Monday, Sooo soon.

Re: Monday,  Sooo soon.

John Veerkamp, Western Mo

gotta be an early one -16 stars. An aristrocratic planter wanting to seem like a common man.

Yup.

Re: Yup.

Ken Oakley-Sunny St. Cloud, Fla

You mean Jimmie Carter?????

It's not but too similar for comfort.

Re: Monday answer

Gary Smyth

John gets today�s gold star. Darn, I neglected to look at the flag. Well done.

In 1840 candidate William Henry Harrison was sold as a simple frontier Indian fighter, living in a log cabin and drinking cider, in sharp contrast to an aristocratic champagne-sipping Van Buren. Van Buren, by contrast, was presented as a wealthy elitist who spent taxpayers' money on champagne and on crystal goblets from which to sip it.

"Tippecanoe and Tyler too,"(Tyler was at the time the VP candidate) became among the most famous sayings in American politics.

Wm. Henry Harrison was in fact a scion of the Virginia planter aristocracy. He was born at Berkeley in 1773. He studied classics and history at Hampden-Sydney College, then began the study of medicine in Richmond. As a landowner in Virginia he grew up being vehemently pro slavery.

However in 1791, Harrison switched interests from academia. He obtained a commission as ensign in the First Infantry of the Regular Army, and headed to the Northwest (Ohio), where he spent much of his life.

In the campaign against the Indians, Harrison served as aide-de-camp to General "Mad Anthony" Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. After resigning from the Army in 1798, he became Secretary of the Northwest Territory, was its first delegate to Congress, and helped obtain legislation dividing the Territory into the Northwest and Indiana Territories. In 1801 he became Governor of the Indiana Territory, serving 12 years.

His prime task as governor was to obtain title to Indian lands so settlers could press forward into the wilderness. He like many others violated every previous treaty previous to that time to get the job done. When the Indians retaliated, Harrison was responsible for defending the settlements.

The threat against settlers became serious in 1809. An eloquent and energetic chieftain, Tecumseh, with his religious brother, the Prophet, began to strengthen an Indian confederation to prevent further encroachment. In 1811 Harrison received permission to attack the confederacy. While Tecumseh was away seeking more allies, Harrison led about a thousand men toward the Prophet's town. Before dawn on November 7, the Indians acted first and attacked Harrison's camp on Tippecanoe River. After heavy fighting, Harrison repulsed them, but suffered 190 dead and wounded.

Thereafter Harrison returned to civilian life; the Whigs, in need of a national hero, nominated him for President in 1840. The picture below is a paint over. Originally it was in civilian clothes but for the impact, the military uniform was overpainted to lend credibility as an �American�. He won by a majority of less than 150,000, but swept the Electoral College, 234 to 60. But before he had been in office a month, he caught a cold that developed into pneumonia. On April 4, 1841, he died--the first President to die in office