Throughtful Reader

History doesn’t discuss his administration much. He was the 29th President of the United States (1921-23) and died of a heart attack while office. With that said there has been debate over what kind of President was he. To be fair it was a mix of some good, but horrendously bad. In Blog I will go over some of it.

Picture of Harding while in Office

Harding came into office during the Post World War I period. The country was demobilizing and were also going through a period of economic depression. “The “Forgotten Depression” as it was called resulted in a 31% decrease in industrial production, and joblessness rose between 2 and 6 million out of a 35 million work force at this time. (1) To combat this the Interest rates were raised, and the budget was reduced to a balanced one. It would last 18 months the economy would bounce back into an expansion for the decade. (1)

The administration would then sign off on the first budget system for the federal government. This would be significant as it for the first time gave the Congress and President a clearer view on where the money was going on. (2) The president also freed Eugene V. Debs from prison. Debs, a Socialist was charged with a violating the Espionage Act for giving antiwar speech and was left in prison by the Wilson Administration. (4) This was one of the first steps that the Government began to reverse from its World War I policies of suppressing speech and other civil liberties. (4) Despite these few accomplishments the Administration began to show major internal problems. A clear lack of overtight hampered the Harding Administration, but to understand how we need to go over those scandals and with Harding himself. I will offer some insights into his administration and into his personal life.

To understand the administration, you need to understand the time that they were living in. The 1920’s was the start of a business and economic boom. The country had grown tired of the Progressivism from the Wilson years and wanted things to return some kind of normalcy. Cue Harding’s campaign in 1920.

Harding came into office on the promise of a “Return to Normalcy”. (4) His two years in office were anything but. To start his cabinet was highly corrupt. Except for two of his cabinet picks, (Charles Evan Hughes for Secretary of State, and Herbert Hoover for Secretary of Commerce). (4) Harding’s cabinet picks were all outside businessmen and “cronies.” (4) They were also known as the “Ohio Gang” to dure their connections to Harding. (Klein) To start his Attorney General Harry Daugherty was caught accepting payments not to prosecute bootleggers who were in trouble for “trading in illegal alcohol.” (4) His then Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall accepted $500K from private businessmen and was referred to as the “Teapot Dome”. (4) Following that one his head of the Veteran’s Bureau Charles Forbes received kickbacks from the sale of government supplies. (4) A Senate investigation later discovered that Forbes stole nearly $200 mil from the Bureau. (3) While there is little to no evidence that Harding was involved or if he himself benefitted from this. It is rather clear that while he didn’t break the law directly, his complicity in hiring them and not showing any kind of management/executive responsibilities on his part shows a lack of ethics.

 While Harding’s management of his cabinet showed a massive lack of oversight. His own moral compass was also spinning like a magnet was broken. His personal life was anything but quiet. It seems the President had a very active libido.

Harding came into office on the promise of a “Return to Normalcy”. (4) His two years in office were anything but. To start his cabinet was highly corrupt. Except for two of his cabinet picks, (Charles Evan Hughes for Secretary of State, and Herbert Hoover for Secretary of Commerce). (4) Harding’s cabinet picks were all outside businessmen and “cronies.” (4) They were also known as the “Ohio Gang” to dure their connections to Harding. (3) To start his Attorney General Harry Daugherty was caught accepting payments not to prosecute bootleggers who were in trouble for “trading in illegal alcohol.” (4) His then Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall accepted $500K from private businessmen and was referred to as the “Teapot Dome”. (4) Following that one his head of the Veteran’s Bureau Charles Forbes received kickbacks from the sale of government supplies. (4) A Senate investigation later discovered that Forbes stole nearly $200 mil from the Bureau. (3) While there is little to no evidence that Harding was involved or if he himself benefitted from this. It is rather clear that while he didn’t break the law directly, his complicity in hiring them and not showing any kind of management/executive responsibilities on his part shows a lack of ethics.

 While Harding’s management of his cabinet showed a massive lack of oversight. His own moral compass was also spinning like a magnet was broken. His personal life was anything but quiet. It seems the President had a very active libido. (3) So active that it would also create potential scandals if exposed. According to historians Harding had 7 mistresses throughout his political life. (3) In fact, Harding even justified it to one of his mistresses in a 1913 letter telling them his marriage was “It is merely existence, necessary for appearance’s sake.” (3) In 1927 a book written by Ban Britton called “The President’s Daughter” that she had secretly had his child names Elizabeth while he was a Senator in Ohio. (3) While Harding never met his daughter apparently, he did acknowledge the child’s existence. He would have monthly child support payments hand delivered by Secret Service Agents. (3) DNA test through Elizabeth’s grandchildren and Harding’s remaining descendants would prove that Harding was the father. (3)

 As I stated before. I don’t think that Harding was a criminal, but I do feel that he was corrupted in every human aspect that we could present. He was a product of that time. The awareness of his actions and lack of shame about doing really show how corrupted his moral compass was.

So active that it would also create potential scandals if exposed. According to historians Harding had 7 mistresses throughout his political life. (3) In fact, Harding even justified it to one of his mistresses in a 1913 letter telling them his marriage was “It is merely existence, necessary for appearance’s sake.” (3) In 1927 a book written by Ban Britton called “The President’s Daughter” that she had secretly had his child names Elizabeth while he was a Senator in Ohio. (3) While Harding never met his daughter apparently, he did acknowledge the child’s existence. He would have monthly child support payments hand delivered by Secret Service Agents. (3) DNA test through Elizabeth’s grandchildren and Harding’s remaining descendants would prove that Harding was the father. (3)

 As I stated before. I don’t think that Harding was a criminal, but I do feel that he was corrupted in every human aspect that we could present. He was a product of that time. The awareness of his actions and lack of shame about doing really show how corrupted his moral compass was.

1 The Forgotten Depression 1921: The Crash That Cured Itself | Manhattan Institute

2 Warren G. Harding | Facts, Accomplishments, & Biography | Britannica

3 The Multiple Scandals of President Warren G. Harding (history.com)

4 Foner, Eric, et al. Give Me Liberty. 7th ed., vol. 2, W. W. Norton and Company, 2022