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How Did Benjamin Harrison Become President

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Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd president of the United States of America. He was born on a small Ohio farm on August 20, 1833, the second of nine children of hard working parents John Harrison and Elizabeth Ramsey Harrison. In many ways Benjamin Harrison was “born to be President” because of his heritage. He was named after his great grandfather who was a member of the House of Burgesses and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was the grandchild of 19th President of the United States William Henry Harrison, and the descendent of many other significant political officers and patriots. All of these facts added up to his reputation and led up to his presidency.
John Harrison, Benjamin’s father, expected much of young …show more content…

As Benjamin was about to leave for his studies, tragedy struck.
In the summer of august of 1850, just before Benjamin left, his mother Elizabeth gave birth to a son named James. The birth was hard for Elizabeth and she never recovered. Days before Benjamin was to leave for school, his mother passed away, and shortly afterwards the baby also died. Although her death was incredibly depressing for Benjamin he went to college on time and continued his studies. Benjamin began college in September 1850, and he was known as a “smart, stern, quiet, and religious student.” He followed his father’s stern teaching and joined the local Presbyterian Church. He did not have much of a social life outside of class and did not spend much time with his fellow classmates. Even though, Benjamin quickly discovered that he had a gift for public speaking. He impressed his teachers and peers alike with his words and his fluent thinking. He joined the Union Literary society, a club at his local college, and became its president. Members of the club discussed various subjects that Benjamin enjoyed, such as politics, literature, world history, American history, and speech. Benjamin even gave speeches on these subjects to his classmates and his teachers.

Benjamin’s father, John wanted his son to become a Presbyterian minister. Once Benjamin had left college he decided to be a lawyer because of his

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