(August 20, 1833–March 13, 1901), was the 23rd President of the United States, 1889–93; married Mary Scott Lord Dimmick, 1896, after the death of his first wife; U.S. Senator, 1881–87; Chairman of the Indiana delegations to the Republican National Conventions, 1880, 1884; member of the Mississippi River Commission, 1879, appointed by President Hayes; Brigadier General, 1865, during the Civil War; Colonel of the 70th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, 1862, taking part in the Atlanta campaign with General Sherman; appointed elder of the Presbyterian Church, 1861; Indiana State Supreme Court Reporter, 1860–62; Secretary of the Republican State Central Committee of Indiana, 1858; City Attorney, 1857–61; Commissioner for the Court of Claims, 1855; admitted to the bar, 1853; married Caroline “Carrie” Lavinia Scott, 1853; graduated from Miami University, Ohio, 1852; and grandson of the 9th President, William Henry Harrison, and great-grandson of the signer of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Harrison.
While Colonel of the Seventieth Indiana Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, Benjamin Harrison wrote to his wife, Carrie:
I hope you all remember us at home and that many prayers go up to God daily for my Regiment and for me. Ask Him for me in prayer, my dear wife, first that He will enable me to bear myself as a good soldier of Jesus Christ; second that He will give me valor and skill to conduct myself so as to honor my country and my friends, and lastly, if consistent with His holy will, I may be brought “home again” to the dear loved ones, if not that the rich consolation of His grace may be made sufficient for men and for those who survive. … 2688
After the war, Benjamin Harrison resumed serving as a reporter for the Supreme Court. He then became a successful lawyer, being a member of the firm Porter, Harrison and Fishback, and later of Harrison, Miller and Elam. A strong Republican party leader, he campaigned for President Grant in 1868 and 1872; and President Garfield, 1880. In 1881, Benjamin Harrison was elected a U.S. Senator from Indiana, and in 1888 he was nominated for the Presidency at the Republican National Convention in Chicago.
On Monday, March 4, 1889, in his Inaugural Address, President Benjamin Harrison stated:
Entering thus solemnly into covenant with each other, we may reverently invoke and confidently extend the favor and help of Almighty God—that He will give to me wisdom, strength, and fidelity, and to our people a spirit of fraternity and a love of righteousness and peace. …
No other people have a government more worthy of their respect and love or a land so magnificent in extent, so pleasant to look upon, and so full of generous suggestion to enterprise and labor.
God has placed upon our head a diadem and has laid at our feet power and wealth beyond definition or calculation.
But we must not forget that we take these gifts upon the condition that justice and mercy shall hold the reins of power and the upward avenues of hope shall be free to all people.2689
On Thursday, April 4, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison issued a Proclamation of a National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving, in honor of the Centennial of George Washington’s Presidential Inauguration:
A hundred years have passed since the Government which our forefathers founded was formally organized. At noon on the 30th day of April, 1789, in the city of New York, and in the presence of an assemblage of the heroic men whose patriotic devotion had led the colonies to victory and independence, George Washington took the oath of office as Chief Magistrate of the new-born Republic. This impressive act was preceded at 9 o’clock in the morning in all the churches of the city by prayer for God’s blessing on the Government and its first President.
The centennial of this illustrious event in our history has been declared a general holiday by act of Congress, to the end that the people of the whole country may join in commemorative exercises appropriate to the day.
In order that the joy of the occasion may be associated with a deep thankfulness in the minds of the people for all our blessings in the past and a devout supplication to God for their gracious continuance in the future, the representatives of the religious creeds, both Christian and Hebrew, have memorialized the Government to designate an hour for prayer and thanksgiving on that day.
Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States of America, in response to this pious and reasonable request, do recommend that on Tuesday, April 30, at the hour of 9 o’clock in the morning, the people of the entire country repair to their respective places of divine worship to implore the favor of God that the blessings of liberty, prosperity, and peace may abide with us as a people, and that His hand may lead us in the paths of righteousness and good deeds.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed.
Done in the city of Washington, this 4th day of April, A.D. 1889, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and thirteenth. Benj. Harrison.
By the President: James G. Blaine, Secretary of State.2690
On Friday, June 7, 1889, from his Executive Mansion, President Benjamin Harrison wrote:
In November, 1862, President Lincoln quoted the words of Washington to sustain his own views, and announced in a general order that—
“The President, Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, desires and enjoins the orderly observance of the Sabbath by the officers and men in the military and naval service. The importance for man and beast of the prescribed weekly rest, the sacred rights of Christian soldiers and sailors, a becoming deference to the best sentiment of a Christian people, and a due regard for the divine will demand that Sunday labor in the Army and Navy be reduced to the measure of strict necessity.”
The truth so concisely stated can not be too faithfully regarded, and the pressure to ignore it is far less now than in the midst of war. To recall the kindly and considerate spirit of the orders issued by these great men in the most trying times of our history, and to promote contentment and efficiency, the President directs that Sunday-morning inspection will be merely of the dress and general appearance, without arms; and the more complete inspection under arms, with all men present, as required in paragraph 950, Army Regulations, 1889, will take place on Saturday. Benj. Harrison.
