Presidential Biographies: Warren Harding
Warren Harding is yet another example of a President whose legacy has changed over time, in his case for the better. Once ranked near the bottom of rating of the Presidents because of the many scandals that came to light following Harding's sudden death, recent biographers have come to appreciate Harding for his presiding over a strong economy, for his efforts to bring about a peaceful world, and for his courageous stance against racism.
Harding never seemed like Presidential material. He was a small-town newspaper editor who married the daughter of his main competitor and then proceeded to have a series of extra-marital affairs, including one with a woman who may have been a German spy. By his own admission he was probably what would today be termed as a sex addict. But he had a talent for getting along with almost everyone, and when the 1920 Republican Presidential Nominating Convention was deadlocked, the party bosses turned to Harding. According to some, they reached this conclusion in a "smoke-filled room."
Harding surprised everyone by being a smart campaigner. The Democrats were a mess, in part because Woodrow Wilson still wanted to exercise control. Harding ran a "front porch campaign" aided by some celebrities of his day, and promised a "return to normalcy," in other words change from the measures Wilson had put in place. It was also the first election in which women from every state were allowed to vote, following the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, and a majority of them voted for Harding, something that no doubt would have pleased him.
As President Harding made some good cabinet selections (Charles Evans Hughes at State, Andrew Mellon at Treasury and Herbert Hoover at Commerce) and some poor ones (Harry Daugherty as Attorney-General and Albert Fall at Interior). Harding spoke to a racially mixed audience (in separate sections) in Birmingham, Alabama, courageously condemning racism and tried to undo some of the racist policies that Wilson had enacted. One of his major foreign policy achievements was the Washington Naval Conference of 1921-1922, in which the world's major naval powers agreed on a naval limitations program that lasted a decade. Harding released political prisoners who had been arrested for their opposition to World War I.
On a western tour that included visits to Alaska and Canada, Harding died of a heart attack in San Francisco. He died as one of the most popular presidents, but the subsequent exposure of scandals eroded his popularity, so much so that when Harding's body was reinterred into his tomb, his successor, Calvin Coolidge did not attend the ceremony. Revelations of Harding's extramarital affairs also came to light. Harding's interior secretary, Albert B. Fall, and his attorney general, Harry Daugherty, were each later tried for corruption in office. Fall was convicted though Daugherty was not. These trials greatly damaged Harding's reputation. In historical rankings of the U.S. presidents during the decades after his term in office, Harding was often rated among the worst. However, in recent decades, many historians have begun to reconsider this conclusion.
Biographies of Harding were not a major priority for historians it seems. Probably the best biography of Harding was written by Robert K. Murray, published in 2000 as part of the Signature Series, called The Harding Era: Warren G. Harding and His Administration. A biased biography of Harding was written by Francis Russell, published in 1968, called The Shadow of Blooming Grove: Warren Harding in His Administration. While it does compliment Harding for his progressive views on racism, the author promotes the theory that one of Harding's great-grandmothers was African American, implying that this was why Harding took an anti-racist stance, and not for moral reasons. This theory since disproven by genetic testing of Harding's descendants in 2015. A more compelling defense of Harding's presidency can be found in Ryan Walters' 2002 book The Jazz-Age President: Defending Warren G. Harding. There is also Joe Mitchell Chapple's The Life and Times of Warren G. Harding: Our After-War President
There are a couple of books that tackle the seedier parts of Harding's story in an objective manner. James David Robenault's 2009 book The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage during the Great War looks at Harding's affair with Carrie Phillips and presents evidence for the conclusion that Phillips was a German spy. Harding fathered a child with a young woman that he was having an affair with named Nan Britton. Harding and his descendants denied it, but DNA testing proved Britton to be right. She wrote a book about this in 1927 called The President's Daughter.
