Country Vacations & Resorts

Time in Office: 1921-1923
Terms: Less than one – died in office
Birthday: November 2, 1865
Birth Place: Blooming Grove, Ohio
Date of Death: August 2, 1923
Place of Death: Palace Hotel, San Fransisco, California
Buried: Harding Memorial in Marion, Ohio.

Notes:
~ Eldest of eight children
~ His mother obtained her medical license
~ Was an accomplished cornet player
~ First sitting senator elected President
~ First sitting President to visit Canada
~ In 1922, had a radio installed in the White House
~ First President to visit Alaska

Warren Gamaliel Harding, the 29th President of the United States, began life in Blooming Grove, Ohio. His father, always looking for a better life for the family, moved them to Caledonia, Ohio where he bought and began managing a local newspaper. Before reaching his teens and while working for his father, Warren learned the business of journalism. Attending Iberia’s Ohio Central College, Warren continued learning the printing and publishing trade. By 1886, he was full owner of the Marion Daily Star newspaper which exposed him to his first politically-charged environment.

Warren was not particularly healthy in his youth and at the ripe old age of 24, spent time at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan. He would return 5 times in the next 14 years to rest and rejuvenate. In 1891 Warren married Florence Kling DeWolfe. The daughter of a rival newspaper owner, Florence was intelligent and ambitious. Their marriage, though successful in some respects, was not based on love. Warren and Florence traveled the country as owners of one of Ohio’s largest newspapers, gaining him national exposure. This, combined with his exceptional public speaking skills and a lucky meeting with a powerful Republican party leader, gained Harding a Ohio State Senate seat in 1899.

A quick trip to Europe with his in-laws to repair strained relations in 1907, contrasted with two unsuccessful attempts to run for Governor of Ohio in 1903 and 1909. While Harding’s newspaper business and family life were doing well – his political career was not. However, Harding had made some powerful political friends and in 1914, he was Ohio’s first State Senator to win by popular vote. He still held this Senate seat when elected President in 1921.

The “Front Porch”

Harding’s Presidential campaign in 1920 was as one might expect from an individual with a journalism and publishing background. His “front porch campaign” was the first in America to use newsreels and “photo-ops” and applied the first public celebrity endorsements of candidates. Harding’s wife Florence worked closely with the press to promote her husband to the point of having a cottage built on their Marion, Ohio property just for “The Press.” Considering that the 1920 election was the first in which women could vote nationwide, and that Harding was considered “handsome,” this use of the press and publicity machine was a positive addition to Harding’s campaign. Rumors of Harding’s dalliances with other women, consumption of bootleg liquor, and poker parties later held in the White House, was kept out of the public eye before and after his election. But as Harding would soon discover, “Live by the press, die by the press.”

Harding’s administration and political appointees suffered constant charges of corruption and faced scandal – from beginning to end. Charges of paid-for shipping contracts, upheaval at the Veteran’s Bureau, corruption in the prison systems, and the infamous Teapot Dome scandal, shook Harding’s presidency and his health.

In July 1923, Harding boarded the USS Henderson for a 4-day trip to Alaska. Hoping to encourage US citizens to relocate here after the completion of the Alaska Railroad, Harding and his party visited many remote areas of Alaska – traveling by both railway and automobile. They then visited and toured Vancouver, British Columbia, eventually arriving in Seattle, Washington. Harding was not well – suffering from nausea, rapid heart beat, and abdominal pain, but gave a rousing speech in Seattle regarding his findings in Alaska. He then traveled by train to Portland, Oregon but the speech he was to give there was cancelled.

Harding’s health continued its decline as his train headed south to San Francisco. He died there while staying at the Palace Hotel. During a four-day journey from San Francisco, Harding’s train was met by thousands of mourners across the country. He was first entombed at the Marion Cemetery and then re-interred at the Harding Memorial in Marion, Ohio.

We’re finally into the “Roaring 20s” – and next up, America’s 30th President, Calvin Coolidge.

Traveling with American Presidents List

Additional photos of Warren G. Harding from History.com