By the President: Ronald Proctor, Secretary of War.2691
On November 1, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison issued a Proclamation of a National Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer:
A highly favored people, mindful of their dependence on the bounty of Divine Providence, should seek fitting occasion to testify gratitude and ascribe praise to Him who is the author of their many blessings. It behooves us, then, to look back with thankful hearts over the past year and bless God for His infinite mercy in vouchsafing to our land enduring peace, to our people freedom from pestilence and famine, to our husbandmen abundant harvests, and to them that labor a recompense of their toil.
Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States of America, do earnestly recommend that Thursday, the 28th day of this present month of November, be set apart as a day of national thanksgiving and prayer, and that the people of our country, ceasing from the cares and labors of their working day, shall assemble in their respective places of worship and give thanks to God, who has prospered us on our way and made our paths the paths of peace, beseeching Him to bless the day to our present and future good, making it truly one of thanksgiving for each reunited home circle as for the nation at large.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of November, A.D. 1889, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and fourteenth. Benj. Harrison.
By the President: James G. Blaine, Secretary of State.2692
On December 3, 1889, from his Executive Mansion in Washington, President Benjamin Harrison wrote his First Annual Message:
The recommendations of this international conference of enlightened statesmen will doubtless have the considerate attention of Congress and its cooperation in the removal of unnecessary barriers to beneficial intercourse between the nations of America.
But while the commercial results which it is hoped will follow this conference are worthy of pursuit and of the great interests they have excited, it is believed that the crowning benefit will be found in the better securities which may be devised for the maintenance of peace among all American nations and the settlement of all contentions by methods that a Christian civilization can approve.2693
On February 10, 1890, in a Proclamation regarding the Sioux Nation of Indians in Dakota, President Benjamin Harrison stated:
It is therein provided that if any land in said Great Sioux Reservation is occupied and used by any religious society at the date of said act for the purpose of missionary or educational work among the Indians, whether situated outside of or within the limits of any of the separate reservations, the same, not exceeding 160 acres in any one tract, shall be granted to said society for the purposes and upon the terms and conditions therein named.2694
On November 8, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison issued a Proclamation of a National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving:
By the grace and favor of Almighty God the people of this nation have been led to the closing days of the passing year, which has been full of the blessings of peace and the comforts of plenty. Bountiful compensation has come to us for the work of our minds and of our hands in every department of human industry.
Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States of America, do hereby appoint Thursday, the 27th day of the present month of November, to be observed as a day of prayer and thanksgiving; and I do invite the people upon that day to cease from their labors, to meet in their accustomed houses of worship, and to join in rendering gratitude and praise to our beneficent Creator for the rich blessings He has granted to us as a nation and in invoking the continuance of His protection and grace for the future. I commend to my fellow-citizens the privilege of remembering the poor, the homeless, and the sorrowful. Let us endeavor to merit the promised recompense of charity and the gracious acceptance of our praise.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 8th day of November, A.D. 1890, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and fifteenth. Benj. Harrison.
By the President: James G. Blaine, Secretary of State.2695
On November 13, 1891, President Benjamin Harrison issued a Proclamation of a National Day of Joyful Thanksgiving:
It is a very glad incident of the marvelous prosperity which has crowned the year now drawing to a close that its helpful and reassuring touch has been felt by all our people. It has been as wide as our country, and so special that every home has felt its comforting influence. It is too great to be the work of man’s power and too particular to be the device of his mind. To God, the beneficent and all-wise, who makes the labors of men to be fruitful, redeem their losses by His grace, and the measure of whose giving is as much beyond the thoughts of man as it is beyond his deserts, the praise and gratitude of the people of this favored nation are justly due.
Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States of America, do hereby appoint Thursday, the 26th day of November present, to be a day of joyful thanksgiving to God for the bounties of His providence, for the peace in which we are permitted to enjoy them, and for the preservation of those institutions of civil and religious liberty which He gave our fathers the wisdom to devise and establish and us the courage to preserve. Among the appropriate observances of the day are rest from toil, worship in the public congregations, the renewal of family ties about our American firesides, and thoughtful helpfulness toward those who suffer lack of the body or of the spirit.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 13th day of November, A.D. 1891, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and sixteenth. Benj. Harrison.
By the President: James G. Blaine, Secretary of State.2696
On Wednesday, December 9, 1891, in his Third Annual Message, President Benjamin Harrison commented:
This Government has found occasion to express in a friendly spirit, but with much earnestness, to the Government of the Czar its serious concern because of the harsh measures now being enforced against the Hebrews in Russia. By the revival of antisemitic laws, long in abeyance, great numbers of those unfortunate people have been constrained to abandon their homes and leave the Empire by reason of the impossibility of finding subsistence within the pale to which it is sought to confine them. The immigration of these people to the United States—many others countries being closed to them—is largely increasing and is likely to assume proportions which may make it difficult to find home and employment for them here and to seriously affect the labor market. It is estimated that over 1,000,000 will be forced from Russia within a few years.
