Editing William Henry Harrison (section)

===U.S. Congress===
[[File:W.H. Harrison ca. 1800.jpg|thumb|left|An engraved portrait print of Harrison at age 27, as a delegate member of the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] from the [[Northwest Territory]] by [[Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin]], {{Circa|1800}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2007676954/|title=William Henry Harrison, 9th Pres. of United States|last=de Saint-Mémin|first= Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret|date=January 1800 |publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=August 5, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/presidents/bio9.htm|title=Biographical Sketch–William Henry Harrison|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=August 5, 2016}}</ref>]]
Harrison had many friends in the eastern aristocracy and quickly gained a reputation among them as a frontier leader. He ran a successful horse-breeding enterprise that won him acclaim throughout the Northwest Territory.{{sfn|Gugin|St. Clair|2006|p=19}} Congress had legislated a territorial policy that led to high land costs, a primary concern for settlers in the Territory; Harrison became their champion to lower those prices. The Northwest Territory's population reached a sufficient number to have a congressional delegate in October 1799, and Harrison ran for election.{{sfn|Gugin|St. Clair|2006|p=20}} He campaigned to encourage further migration to the territory, which eventually led to statehood.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.in.gov/history/files/interritory.pdf|title=Indiana Territory|publisher=The Indiana Historian|access-date=November 13, 2021}}</ref>

Harrison defeated Arthur St. Clair Jr. by one vote to become the Northwest Territory's first congressional delegate in 1798 at age 26, and served in the [[Sixth United States Congress]] from March 4, 1799, to May 14, 1800.<ref name="wh">{{cite web|title=William Henry Harrison Biography |work=About The White House: Presidents |publisher=The White House |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/presidents/williamhenryharrison |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122233458/http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williamhenryharrison/ |archive-date=January 22, 2009|access-date=November 6, 2021}}</ref><ref name="cb">{{cite web|title=William Henry Harrison (1773–1841) Biography|publisher=United States Congress|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=h000279|access-date=February 4, 2009}}</ref> He had no authority to vote on legislative bills, but he was permitted to serve on a committee, to submit legislation, and to engage in debate.{{sfn|Owens|2007|pp=45–48}} He became chairman of the Committee on Public Lands and promoted the Land Act of 1800, which made it easier to buy Northwest Territory land in smaller tracts at a lower cost.{{sfn|Gugin|St. Clair|2006|p=20}} Freeholders were permitted to buy smaller lots with a down payment of only five percent, and this became an important factor in the Territory's rapid population growth.{{sfn|Langguth|2007|p=161}}

Harrison was also instrumental in arranging the division of the Territory into two sections.{{sfn|Gugin|St. Clair|2006|p=20}} The eastern section continued to be known as the Northwest Territory and included present-day [[Ohio]] and eastern [[Michigan]]; the western section was named the [[Indiana Territory]] and included present-day [[Indiana]], [[Illinois]], [[Wisconsin]], a portion of western [[Michigan]], and an eastern portion of [[Minnesota]]. The two new territories were formally established by law in 1800.{{sfn|Owens|2007|pp=47–48}}

On May 13, 1800, President [[John Adams]] appointed Harrison as the governor of the Indiana Territory, based on his ties to the west and his apparent neutral political stances.{{sfn|Owens|2007|pp=50–51}} He served in this capacity for twelve years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.in.gov/history/about-indiana-history-and-trivia/governors-portraits/list-of-governors/indiana-territorial-governor-william-henry-harrison-1773-1841|title=Indiana Territorial Governor|date=December 15, 2020|publisher=Indiana Historical Bureau|access-date=November 28, 2021}}</ref> His governorship was confirmed by the Senate and he resigned from Congress to become the first Indiana territorial governor in 1801.{{sfn|Gugin|St. Clair|2006|p=20}}{{sfn|Owens|2007|pp=50–53}}