Harrison, Benjamin
Harrison, Benjamin
HARRISON, BENJAMIN. (1726?–1791). Signer. Virginia. Born on the family estate in Charles City County, Virginia, Benjamin Harrison belonged to a wealthy and powerful family. He attended the College of William and Mary before taking charge of the family estate, "Berkeley," upon his father's death. He served in the House of Burgesses (1749–1775), frequently as speaker. Although strongly in favor of colonial rights in 1764, he opposed Patrick Henry's 1765 Stamp Act Resolutions as impolitic. By 1773 he was a member of the Committee of Correspondence and completely in favor of resisting British authority. He was appointed to the first Continental Congress, serving until 1777. He was politically active, signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and sat on the committees concerned with foreign affairs, war and ordnance, and the navy. Returning to state politics in 1777, he sat in the House of Delegates, 1777–81, 1785–87, serving as its speaker from 1778 to 1781. He was then governor of Virginia for three years. He opposed the federal Constitution at the state ratifying convention of 1788, and was elected governor that year as an antifederalist. He died in office, 24 April 1791. His youngest son, William Henry, and his great-grandson, Benjamin, were presidents of the United States.
SEE ALSO Henry, Patrick.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Risjord, Norman K. Chesapeake Politics, 1781–1800. New York: Columbia University Press, 1978.
revised by Michael Bellesiles