William Henry Harrison – Grouseland June 23, 2012



The ninth U.S. president, William Henry Harrison didn't have time to achieve much of anything before dying of pneumonia a month after his inauguration. Harrison was president for a mere 31 days, so his accomplishments were complete before he moved to the White House.

It's very possible that his greatest — and we use the word "greatest" loosely — contribution to U.S. history is that he was first candidate to actively campaign for president. Up to that time, candidates let others do their campaigning. Harrison handed out campaign knick knacks and liberally used campaign slogans.

Remember “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too”? That was Harrison. He handed out campaign buttons with that slogan. He passed out replica tomahawks made of blue glass. Supporters rolled around giant paper balls covered with campaign slogans (which is where the expression “Keep the ball rolling” comes from).

He also is one-half of the only grandfather/grandson team to be U.S. president: the 23rd president, Benjamin Henry Harrison is his offspring. (Historical tidbit: His father, Benjamin, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.)

And he had an immense family—he and his wife, Anna, had ten children, nine of whom survived to adulthood.

His Early Life

While still in his 20s, William Henry Harrison was appointed secretary of the Northwest Territory and soon was appointed the territory’s delegate to Congress. While in Congress, he introduced the Harrison Land Act, which made land in the territory easier and cheaper to purchase by divvying up the land into small, affordable tracts -- contributing greatly to the westward migration. Part of the Land Act provided for breaking off the western part of the Northwest Territory and creating the Indiana Territory (now Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota).

As it happened, President John Adams appointed Harrison governor of the Indiana Territory. It was during his tenure as Indiana Territory governor, that he built his huge family home, Grouseland—named for all of the grouse in the area—in Vincennes, Indiana, the new capital of the Indiana Territory.

Harrison’s Land Act made him none-too-popular with the Native Americans who lived on the land. In fact, Tecumseh, chief of the Shawnee tribe, tried to create an Indian confederation to attack the settlers, but his plan didn't work. In negotiations, Tecumseh came to Harrison's house but refused to enter. Instead, he met with Harrison under a walnut tree just outside of the house.


Wood Carving of Tecumseh near Grouseland

Harrison rose to national prominence for leading U.S. troops against the Shawnee at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, where he picked up his famous “Tippecanoe" nickname.

During the War of 1812, Harrison’s forces killed Tecumseh who had aligned with the British.

Views on Slavery

Harrison was generally opposed to the concept of slavery but he did enslave people himself. He seems for the most part to have limited their service and freed them after twelve or more years of services. He publically opposed slavery but aligned himself with the southerners on many slavery votes.

Harrison, the First Modern Candidate

Harrison was the first candidate of the Whigs, a party created by Henry Clay primarily to oppose Jacksonian principles. The Whigs were a diverse lot but mostly supported a strong central government that built national infrastructure, maintained a national bank, and built public schools. Having said that, the Whigs were extremely diverse and consisted of both slave owners and abolitionists as well as both pro and anti-national bank advocates (Collins, 2012).

Surprisingly, John Tyler, Harrison’s vice presidential running mate, held views inconsistent with Harrison’s. Tyler was a slavery advocate who was against a strong government role in building public works. The only thing he had in common with the Whigs was opposition to President Martin Van Buren.

This was the first presidential campaign where it became necessary to emphasize the candidates’ humble beginnings. Harrison became the “Log Cabin Candidate” even though he was brought up on a Virginia plantation. His opponent, Van Buren, who was actually brought up in the back of a tavern, was labeled an elitist and dandy. (Even today presidential candidates emphasize their humble roots: First lady Michelle Obama recounts how a young Barack Obama used to pick her up in a car with rust holes clear through the door.)

Drinking also became an important symbol for the rugged outdoorsman president, and Harrison was touted for his ability to drink “hard cider.” In fact, distiller E.G. Booz came up with an election year gimmick by bottling whiskey in bottles shaped like log cabins.

Campaign slogans were spun and songs were sung, the most famous being, “Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too!” where they sang: “For Tippecanoe and Tyler too. For Tippecanoe and Tyler too. And with them we'll beat little Van, Van, Van…Van is a used up man.”

And of course, the aforementioned “keep the ball rolling” where huge (often 12 ft. diameter) campaign balls were rolled throughout the country. The balls were mostly made of paper campaign slogans but some were made of tin and cowhide (Collins, 2012).

