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Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Reading Comprehension for August 20
One of the wonderful things about the early American political system was that just about anyone born in the country could one day become president. It didn't matter if you started out as a backwoods farmer, as Lincoln did, or had a family background that pushed you towards greatness, as Benjamin Harrison's did. The key to success was earned through dedication to hard work, while keeping both eyes on a dream.
Benjamin Harrison was born in August 20, 1833, in North Bend, Ohio. His grandfather, William Henry Harrison, was the ninth president of the United States. (He served only one month before his sudden death.) Benjamin's father served one term as an Ohio congressman. Politics seemed a natural vocation to follow.
Benjamin had three brothers and two sisters. His father's farm income wasn't abundant, but it did allow his parents to hire a tutor to prepare him for college. He enjoyed reading and often sought quiet time alone in the library of his grandfather's estate, which adjoined the family's farm.
Young Harrison attended Farmer's College, a prep school, for two years. Then he attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He graduated in 1852 at the age of eighteen near the top of his class.
