Ohio's Presidents, Part One

Ohio is known as the “Mother of Presidents”. Eight men from Ohio, either born here or with significant ties to the Buckeye state, have become president. Only one man served two complete terms. Four of the eight men died in office-two by assassination. Five of the eight were generals. Seven of the eight presidents were Republicans-Willliam Henry Harrison was a member of the Whig Party. Ohio's standing in the periodic ranking of the presidents, conducted by academics, has been mediocre at best. (What can we expect when one-half of our presidents died before completing their term in office?) One of our presidents has experienced the greatest improvement in ranking of any of the 47 men.

Here are profiles of each of Ohio's presidents, hitting the highlights of their lives and legacies:

William Henry Harrison, born on February, 9, 1773, was the last president who was born a British subject. He was from a wealthy, well-connected Virginia family. He went to college and studied Latin and medicine, but dropped out to go into the military. Harrison served at Fort Washington (Cincinnati) in 1794 and was mentored by General Arthur St. Clair who became the governor of the Northwest Territory. He served under “Mad” Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. Harrison led the American Army at the Battle of Tippecanoe, defeating Tecumseh's brother, The Prophet.

After leaving the army, with the rank of major general, he became Governor of Indiana. Harrison moved to North Bend and held several Ohio public offices including U.S. Senator. Harrison lost a presidential bid in 1836 to Martin Van Buren.

Four years later he came out swinging against the incumbent. With the political slogan of "Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too", the campaign engaged the voting public with political rallies featuring barbeque, hard cider, a fiddler and several hours of political oratory. Six-foot-high balls of string with a sign, "Rollover VanBuren", placed on them were rolled over town.

Harrison, at age 68, was the oldest man to be elected president at that time. Inaugural day dawned cool, cloudy and rainy. The president insisted on speaking outside. He refused to wear a hat or overcoat. The speech was of Trumpian length-8500 words-that took two hours to deliver. The topic was how the Roman Republic could serve as a model of the American Republic. The president developed a cold, dying one month later.

Ulysses S. Grant, born in Point Pleasant, Ohio on April 27, 1822, was the nation's 18th president. He grew up in Brown County, Ohio. Grant graduated from West Point in 1843, and served in the War with Mexico, earning two brevet promotions for gallantry. He entered the Civil War as the colonel of an Illinois regiment. By 1864, Grant was appointed as commanding general of the Federal army, leading the North to victory.

For years progressive historians have condemned Grant as a failed president because of scandals that erupted during his administration. Contemporary historians have noted that the scandals started during the Johnson years and argue that there is no evidence of Grant's personal corruption. Grant is now praised as our country’s first Civil Rights President-supporting the 15th Amendment giving black men the right to vote, his successful war on KKK terrorists and efforts to pass a Civil Rights bill. Grant is also lauded for his economic policies which prepared the way for American economic world dominance.

This new look into Grant’s record has resulted in his presidential standing jumping from 32nd to 20th.

Perhaps Grant's greatest personal accomplishment was the writing of his two volume memoir. His prior writing experience was limited to military orders and later articles about his Civil War experiences, most notably the Battle of Shiloh. He sat down to write the memoir to provide for his wife Julia's future. Grant developed throat cancer, probably from the 20 cigars he smoked per day. The pain in his throat was excruciating. Opiates were prescribed. But what took away the pain also numbed his brain, making it impossible to write. He quit taking his medicine and persevered until he finished the book and then died.

The president's efforts were rewarded by the sales of tens of thousands of copies from Americans, both the North and South. The book has remained in stock since its publication. It is widely recognized as a masterpiece.

Rutherford B. Hayes's administration was dead on arrival. Hayes, the politician, was mortally wounded by the seemingly unending series of allegations of election fraud regarding the 1876 presidential election: vote tampering in several southern states, congressional stalemate, an extra constitutional measure to resolve the election, bags of cash, and unethical deal making. (This story was well told recently by Bret Baier: To Save the Republic)

Meanwhile, supporters of the Democrat candidate, former New York Governor Samuel Tilden, threatened violence in the streets if their candidate wasn't elected. To his credit, Tilden talked his supporters down from the cliff. When Congress completed its vote, Hayes was declared the winner despite having lost the popular vote. As a result, Hayes was frequently referred to as "Your Fraudulency".

Hayes was born in Delaware, Ohio on October 4, 1822. After graduating from Kenyon College, he went to Harvard Law School. He moved to Cincinnati and became a member of the anti-slavery bar and later, Cincinnati's solicitor. He married Luci Webb in 1852.

His Civil War service was heroic: participated in 50 battles, wounded 5 times and had 3 horses shot from under him. Hayes’s regiment was involved in the capture of Morgan's Raiders on Buffington Island, Ohio. His constituents elected him to Congress, but he wouldn't accept the position until the war was over. He left the army as a brevet major general. After the war he jumped back into politics, serving three times as Ohio Governor and as a member of the Ohio State University Board of Trustees.

Though severely constrained by the scandal, Hayes did pursue a reform policy of support for the 14th and 15th Amendments, education, a progressive Indian policy and civil service reform. Four years of frustration took its toll on the president. Hayes wrote, "I am heartily tired of this life of bondage, responsibility and toil. I wish it was at an end."

The president died at his home at Fremont, Ohio on January 17, 1893.

James A. Garfield was born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County on November 11, 1831. His father died 18 months later. James joined the Disciples of Christ church, becoming a lay minister (Garfield is the only president to also be a member of the clergy.) He put himself through college by working at manual labor jobs such as a janitor. He became a professor of classical languages at his alma mater Williams College.

Before the onset of the Civil War, Garfield was elected to the Ohio General Assembly. He was appointed to command the 42nd Ohio Infantry. Garfield led his men at the battles of Stones River, Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. He left the army with the rank of brevet major general.

Garfield re-entered politics and practiced law. He spent 18 years as a Republican U.S. Representative as a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Garfield was accused of accepting a $329.00 bribery, but was cleared of the charges by a congressional committee. 

The congressman went to the 1880 Republican National convention committed to fellow Ohioan John Sherman. He gave the nomination speech for Senator Sherman.  The convention was deadlocked. Garfield’s speech so impressed the delegates that he secured the Republican nomination for president on the 38th ballot. 

With less than a year in office, Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau in the Washington D.C. train depot. Clermonter General Henry Corbin was with him at the time. The president was shot twice: The first round grazed his arm and the second hit him in the stomach. The second bullet lodged in a nonvital spot in Garfield's body. For the next 40 days, doctors with unclean forceps and fingers, obsessively probed for the wound-trying to remove the bullet. They fed Garfield bizarre meals including milk and whiskey, arguing that these concoctions would speed the president's recovery.

On September 19, 1881, President Garfield died. Guiteau, a disgruntled office seeker, was charged with murder. The defendant, who was an attorney, offered a novel defense; he didn't kill the president-the doctors did. He said he wasn't guilty of murder, but only of attempted murder. He had a point. It was sepsis, a blood infection introduced by the doctors using unclean instruments that killed Garfield, not his bullet.  Most doctors today agree with that assessment.

Guiteau was convicted and hanged. Some suggested taking the remains on the road. His body was de-fleshed, and the bones were reassembled. But at the last minute the plans were cancelled. Supposedly, a portion of the man's brain rests in a bottle of alcohol, location unknown.