In another first, Harrison gave his own campaign speeches which heretofore had been given by the candidate’s supporters.

The excitement around this election was so huge that more than 80% of the eligible voters cast ballots (Collins, 2012). (That compares to the 50-60 percent averages of our recent U.S. elections.)

And Harrison won the election, only to come down with pneumonia. It was cold and rainy on Inauguration Day, March 4, and he gave a record two-hour speech – a record that still stands. (Note from us long-time Washington dwellers: Inauguration Day is always the coldest day of the year.)

Grouseland

Visiting Grouseland was a last-minute surprise. We were preparing for a visit to Indianapolis when we learned that Grouseland was only a couple-hour drive from the state capital. A quick change of our flights, and we were off.

There, we found another surprise -- we are not unique in our quest to visit all the presidents. A docent at Grouseland, who had been on the job for two months, said we were the third set of people she had met on a presidential pilgrimage. On a positive note, we may be the only ones doing it in order.

Grouseland was the first brick house in the Indiana Territory. It had 400,000 bricks and was built like a fortress, since it was in the middle of the wilderness and was subject to attack by the Native Americans.


Occupants Could See in Many Directions


The walls were extremely thick on the outside and even between inside rooms. Beams were twice as big as necessary, and the house had a well in the basement in case of attack. The house also features survey walls so occupants could see out in several directions, small semi-circular windows in the bedrooms, as well as a trap door in the roof.

The shutters are able to cover the windows from both inside and out as protection from attack. Good thing.

There is a bullet hole in one of them. Apparently, the Harrisons were shot at when William Henry and his infant son were in the room, but the shutter blocked it. If the son — Benjamin Harrison — had been hit, history would have been different, since he was the father of the 23rd president, Benjamin Henry Harrison.

But outside of that incident, the house was never attacked.

Vincennes

Don't expect much in the town of Vincennes. It's pretty run down, and Grouseland isn't in a historic area nor is it on a sweeping estate, like many of the presidents’ houses we've seen. The house itself is beautiful, although the grounds are lacking.
 

The Monster


As a side note, in another part of Vincennes we found a massive monument to Revolutionary War hero, George Rogers Clark.  Built in the early 1930s with funding under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), this monster appears to be as large as the Jefferson Memorial.

References

Collins, G. 2012. William Henry Harrison. Henry Holt and Company. New York, New York.

Martin Van Buren – Lindenwald June 2, 2012

Miniature Lindenwald

The first time we saw Martin Van Buren’s house, it was no bigger than a shoebox and made entirely of plants.

This was at the “Season’s Greenings” exhibition at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., in December 2011, which featured reproductions of famous structures including several presidents’ houses. So there was Martin Van Buren’s little house encircled by a train track on which ran a tiny train carrying coal and fuel.

The next time we saw Lindenwald, it was for real, just outside Van Buren’s birthplace, the Village of Kinderhook near the Hudson River/ in the Hudson River Valley in New York.

Our first stop was the unimpressive visitor’s center—essentially a trailer with some books, a timeline on the wall, and a short video, “The Red Fox of Kinderhook.”



The Real Lindenwald

Dennis Andreas, the ranger who greeted us, got off to a rocky start by asking Tom if he qualified for the senior citizen’s discount. When Tom asked him how old one needed to be to get the discount, Mr. Andreas replied, “65.” “I’m 54; do I look that bad?” Then Mr. Andreas announced that he was brand new on the job – three weeks – and he going to be our tour guide. We were a bit concerned … but the tour turned out to be great. Mr. Andreas knew his stuff inside and out, both the history and the furnishings. He even hunted us down on the grounds of the estate after the tour was over to correct a minor mistake he had made.

 To reach Lindenwald, take Interstate 90 East Highway 9 to Highway 9H. Note that the house is only open from mid-May to October 31, so plan accordingly. The entrance fee, including a tour, is $5, individual and $12, family.

His Life
Van Buren’s long life (1782 – 1862) spanned the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. His political career of 40 years enabled him to meet almost every president from Adams to Lincoln. (He traded stories one night with a young Abraham Lincoln.).

Although he only served a single term, he is an important historical figure because he founded the modern Democratic Party. The Democratic Party he established consisted of an amalgamation of merchants and manufacturers in the Northeast and planters in the South. The party stood on the principles of states’ rights and strict interpretation of the Constitution. At the same time, as represented by Andrew Jackson, the Democratic Party was steadfastly committed to the preservation of the Union.

