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Worren HardingUS President (1921-1923)
Date of Birth: 02.11.1865
Country: ![]() |
President Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
Warren Gamaliel Harding, the future 29th President of the United States, was born on November 2, 1865, on a farm in Blooming Grove, Ohio. His father was a farmer and homeopath. After attending school and college, Harding worked briefly as a teacher before becoming a publisher and co-owner of the popular local daily newspaper, the Marion Star.

Active in community affairs, Harding married Florence Kling, a divorced banker's daughter, in 1891. He was a sports-loving, eloquent man with a pleasant appearance, and he had a lifelong affinity for noble drinks, poker, golf, and women. Politically, he aligned himself with the Republican Party. His local connections and oratory skills allowed him to build a political career as a member of the Ohio Senate and later as lieutenant governor of the state. In 1914, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he advocated for the interests of big business, supporting higher tariffs, expanding the trade fleet, and endorsing Prohibition and women's suffrage, but opposing U.S. involvement in the League of Nations.
Harding became the Republican Party's presidential candidate in the 1920 election due to a deadlock between the two main contenders, Leonard Wood and Frank O. Lowden. With his patriotic provincial outlook, Harding represented the prevailing mindset of the time and enjoyed the trust of the business community, which expected him to restore normalcy to the post-war economy. In his campaign against Wilson's liberal policies, Harding adopted a conservative, nationalist stance and opposed any form of radicalism. The Republican platform called for tax reduction, higher tariffs, immigration restrictions, and opposed strikes "that would be directed against the government," but advocated for equal pay for women. In 1920, women across the country were granted the right to vote. On November 2, 1920, Harding won the election by a wide margin, carrying 37 states, while his Democratic opponent, James M. Cox, won only in 11 southern states. The disillusionment with the outcome of World War I and Wilson's policies, as well as the nationalist and anti-communist sentiments of the post-war era, were reflected in the election results.
In his inaugural address on March 4, 1921, in Washington, D.C., Harding promised the country a "reconstruction, readjustment, restoration." He assembled a cabinet of renowned politicians, some of whose appointments raised eyebrows among conservative Republicans. The cabinet included Charles E. Hughes, former supporter of the League of Nations, as Secretary of State; Herbert Hoover, a capable organizer with a philanthropic reputation, as Secretary of Commerce; and Henry C. Wallace, an agricultural expert, as Secretary of Agriculture. The more conservative Republicans welcomed Andrew Mellon, head of the aluminum industry, as Secretary of the Treasury. Harding also appointed many of his old political friends from Ohio, known as the "Ohio Gang," to government positions. This included his campaign manager, Harry M. Daugherty, who became Attorney General, and Albert B. Fall, a land and mining speculator, who became Secretary of the Interior. Both exemplified the darker side of the politics-business merger during the Harding era.
President Harding and his wife Florence opened up the White House to Washington society, which had been poorly received during the final phase of the Wilson administration. The new First Lady declared that the president and she were "just plain folks." Harding regularly hosted his friends at the White House for long poker parties, where whiskey flowed despite Prohibition. He maintained a good relationship with the press and reintroduced regular press conferences. Despite his various personal indulgences and penchant for extramarital affairs, Harding was a hard-working president. One of his first actions was to create a Bureau of the Budget to ensure efficient use of government funds. Wilson's economic regulations were abolished wherever possible, and tax laws reduced the highest tax rates, while customs laws increased tariffs on agricultural and industrial products. In 1921, the country implemented its first general immigration restriction, establishing a national quota and limiting annual immigration to 355,825 individuals. This reflected the nationalist and anti-foreign sentiment prevalent in American politics and society at the time.
Harding's administration provided over $2 billion in farm credits and supported agricultural cooperation through legislation. It also contributed to the construction of the first federal highways. The president granted amnesty to war dissenters, such as the socialist Eugene Debs, and publicly reminded the South of the civil rights of African Americans. However, he failed to pass anti-lynching legislation and establish a Department of Welfare, as problems with Congress escalated in 1922. Contentious relations with labor unions also developed during his presidency. Harding and Hoover achieved an eight-hour workday in the steel industry, but Attorney General Daugherty's harsh actions against striking railroad workers in September 1922 alienated many unions from the administration. The midterm elections in November 1922 resulted in a clear defeat for the Republicans.
In foreign policy, Harding favored a mix of nationalism, pragmatism, and conservative international relations, seeking to promote external economic relations, stay out of the League of Nations, and negotiate agreements with other countries to stabilize the international situation. His priorities included negotiating peace with former wartime enemies, regulating war debts, and addressing the volatile situation in the Far East, particularly with Japan. In August 1921, a peace treaty was signed with Germany, in which the U.S. secured all the rights outlined in the Treaty of Versailles without assuming its obligations. The most significant foreign policy event was the Washington Naval Conference, convened by Harding in November 1921, to promote peace and arms limitation in the Pacific region. In the Four-Power Treaty, the U.S., Britain, France, and Japan mutually guaranteed their possessions in the Pacific. In the Nine-Power Treaty, the U.S., Britain, Japan, France, and Italy affirmed, albeit with reservations, China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In the Five-Power Treaty of February 1922, the U.S., Britain, Japan, France, and Italy temporarily restricted the naval arms race.
In the early months of 1923, information about major illegal activities within the Harding administration reached the public. While President Harding was not directly involved in the corrupt scandals, the fact that the main culprits came from his circle of personal friends from Ohio and his failure to vigorously address the scandal tarnished his reputation. The misappropriation of funds, passive bribery, and acquisition of privileges were commonplace among government officials. Department heads, including Cabinet ministers, were implicated. The Teapot Dome scandal, involving the transfer of valuable government oil reserves by Secretary of the Interior Fall in exchange for a bribe from two oil entrepreneurs, caused the greatest sensation. Fall was later sentenced to prison for this offense, becoming the first Cabinet member in U.S. history to be incarcerated. Attorney General Daugherty managed to avoid a similar fate due to lack of evidence. Neither of the oil entrepreneurs ever stood trial. In an attempt to quell public outrage and strengthen his position, Harding embarked on a political tour of Alaska and the western United States in the summer of 1923.
On August 2, 1923, in San Francisco, Harding died at the age of only 57, presumably from a stroke. When historians rank U.S. presidents, Harding consistently places last as a "failure." This is due to his mediocre political abilities, moral laxity, and, above all, the aftermath of the Harding scandal, which stands as one of the largest and most serious corruption scandals in American presidential history. Despite the negative judgment, it is a fact that Harding contributed to restoring normal political conditions during the transition period after the war. Given the duration of his presidency and the opportunities available to him, his legislative achievements were quite significant. The results of the Washington Naval Conference also belong to the positive legacy of this president. However, when the full extent of the corruption became known after Harding's death and multiple trials were needed to address the issue, the positive aspects of his presidency were quickly overshadowed. Since then, his name has been associated with one of the largest and most serious scandals in American history, linked to corruption.