President for 30 Days: President William Henry Harrison

Looking for great YouTube video clips, books, and free worksheets and lapbooks for teaching and/or learning about President William Henry Harrison? Here you will find my favorite picks we used while studying the individual Presidents of the United States. This is part of a series of lessons I posted on individual Presidents. You can find links to all the lessons at President's Day Unit Study .

William Henry Harrison's presidency is most characterized by the length of his term. He was served as president for 30 days, 12 hours, & 30 minutes, the shortest presidential term in American history.

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Presidential Term: 1841

Political Party: Whig

Nickname: "Old Tippecanoe"

Vice President: John Tyler

Birthplace: Virginia

Occupation: Soldier

Yearly Salary as President: $25,000

Height: 5'8"

First Lady: Anna Symmes Harrison

William Henry Harrison for Teachers offers links to free worksheets, book suggestions, general information and trivia, interactive computer games, and more related to President William Henry Harrison.

Harrison's Favorite Foods provides a description of some of Harrison's favorite dishes and makes a drink recipe suggestion of (non-alcoholic) apple cider.

Presidential Statistics and Points of Interest includes an overview of William Henry Harrison's life and some fun points of interest.

William Henry Harrison: Young Tippecanoe (Young Patriots series) by Howard S. Peckham is a fun 112 page chapter book that focuses on Harrison's childhood and includes stories that show his character. How To Draw The Life And Times Of William Henry Harrison (Kid's Guide to Drawing the Presidents of the United States of America) by Hilary Barton Billman is part of a wonderful series that combines the Presidents of the United States with drawing. My 6 year old could easily follow the drawing directions and my 9 year old created some impressive art while learning more about William Henry Harrison.

1841

Africans who rebelled on the Amistad are freed by the Supreme Court

Harrison 's opponents tried to use an image of Harrison as a hard-cider drinking old man who lived in a log cabins. Harrison quickly turned the tables, adopting the theme and presenting himself as a "common man" akin to Andrew Jackson. He also emphasized his military service with the theme of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." His campaigning worked as he had a landslide victory.

During his long 2 hour inaugural address, William Henry Harrison assured the public that he would reestablish the Bank of the United States, place confidence again in paper currency, refrain from his use of veto power, agree to the decisions made by the legislative branch, and discontinue the spoils system made popular by Andrew Jackson.

William Henry Harrison contracted pneumonia and died in the White House after serving as president for one month. The prevailing medical opinion of the day blamed his refusal to wear a coat or hat during the cold weather as he delivered his long inaugural address. Modern medical opinion has refuted their claims as he did not become ill until 3 weeks after delivering his inaugural address. Harrison's last words are presumed to be directed at John Tyler, "Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of the government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more."

• President's Day Unit Study - I posted links to each of my lessons on individual Presidents here. In each lesson I included fun worksheets, children's books, YouTube clips, timelines, and recipe ideas. On this page I also included our favorite books and YouTube video clips that cover all of the Presidents of the United States.
• Fun, FREE Hands-On Unit Studies - I have posted my links to over 35 hands-on unit studies (compromised of over 170 lessons) that focus primarily on science and social studies. In each lesson plan I have listed the activities that we did (and included photos), the books we read, YouTube video clips that we watched, and lapbook links that pair with the lesson.