WEBVTT

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You might know him as one of America's, well,

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let's say worst presidents. That name, Warren

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G. Harding, often pops up alongside words like

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scandal and failure. Right. But here's the twist.

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What if we told you that during his time in office,

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he was actually one of the most popular presidents

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in U .S. history? Exactly. It's a real contradiction.

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So today we're taking a deep dive into the fascinating

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and often contradictory life of Warren G. Harding,

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the 29th president of the United States. Quite

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a story. You've got this layer cake of initial

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public adoration, then this incredibly swift,

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dramatic historical decline. And now even some

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serious reassessments by historians. Our mission

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with this deep dive is really to sift through

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all those complex layers. From Harding's pre

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-humble Ohio beginnings, his surprising rise

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to power right up to the sudden kind of tragic

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end of his presidency. And everything they came

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out after. And everything that came out after,

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the posthumous revelations that just irrevocably

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shaped his legacy. We're here to extract the

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most important nuggets, uncover some maybe surprising

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facts, and help you understand how one person's

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reputation can be so dramatically rewritten by

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history. Absolutely. We've gathered quite a bit

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of material on Harding, his personal life, which

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is eventful. To say the least. His journey from

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being a small town newspaper editor, all the

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way to the White House. We'll look at his policy

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achievements, and yes, let's be honest, his significance

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stumbles too. And the infamous scandals, of course,

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the ones that really only blew up after he died.

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Right. So we'll explore that initial public love

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he had, then the steep decline in how history

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viewed him and these more recent efforts by historians

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to maybe see his complex record in a new light.

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And this isn't just, you know, a dry historical

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biography. It's really a look at how leadership,

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public perception, political maneuvering, even,

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well, personal flaws, foibles. Exactly. How all

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that can truly define a presidency. It's a powerful

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illustration of how time and new information

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coming to light can completely change how we

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understand someone from the past. So get ready

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to maybe challenge some assumptions and discover

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the man behind the myths that have stuck to him

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for, well, for decades now. Let's start at the

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beginning. Not just a birthplace, but maybe the

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crucible that forged the man who would become

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president. Warne G. Harding's early life in Ohio.

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It feels like a rich tapestry of experiences

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that, looking back, clearly shaped his unique

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path. Definitely. Born Warren Gamaliel Harding,

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November 2, 1865, in rural Blooming Grove, Ohio,

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eldest of eight kids, apparently his family called

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him Winnie. Winnie, okay. So what was it about

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those roots that, you know, set him apart or

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pointed him towards this future? Well, his family

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background was pretty diverse. His father, George

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Tryon Harding, they called him Tryon. He was

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a farmer, a school teacher, later even a doctor.

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Wow, busy guy. Right. And his mother, Phoebe

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Elizabeth, was a state -licensed midwife. So

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you have this grounding in rural practicality,

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but also a broader social awareness. They were

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also abolitionists, which is significant for

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the time. And their ancestry. also quite diverse,

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traced back to England, but also Welsh, Scottish,

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and even some Dutch roots from a wealthy family

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called Van Kirk. So this environment probably

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gave him an understanding of different kinds

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of people, different social strata, and definitely

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a sense of community. So a foundation of maybe

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practical skills and a relatively progressive

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outlook for the era. And from these humble beginnings,

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he pretty quickly developed a nose for news,

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literally. Yeah, that's a good way to put it.

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By age 11, he's already learning the ropes of

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the newspaper business. He worked for his father's

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weekly paper, The Argus, in Caledonia. That's

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where the family moved in 1870. And he was a

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good student, too. Seems so, yeah. A depth student

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at Ohio Central College, enrolled when he was

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just 14. And during his final year there, he

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even co -published a small local paper, The Iberia

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Spectator. Graduated in 1882, moved to Marion,

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Ohio. This early deep dive into journalism, that

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feels really significant, doesn't it? It's profoundly

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significant. I mean, think about it. To this

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day, Harding is the only U .S. president with

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full -time journalism experience. Wow. I didn't

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realize that. Only one. Only one. And it's not

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just a trivia point. It fundamentally shaped

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how he communicated, how he understood public

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opinion, his whole approach to politics. He learned

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how to, you know, read the pulse of a community,

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how to craft messages that landed. He was involved

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in the community beyond the paper, too. Oh, yeah.

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Join the Free Baptist Church in Marion. in 1883,

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served as a trustee for 25 years, stayed a member

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his whole life. Seems like that community connection

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was always important to him. Okay, so here's

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where we see that maybe audacious ambition really

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start to show. After college, he tries a few

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things teaching, insurance, law, nothing really

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sticks. Then at just 18 years old, he makes this

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huge gamble. He raises $300, which back then

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was a lot of money, like over $10 ,000 today.

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A substantial sum, yeah. to purchase The Marion

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Star, this struggling daily newspaper. It was

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the weakest of the three papers in Marion at

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the time. A real underdog paper. Definitely.

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And he even used a perk of being a newspaper

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owner, a railroad pass, to go to the 1884 Republican

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National Convention, supported James G. Blaine.

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So this wasn't just a business venture, was it?

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It feels like his first step into that bigger

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political world. Absolutely. But it wasn't an

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easy start by any means. He gets back from Chicago,

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finds out the sheriff had reclaimed the paper

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because he couldn't make the payments. Ouch.

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Yeah. He even had to briefly work for a Democratic

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paper, which apparently he hated before he managed

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to get full ownership back with some financial

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help from his father. That early tenacity, though.

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It's striking. Sticking with it despite those

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setbacks shows a kind of stubborn resolve. It

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really does. And it paid off as Marion started

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booming. The population jumped from about 4 ,000

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in 1880 to 12 ,000 by 1900. And as Marion grew,

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the star's success grew right alongside it. And

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he was smart about how he grew it. His editorial

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strategy was, well... Pretty clever. He kept

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the Daily Star kind of tempered, non -partisan,

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but then circulated a separate weekly edition

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that was moderately Republican. Ah, best of both

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worlds. Exactly. It attracted advertisers from

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all sides and eventually eliminated the local

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competition. He basically turned it into a local

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powerhouse. One biographer, Andrew Sinclair,

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called it a real Horatio Alger story. Started

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with nothing. Right. through, as Sinclair put

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it, working, stalling, bluffing, withholding

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payments, borrowing back wages, boasting and

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manipulating. He turned this dying rag into a

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powerful small town newspaper. Sounds like a

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mix of hard work and maybe some sharp elbows.

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Definitely. Sinclair credits his good looks,

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affability, enthusiasm and persistence, plus

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a bit of good fortune. But he wasn't just the

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owner. He was an activist in the community. invested

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in local businesses, and used his editorial page,

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as John Dean noted, to keep his nose and a prodding

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voice in all the town's public business. And

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that deep understanding of public sentiment honed

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right there at the star, you can see how that

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would be a huge asset later in politics. He knew

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how to talk to people, gauge their interests,

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present ideas in a way they'd respond to, even

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if critics later found his speeches a bit vague.

