Benjamin Harrison: A President at the Crossroads

He was a man living in two worlds. He witnessed both the extremes of wealth and poverty in the Gilded Age and the unbridled promise of the Modern Era. He saw the rise of prairie populism and a country’s transformation from rural isolationism to international power. He dreamed of a world where men shared the same civil rights regardless of color, but was challenged at every pass. Above all else, Benjamin Harrison was America’s Hoosier President, raising a family in the country’s heartland in Indianapolis.. Who was this 23rd president of the United States? A war hero and champion of veterans. Cold in conversation but a brilliant lawyer and orator. In conservation, he was visionary; in foreign affairs, foresighted; in personal affairs, unconventional. He was an early architect of a social safety net. He signed landmark anti-trust legislation still on the books today. You’ll discover the politics and the power, the personality and the private life, of a man at the crossroads between the past and the now. But always, a President with boundless faith in people: “An American could not be a good citizen who did not have hope in his heart.” FOLLOW WFYI ELSEWHERE Instagram:   / wfyi_indy   Facebook:   / wfyipublicmedia   X:   / wfyi   The WFYI programs you love are possible thanks to your support. Donate today: https://www.wfyi.org/give #indianahistory, #presidents, #americanhistory