The founding of the party was a gradual process. In 1824, then Senator Martin Van Buren was organizing for the election of William H. Crawford of Georgia, who was running for president. Crawford’s opponent that year was John Quincy Adams, and we know how that turned out. But the campaign gave Van Buren valuable lessons on how to bring like-minded people together for a common purpose.

His talents were noticed by those who wished to see Jackson elected as the next president, and Van Buren was recruited to help. Van Buren was instrumental in helping to elect Jackson as the first Democrat. But following the win, he returned to New York for a successful run for governor.




Martin Van Buren

 
Once Jackson reached the White House, he recruited Van Buren as secretary of State. The vice president’s post was already taken by John Calhoun, who had also served as vice president for John Quincy Adams. However, Calhoun took the wrong side on many issues, including nullification—the concept that states could ignore laws that they considered unconstitutional. So his days in the White House were numbered. During Jackson’s second term, Martin Van Buren was named vice president and was well on his way to being president.

With Jackson’s support, Van Buren won the 1836 presidential election. Unfortunately for him, he began serving just in time for the Panic of 1837. According to author Ted Widmer (2005), the Panic was fueled by an “orgy of growth and speculation, beginning on Wall Street but fanning out to the four corners of North American and hardly stopping there.” It would soon spread to the financial institutions in Europe. (This was not the first United States panic but it was the worst in America to that point.) The Panic was a result of mass consumerism, land speculation, easy credit, and overinvestment in canals and railroads. Some of the easy money came from the first federal budget surplus, which was distributed to the states for investment in infrastructure. Once the economy began to contract, credit became scarce, unemployment rose, and bankruptcies became rampant. The resulting depression would last five years. (Sound familiar?)

Van Buren worked with Congress to pass legislation allowing lawsuits against banks to be suspended so that the banks could continue to operate. He also put more money into circulation and eventually authorized an independent Treasury. But — even though the Panic was not of his making — the damage to his presidency was severe and he had little hope of winning another term.

Some other highlights of Van Buren’s presidency:
• He continued Jackson’s policy of removing eastern Indian tribes to the West. This included the infamous “Trail of Tears," which happened on his watch.
• Van Buren issued an executive order to reduce the workday to 10 hours for federal employees.

Van Buren, deeply wounded by the deep financial recession, had little hope of winning reelection. During the campaign of 1840, both he and his opponent, William Henry Harrison, openly campaigned for the job — the first modern campaign in America. Van Buren lost and returned to Lindenwald.

Maybe the most interesting legacy of Van Buren is the use of the word O.K. In 1839, O.K. was used as an abbreviation for a new expression, ‘oll korrect.’ Van Buren’s supporters expropriated the abbreviation for “Olde Kinderhook” and used it as Van Buren’s political signature. He even used O.K. when he signed his name. Today, the average American uses that expression seven times a day, every day (Widmer, 2005).

Lindenwald
Lindenwald, named for the many linden trees planted by Van Buren, sits on a farm that was once 220 acres. Van Buren bought it in 1839 while still president, but he did not live there until after his presidency.


Martin's Tower

The house is an elegant but odd mixture of Georgian, Gothic Revival, Victorian and Italianate features. Widmer (2005) calls it a “McMonument… that fits squarely in the long continuum joining Monticello and Graceland.” Most of the mixing of features happened when he expanded the house in 1841 to accommodate is growing extened family as well as extra servants. Richard Upjohn, a well-known architect, included a 4-1/2 -story Italianate tower that is uncharacteristic of the period. From his tower, Van Buren could look down the Old Post Road—the road from Albany to Manhattan—to see if anyone was coming to visit him.

Wedgwood Toilet

Van Buren was constantly making improvements to the house and wanted all the latest innovations. He installed indoor plumbing including flush toilets — one of them even had a porcelain bowl (Wedgwood, no less) — and sinks with sink traps. (A servant had to pump water up to a 100-gallon tank located on the second floor.)

The rooms were huge, especially compared with those of most of his predecessors.