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Right, the bloviating will get to that. And he

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was successful financially, too. Oh, yeah. By

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1923, when he died, his estate was worth about

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$850 ,000. That's nearly $15 .7 million in today's

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money. So the business side definitely worked

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out. OK. You really can't talk about Warren Harding

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without talking about Florence Kling -Harding,

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often called the Duchess. The Duchess? She was

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five years older than him, daughter of this local

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banker, Emmis Kling. who Harding apparently attacked

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frequently in his newspaper. Awkward. Very. And

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Florence, she had a bit of a past herself. She'd

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eloped, came back to Marion with an infant son,

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Marshall, who her father ended up raising. And

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she was making a living as a piano teacher. So

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their match was definitely unlikely. And her

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father, Amos Kling, was fiercely against it.

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spread rumors that the Hardings had African -American

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ancestry, a really toxic thing to do back then,

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and even encouraged boycotts of Harding's businesses.

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Wow. How did Harding react to that? Well, reportedly,

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Harding warned Kling he would, quote, beat the

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tar out of the little man if he didn't cease.

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Strong words. Yikes. Quite the family drama.

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It's an incredibly dramatic backdrop for a future

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president and first lady, isn't it? And it's

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worth noting just on those ancestry rumors, genetic

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testing much later in 2015, determined with about

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95 percent accuracy that Harding didn't have

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Sub -Saharan African ancestors within four generations.

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So those rumors were effectively debunked, but

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they show the kind of racial animosity that was

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just, well, present. So despite all that opposition,

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they got married. They did. July 8th, 1891, they

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had no children together. Harding affectionately

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called her Duchess, apparently after a character

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in a newspaper serial who kept a close watch

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on the Duke and their money. And she lived up

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to the name. Oh, absolutely. Florence became

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deeply involved in his career, both at the Star

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and later in politics. She's widely credited

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with really turning the Star into a profitable

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business through her super strict management

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of the circulation department. So she had a real

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head for business. Absolutely. Some people even

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suggest she basically pushed him all the way

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to the White House. Florence herself apparently

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said, he does well when he listens to me and

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poorly when he does not. Huh. Sounds like she

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knew her mind. She certainly did. And her influence

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was critical, especially when Harding had health

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issues. He had these periods described as fatigue,

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overstrain, nervous illnesses, even an early

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heart ailment. This was early on. Yeah. Between

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1889 and 1901, he had repeated stays at the Battle

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Creek Thanatorium for these issues. And while

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he was away, Florence stepped right in. She took

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over the business management of the Star. Wow.

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She held that role until 1915, which was absolutely

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crucial because it freed him up for his growing

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political travel and activities. She wasn't just

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a supportive spouse. She was a genuine business

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partner, a political partner, a real force. It

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really makes you wonder, doesn't it? How many

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politicians, especially back then, had such an

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active hands on partner who was that instrumental

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in their rise? Her strategic mind, her resolve

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seems foundational. So with Florence really managing

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things back home and at the paper, Harding turned

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his ambition more seriously towards politics.

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Right. After buying the star, he didn't waste

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much time, quickly aligned himself with the Republican

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Party, supported Governor Joseph B. Foraker's

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successful run in 1885. He was a real party loyalist,

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it seems. Definitely. That loyalty would define

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a lot of his early career. By 1888, he's just

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22, and he's already a delegate to the Republican

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state convention, a role he held pretty often

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until he became president. His first actual election

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attempt didn't go so well, though. No, he lost

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a bid for Marion County auditor in 1895, but

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apparently he did better than expected, which

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maybe gave him some encouragement. Then in 1896,

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he campaigned hard across Ohio for William McKinley,

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the Republican presidential candidate. That's

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when he really started making a name for himself

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within those Ohio party circles. And what stands

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out is how consistently he kept pursuing that

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political path, even with those early bumps.

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Yeah. And his ability to, you know, maintain

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good relationships across different party factions

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was a huge asset. He managed to stay on good

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terms with both the dominant Republican factions

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in Ohio, the ones led by Sen. Senator Fouracre

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and Senator Mark Hannah. That takes skill. It

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really does. Speaks to his, well, his affable

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nature, his pragmatic approach. It served him

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very well. And that affability definitely helped

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him get elected to the Ohio State Senate in 1899.

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Started out as a relative unknown, but after

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four years. He ended up as one of the most popular

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figures in the Ohio Republican Party. Known for

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being calm, humble, the guy you could consult

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on tricky problems. He was so well -liked, he

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got re -nominated in 1901 and more than doubled

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his victory margin. This was also when he became

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a Freemason. Yes. Initiated into Marion Lodge

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No. 7 in 1901, just another way he deepened those

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community and network ties. Now his rise in Ohio

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politics, it all shows something about the era,

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right? Patronage and favors. Oh, absolutely.

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You have to see it in context. Like many politicians

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back then, Harding accepted these things as just

00:12:29.179 --> 00:12:32.200
part of the political landscape. It wasn't necessarily

00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:34.879
seen as overtly corrupt in the way we might view

00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:37.080
it today. Like the example of his sister. Right.

00:12:37.529 --> 00:12:40.429
He arranged for his legally blind sister, Mary,

00:12:40.429 --> 00:12:42.789
to be appointed as a teacher at the Ohio School

00:12:42.789 --> 00:12:45.409
for the Blind, even though there were apparently

00:12:45.409 --> 00:12:48.330
better qualified candidates. His biographer,

00:12:48.409 --> 00:12:50.730
Sinclair, suggested Harding probably never thought

00:12:50.730 --> 00:12:52.490
there was anything really dishonest about that.

00:12:52.669 --> 00:12:54.769
It was just seen as a normal reward for party

00:12:54.769 --> 00:12:57.470
service. Important context to keep in mind. And

00:12:57.470 --> 00:12:59.889
speaking of connections, a really crucial meeting

00:12:59.889 --> 00:13:03.029
happened around this time, early 1903. Yes. He

00:13:03.029 --> 00:13:05.629
meets Harry M. Daugherty, the man who would become

00:13:05.629 --> 00:13:08.820
his attorney general. key political fixer, his

00:13:08.820 --> 00:13:11.480
campaign manager. And Daugherty had that famous

00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:14.580
quote after meeting him. He did. Gee, what a

00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:16.840
great -looking president he'd make. Pretty amazing,

00:13:16.860 --> 00:13:19.460
looking back. Whether it was genuine foresight

00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:21.740
or just sizing up Harding's, you know, appearance

00:13:21.740 --> 00:13:24.360
and manner, it certainly proved prescient. The

00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:27.320
pivotal connection, for sure. So Harding's next

00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:29.639
step was lieutenant governor. That's right, from

00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:32.899
1904 to 1906. He'd initially planned to run for

00:13:32.899 --> 00:13:36.059
governor in 03, but got persuaded to go for lieutenant

00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:39.379
governor instead. Running on this 4 -H ticket

00:13:39.379 --> 00:13:42.100
with Governor Myron T. Herrick, they won easily.

00:13:42.279 --> 00:13:44.259
And it was a good spot for him. Seems like it.

00:13:44.659 --> 00:13:46.820
While Governor Herrick made some unpopular decisions,

00:13:47.100 --> 00:13:49.320
Harding, as lieutenant governor, had little to

00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:52.220
do and he did it very well. He used his role

00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:54.279
presiding over the state Senate to just keep

00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:57.080
expanding his political network quietly without

00:13:57.080 --> 00:14:00.110
attracting negative attention. Smart. Just building

00:14:00.110 --> 00:14:02.750
those connections. Did he try for governor again?

