How Warren Harding Became President
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the oldest of eight children born to Dr. George Tryon Harding, Sr. and his wife Phoebe. It was rumored that one of Harding's great-grandmothers might have been African American, but Harding's great-great grandfather Amos claimed this was a malicious rumor started by a man who attempted to extort money from the family. Besides being a physician, Harding's father also owned The Argus, a local weekly newspaper. It was at The Argus that Harding learned the basics of the newspaper business.
Harding continued to study the printing and newspaper trade when he was a college student at Ohio Central College in Iberia. He worked at the Union Register, a newspaper in Mount Gilead, while attending college. Harding became an able public speaker in college. He graduated in 1882 at the age of 17 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He was also an accomplished cornet player and played in various bands. In 1884 Harding's Citizens' Cornet Band won the third-place $200 prize at the Ohio State Band Festival.
Following his graduation, Harding worked as a teacher and as an insurance salesman. He briefly tied to study law, but abandoned that plan. Instead he raised $300 and went into partnership with others to purchase the Marion Daily Star. The Star had the smallest circulation among the city's three newspapers. By 1886, he was the sole owner of the Star. The Paper supported the Republican Party.
Harding's paper met with strong resistance from competitors, including Amos Hall Kling, one of Marion's wealthiest real estate speculators. Although the Marion Daily Star became one of the most popular newspapers in the county, Harding's health suffered. In 1889, at age 24, he was diagnosed with exhaustion and nervous fatigue. He spent time recuperating at the Battle Creek Sanitarium before returning to Marion to continue operating the paper. In 1893, the Star became the official paper for Marion's governmental notices, after Harding exposed the rival paper for overcharging the city. When his rival paper, the Independent, ceased doing business Amos Kling immediately financed and launched another rival paper. In 1900, political opponent J.F. McNeal, with Amos Kling's help, secretly bought up $20,000 in loans owed by Harding, and immediately called them due in full. Harding was able to borrow funds to pay off the debt to save his newspaper.
On July 8, 1891 Harding married Florence Kling DeWolfe, the daughter of his nemesis Amos Hall Kling. Florence was a divorcee who was 5 years older than Harding, and the mother of a young son, Marshall Eugene DeWolfe. Florence's father had disowned her. Incensed by his daughter's decision to marry Harding, Amos Kling refused to attend the wedding or to allow his wife to do so. He refused to speak to his daughter or son-in-law for 8 years.
Harding's first political race was for the Marion County Auditor's office. He was unsuccessful, but he expected as much. In 1899 Harding was elected to fill the Ohio State Senate seat for the 13th Senatorial District. In his second term, he was chosen Republican Floor Leader. In 1903 Harding announced his campaign for Governor of Ohio. He failed to win the nomination of his party, and instead was elected Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, a post he held from 1904 to 1906. When Governor Herrick's popularity began to falter, Harding announced his candidacy for Governor again. The party bosses decided to stick by Herrick, so Harding took his name out of the running. The Democrats ended up winning the election.
In 1907, Amos Kling married his second wife and began an effort at reconciling with daughter and son-in-law. The Klings and the Hardings took a cruise to Europe together. When he returned, Harding reorganized his newspaper business into the Harding Publishing Co. He issued stock in the company, keeping two-thirds for himself and allowed his employees to purchase the rest.
In 1909 Harding once again sought Republican nomination for governor of the GOP. He won the nomination but lost the election to incumbent Judson Harmon. In 1912, President William Howard Taft chose Harding to give Taft's nominating speech at the embattled Republican National Convention in Chicago. The election split the party, but by 1914 the Republican Party was beginning to show signs of reconciliation. Ohio's Senator Theodore Burton decided not to run for re-election. Harding became Ohio's first U.S. Senator elected by popular vote. He served in the Senate from 1915 until his inauguration as President in 1921, making him the first sitting senator to be elected President of the United States.
When Harding took his seat in the Senate, the Democrats controlled the Senate and House of Representatives and Woodrow Wilson was in the White House. He supported legislation to protect the alcohol industry and opposed government ownership of business. He was one of 40 senators who voted against Wilson's proposed League of Nations. He was a popular senator and acquired many close friends. He was selected as Chairman of the 1916 Republican Convention as well as its Keynote Speaker.
In 1918, Theodore Roosevelt was considering another run at the Presidency. Roosevelt considered Harding as his running mate. Roosevelt died in January of 1919.The first candidate to declare for the GOP nomination was Roosevelt's friend and former commanding officer General Leonard Wood. Some in the party were not fond of Wood and began to look for an alternative, and Harding's name came up. Harry Daugherty became Harding's campaign manager, and convinced Harding to seek the nomination.
