Warren G Harding was born in Marion, Ohio in 1865. He eventually became the owner and publisher of a newspaper and married a widow named Florence Kling De Wolf. Harding was a trustee in Trinity Baptist Church, as well as a director of a number of important businesses and charitable organizations in Marion, Ohio.
He was also the organizer of the Citizen Coronet Band, which played at both Democratic and Republican rallies.
Warren G Harding's Early Career
Harding’s unwavering republicanism and his strong speaking voice, along with his willingness to become part of the political machine allowed him to go far in Ohio politics. He served as both an Ohio state senator and as Lieutenant Governor. In 1912, he gave the nominating address for President Taft. In 1914, he was elected to the United States Senate.
In 1920, Harry Daugherty, one of Harding’s Ohio supporters began promoting Harding as a possible Republican candidate, arguing that “he looked like a President.”
When the preferred Republican candidates became deadlocked, a group of Republican senators hijacked the convention and put Harding’s name forward for consideration. He won the nomination and went on to win the election in a landslide, receiving 60% of the popular vote.
President Harding
Many of the Republicans in Congress easily got their bills signed by President Harding. He also eliminated many of the restrictions that had been put in place by Woodrow Wilson during World War I, in addition to cutting taxes and establishing a Federal budget system.
By 1923, the post-war economic depression seemed to be giving way to the prosperity that would later come to characterize the Roaring 20s. Newspapers praised him as a wise statesman who was actually living up to his campaign promise of “less government in business and more business in government.”
Behind the façade, however, there were problems in Harding’s Administration. A number of Harding’s friends were using their positions in Harding’s government for their personal benefit. Harding complained that, “my…friends…they’re the ones keeping me walking the floor nights.”
That summer, Harding embarked on a tour of the western United States. He was trying to drum up support for the Republican Party in anticipation of the next Presidential election, taking Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover with him. Harding wanted to go public with the growing scandal in his administration, but Hoover urged caution, fearing that the political repercussions would damage Harding’s chances in the election.
The Death of Warren G Harding
Unfortunately, Harding did not live long enough to find out what the voters thought of the corruption in the Harding White House. He died of a heart attack in San Francisco, in August, 1923 at the age of 58. Calvin Coolidge became the 30th President of the United States.
Sourcees
Warren G Harding.The White House. US Government. Oct.20/09
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