00:14:03.330 --> 00:14:06.289
He wanted to in 1905, but the party leaders blocked

00:14:06.289 --> 00:14:09.070
him, so maybe a missed opportunity there. But

00:14:09.070 --> 00:14:12.190
he kept navigating these tricky Republican factions.

00:14:13.009 --> 00:14:15.889
In 1908, for the presidential primary, he initially

00:14:15.889 --> 00:14:18.309
backed his old patron, Fouracre, against Teddy

00:14:18.309 --> 00:14:20.669
Roosevelt's chosen successor, William Howard

00:14:20.669 --> 00:14:23.570
Taft. But he quickly felt the heat, as the sources

00:14:23.570 --> 00:14:26.230
say, the political pressure. And he reversed

00:14:26.230 --> 00:14:29.820
course in the star. endorsing Taft instead. A

00:14:29.820 --> 00:14:32.100
pragmatic move that probably saved his political

00:14:32.100 --> 00:14:34.360
career because Foraker ended up losing badly.

00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:36.960
Shows those political survival instincts again.

00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:39.980
Loyalty is important, but knowing when to shift...

00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:43.179
is key for advancement. Exactly. But even with

00:14:43.179 --> 00:14:46.620
his popularity, he still faced defeat. He won

00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:49.179
the Republican nomination for governor in 1910

00:14:49.179 --> 00:14:51.779
with Dardee managing the campaign. But the party

00:14:51.779 --> 00:14:54.379
was split. Badly split between the progressive

00:14:54.379 --> 00:14:57.000
wing and the conservative wing. Even though both

00:14:57.000 --> 00:14:58.980
President Taft and former President Roosevelt

00:14:58.980 --> 00:15:01.559
campaigned for him, their own feud was tearing

00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:04.299
the party apart. So Harding lost to the incumbent

00:15:04.299 --> 00:15:07.159
Democrat Judson Harmon. Man, those party splits

00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:10.639
were brutal. So what happened in 1912 when Taft

00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:12.799
and Roosevelt went head to head? Carding stayed

00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:15.019
loyal to the party, the regular Republican ticket.

00:15:15.539 --> 00:15:17.539
Taft asked him to give the speech nominating

00:15:17.539 --> 00:15:20.000
him at the convention, which was incredibly divided

00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:22.740
and bitter. He actually did it. Nominated Taft

00:15:22.740 --> 00:15:25.690
against Roosevelt. He did. Even as Roosevelt

00:15:25.690 --> 00:15:28.250
supporters were bolting to form the Progressive

00:15:28.250 --> 00:15:30.789
Party, the Bull Moose Party, which guaranteed

00:15:30.789 --> 00:15:33.529
Woodrow Wilson's victory. Harding stuck with

00:15:33.529 --> 00:15:35.970
the Republican ticket. He was a party man through

00:15:35.970 --> 00:15:37.990
and through, even when it meant going down with

00:15:37.990 --> 00:15:40.909
the ship, prioritizing that party unity, which,

00:15:40.909 --> 00:15:42.629
you know, would make him look good later as a

00:15:42.629 --> 00:15:45.370
potential unifier. OK, let's jump ahead to 1914.

00:15:45.789 --> 00:15:47.929
The whole game has changed in Ohio politics by

00:15:47.929 --> 00:15:50.429
then. Right. We've got the 17th Amendment ratified.

00:15:50.710 --> 00:15:53.460
So senators are now directly elected. by the

00:15:53.460 --> 00:15:56.600
people, not chosen by the legislature. And Ohio

00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:59.240
had also started using primary elections. So

00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:01.019
Harding decides to run for the U .S. Senate.

00:16:01.179 --> 00:16:04.259
Well, he was urged to run after the sitting congressman

00:16:04.259 --> 00:16:06.860
Theodore Burton dropped out. And Harry Daugherty

00:16:06.860 --> 00:16:09.259
naturally claimed he was the one who pushed Harding

00:16:09.259 --> 00:16:11.720
into the race. Of course he did. And Harding's

00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:14.340
campaign strategy. It was described as sweetness

00:16:14.340 --> 00:16:17.480
and light. The idea was to offend nobody except

00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:20.480
Democrats. Play to his strengths at affable,

00:16:20.679 --> 00:16:23.519
agreeable personality. And it worked in the primary.

00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:26.860
He beat his old patron, Fouracre, by a pretty

00:16:26.860 --> 00:16:28.919
comfortable margin. Now, the general election,

00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:31.039
that had a bit of an unpleasant side to it. It

00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:34.419
did. And it's revealing about the times. His

00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:36.820
opponent was the Ohio attorney general, Timothy

00:16:36.820 --> 00:16:40.720
Hogan, who was Roman Catholic. And he faced just

00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:43.379
widespread nativist prejudice, especially in

00:16:43.379 --> 00:16:45.059
rural parts of the state. Propaganda linking

00:16:45.059 --> 00:16:47.419
him to the pope and stuff. Exactly. These propaganda

00:16:47.419 --> 00:16:49.679
sheets were claiming Hogan was part of some plot

00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:52.320
by Pope Benedict X and fifth to control Ohio.

00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:56.279
Just ugly stuff. Now, Harding himself didn't

00:16:56.279 --> 00:16:58.019
personally attack Hogan. They were actually old

00:16:58.019 --> 00:17:00.320
friends. But he didn't condemn the prejudice

00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:04.259
either. No. He did not denounce the nativist

00:17:04.259 --> 00:17:06.960
hatred for his opponent. He stayed silent on

00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:09.519
it. Politically smart, maybe, in that climate,

00:17:09.619 --> 00:17:11.819
but it's an interesting reflection on his character

00:17:11.819 --> 00:17:14.259
and how deeply ingrained those prejudices were.

00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:16.960
Yeah, that's uncomfortable to look back on. But

00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:20.400
his overall style worked. It seemed to. His conciliatory

00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:22.599
approach, combined with what sources describe

00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:26.099
as his rambling, high -sounding mixture of platitudes,

00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:28.940
patriotism, and pure nonsense stump speeches.

00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:31.480
Pure nonsense. Well, that's one description,

00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:34.299
but whatever it was, it resonated. He won by

00:17:34.299 --> 00:17:38.250
over 100 ,000 votes. It was part of a big Republican

00:17:38.250 --> 00:17:41.250
sweep in Ohio that year. So off to Washington

00:17:41.250 --> 00:17:43.430
he went. And in the Senate. He wasn't exactly

00:17:43.430 --> 00:17:45.690
a firebrand, was he? No, not at all. He was a

00:17:45.690 --> 00:17:47.670
junior senator. Republicans were in the minority.

00:17:48.190 --> 00:17:49.910
Congress was controlled by the Democrats under

00:17:49.910 --> 00:17:53.109
President Wilson. So Harding got relatively unimportant

00:17:53.109 --> 00:17:55.309
committee assignments, but apparently he did

00:17:55.309 --> 00:17:58.839
his duties assiduously. diligently. Just kept

00:17:58.839 --> 00:18:00.680
his head down and did the work. Oh, pretty much.

