What Can We Learn From William Henry Harrison?
Maybe more than you think
William Henry Harrison is mostly remembered for having the shortest presidency in American history: he died a month after being sworn in, after giving the longest inaugural speech of any president, ever. But as I explained in my conversation with Colleen Shogan, former Archivist of the United States, Harrison’s brief presidency is unexpectedly relevant for a lot of our modern political concerns — from executive overreach and populism to the style of modern campaigning.
We discussed:
Harrison’s petty nickname for his predecessor, Martin Van Buren;
why Harrison’s 1841 warnings about political parties and polarization ring uncomfortably true today;
the way economic insecurity has been shaping elections since America’s earliest days;
how log cabin-shaped hard cider bottles helped invent modern campaign merch;
the surprisingly direct line between Andrew Jackson and modern debates about executive power;
how John Tyler set a key precedent for what happens when a president dies in office;
… and more. Our conversation was part of our work with In Pursuit, a project started for America’s 250th anniversary and designed to bridge the gap between history and today’s challenges, and make history accessible to all.
Press play to listen.
For more on William Henry Harrison, you can read my essay here.