William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.92

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		recuperate, brigadier, military, leadership, treaty, refused, ninth, agreement, pneumonia, extremely, defeat, threat, army, general, prove, political
	content words:		William Henry Harrison, William Henry, Benjamin Harrison, This Benjamin Harrison, United States, Henry Harrison, Northwest Territory, Fallen Timbers, Native Americans, Indiana Territory

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William Henry Harrison
By Jane Runyon

¹     When you study the family tree of William Henry Harrison, it gets a bit confusing. William Henry was the son of Benjamin Harrison. Benjamin Harrison had served as governor of Virginia and signed the Declaration of Independence. William Henry was also the grandfather of another Benjamin Harrison. This Benjamin Harrison would become the twenty-third president of the United States. William Henry also had a great-great-grandson named William Henry Harrison. That's a lot of Harrisons with the same name to keep straight.

²     The first William Henry Harrison was born in 1773 in Virginia. He chose studies that would prepare him to be a doctor. In 1791, he changed his mind and decided on a career in the military. After training, he was sent to the Northwest Territory which you would recognize as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and part of Minnesota today. He served under "Mad Anthony" Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. This battle cleared the Native Americans out of the area. It opened the land, now known as Ohio, to settlers. He resigned from the army in 1798 when he was appointed Secretary of the Northwest Territory. He became the first Congressman to represent this area. In 1801, he became the Governor of the Indiana Territory. He held this position until 1813.

³     Harrison's job as governor was to get the Native Americans to agree to sign over their lands to the government. They wanted the land for the new settlers moving west. If the Indians did not do this peacefully by treaty or agreement, then he was responsible for protecting the settlers from attack.

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