00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:04.359
He was known as a safe, conservative, Republican

00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:06.819
vote. Yeah. And just like in the Ohio Senate,

00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:09.700
he quickly became really well -liked by his colleagues

00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:12.200
on both sides of the aisle. That congenial nature

00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:14.900
was a real asset in the Senate. And he started

00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:16.960
taking positions on some big national issues,

00:18:17.420 --> 00:18:19.779
like women's suffrage and prohibition. Yeah,

00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:22.980
and his positions were often quite nuanced, pragmatic

00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:25.339
maybe. On women's suffrage, initially he said

00:18:25.339 --> 00:18:28.619
he couldn't support it until Ohio did. Standard

00:18:28.619 --> 00:18:31.220
political hedging. But he came around. He did.

00:18:31.779 --> 00:18:35.119
As support grew nationally and in Ohio, he became

00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:37.579
a firm supporter by the time Congress actually

00:18:37.579 --> 00:18:40.059
voted on the amendment. Shows he was responsive

00:18:40.059 --> 00:18:43.940
to public opinion shifts. And prohibition. That

00:18:43.940 --> 00:18:45.519
must have been tricky for someone who apparently

00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:48.400
enjoyed a drink. Very tricky. He personally drank,

00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:51.259
yes, initially voted against banning alcohol,

00:18:51.619 --> 00:18:53.700
but then when the 18th Amendment came up, he

00:18:53.700 --> 00:18:56.059
voted for it, but only after getting a time limit

00:18:56.059 --> 00:18:58.299
added for ratification, hoping that would kill

00:18:58.299 --> 00:19:01.160
it. Clever. Maybe too clever. Well, it didn't

00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:03.079
work. The amendment got ratified anyway. So then

00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:05.819
he voted to override President Wilson's veto

00:19:05.819 --> 00:19:09.000
of the Volstead Act, the law that actually implemented

00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:12.319
prohibition. Why? Probably to secure the support

00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:15.200
of the very powerful anti -saloon league. Wow.

00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:17.819
That's some serious political maneuvering. Keep

00:19:17.819 --> 00:19:20.319
everyone happy, or at least not too angry. Exactly.

00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:23.000
It really shows his political pragmatism. Adapt

00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:25.059
your stance, read the room, don't alienate key

00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:27.480
groups. Crucial skills if you're thinking about

00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:29.640
higher office. And his profile kept rising within

00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:33.079
the party. He got a prime spot at the 1916 Republican

00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:36.099
National Convention. He did. Asked to be temporary

00:19:36.099 --> 00:19:38.640
chairman and deliver the keynote address, he

00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:41.200
used it to preach party unity, urging delegates

00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:43.079
to stand together. That would become his big

00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:45.440
theme later. The convention ended up nominating

00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:48.099
Charles Evans Hughes. Then came World War I.

00:19:48.410 --> 00:19:51.589
Where did Harding stand? He spoke and voted for

00:19:51.589 --> 00:19:54.710
Wilson's resolution declaring war in April 1917.

00:19:55.529 --> 00:19:57.329
Initially, he was pretty gung -ho about supporting

00:19:57.329 --> 00:20:00.029
the president in wartime, even argued for giving

00:20:00.029 --> 00:20:03.710
Wilson almost dictatorial powers, saying democracy

00:20:03.710 --> 00:20:06.390
had little place in time of war. Strong words.

00:20:06.529 --> 00:20:08.569
Did he support all the war measures? Mostly.

00:20:08.829 --> 00:20:11.250
He voted for things like the Espionage Act, which

00:20:11.250 --> 00:20:13.849
really restricted civil liberties, but he did

00:20:13.849 --> 00:20:16.109
oppose the excess profits tax on businesses,

00:20:16.230 --> 00:20:19.460
seeing it as anti -business. By May 1918, though,

00:20:19.539 --> 00:20:22.240
his enthusiasm for Wilson had cooled and he started

00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:24.660
opposing further expansion of presidential powers.

00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:27.599
OK, so his views evolved. Now, the League of

00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:29.779
Nations debate after the war. This feels like

00:20:29.779 --> 00:20:32.079
a really defining moment for him. Absolutely

00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:34.920
pivotal. Republicans narrowly won back control

00:20:34.920 --> 00:20:37.500
of the Senate in the 1918 midterms and Harding

00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:39.599
landed a spot on the really important Senate

00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:41.920
Foreign Relations Committee. Just as Wilson was

00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:44.059
coming back from Paris with the Treaty of Versailles.

00:20:44.299 --> 00:20:47.200
Exactly. And Wilson made this huge political

00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:50.279
blunder. He didn't take any senators, Republican

00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:53.279
or Democrat, with him to the Paris Peace Conference.

00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:56.720
He was supremely confident he could just force

00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:59.539
the treaty and the League of Nations through

00:20:59.539 --> 00:21:04.279
the Senate. Huge. Many senators, including Harding,

00:21:04.700 --> 00:21:07.539
intensely disliked Article X of the League Covenant.

00:21:07.940 --> 00:21:10.140
That was the part committing members to defend

00:21:10.140 --> 00:21:13.099
any other member nation if attacked. They saw

00:21:13.099 --> 00:21:16.279
it as dragging the US into future wars without

00:21:16.279 --> 00:21:18.630
Congress having a say. The sovereignty issue.

00:21:19.089 --> 00:21:22.029
Precisely. Harding was one of 39 senators who

00:21:22.029 --> 00:21:24.609
signed this round robin letter basically saying

00:21:24.609 --> 00:21:26.950
they opposed the League as Wilson presented it.

00:21:27.109 --> 00:21:29.670
Did he confront Wilson directly? He did. There

00:21:29.670 --> 00:21:31.589
was a White House meeting with the Foreign Relations

00:21:31.589 --> 00:21:34.930
Committee and sources say Harding ably questioned

00:21:34.930 --> 00:21:37.589
Wilson about Article X, but Wilson apparently

00:21:37.589 --> 00:21:40.210
just evaded his inquiries. This really highlights

00:21:40.210 --> 00:21:42.210
Harding's ability to articulate those concerns

00:21:42.210 --> 00:21:44.289
about congressional power and national sovereignty.

00:21:44.589 --> 00:21:46.730
So Harding became a leading voice against the

00:21:46.730 --> 00:21:49.140
League. He made a major speech against the treaty

00:21:49.140 --> 00:21:52.980
in September 1919, and with Wilson then suffering

00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:55.339
a debilitating stroke and public support for

00:21:55.339 --> 00:21:58.059
the league starting to fade, the treaty was ultimately

00:21:58.059 --> 00:22:01.160
defeated in the Senate twice. This whole fight

00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:03.900
firmly cemented Harding's position against Wilsonian

00:22:03.900 --> 00:22:06.460
internationalism, making him a very appealing

00:22:06.460 --> 00:22:08.900
alternative for a country tired of war and foreign

00:22:08.900 --> 00:22:12.140
entanglements. Hashtag tag tag horde for the

00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:16.269
normalcy election of 1920. OK, 1920. The Republican

00:22:16.269 --> 00:22:18.890
nomination is suddenly wide open. Yeah, Theodore

00:22:18.890 --> 00:22:20.750
Roosevelt was the expected front runner, but

00:22:20.750 --> 00:22:24.230
he died suddenly in January 1919. That just blew

00:22:24.230 --> 00:22:26.549
the field wide open. You had several big names

00:22:26.549 --> 00:22:28.809
jump in, General Leonard Wood, Illinois Governor

00:22:28.809 --> 00:22:30.990
Frank Loudon, California Senator Hiram Johnson.