Laton McCartney's book, also from 2009, The Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country looks at the most famous of the scandals of the Harding Administration, examining Harding's role (primarily putting too much trust in dishonest subordinates) as well as the role of those who were most prominent in the scandal, and those who got away with it. The Ohio Gang: The World of Warren G. Harding by Charles Mee, published in 1983, provides a look at corruption in American politics during Harding's administration, including a look at the Teapot Dome scandal.
The 1920 election was a fascinating story in itself, one that is capably told in the author's usual entertaining style by David Pietrusza in his 2008 book 1920: The Year of Six Presidents. This is my favorite book about Harding. The University of Kansas Press does not yet have a volume about this election, but it's American Presidency Series volume was written by Eugene Trani and published in 1977, called The Presidency of Warren G. Harding.
Harding's unexpected death provided fodder for conspiracy theorists who postulated that Harding had been murdered. This speculation was fueled after first lady Florence Harding refused to permit an autopsy. A former FBI agent and convicted con man named Gaston Means wrote a book, published in 1930, called The Strange Death of President Harding that promoted this theory, sans any credible evidence. It was really just an attempt by Means to make some money with a sensationalist story. Another author, Robert Farrell, wrote a book about this subject that was published in 1996 called The Strange Deaths of President Harding, but it's really an attempt to rehabilitate Harding's tarnished reputation, while tackling head on some of the more controversial aspects of Harding's life, including his extramarital affairs and the political corruption of his administration, as well as his death.
Before I close this, I almost forgot one work of fiction about Harding that I found very enjoyable, Jim Yoakum's 2012 book The Bloviator: Sex, Drugs, Fraud, Suicide, Murder, Scandal, Adultery, Quackery, Corruption, Superstition and President Warren G. Harding, a fun read indeed.
Warren Harding represents many of the best and the worst qualities of the American Presidency. He actually wasn't a bad president if you overlook the corruption that took place right under his nose. His Birmingham speech is one of the single most courageous acts of any President, as was his pardoning of Socialist leader Eugene Debs, a man jailed by Woodrow Wilson for speaking out against the war. But it's also hard to overlook his philandering, and his selection of corrupt cronies who plundered the people's resources for personal gain. Warren Harding is the personification of the cartoon character with the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other.
Harding never seemed like Presidential material. He was a small-town newspaper editor who married the daughter of his main competitor and then proceeded to have a series of extra-marital affairs, including one with a woman who may have been a German spy. By his own admission he was probably what would today be termed as a sex addict. But he had a talent for getting along with almost everyone, and when the 1920 Republican Presidential Nominating Convention was deadlocked, the party bosses turned to Harding. According to some, they reached this conclusion in a "smoke-filled room."
Harding surprised everyone by being a smart campaigner. The Democrats were a mess, in part because Woodrow Wilson still wanted to exercise control. Harding ran a "front porch campaign" aided by some celebrities of his day, and promised a "return to normalcy," in other words change from the measures Wilson had put in place. It was also the first election in which women from every state were allowed to vote, following the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, and a majority of them voted for Harding, something that no doubt would have pleased him.
As President Harding made some good cabinet selections (Charles Evans Hughes at State, Andrew Mellon at Treasury and Herbert Hoover at Commerce) and some poor ones (Harry Daugherty as Attorney-General and Albert Fall at Interior). Harding spoke to a racially mixed audience (in separate sections) in Birmingham, Alabama, courageously condemning racism and tried to undo some of the racist policies that Wilson had enacted. One of his major foreign policy achievements was the Washington Naval Conference of 1921-1922, in which the world's major naval powers agreed on a naval limitations program that lasted a decade. Harding released political prisoners who had been arrested for their opposition to World War I.
