If anybody thinks of Benjamin Harrison and very few people do, they think of him as the

guy whose presidency is sandwiched between the two terms of Grover, Cleveland.

But the 23rd President of the United States is much more than the answer to a trivia question.

One could make the case that Harrison was among the most consequential single term presidents in American history.

Here's just a partial list of what he accomplished in four years.

Pushed through the first serious legislation to protect consumers, the Meat Inspection Act.

Promoted merit over patronage as the basis of government employment,

appointing a young brash reformer named Theodore Roosevelt

to the Civil Service Commission.

Added six Western states to the Union, a presidential record.

North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming.

Designated 22 million acres as forest reserves, establishing Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.

Signed the Sherman Antitrust Act, enabling the federal government to break up monopolies.

Made America a legitimate naval power by adding over two dozen steel ships to the fleet, and established Ellis Island, bringing order to the nation's

immigration process.

There's a reason why Frederick Douglas, the great civil rights leader, said of Harrison.

We never had a greater president.

As much as any president in the second half of the 19th century, Harrison was

repelled by the injustices inflicted on black Americans. He was

committed to doing something about it. When and under what conditions is the black man to have a free ballot?

When is he in fact to have those full civil rights which have so long been his in law?

He answered the first question by endorsing legislation to

...