00:22:31.069 --> 00:22:32.769
All pretty prominent figures. Definitely. And

00:22:32.769 --> 00:22:34.529
then some lesser known ones testing the waters

00:22:34.529 --> 00:22:37.349
too, like Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, and

00:22:37.349 --> 00:22:39.410
of course, Warren G. Harding. Now, Harding wanted

00:22:39.410 --> 00:22:41.529
the presidency, but he also had other motivations.

00:22:41.809 --> 00:22:44.509
Right. He was apparently just as motivated by

00:22:44.509 --> 00:22:47.059
wanting to control of Republican politics back

00:22:47.059 --> 00:22:49.339
in Ohio, making sure he could get re -elected

00:22:49.339 --> 00:22:51.920
to the Senate. He made a pretty low -key announcement

00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:54.680
of his presidential candidacy in December 1919.

00:22:55.339 --> 00:22:57.180
Sources suggest he didn't actually think he had

00:22:57.180 --> 00:23:00.059
much of a shot. But the party establishment liked

00:23:00.059 --> 00:23:02.799
him more than the frontrunners. That seems to

00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:05.819
be the case. The party's old guard leaders, the

00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:08.640
more conservative wing, they weren't thrilled

00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:11.180
with the progressive leanings of Wooden Johnson

00:23:11.180 --> 00:23:14.720
or Loudon's independence streak. Harding was

00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:17.799
seen as more, well, manageable, more reliable.

00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:20.400
Enter Harry Daugherty again. Enter Harry Daugherty,

00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:22.420
the master strategist, or at least that's how

00:23:22.420 --> 00:23:24.980
he presented himself. Daugherty predicted the

00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:26.960
front -winners would deadlock at the convention.

00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:30.339
His strategy was to position Harding as the perfect

00:23:30.339 --> 00:23:32.460
long shot, the compromise candidate everyone

00:23:32.460 --> 00:23:34.519
could eventually agree on when the favorites

00:23:34.519 --> 00:23:37.180
flamed out. So Daugherty set up shop in Washington.

00:23:37.380 --> 00:23:40.670
Yep. set up a campaign office, managed this network

00:23:40.670 --> 00:23:42.890
of supporters, all geared towards a brokered

00:23:42.890 --> 00:23:44.950
convention scenario where Harding could emerge.

00:23:45.349 --> 00:23:47.289
But Harding's actual performance in the primaries

00:23:47.289 --> 00:23:50.049
wasn't great. No, it was pretty weak, honestly.

00:23:50.529 --> 00:23:54.410
He barely won his home state, Ohio, beating Wood

00:23:54.410 --> 00:23:57.589
by only about 15 ,000 votes, getting less than

00:23:57.589 --> 00:24:00.690
half the total vote there. And in Indiana, he

00:24:00.690 --> 00:24:04.180
finished fourth, won zero delegates. That must

00:24:04.180 --> 00:24:06.200
have been discouraging. Deeply discouraging.

00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:08.400
Sources say Harding was ready to throw in the

00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:11.279
towel, quit the race, and just refile to run

00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:13.380
for his Senate seat again. But then Florence

00:24:13.380 --> 00:24:16.759
stepped in. The Duchess. The Duchess to the rescue.

00:24:16.970 --> 00:24:20.109
The story goes, she literally grabbed the phone

00:24:20.109 --> 00:24:21.910
out of his hand while he was trying to quit,

00:24:22.269 --> 00:24:24.109
declared, Warren Harding, what are you doing?

00:24:24.289 --> 00:24:26.589
Give up. Not until the convention is over. Think

00:24:26.589 --> 00:24:29.250
of your friends in Ohio. Wow. And later, she

00:24:29.250 --> 00:24:31.269
apparently told someone, will you tell Harry

00:24:31.269 --> 00:24:33.529
Daugherty for me that we're in this fight until

00:24:33.529 --> 00:24:36.410
hell freezes over? Uh -huh. You do not mess with

00:24:36.410 --> 00:24:39.329
the Duchess. Absolutely not. Her fierce determination,

00:24:39.630 --> 00:24:42.009
her belief in him, it was critical in keeping

00:24:42.009 --> 00:24:44.690
him in the race at that low point. So after that

00:24:44.690 --> 00:24:47.640
reality check, and maybe Florence's pep talk.

00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:50.160
Harding gives this really important speech. Yes,

00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:52.619
in Boston. And this is where he introduces the

00:24:52.619 --> 00:24:56.220
word that becomes his trademark, normalcy. What

00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:58.240
was the lion exactly? It's pretty famous. It

00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:00.759
is. He said America's present need is not heroics,

00:25:00.859 --> 00:25:03.799
but healing, not nostrums, but normalcy, not

00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:07.099
revolution, but restoration, not agitation, but

00:25:07.099 --> 00:25:10.839
adjustment, not surgery, but serenity, not the

00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:13.980
dramatic, but the dispassionate, not experiment,

00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:17.380
but equipoise. not submergence in internationality,

00:25:17.500 --> 00:25:20.400
but sustainment in triumphant nationality. Wow,

00:25:21.180 --> 00:25:23.859
that's quite a list. And normalcy, he didn't

00:25:23.859 --> 00:25:25.890
invent the word, right? But he made it famous.

00:25:26.250 --> 00:25:28.630
Exactly. He popularized it. And it just resonated

00:25:28.630 --> 00:25:30.950
so deeply with the country. People were exhausted

00:25:30.950 --> 00:25:33.049
after World War One, the Spanish flee pandemic,

00:25:33.150 --> 00:25:34.990
the post -war recession, the political turmoil.

00:25:35.269 --> 00:25:38.069
They were tired of Wilson's lofty idealism and

00:25:38.069 --> 00:25:40.009
global crusades. They just wanted things to get

00:25:40.009 --> 00:25:42.789
back to normal. Precisely. As biographer Dean

00:25:42.789 --> 00:25:45.230
put it, Harding was reading the nation's pulse

00:25:45.230 --> 00:25:48.470
correctly. That call for a return to a simpler

00:25:48.470 --> 00:25:51.049
pre -war way of life, less government intervention,

00:25:51.250 --> 00:25:53.269
less foreign entanglement, it struck a powerful

00:25:53.269 --> 00:25:55.730
chord. OK. So on to the convention in Chicago,

00:25:56.069 --> 00:25:59.529
June 1920. It's deeply divided, intensely divided.

00:26:00.250 --> 00:26:02.390
And adding fuel to the fire was a recent Senate

00:26:02.390 --> 00:26:05.009
investigation into campaign spending. It found

00:26:05.009 --> 00:26:08.789
the frontrunners had spent huge sums, Wood nearly

00:26:08.789 --> 00:26:13.650
$1 .8 million, Loudon $600 ,000. And Harding.

