home. He won the election easily.
Presidency
As president, Harding supported business
and limited the number of immigrants
allowed to enter the United
States. During his term in office the
United States also hosted an important
international conference. Several countries
agreed to reduce the number of
warships that their navies would build.
But Harding was not a strong leader. He
appointed several dishonest men to government
jobs. They took bribes, or illegal
gifts, from companies and sold illegal
liquor permits, among other things.
Harding knew of some of those illegal
activities but did not report them.
Death
By 1923 Congress was investigating the
crimes of Harding’s officials. Harding
became ill, and on August 2 he died in
San Francisco, California, from a heart
attack or a stroke. Vice President Calvin
Coolidge succeeded him as president.
#More to explore
Coolidge, Calvin • United States
•Wilson,Woodrow
Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry is a small town in the
U.S. state ofWest Virginia. In 1859
Harpers Ferry was the site of a bloody
raid in the movement to end slavery.
The raid was one of the events that led
to the American CivilWar.
Harpers Ferry lies in the Blue Ridge
Mountains whereWest Virginia, Virginia,
and Maryland meet. At first the
town was part of Virginia. It was named
for Robert Harper. He settled there in
1734 and established a ferryboat service
across the Potomac River. In the late
1700s the U.S. government set up an
arsenal in Harpers Ferry. An arsenal is a
place to make and store weapons.
On October 16, 1859, John Brown
attacked the arsenal with a group of
about 20 armed men. Brown wanted to
end slavery. He believed that his raid
would be the first battle in a slave rebellion.
The raid was a failure. But it further
divided the Northern and Southern
states, which disagreed about slavery.
From 1861 to 1865 the North and the
South fought each other in the Civil
An illustration shows U.S. Marines breaking
into the arsenal at Harpers Ferry to capture
John Brown.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Harpers Ferry 19
War. The two sides fought many battles
for control of Harpers Ferry. In 1863 the
northwestern part of Virginia, including
Harpers Ferry, became the new state of
West Virginia. Today Harpers Ferry is
part of Harpers Ferry National Historical
Park.
..More to explore
American CivilWar • Brown, John
• Slavery
Harrisburg
Population
(2000 census)
48,950; (2007
estimate)
47,196
Harrisburg is the capital of the U.S.
state of Pennsylvania. The city lies on
the Susquehanna River.
Many people in Harrisburg work for the
government. The economy also depends
on transportation and manufacturing.
Major highways and rail lines run
through the city. Factories in Harrisburg
produce steel, clothing, electronics, and
machinery. The largest chocolate factory
in the world is in nearby Hershey.
Harrisburg began as a trading post in
about 1718. An Englishman named
John Harris built the post to trade with
the Susquehanna Indians. His son
founded a town there in 1785. In 1812
Harrisburg became the capital of Pennsylvania.
It soon developed into a transportation
center. It became a stop on
Pennsylvania’s main railroad in 1847.
..More to explore
Pennsylvania
Harrison,
Benjamin
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd president
of the United States. He won the
1888 election even though he got fewer
votes than Grover Cleveland.
Early Life
Benjamin Harrison was born on August
20, 1833, in North Bend, Ohio. He was
the son of John Scott Harrison, a farmer,
and Elizabeth Irwin Harrison. His
grandfather,William Henry Harrison,
was the ninth U.S. president.
After graduating in 1852 from Miami
University in Oxford, Ohio, Harrison
studied in a law office in Cincinnati. In
1853 he married Caroline Lavinia Scott.
The couple had two children.
The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra plays
for an audience on shore and in boats at a
concert on the Susquehanna River.
20 Harrisburg BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Harrison moved to Indianapolis, Indiana,
in 1854 to start his own law practice.
He joined the new Republican
Party and worked for the Indiana
Supreme Court. During the American
CivilWar he fought for the Union.
Political Career
After the war Harrison returned to his
law practice and his work at the Indiana
Supreme Court. In 1876 he ran unsuccessfully
for governor of Indiana. Four
years later he was elected to the U.S.
Senate. He served there from 1881 to
1887.
In 1888 the Republican Party nominated
Harrison for the presidency. His
Democratic opponent was President
Grover Cleveland. Harrison got about
100,000 fewer popular votes than Cleveland.
However, Harrison won more
votes in the electoral college, so he
became president.
Presidency
As president, Harrison expanded the
role and power of the United States. He
made treaties with several countries. His
secretary of state held the First International
Conference of American States, a
meeting of countries in theWestern
Hemisphere. Harrison also tried to
make Hawaii a U.S. territory, but Congress
refused.
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd
president of the United States.
August 20, March 13,
1833 1880 1888 1889–90 1890 1892 1901
Harrison is
born in North