The Hebrew is never a beggar; he has always kept the law—life by toil—often under severe and oppressive civil restrictions. It is also true that no race, sect, or class has more fully cared for its own than the Hebrew race. …
This consideration, as well as the suggestion of humanity, furnishes ample ground for the remonstrances which we have presented to Russia. …
The Attorney General and also the Commissioners of the District of Columbia call attention to the defectiveness and inadequacy of the laws relating to crimes against chastity in the District of Columbia. A stringent code upon this subject has been provided by Congress for Utah, and it is a matter of surprise that the needs of this District should have been so long overlooked.2697
On January 5, 1892, from his Executive Mansion, President Benjamin Harrison wrote to the Senate and House of Representatives:
The famine prevailing in some of the Provinces of Russia is so severe and widespread as to have attracted the sympathetic interest of a large number of our liberal and favored people. In some of the great grain-producing States of the West movements have already been organized to collect flour and meal for the relief of these perishing Russian families, and the response has been such as to justify the belief that a ship’s cargo can very soon be delivered at the seaboard through the generous cooperation of the transportation lines. It is most appropriate that a people whose storehouses have been so lavishly filled with all the fruits of the earth by the gracious favor of God should manifest their gratitude by large gifts to His suffering children in other lands.2698
On March 24, 1892, from his Executive Mansion, President Benjamin Harrison sent the request to Congress:
The parade of the survivors of our great armies [of the Civil War] upon Pennsylvania avenue will bring vividly back to us those joyful momentous days when the great victorious armies of the East and of the West marched through the streets of Washington in high parade and were received by our citizens with joyful acclaim. It seems to me that it will be highly appropriate for Congress suitably to aid in making this demonstration impressive and in extending to those soldiers whose lives a beneficent Providence has prolonged an opportunity to see in the security and peace, development and prosperity, which now so happily pervade the national capital the fruits of their sacrifice and valor.2699
On July 21, 1892, President Harrison stated in a Proclamation of the National Observance of the Four Hundredth Anniversary of the Discovery of America by Columbus:
Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States of America, in pursuance of the aforesaid joint resolution, do hereby appoint Friday, October 21, 1892, the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus, as a general holiday for the people of the United States. On that day let the people, so far as possible, cease from toil and devote themselves to such exercises as may best express honor to the discover and their appreciation of the great achievements of the four completed centuries of American life.
Columbus stood in his age as the pioneer of progress and enlightenment. The system of universal education is in our age the most prominent and salutary feature of the spirit of enlightenment, and it is peculiarly appropriate that the school be made by the people the center of the day’s demonstration. Let the national flag float over every schoolhouse in the country and the exercises be such as shall impress upon our youth the patriotic duties of American citizenship.
In churches and in other places of assembly of the people let there be expressions of gratitude to Divine Providence for the devout faith of the discoverer and for the divine care and guidance which has directed our history and so abundantly blessed our people.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 21st day of July, A.D. 1892, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and seventeenth. Benj. Harrison.
By the President: John W. Foster, Secretary of State.2700
On November 4, 1892, President Benjamin Harrison issued a Proclamation of a National Day of Thanksgiving:
The gifts of God to our people during the past year have been so abundant and so special that the spirit of devout thanksgiving awaits not a call, but only the appointment of a day when it may have a common expression. He has stayed the pestilence at our door; He has given us more love for the free civil institutions in the creation of which His directing providence was so conspicuous; He has awakened a deeper reverence for law; He has widened our philanthropy by a call to succor the distress in other lands; He has blessed our schools and is bringing forward a patriotic and God-fearing generation to execute His great and benevolent designs for our country; He has given us great increase in material wealth and a wide diffusion of contentment and comfort in the homes of our people; He has given His grace to the sorrowing.
Wherefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States, do call upon all our people to observe, as we have been wont, Thursday, the 24th day of this month of November, as a day of thanksgiving to God for His mercies and of supplication for His continued care and grace.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 4th day of November, 1892, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and seventeenth. Benj. Harrison.
By the President: John W. Foster, Secretary of State.2701
On January 18, 1893, from his Executive Mansion in Washington, D.C., President Benjamin Harrison wrote:
To the people of the United States:
The death of Rutherford B. Hayes, who was President of the United States from March 4, 1877, to March 4, 1881, at his home in Fremont, Ohio, at 11 p.m. yesterday, is an event the announcement of which will be received with very general and very sincere sorrow. His public service extended over many years and over a wide range of official duty. He was a patriotic citizen, a lover of the flag and of our free institutions, an industrious and conscientious civil officer, a soldier of dauntless courage, a loyal comrade and friend, a sympathetic and helpful neighbor, and the honored head of a happy Christian home.2702
President Benjamin Harrison, who was a Presbyterian, once wrote to his son, Russell Benjamin Harrison (1854–1936):
It is a great comfort to trust God—even if His providence is unfavorable. Prayer steadies one, when he is walking in slippery places—even if things asked for are not given.2703
Baring-Gould, Sabine (1834–1924), was an American songwriter. In 1864, during the critical period of the Civil War, he wrote a song underscoring the spiritual battle each individual is engaged in, entitled Onward, Christian Soldiers:
Onward, Christian soldiers,
Marching as to war,
With the Cross of Jesus
Going on before!2704