Warren G. Harding was one of the most unlikely candidates for the United States presidency. A humble but mediocre man, Harding engaged in two notorious extra-marital affairs that lasted several years, and appointed friends to high level government positions that would lead to notorious scandals. Harding died in office after only three years in the White House, yet even his death points to mystery.
Harding as Editor and Politician
Born November 2, 1865, Warren Harding received his education in a one-room schoolhouse. As a young student, he enjoyed reading and making speeches. He graduated from Ohio Central College in 1882 where he delivered the commencement address.
Biographers note that Harding was always insecure and sickly, suffering from indigestion. At age 24, he suffered a breakdown and checked himself into the Battle Creek sanitarium. In future years, he would spend time in this sanitarium four more times, a fact he withheld from the Republican leadership that pushed his nomination for the presidency in 1920.
He purchased the bankrupt newspaper Marion Star and transformed the journal into a successful state-wide publication in Ohio. Even as president, Harding looked back at his years with the Star with intense pride. Traveling the state, Harding became involved in Ohio politics.
Harding served the people of Ohio as a State Senator, Lt. Governor, and a one-term United States Senator. It was only in early 1920 that Harding seriously considered the prospect of running for the presidency.
Harding’s Extra-Marital Affairs
Warren Harding’s marriage to “Flossie” Kling was an unhappy affair. Mrs. Harding was the driving force behind the Marion Star and in later years became devoted to astrology. Their poor marriage relationship led to Harding’s affairs with other women, two of which lasted several years.
Nan Britton was thirty years younger than Harding when their affair began. Their illegitimate daughter was conceived in Harding’s Senate office. The affair continued after Harding won the presidency with the president and Britton engaging in sexual relations near his White House office. Harding paid her generous child support which ended after he died in 1923. Unable to extract money from his estate, she published The President’s Daughter in 1927.
Carrie Phillips was the wife of one of Harding’s close friends. Their affair lasted 15 years. During the 1920 presidential campaign, the Republican Party sent Phillips and her husband on a trip to Japan with $20,000 in order to keep them from the press (her husband, by this time, knew of the affair).
For all his charm and genuine compassion for people, Harding’s weaknesses were glaring. Alice Roosevelt Longworth, who was herself involved in a long affair with Idaho Senator William Borah, once said, “Harding was not a bad man. He was just a slob.”
Harding the President
The Republican Party leadership in 1920 was unified by four elements:
- A pathological hatred of Woodrow Wilson
- Acute isolationism
- Ending Progressivism
- Paranoia of Russia and the Communist threat
With the death of Teddy Roosevelt, no potential candidates fit the mold to champion the fight against the League of Nations and return the United States to the “good old days.” Warren Harding was selected in the proverbial “smoke filled room” as a dark horse compromise. He won the election with a huge plurality.
Throughout his brief presidency Harding questioned his fitness as Chief Executive. His own friends betrayed him with scandal. Out of this would come the infamous Teapot Dome scandal involving an oil-leasing scheme.
Harding died in San Francisco after a trip to Alaska. Although no autopsy was performed, historians vary as to the cause of death. Some refer to ptomaine poisoning while others cite a stroke. Harding had heart problems for years. The more conspiratorial minded even suggest that his wife poisoned him. Harding was followed by Calvin Coolidge, as mediocre as the 29th President had been.
Sources:
- Paul F. Boller, Jr., Presidential Campaigns From George Washington to George W. Bush (Oxford University Press, 2004)
- William A. DeGregorio, The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (Gramercy Books, 2001)
- Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr., and others, The American President (Riverhead Books, Penguin-Putnam Inc., 1999)
- Page Smith, America Enters the World: A People’s History of the Progressive Era and World War I, Vol. 7 (McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1985)
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