ABSTRACT
Histories of the United States, understandably, tell of the backgrounds and achievements of the nation’s presidents. Some of them like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and a few others, receive considerable attention and much praise. Benjamin Harrison was president for only a single term, being defeated by Cleveland in the 1892 presidential contest. Most popular histories and most textbooks give limited attention to Harrison’s term of office. Textbook accounts are necessarily brief; accordingly, little evidence is provided to support the claims of dominance. The image of ruthless, greedy, self-serving businessmen and politicians is asserted in many progressive accounts, largely through selective reporting, as seen here in Josephson’s treatment of Harrison and his cabinet appointees. In the late 1880s, Chernow reports, fifteen or sixteen antitrust measures had been circulated in Congress. Harrison and his government also had to deal with a wide range of foreign policy issues, these stemming from much more complex circumstances than the matters originating in Congress.
