Introduction

Heir to a family political legacy that included a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a former president, Benjamin Harrison was a career politician. Although pleasant in social circumstances, in politics Harrison was often cold, aloof, and at times uncommunicative. He made decisions on his own and had very few close friends. While at times this made for a difficult relationship with his colleagues, Harrison appealed to the electorate because of his powerful oratory, pious attitude, and his calls to remember the cause and sacrifices of the Civil War (1861–65) in which he and many other Americans had served. Elected president in 1888, Harrison had a difficult and unproductive relationship with Congress, which led him to concentrate on a foreign policy that was unusually aggressive for his era.