Benjamin Harrison | Founding Father, APUSH

Benjamin Harrison was a Virginia politician who rose to prominence during the American Revolution. Although he signed the Declaration of Independence, making him a Founding Father, he is likely better known as the father of one President, William Henry Harrison, and the great-grandfather of another, Benjamin Harrison.

Overview

Benjamin Harrison was a Virginia planter and politician who was a long-standing member of the House of Burgesses and played an active role in the Patriot Cause. He was a member of the Virginia Convention, the Virginia Committee of Correspondence, and a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he served on important committees and signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as Virginia’s 5th Governor, and two of his descendants went on to be elected President of the United States.

Personal Facts

Also Known As: Benjamin Harrison V.
Born: April 5, 1726, in Charles City County, Virginia.
Parents: Benjamin Harrison (father), Anne Carter (mother).
Spouse: Elizabeth Bassett (1748).
Died: April 24, 1791, in Charles City County, Virginia. He was 65.
Buried: Berkeley Plantation, Charles City County, Virginia.
Part of: Signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Biography

Early Years

Benjamin Harrison, the fifth of that name, was born on April 5, 1726, at his family’s estate, “Berkeley,” in Charles City County, Virginia. He was the son of Benjamin Harrison and Anne Carter, daughter of Robert Carter of Corotoman, often called “King Carter.”

A descendant of an earlier Benjamin Harrison who arrived in the colony before March 15, 1634, he was the fifth in his line to carry the name.
To set him apart from his relatives, many of whom served in the House of Burgesses or held other important offices, he is commonly known as “the Signer.”

The Harrison family later produced two Presidents of the United States: William Henry Harrison, Benjamin’s son, and Benjamin Harrison, his great-grandson.

At the time of his father’s death in 1745, Harrison was studying at the College of William and Mary, but he left before graduating and soon married Elizabeth Bassett.

AHC Notes

William Henry Harrison (1773–1841) — Harrison was a U.S. Army officer, territorial Governor, and Whig politician who became the 9th President of the United States. He built a reputation through frontier diplomacy and warfare against Native American Indians, including Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa, and led American forces to a decisive victory at the Battle of Tippecanoe (1811). During the War of 1812, he helped secure U.S. control in the Old Northwest. He won the 1840 Presidential Election but died of illness soon after his inauguration.
Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901) — Harrison was a lawyer, military officer, and politician who served as the 23rd President of the United States (1889–1893). During the Civil War, Harrison rose to the rank of Brigadier General. As a U.S. Senator, he supported civil service reform and veterans’ benefits. His achievements as President include the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act and the creation of national parks. However, his administration created controversy due to his support for protective tariffs and the treatment of Indians on the Western Frontier.

Political Career

In 1749, Harrison took over his father’s estate and was elected to the House of Burgesses. He served there without interruption until 1775 and was often elected Speaker of the House.

In 1764, Harrison sat on a committee that drafted a protest against the proposed Stamp Act; however, he opposed Patrick Henry’s Virginia Resolves (1765), which condemned the Stamp Act for violating Americans’ rights as subjects of the Crown.

AHC Notes

Virginia Resolves (1765) — A set of statements passed by the Virginia House of Burgesses on May 30, 1765, in response to the Stamp Act. Proposed by Patrick Henry, the resolves claimed that Virginians possessed the historic rights of Englishmen and could be taxed only by their own elected representatives. Although only five resolves were officially passed, newspapers published seven, helping spread resistance to the Stamp Act and encouraging other colonial assemblies to adopt similar measures.

Patriot Cause

Tensions between the American Colonies and Great Britain intensified in 1773 due to the Tea Crisis. At this time, Harrison took a firm position and, as a member of Virginia’s Committee of Correspondence, helped shape the plan for resistance.

After Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, dissolved the House of Burgesses in May 1774, Harrison joined other members in calling for a “general congress of the colonies.” The Virginia Convention, which met in August, elected him as a delegate to the First Continental Congress.

John Adams wrote that “these gentlemen of Virginia appear to be the most spirited and consistent of any. Harrison said he would have come on foot rather than not come.”

Harrison returned to the Second Continental Congress in 1775 and, despite brief changes in Virginia politics, served there until 1778, although he stepped down in October 1777.

During this time, he represented his county in the Virginia Conventions of 1775 and 1776. When the state government was formed in 1776, he won election to the new House of Delegates and continued to serve until 1781.

