Primary sourceBook1840

The Life and Times of William Henry Harrison

Samuel Jones Burr · 1840

A biography of William Henry Harrison written and published in 1840, during his presidential campaign and while he was still alive.

This campaign biography was published in 1840 while Harrison was alive and running for president, shaping his public image.

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Samuel Jones Burr, The Life and Times of William Henry Harrison, 1840.

About this source

What it is

This book, written by Samuel Jones Burr and published in 1840, is a biography of William Henry Harrison released during the year of his presidential campaign. In the preface, Burr explains he titled the work "Life and Times" to distinguish it from other biographies of Harrison then in print, and states he focused on events directly connected to Harrison's life.

Why it matters

Published while Harrison was still alive and running for president, this book is an example of campaign-era biography meant to build public support for a candidate. It shows how political campaigns in the 1840s used published life stories to shape a candidate's public image, and it preserves how contemporaries described and promoted Harrison during his famous

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of William Henry Harrison on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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