At the opening of the convention, less than one-half of the delegates were committed. No candidate was able to obtain a majority after nine ballots. Republican Senators and other leaders met in Room 404 of the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago and after a nightlong session. They reluctantly agreed that Harding was the best possible compromise candidate. Before Harding received the formal approval, George Harvey summoned Harding and told him he was considered the consensus nominee. He asked Harding if he knew, "before God," whether Harding had any skeletons in his closet. Harding replied no, despite being party to more than one adulterous affair.
In the 1920 election, Harding ran against Democratic Ohio Governor James M. Cox, whose running mate was Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt. Harding ran on a promise to "Return to Normalcy". He hired Albert Lasker, a top advertising executive from Chicago, to conduct a broad-based advertising campaign that used modern advertising techniques for the first time in a presidential campaign. Lasker's methods included newsreels and sound recordings. Brochures were sent to targeted groups such as farmers, African Americans and women. Billboards, posters, newspapers, movies, magazines and even telemarketers were utilized. Five thousand speakers were trained by advertiser Harry New and sent throughout the nation to speak for Harding, including two thousand women. Lasker had 8,000 photos of Harding distributed around the nation.
Lasker also used a "front porch campaign", the first since William McKinley in 1896. It received widespread newsreel coverage. This was also the first modern campaign to use the power of Hollywood and Broadway stars to campaign for a presidential candidate. Stars such as Al Jolson, Lillian Russell, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford traveled to Harding's home in Marion, Ohio for photo ops with Harding. Business titans like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone also lent their influence to the campaign.
Florence Harding, who played a more active role than the wives of previous candidates had. As the business manager of the Star, she understood how to handle the press. She made herself available to answer questions, pose for pictures, or deliver food from her kitchen to the press office, which was a bungalow that was constructed at the rear of their property in Marion. She even coached her husband on the proper way to wave to newsreel cameras.
Campaign manager Lasker struck a deal with Carrie Phillips, a woman that Harding had been having an affair with, and her husband Jim Phillips. The couple were paid leave the country until after the election.
The campaign was the first in which women were allowed to vote and for some reason Harding was considered to be popular with women. Harding's Senate support for women's suffrage legislation added to his popularity. Huge crowds of women came to Marion following ratification of the 19th Amendment in August 1920. A number of immigrant groups also voted for Harding, in response to the nation's persecution of the Germans during and after the first world war.
Harding won the election soundly, receiving 60% of the national vote, the highest percentage ever recorded up to that time. He captured 404 electoral votes. His opponent, fellow Ohioan James Cox, received 34% of the national vote and 127 electoral votes. Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs campaigned from a federal prison and received 3% of the national vote. The Presidential election results of 1920, for the first time in history, were announced live by radio. The Republicans picked up an astounding 63 seats in the House of Representatives.
Harding continued to study the printing and newspaper trade when he was a college student at Ohio Central College in Iberia. He worked at the Union Register, a newspaper in Mount Gilead, while attending college. Harding became an able public speaker in college. He graduated in 1882 at the age of 17 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He was also an accomplished cornet player and played in various bands. In 1884 Harding's Citizens' Cornet Band won the third-place $200 prize at the Ohio State Band Festival.
Following his graduation, Harding worked as a teacher and as an insurance salesman. He briefly tied to study law, but abandoned that plan. Instead he raised $300 and went into partnership with others to purchase the Marion Daily Star. The Star had the smallest circulation among the city's three newspapers. By 1886, he was the sole owner of the Star. The Paper supported the Republican Party.
Harding's paper met with strong resistance from competitors, including Amos Hall Kling, one of Marion's wealthiest real estate speculators. Although the Marion Daily Star became one of the most popular newspapers in the county, Harding's health suffered. In 1889, at age 24, he was diagnosed with exhaustion and nervous fatigue. He spent time recuperating at the Battle Creek Sanitarium before returning to Marion to continue operating the paper. In 1893, the Star became the official paper for Marion's governmental notices, after Harding exposed the rival paper for overcharging the city. When his rival paper, the Independent, ceased doing business Amos Kling immediately financed and launched another rival paper. In 1900, political opponent J.F. McNeal, with Amos Kling's help, secretly bought up $20,000 in loans owed by Harding, and immediately called them due in full. Harding was able to borrow funds to pay off the debt to save his newspaper.
On July 8, 1891 Harding married Florence Kling DeWolfe, the daughter of his nemesis Amos Hall Kling. Florence was a divorcee who was 5 years older than Harding, and the mother of a young son, Marshall Eugene DeWolfe. Florence's father had disowned her. Incensed by his daughter's decision to marry Harding, Amos Kling refused to attend the wedding or to allow his wife to do so. He refused to speak to his daughter or son-in-law for 8 years.