00:26:13.890 --> 00:26:17.369
Harding only about $113 ,000. So he looked clean

00:26:17.369 --> 00:26:19.730
by comparison. And the convention itself was

00:26:19.730 --> 00:26:22.579
chaotic. No single boss in charge. Right. Nearly

00:26:22.579 --> 00:26:25.559
a thousand delegates, including 27 women, which

00:26:25.559 --> 00:26:27.440
was new since the 19th Amendment was about to

00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:30.059
be ratified. No Republican in the White House

00:26:30.059 --> 00:26:32.339
meant no patronage power to control delegates.

00:26:32.660 --> 00:26:34.779
No single party boss could dictate the outcome.

00:26:35.099 --> 00:26:37.480
It was wide open. Parting was still seen as a

00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:40.140
long shot, a dark horse. Initially, yeah. Reporters

00:26:40.140 --> 00:26:42.640
weren't giving him much chance. But then... The

00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:46.019
former Ohio governor, Willis, gave this very

00:26:46.019 --> 00:26:48.440
folksy, brief nominating speech for Harding,

00:26:48.700 --> 00:26:50.960
and it apparently created a real warm feeling

00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:53.240
for him among the delegates. The deadlock happens.

00:26:53.339 --> 00:26:55.440
Four ballots, nobody can win. Wooden and Loudon

00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:57.640
are stuck. Exactly. And that leads to the night

00:26:57.640 --> 00:27:00.079
of June 11th into the 12th, the night that becomes

00:27:00.079 --> 00:27:02.240
legendary as the night of the smoke -filled room

00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:05.519
at the Blackstone Hotel. The famous smoke -filled

00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:09.059
room. So the legend is that party bosses met

00:27:09.059 --> 00:27:12.930
secretly and basically forced Harding's nomination.

00:27:13.170 --> 00:27:16.269
That's the legend, yes. A cabal of senators and

00:27:16.269 --> 00:27:18.269
party elders deciding the nominee in secret.

00:27:19.250 --> 00:27:20.950
But historians who've looked closely say there

00:27:20.950 --> 00:27:23.950
wasn't really a formal pact to nominate Harding

00:27:23.950 --> 00:27:26.710
that night. So what did happen in the room? Well,

00:27:26.829 --> 00:27:29.289
key figures were definitely talking. Influential

00:27:29.289 --> 00:27:31.769
senators like Reed Smoot were arguing that Harding

00:27:31.769 --> 00:27:34.410
was the best bet to win Ohio in the general election

00:27:34.410 --> 00:27:37.369
against the likely Democratic nominee James Cox,

00:27:37.369 --> 00:27:40.150
who was also from Ohio. Others just looked at

00:27:40.150 --> 00:27:42.450
the mess, the deadlock, the liabilities of the

00:27:42.450 --> 00:27:45.029
frontrunners and concluded Harding was the logical

00:27:45.029 --> 00:27:47.549
compromise, the path of least resistance. So

00:27:47.549 --> 00:27:50.230
less of a conspiracy, more of a consensus emerging

00:27:50.230 --> 00:27:52.990
out of exhaustion and pragmatism. Probably closer

00:27:52.990 --> 00:27:55.990
to that. But the rumors of a cabal of senators

00:27:55.990 --> 00:27:58.109
making a deal spread among the delegates, and

00:27:58.109 --> 00:28:00.029
that perception actually helped Harding because

00:28:00.029 --> 00:28:01.630
delegates started seeing him as the inevitable

00:28:01.630 --> 00:28:04.730
way out of the good luck. The backroom maneuvering,

00:28:04.890 --> 00:28:07.569
even if not a single deal, certainly played a

00:28:07.569 --> 00:28:11.190
role. So the next day, balloting resumes. And

00:28:11.190 --> 00:28:13.769
Harding starts steadily gaining votes. Ballot

00:28:13.769 --> 00:28:16.779
after ballot. Eventually, the convention chairman,

00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:19.539
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, calls for a recess,

00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:22.200
which makes Doherty furious he thinks they're

00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:24.220
trying to stop Harding's momentum. Which doesn't

00:28:24.220 --> 00:28:27.059
work. Nope. On the ninth ballot, Harding takes

00:28:27.059 --> 00:28:30.019
the lead. Governor Loudon then releases his delegates.

00:28:30.299 --> 00:28:33.000
And on the tenth ballot, it's over. Harding's

00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:36.099
nomination becomes unanimous. Wow. From Dark

00:28:36.099 --> 00:28:38.900
Horse to nominee in ten ballots, and then the

00:28:38.900 --> 00:28:40.960
vice president. That was almost an afterthought.

00:28:41.099 --> 00:28:43.279
Delegates were exhausted, wanted to get out of

00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:45.720
Chicago. They quickly nominated Massachusetts

00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:48.559
Governor Calvin Coolidge. He was popular for

00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:50.779
breaking the Boston police strike the year before.

00:28:50.900 --> 00:28:52.839
He actually got even more votes than Harding

00:28:52.839 --> 00:28:55.259
did on his first ballot. So the ticket is Harding

00:28:55.259 --> 00:28:58.500
and Coolidge. How did the press react? Mixed,

00:28:58.500 --> 00:29:00.900
you said? Very mixed. Republican papers fell

00:29:00.900 --> 00:29:03.700
in line, naturally, but others were just scathing.

00:29:03.880 --> 00:29:06.299
The New York world called Harding the least qualified

00:29:06.299 --> 00:29:09.539
candidate since James Buchanan a weak and mediocre

00:29:09.539 --> 00:29:13.640
man with no original idea. Ouch Buchanan. That's

00:29:13.640 --> 00:29:16.339
harsh. It is. The Hearst papers called him the

00:29:16.339 --> 00:29:19.480
flag bearer of a new senatorial autocracy. The

00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:21.920
New York Times was a bit milder just calling

00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:24.779
him a very respectable Ohio politician of the

00:29:24.779 --> 00:29:27.400
second class. Not exactly a ringing endorsement

00:29:27.400 --> 00:29:29.279
for the man who just won the nomination. Quite

00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:32.240
the welcome. So the general election campaign.

00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:35.500
The Democrats nominate James Cox, governor of

00:29:35.500 --> 00:29:38.940
Ohio. Right. And for VP, a young assistant secretary

00:29:38.940 --> 00:29:41.480
of the Navy named Franklin D. Roosevelt. Interesting

00:29:41.480 --> 00:29:44.539
matchup. Two Ohio newspaper editors running against

00:29:44.539 --> 00:29:47.490
each other. Cox the liberal. Harding, the conservative,

00:29:47.730 --> 00:29:49.750
provides a very clear choice for the voters.

00:29:49.869 --> 00:29:52.549
And Harding runs what kind of campaign? He decides

00:29:52.549 --> 00:29:55.690
on a traditional front porch campaign, stays

00:29:55.690 --> 00:29:58.789
home in Marion, Ohio, delivers speeches to delegations

00:29:58.789 --> 00:30:01.069
that come visit him, very much like McKinley

00:30:01.069 --> 00:30:04.529
did in 1896. Harding even had his porch remodeled

00:30:04.529 --> 00:30:07.390
to look like McKinley's. While Cox and FDR are

00:30:07.390 --> 00:30:09.730
out barnstorming the country. Exactly. They're

00:30:09.730 --> 00:30:11.769
crisscrossing the nation, making hundreds of

00:30:11.769 --> 00:30:14.509
speeches. Harding, meanwhile, is at home and

00:30:14.509 --> 00:30:16.539
being a newspaper man himself. if he had this

00:30:16.539 --> 00:30:18.339
easy relationship with the press covering him.

