stuff, packed up my car and arrived at Mount Holyoke. I had no idea of what "I was going to do when I grew up," had never turned on a computer or written a paper. And now a book"

I thoroughly enjoyed A Perfect Union. After reading so many presidential biographies it was fun to learn about a woman of the same period. Dolley was 8 when the declaration of Independence reached the town she was living in and she lived until 1841 when she died at 81. It was also fascinating to learn the key role she played in creating our country and to think about how many of her lessons and strategies are still relevant today.

John Marshall - Definer of a Nation by Jean Edward Smith.

Last summer I decided to start a project to read at least one biography about each of our presidents. If you would like to read about the books I have read so far just click on the Presidential Reading Project category in the right hand column.  I enjoy learning about history through the lives of the people who lived it. I've enjoyed reading about the first fifty years of the United States so much that even though Marshall was not a president I decided to read John Marshall - Definer of a Nation by Jean Edward Smith. Marshall was chief justice of the U.S. supreme court from 1801 until he died in 1835.

In many ways Marshall created the supreme court. As much as any of our early  presidents he played a key role in defining the meaning of the constitution. In this biography Smith describes Marshall as a gregarious and affable man liked by almost everyone who knew him.

In addition to his 35 years on the Supreme Court Marshall also fought in the revolutionary war and was with Washington during the awful winter at Valley Forge. In the 1790's he represented the U.S.  as a diplomatic envoy to Paris. This was not long after the French revolution  and U.S. relations with France were not good.  In what became known as the XYZ affair the French Foreign Minister, Talleyrand tried  to extract a bribe from the American delegation. Marshall, Pinckney and Gerry refused.

Reading and learning about Marshall has been fun. Smith's book is very readable. The intricacies of  constitutional law as addressed by the supreme court could be a boring subject but Smith's descriptions of Marshall, and the supreme court cases he was involved in are fascinating. I highly recommend this book.

James Monroe - The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon

Just over a year ago I decided to read at least one biography about each U.S. President. So far I have read the following.

• His Excellency George Washington by Joseph-Ellis
• John Adams by David McCullough
• Thomas Jefferson by R.B. Bernstein
• James Madison a Biography by Ralph Ketcham
• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin 

On my recent road trip I finished reading James Monroe - The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon. Monroe served in the revolutionary war, participated in the formation of the United States, was an ambassador to France, a senator, secretary of state and served from 1817 to 1825 as President of the United States. Reading this book I gained an enormous admiration for Monroe's dedication, his hard work, his intelligence and his leadership.

According to Ammon, Monroe lived in an "age of reticence (and of much prudery as well)....  in Monroe's day it was customary for political figures to destroy papers of a personal character. Only one letter from Monroe to his wife survives, and the only specimens of her hand are in the form of signatures on legal documents..............Therefore, a biography of Monroe must be essentially political in nature"

It is disappointing that nothing can really be written about Monroe's personal life. But I still liked this book. It is a political history of the U.S. during Monroe's life. It is a credit to Ammon that he can make politics so readable.

Five Cities, Six Take Offs and Six Landings and No Ordinary Time - Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Last Wednesday I visited six cities on Southwest Airlines. I was I accompanying my sister home from Cleveland where she had a successful revision to her ten year old hip replacement.  We flew from Cleveland to Chicago, to St. Louis, to Tulsa where I dropped her off. Then I flew on on to Phoenix and finally home  to Reno.

I had lots of time to read as we puddle jumped across the U.S. I finished the last 200+ pages of No Ordinary Time - Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin. What a great book!

The book provided several learnings and surprises for me. I realized how ignorant I am about the history of prejudice in this country. Although I knew that segregation and racial prejudice were prevalent in the 1940's, I did not really appreciate how bad it was. Black men were only allowed to enlist in the Navy as mess men. In the Army black soldiers were not allowed to fight. Segregation and terrible conditions were the norm. Goodwin summarizes the progress made during the war. "Between 1940 and 1945 the Negro Military Force had increased in size from 5,000 to 920,000 and the number of Negro officers had grown from 5 to over 7,000. Moreover, whereas almost every Negro soldier in 1940 was confined to a service unit, by war's close Negroes held responsible jobs in almost every branch of the army as artillerymen, tankmen, infantrymen,  pilots, paratroopers, doctors and more." When I realize that the young African American men who were being treated so badly as second class citizens during World War II were the peers of my father it gives me some small window of empathy for the feelings that African Americans of my fathers generation must have. I could certainly understand bitterness. It certainly makes me ashamed of our country's history.

No Ordinary Time also gave me a lot of insight into the strengths and weaknesses of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt and their relationship. I knew FDR was a great leader. I certainly didn't realize that the war in Europe didn't even start until the very end of his second term. I had some understanding of what an extraordinary woman Eleanor was but I had no idea how hard she worked and what a large contribution she made both to the war effort and to FDR's success.

Eleanor published a newspaper column  "My Day"  from 1935 to 1962. She wrote the column consistently six days a week. When I think of how I can't even manage to write a blog a day it impresses me that she published 400 words every day and never missed a day except for 4 days when FDR died. She was a blogger ahead of her time .