AHC Notes

John Murray, Lord Dunmore (1732–1809) — Murray served as the Royal Governor of New York and then Virginia. Dunmore governed Virginia during Lord Dunmore’s War (1774) and then clashed with Patriot leaders in the early days of the American Revolutionary War. Dunmore was forced to flee Virginia in 1775 and never returned.
Virginia Conventions (1774–1776) — A series of meetings in which leaders of the Patriot Cause organized resistance to British policies. This included providing support for Boston in the wake of the passage of the Intolerable Acts, electing delegates to the First and Second Continental Congress, establishing a Committee of Safety, and organizing the colony’s military forces. The 5th Virginia Convention declared the British government in Virginia was “totally dissolved” and issued instructions to Richard Henry Lee to propose independence. This Convention also adopted George Mason’s Declaration of Rights, the precursor to the U.S. Bill of Rights, and adopted the 1st Virginia Constitution.

Service in the Continental Congress

Although Harrison rarely spoke in Congress, he was a member of a committee that met with General George Washington at his headquarters in Cambridge in October 1775.

Harrison was the first member appointed to the Committee of Secret Correspondence in November 1775, which later became the Committee for Foreign Affairs.

In March 1776, Harrison joined the Marine Committee, and in June, he was selected for the new Board of War and Ordnance. In these roles, he helped lay the foundation for the future Departments of State, War, and the Navy. Although he never served on the Treasury Committee, he worked on many groups that dealt with financial issues.

From March 1776 to August 1777, he served almost continuously as chairman of the Committee of the Whole. In this position, he presided over some of the critical debates that produced the Declaration of Independence, which he later signed. He also participated in the early discussions on the Articles of Confederation.

Despite all of his efforts, John Adams called him “an indolent, luxurious, heavy gentleman, of no use in Congress or committee, but a great embarrassment to both.”

AHC Notes

Articles of Confederation — The Articles of Confederation, proposed in 1777 and ratified in 1781, established the first constitution of the United States. It created a weak central government that left most powers to the states, reflecting the fear of a strong central government. Although it successfully guided the nation through the American Revolutionary War, its weaknesses in taxation, trade, and governance led to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

Return to Virginia Politics

After Harrison left the Continental Congress in October 1777, he returned to the House of Delegates. In May 1778, he was elected as Speaker, a position he held until 1781.

When Governor Thomas Nelson Jr. resigned in November 1781, Harrison became Governor of Virginia and was reelected twice, the maximum allowed by the state’s Constitution.

The most important event during his term was Virginia’s decision to give up the claims to its “Western Lands” north and west of the Ohio River.

When Harrison’s term as Governor ended in 1784, he returned to the House of Delegates and served there until his death.

AHC Notes

Thomas Nelson Jr. (1738–1789) — Nelson was a Virginia Patriot leader who rose to prominence during the American Revolution. He moved from colonial politics into leadership as a member of the House of Burgesses, a Continental Congress delegate, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He later served as Brigadier General commanding Virginia’s state forces and became Governor in 1781 during British raids and the Yorktown Campaign.

United States Constitution

At the Virginia Convention of 1788, which met to consider the Federal Constitution, he chaired the committee on privileges and elections, though he spoke infrequently.

In his main address, he restated his loyalty to the Union but opposed the Constitution in its original form, arguing that a Bill of Rights should be added before approval.
After the Convention rejected his view, he ended his resistance and offered full support to the Constitution and the new Federal Government.

Accomplishments and Milestones

1726, April 5 — Benjamin Harrison was born in Charles City County, Virginia.
1749 — Harrison served in the House of Burgesses.
1764 — He supported colonial rights.
1765 — Harrison opposed Patrick Henry’s Stamp Act Resolves.
1773 — He joined the Virginia Committee of Correspondence and supported resistance to British authority.
1773, February 9 — William Henry Harrison, his son, was born.
1776 — Harrison signed the Declaration of Independence.
1777 — He returned to Virginia politics and served in the House of Delegates.
1778 — Harrison served as speaker of the House of Delegates.
1781 — He ended his term as speaker of the House of Delegates.
1788 — Harrison initially opposed the Federal Constitution at the Virginia Ratifying Convention and won election as Governor.
1791, April 24 — He died in Charles City County, Virginia. He was 65.

AP US History (APUSH)

Alignment

Benjamin Harrison V is part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the AP US History curriculum:

Definition

Benjamin Harrison V (1726–1791) — Harrison was a Virginia politician who rose to prominence during the American Revolution. Although he signed the Declaration of Independence, making him a Founding Father, he is likely better known as the father of one President, William Henry Harrison, and the great-grandfather of another, Benjamin Harrison.

Written by Randal Rust