Harding's first political race was for the Marion County Auditor's office. He was unsuccessful, but he expected as much. In 1899 Harding was elected to fill the Ohio State Senate seat for the 13th Senatorial District. In his second term, he was chosen Republican Floor Leader. In 1903 Harding announced his campaign for Governor of Ohio. He failed to win the nomination of his party, and instead was elected Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, a post he held from 1904 to 1906. When Governor Herrick's popularity began to falter, Harding announced his candidacy for Governor again. The party bosses decided to stick by Herrick, so Harding took his name out of the running. The Democrats ended up winning the election.
In 1907, Amos Kling married his second wife and began an effort at reconciling with daughter and son-in-law. The Klings and the Hardings took a cruise to Europe together. When he returned, Harding reorganized his newspaper business into the Harding Publishing Co. He issued stock in the company, keeping two-thirds for himself and allowed his employees to purchase the rest.
In 1909 Harding once again sought Republican nomination for governor of the GOP. He won the nomination but lost the election to incumbent Judson Harmon. In 1912, President William Howard Taft chose Harding to give Taft's nominating speech at the embattled Republican National Convention in Chicago. The election split the party, but by 1914 the Republican Party was beginning to show signs of reconciliation. Ohio's Senator Theodore Burton decided not to run for re-election. Harding became Ohio's first U.S. Senator elected by popular vote. He served in the Senate from 1915 until his inauguration as President in 1921, making him the first sitting senator to be elected President of the United States.
When Harding took his seat in the Senate, the Democrats controlled the Senate and House of Representatives and Woodrow Wilson was in the White House. He supported legislation to protect the alcohol industry and opposed government ownership of business. He was one of 40 senators who voted against Wilson's proposed League of Nations. He was a popular senator and acquired many close friends. He was selected as Chairman of the 1916 Republican Convention as well as its Keynote Speaker.
In 1918, Theodore Roosevelt was considering another run at the Presidency. Roosevelt considered Harding as his running mate. Roosevelt died in January of 1919.The first candidate to declare for the GOP nomination was Roosevelt's friend and former commanding officer General Leonard Wood. Some in the party were not fond of Wood and began to look for an alternative, and Harding's name came up. Harry Daugherty became Harding's campaign manager, and convinced Harding to seek the nomination.
At the opening of the convention, less than one-half of the delegates were committed. No candidate was able to obtain a majority after nine ballots. Republican Senators and other leaders met in Room 404 of the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago and after a nightlong session. They reluctantly agreed that Harding was the best possible compromise candidate. Before Harding received the formal approval, George Harvey summoned Harding and told him he was considered the consensus nominee. He asked Harding if he knew, "before God," whether Harding had any skeletons in his closet. Harding replied no, despite being party to more than one adulterous affair.
In the 1920 election, Harding ran against Democratic Ohio Governor James M. Cox, whose running mate was Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt. Harding ran on a promise to "Return to Normalcy". He hired Albert Lasker, a top advertising executive from Chicago, to conduct a broad-based advertising campaign that used modern advertising techniques for the first time in a presidential campaign. Lasker's methods included newsreels and sound recordings. Brochures were sent to targeted groups such as farmers, African Americans and women. Billboards, posters, newspapers, movies, magazines and even telemarketers were utilized. Five thousand speakers were trained by advertiser Harry New and sent throughout the nation to speak for Harding, including two thousand women. Lasker had 8,000 photos of Harding distributed around the nation.
Lasker also used a "front porch campaign", the first since William McKinley in 1896. It received widespread newsreel coverage. This was also the first modern campaign to use the power of Hollywood and Broadway stars to campaign for a presidential candidate. Stars such as Al Jolson, Lillian Russell, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford traveled to Harding's home in Marion, Ohio for photo ops with Harding. Business titans like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone also lent their influence to the campaign.
Florence Harding, who played a more active role than the wives of previous candidates had. As the business manager of the Star, she understood how to handle the press. She made herself available to answer questions, pose for pictures, or deliver food from her kitchen to the press office, which was a bungalow that was constructed at the rear of their property in Marion. She even coached her husband on the proper way to wave to newsreel cameras.
Campaign manager Lasker struck a deal with Carrie Phillips, a woman that Harding had been having an affair with, and her husband Jim Phillips. The couple were paid leave the country until after the election.
The campaign was the first in which women were allowed to vote and for some reason Harding was considered to be popular with women. Harding's Senate support for women's suffrage legislation added to his popularity. Huge crowds of women came to Marion following ratification of the 19th Amendment in August 1920. A number of immigrant groups also voted for Harding, in response to the nation's persecution of the Germans during and after the first world war.
Harding won the election soundly, receiving 60% of the national vote, the highest percentage ever recorded up to that time. He captured 404 electoral votes. His opponent, fellow Ohioan James Cox, received 34% of the national vote and 127 electoral votes. Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs campaigned from a federal prison and received 3% of the national vote. The Presidential election results of 1920, for the first time in history, were announced live by radio. The Republicans picked up an astounding 63 seats in the House of Representatives.