Landscape of the Hunt Wallpaper



The main entrance hall features expensive French wallpaper, “Landscape of the Hunt,” that shows colorful scenes of fox, rabbit, grouse and deer hunts. In the middle of the entrance hall is a huge table that could seat 20 people. Amazingly, the table can be folded accordion-style into a mere 26 inches and moved into a corner. In the entrance hall are hanging lamps that once burned whale blubber.



 The formal parlor was used to sit and talk politics. Van Buren planned his unsuccessful second and third runs for president in this room. In 1844, he competed for the Democratic nomination but took an unpopular opposing position on the annexation of the Republic of Texas—which would have been admitted as a slave state. He lost the nomination on the ninth ballot to James K. Polk. In 1848, he became the nominee for the Free Soil Party, an anti-slavery third party. Of course he lost, but his candidacy was the first serious third party candidacy in history.

The breakfast room contains an original plate warmer that was used to keep Van Buren’s breakfast warm when he was late returning from his 10-15 mile morning rides on his favorite horse, Duroc. The breakfast room also features a vacuum drive/drip coffee pot.

Sleep Tight!

Six Irish servant girls lived downstairs. They slept on American rope beds that were kept taught with a rope tightener. (The term “sleep tight” dates from that time, when the ropes were periodically tightened to create a firmer support.) The servants were summoned by bells, each with a unique sound, that hung on the wall. (The Irish girls were likely some of the one million emigrants forced out of Ireland by the Irish Potato Famine, 1845-1852. When we were in Boston on our John Adams sojourn, we saw the statue commemorating the Famine.)

Bust of MVB

The library, containing a Hyriam Howers bust of Van Buren, was where Van Buren wrote his letter against the annexation of Texas saying it was not the right time. That act cost him the 1844 Democratic nomination.

Upstairs are five bedrooms connecting to a main room. One of the bedrooms, belonging to his son, John Van Buren, contains a portrait of Queen Victoria who was coroneted the same year as Van Buren won the presidency--Van Buren would serve four years, while Queen Victoria would sit on the throne for more than 60! According to our guide, John, who had met her, said she was attractive until she opened her mouth. 


Other rooms belonged to his son Abraham and wife, Angelica. Angelica, who was Dolly Madison’s cousin, served as Van Buren’s first lady. (Van Buren’s wife, Hannah, died of tuberculosis at age 36, well before Van Buren entered the White House.) Another room belonged to his son Martin Van Buren, Jr., who died in Paris at age 41, also of TB.



Handle with Care

The largest room is Martin Van Buren’s bedroom. This is where he died on July 24, 1862, surrounded by his children. Van Buren’s last thoughts were of the Union’s progress in the Civil War.



The Gift from Andrew Jackson



On his bed rests a wooden cane — a gift from Andrew Jackson. Dennis donned white gloves to pick up the cane and show us the inscription: “Martin Van Buren For the Next President.” On the cane are 13 knots each covered by a silver cap inscribed by one of the 13 letters that form Jackson’s name.

Van Buren and Slavery

Van Buren was ambivalent about slavery early in his political career and nobody was quite sure where he stood on the issue. His father willed him an enslaved person, Tom, who ran away after only three days; Van Buren did not pursue him.

During the Amistad incident, Van Buren issued an executive order to return the revolters to their Spanish “owners.” However, this order was never carried out and the case made its way to the Supreme Court, where Congressman John Quincy Adams argued on their behalf. The imprisoned revolters were eventually freed.

Later, Van Buren became staunchly anti-slavery culminating in his 1848 run for the presidency as the candidate for the anti-slavery Free Soil party.

Kinderhook
Later that day we visited the nearby Village of Kinderhook which was holding a festival. On the day we were there, they were advertising the O.K. 5K running race.

The Red Fox of Kinderhook

It is in Kinderhook that Martin Van Buren was born and is now buried. His birthplace was the family tavern on Hudson Street. Van Buren’s life size bronze statue, designed by Edward Hlavka, sits on a bench in the center of Kinderhook. Tom did his best to make him flinch, but nothing seemed to work.

His grave is in Kinderhook Dutch Reformed Cemetery, a 15-minute walk from the center of the village. A monument with a red, white, and blue wreath at its base marked the spot of his grave. He lies there with his young wife, Hannah, and other members of his family.

References

Widmer, T. 2005. Martin Van Buren. Henry Holt and Company. New York, New York. Current, R., T.H. Williams, and F. Freidel. American History, A Survey. Volume I: To 1877. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, New York.