Benjamin Harrison Free online reading

Benjamin Harrison, the “Centennial President,” failed to achieve many of his goals (for instance, he was unable to secure passage of federal leg­islation to ensure public school education and voting rights for African Americans in the South). Yet he successfully pressed Congress to pass the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to deal with the growing threat posed by cor­porate trusts and monopolies. Using his presidential power to protect a Supreme Court justice who had received threats of physical harm, Har­rison also expanded the president’s power under the Constitution’s Take Care Clause and began a practice that continues today. Ironically, the Supreme Court that Harrison helped shape subsequently thwarted many of his principal initiatives during his single term.