On a western tour that included visits to Alaska and Canada, Harding died of a heart attack in San Francisco. He died as one of the most popular presidents, but the subsequent exposure of scandals eroded his popularity, so much so that when Harding's body was reinterred into his tomb, his successor, Calvin Coolidge did not attend the ceremony. Revelations of Harding's extramarital affairs also came to light. Harding's interior secretary, Albert B. Fall, and his attorney general, Harry Daugherty, were each later tried for corruption in office. Fall was convicted though Daugherty was not. These trials greatly damaged Harding's reputation. In historical rankings of the U.S. presidents during the decades after his term in office, Harding was often rated among the worst. However, in recent decades, many historians have begun to reconsider this conclusion.
Biographies of Harding were not a major priority for historians it seems. Probably the best biography of Harding was written by Robert K. Murray, published in 2000 as part of the Signature Series, called The Harding Era: Warren G. Harding and His Administration. A biased biography of Harding was written by Francis Russell, published in 1968, called The Shadow of Blooming Grove: Warren Harding in His Administration. While it does compliment Harding for his progressive views on racism, the author promotes the theory that one of Harding's great-grandmothers was African American, implying that this was why Harding took an anti-racist stance, and not for moral reasons. This theory since disproven by genetic testing of Harding's descendants in 2015. A more compelling defense of Harding's presidency can be found in Ryan Walters' 2002 book The Jazz-Age President: Defending Warren G. Harding. There is also Joe Mitchell Chapple's The Life and Times of Warren G. Harding: Our After-War President
There are a couple of books that tackle the seedier parts of Harding's story in an objective manner. James David Robenault's 2009 book The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage during the Great War looks at Harding's affair with Carrie Phillips and presents evidence for the conclusion that Phillips was a German spy. Harding fathered a child with a young woman that he was having an affair with named Nan Britton. Harding and his descendants denied it, but DNA testing proved Britton to be right. She wrote a book about this in 1927 called The President's Daughter.
Laton McCartney's book, also from 2009, The Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country looks at the most famous of the scandals of the Harding Administration, examining Harding's role (primarily putting too much trust in dishonest subordinates) as well as the role of those who were most prominent in the scandal, and those who got away with it. The Ohio Gang: The World of Warren G. Harding by Charles Mee, published in 1983, provides a look at corruption in American politics during Harding's administration, including a look at the Teapot Dome scandal.
The 1920 election was a fascinating story in itself, one that is capably told in the author's usual entertaining style by David Pietrusza in his 2008 book 1920: The Year of Six Presidents. This is my favorite book about Harding. The University of Kansas Press does not yet have a volume about this election, but it's American Presidency Series volume was written by Eugene Trani and published in 1977, called The Presidency of Warren G. Harding.
Harding's unexpected death provided fodder for conspiracy theorists who postulated that Harding had been murdered. This speculation was fueled after first lady Florence Harding refused to permit an autopsy. A former FBI agent and convicted con man named Gaston Means wrote a book, published in 1930, called The Strange Death of President Harding that promoted this theory, sans any credible evidence. It was really just an attempt by Means to make some money with a sensationalist story. Another author, Robert Farrell, wrote a book about this subject that was published in 1996 called The Strange Deaths of President Harding, but it's really an attempt to rehabilitate Harding's tarnished reputation, while tackling head on some of the more controversial aspects of Harding's life, including his extramarital affairs and the political corruption of his administration, as well as his death.
Before I close this, I almost forgot one work of fiction about Harding that I found very enjoyable, Jim Yoakum's 2012 book The Bloviator: Sex, Drugs, Fraud, Suicide, Murder, Scandal, Adultery, Quackery, Corruption, Superstition and President Warren G. Harding, a fun read indeed.
Warren Harding represents many of the best and the worst qualities of the American Presidency. He actually wasn't a bad president if you overlook the corruption that took place right under his nose. His Birmingham speech is one of the single most courageous acts of any President, as was his pardoning of Socialist leader Eugene Debs, a man jailed by Woodrow Wilson for speaking out against the war. But it's also hard to overlook his philandering, and his selection of corrupt cronies who plundered the people's resources for personal gain. Warren Harding is the personification of the cartoon character with the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other.