In 1889, Benjamin Harrison became the twenty-third president of the United States. His grandfather, William Henry Harrison, was elected president of the United States 48 years earlier, but died within one month of being sworn in as president.
Benjamin Harrison's term lasted four years and was very productive. Important anti-trust legislation was passed and he signed the the McKinley Tariff Act, which protected many fledgling American businesses from overseas competition. The Republican Party also began to make a comeback from the excesses of Radical Republican actions after the Civil War.
Harrison supported the voting rights of Southern Blacks and was a strong supporter of education for southern blacks. Unfortunately, legislation supporting these issues did not pass in Congress and this marked the last attempts to improve civil rights for the next 50 years. Finally, the Harrison administration paved the way for American Foreign Policy in the latter part of the 1800's.
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