00:30:18.420 --> 00:30:20.660
They liked him. That camaraderie was a real asset.

00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:24.500
And the return to normalcy theme combined with

00:30:24.500 --> 00:30:27.940
the image of quiet Marion, Ohio, that resonated

00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:31.420
deeply. Voters were looking for stability order

00:30:31.420 --> 00:30:34.319
after the chaos of the war years. Marion seemed

00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:37.039
to represent that. But his speeches themselves,

00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:40.150
they weren't exactly thrilling. No. Critics found

00:30:40.150 --> 00:30:43.250
his oratory really vague, full of platitudes.

00:30:43.650 --> 00:30:46.250
William G. McAdoo famously described a harding

00:30:46.250 --> 00:30:49.390
speech as an army of pompous phrases moving over

00:30:49.390 --> 00:30:52.089
the landscape in search of an idea. Uh -huh.

00:30:52.309 --> 00:30:54.730
That's quite an image. And H. L. Mencken, the

00:30:54.730 --> 00:30:56.650
sharp -tongued journalist, just called it rumble

00:30:56.650 --> 00:30:59.410
and bumble. It is balder and dash. Balder, dash.

00:30:59.430 --> 00:31:01.910
Love it. But interestingly, The New York Times

00:31:01.910 --> 00:31:04.130
had a different take. They thought his speeches

00:31:04.130 --> 00:31:06.369
actually reflected the indeterminate thoughts

00:31:06.369 --> 00:31:09.099
of the average voter. that maybe his very vagueness

00:31:09.099 --> 00:31:11.059
was part of his appeal. People were tired of

00:31:11.059 --> 00:31:13.319
grand visions. What about the League of Nations?

00:31:14.019 --> 00:31:16.039
Wilson called the election a great and solemn

00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:19.079
referendum on it. Right. Harding had to walk

00:31:19.079 --> 00:31:22.000
a fine line. He stuck to his opposition to Wilson's

00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:24.480
League, but he talked about favoring some kind

00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:27.380
of association of nations, maybe based on the

00:31:27.380 --> 00:31:29.960
World Court at The Hague. It was vague enough

00:31:29.960 --> 00:31:33.059
to keep most Republicans happy, both the isolationists

00:31:33.059 --> 00:31:35.759
and the mild internationalists. And Cox eventually

00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:38.140
shifted his position, too. Yeah. By October,

00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:40.579
even Cox admitted that reservations to the League

00:31:40.579 --> 00:31:43.059
Treaty might be necessary. That basically took

00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:45.500
the issue off the table, allowed Harding to just

00:31:45.500 --> 00:31:48.339
stop talking about it. It neutralized Wilson's

00:31:48.339 --> 00:31:50.759
big referendum and the Republicans ran a modern

00:31:50.759 --> 00:31:53.640
campaign. Advertising and all that. Very modern

00:31:53.640 --> 00:31:56.640
for the time. The RNC hired this top advertising

00:31:56.640 --> 00:31:59.500
executive, Albert Lasker. He launched this huge

00:31:59.500 --> 00:32:01.740
campaign using all the new media, newsreels,

00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:04.180
sound recordings, billboards, magazines. They

00:32:04.180 --> 00:32:06.440
even used telemarketers reading scripted dialogue.

00:32:06.779 --> 00:32:10.559
Telemarketers in 1920. Wow. Yeah. And when delegations

00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:12.539
visited Marion, they'd get their photos taken

00:32:12.539 --> 00:32:14.559
with Warren and Florence, and the campaign would

00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:16.400
send those photos to their hometown newspapers.

00:32:17.019 --> 00:32:19.339
Really sophisticated, personalized marketing

00:32:19.339 --> 00:32:22.579
for the era. Meanwhile, The old, ugly rumors

00:32:22.579 --> 00:32:25.720
about his ancestry resurfaced. They did. Opponents

00:32:25.720 --> 00:32:27.539
brought up the old claims about him having black

00:32:27.539 --> 00:32:30.339
ancestry. His campaign manager just denied them,

00:32:30.460 --> 00:32:33.519
rejected them. So election day, November 2, 1920.

00:32:33.960 --> 00:32:36.480
His birthday, actually. Right. And it was a landslide.

00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:40.500
A massive victory for Harding. He got 60 .2 %

00:32:40.500 --> 00:32:42.559
of the popular vote. That's still the highest

00:32:42.559 --> 00:32:44.839
percentage for a Republican presidential candidate

00:32:44.839 --> 00:32:47.660
since the modern two -party system really emerged.

00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:53.220
404 electoral votes. And Cox? Cox got just 34

00:32:53.220 --> 00:32:57.140
% of the vote, 127 electoral votes. Even Eugene

00:32:57.140 --> 00:32:59.359
V. Debs, the socialist leader running from a

00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:00.980
federal prison cell. Right, he was jailed for

00:33:00.980 --> 00:33:03.059
opposing the war. He still got 3 % of the vote,

00:33:03.240 --> 00:33:05.640
nearly a million votes. But the big story was

00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:07.980
the Republican sweep. They massively increased

00:33:07.980 --> 00:33:09.740
their majorities in both the House and Senate.

00:33:09.839 --> 00:33:12.539
It was a clear, undeniable mandate for Harding

00:33:12.539 --> 00:33:15.420
and his promise of normalcy. That huge victory

00:33:15.420 --> 00:33:17.700
gave Harding a really strong mandate coming into

00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:20.539
to office. He was inaugurated March 4th, 1921,

00:33:20.599 --> 00:33:23.039
and he chose a pretty subdued ceremony, skipped

00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:25.480
the usual big parade. Setting a different tone

00:33:25.480 --> 00:33:27.680
right away. What about his inaugural address?

00:33:28.019 --> 00:33:31.079
He laid out his philosophy pretty clearly, declared,

00:33:31.460 --> 00:33:33.759
our most dangerous tendency is to expect too

00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:35.579
much from the government and at the same time

00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:38.180
do too little for it. A real call for limited

00:33:38.180 --> 00:33:41.839
government, individual responsibility, a definite

00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:44.079
shift from the progressive era under Wilson and

00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:47.200
Roosevelt. And his cabinet. He famously said

00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:49.579
he wanted the best minds in the country. Did

00:33:49.579 --> 00:33:51.940
he get them? Well, he certainly got some truly

00:33:51.940 --> 00:33:54.900
outstanding people. Charles Evans Hughes, Secretary

00:33:54.900 --> 00:33:56.819
of State Harding, gave him a lot of leeway on

00:33:56.819 --> 00:33:59.259
foreign policy. Andrew W. Mellon, one of the

00:33:59.259 --> 00:34:01.579
richest men in America as Treasury Secretary,

00:34:01.880 --> 00:34:03.839
and Herbert Hoover as Secretary of Commerce.

00:34:03.859 --> 00:34:06.859
These were top tier, highly respected figures.

00:34:06.960 --> 00:34:09.420
Definitely best minds material. But it wasn't

00:34:09.420 --> 00:34:11.840
all A -listers, was it? No, it was a real mix.

00:34:11.920 --> 00:34:15.260
And that mix, that blend of brilliance and, well,

00:34:15.420 --> 00:34:17.599
questionable loyalty would really define his

00:34:17.599 --> 00:34:20.719
presidency, for better and for worse. You had

00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:23.139
political loyalists like Will Hayes, the RNC

00:34:23.139 --> 00:34:25.840
chairman, becoming postmaster general. He later

00:34:25.840 --> 00:34:28.380
left to become Hollywood's first censor, interestingly.

00:34:28.500 --> 00:34:31.239
He's Code Guy. The very same. But then you had

00:34:31.239 --> 00:34:33.739
the really controversial problematic appointments.

00:34:34.340 --> 00:34:36.380
Albert B. Fall is Interior Secretary. He was

00:34:36.380 --> 00:34:39.219
a Western rancher, former miner, big proponent

00:34:39.219 --> 00:34:42.199
of developing natural resources. Conservationists

00:34:42.199 --> 00:34:44.579
like Gifford Pinchot were immediately alarmed.

00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:47.369
And the big one. Harry Doherty is attorney general.

00:34:47.750 --> 00:34:50.869
Right. His longtime friend, political fixer from

00:34:50.869 --> 00:34:54.070
Ohio. The New York Times just mocked that appointment,

00:34:54.409 --> 00:34:57.210
saying Harding chose merely a best friend over

00:34:57.210 --> 00:35:00.130
the best minds. But Harding trusted him. Completely.

00:35:00.650 --> 00:35:03.150
Saw him as, according to historians Troney and

00:35:03.150 --> 00:35:05.889
Wilson, a competent lawyer well acquainted with

00:35:05.889 --> 00:35:08.730
the seamy side of politics, a first -class political

00:35:08.730 --> 00:35:11.469
troubleshooter, someone he could rely on implicitly.

00:35:11.690 --> 00:35:14.170
This tension, though, between the high -minded

00:35:14.170 --> 00:35:16.630
idealists like Hughes and Hoover and the cronies

00:35:16.630 --> 00:35:18.929
like Doherty and Fall, it laid the groundwork

00:35:18.929 --> 00:35:22.030
for both success and disaster. A fascinating,

00:35:22.130 --> 00:35:24.769
almost dangerous dynamic. So, Harding takes office,

00:35:25.329 --> 00:35:27.110
and the economy is not in great shape. Post -war

00:35:27.110 --> 00:35:29.570
recession, high unemployment. Yeah, unemployment

00:35:29.570 --> 00:35:32.590
hit 12 % in 1921. The country was in a slump

00:35:32.590 --> 00:35:34.690
after the war boom ended. But here's something

00:35:34.690 --> 00:35:37.889
often overlooked. The economic policies under

00:35:37.889 --> 00:35:41.349
Harding... really seemed to set the stage for

00:35:41.349 --> 00:35:44.250
the roaring 20s boom that followed. How did that

00:35:44.250 --> 00:35:46.349
happen? How did they turn things around so dramatically?

00:35:46.510 --> 00:35:49.329
It was a major shift, largely driven by Treasury

00:35:49.329 --> 00:35:52.469
Secretary Mellon's ideas about taxes and a big

00:35:52.469 --> 00:35:55.710
push for deregulation. In his first big speech

00:35:55.710 --> 00:35:59.110
to Congress in April 1921, Harding called for

00:35:59.110 --> 00:36:01.769
cutting wartime income taxes, raising tariffs

00:36:01.769 --> 00:36:04.570
to protect farm goods, and supporting new industries

00:36:04.570 --> 00:36:07.750
like highways, aviation, radio. Getting government

00:36:07.750 --> 00:36:09.989
spending under control was also key. Absolutely.

00:36:10.469 --> 00:36:12.630
He signed the Budget and Accounting Act in June

00:36:12.630 --> 00:36:15.389
1921, creating the Bureau of the Budget, the

00:36:15.389 --> 00:36:18.349
first federal budget process. And he appointed

00:36:18.349 --> 00:36:21.349
Charles Dawes, a tough Chicago banker, as its

00:36:21.349 --> 00:36:23.889
first director with a clear order, cut spending.

00:36:24.409 --> 00:36:25.949
And Mellon's tax plan, that was the big one.

00:36:26.170 --> 00:36:28.750
That was the centerpiece. Mellon was a firm believer

00:36:28.750 --> 00:36:31.050
in what we'd now call a supply -side economics.

00:36:31.489 --> 00:36:33.610
He argued that the high wartime tax rates, the

00:36:33.610 --> 00:36:36.869
top rate was 73%, were actually counterproductive,

00:36:37.070 --> 00:36:39.389
driving money underground or into tax shelters

00:36:39.389 --> 00:36:42.050
instead of productive investment. So, cut the

00:36:42.050 --> 00:36:45.070
rates to stimulate the economy. Exactly. Mellon

00:36:45.070 --> 00:36:47.489
proposed slashing income tax rates across the

00:36:47.489 --> 00:36:49.170
board and getting rid of the corporate excess

00:36:49.170 --> 00:36:52.050
profits tax. Harding's big revenue bill, based

00:36:52.050 --> 00:36:54.590
on Mellon's plan, cut that top marginal rate

00:36:54.590 --> 00:36:59.269
dramatically from 73 % in 1921 down to 25 % by

00:36:59.269 --> 00:37:02.050
1925. And they cut taxes for lower incomes, too.

00:37:02.250 --> 00:37:04.750
Did it face resistance? Tax cuts usually do.

00:37:04.829 --> 00:37:07.030
Oh, yeah. Big fights in Congress, especially

00:37:07.030 --> 00:37:09.369
in the Senate. It got tangled up with efforts

00:37:09.369 --> 00:37:12.230
to give World War I veterans a cash bonus. Harding

00:37:12.230 --> 00:37:14.519
actively fought against the bonus, argument would

00:37:14.519 --> 00:37:17.159
break down our treasury. He even vetoed a bonus

00:37:17.159 --> 00:37:20.000
bill in 1922 and his veto was barely sustained.

00:37:20.519 --> 00:37:22.059
So the tax cuts passed, what was the impact?

00:37:22.190 --> 00:37:24.369
Pretty dramatic, actually. Combined with the

00:37:24.369 --> 00:37:26.630
deregulation push, federal spending as a share

00:37:26.630 --> 00:37:29.230
of the economy fell significantly. And by late

00:37:29.230 --> 00:37:32.510
1922, the economy really started to roar back.

00:37:32.949 --> 00:37:35.449
Unemployment plummeted from that 12 % in 1921

00:37:35.449 --> 00:37:37.949
to an average of just 3 .3 % for the rest of

00:37:37.949 --> 00:37:40.789
the decade. Wow, 3 .3 % average. That's incredible.

00:37:41.110 --> 00:37:44.130
It really is. The misery index, which combines

00:37:44.130 --> 00:37:46.809
unemployment and inflation, saw its sharpest

00:37:46.809 --> 00:37:49.570
drop in American history under Harding. Wages

00:37:49.570 --> 00:37:52.449
went up, profits went up, productivity soared.

00:37:53.179 --> 00:37:57.000
GDP grew by an average of over 5 % a year through

00:37:57.000 --> 00:38:00.239
the 1920s. So some historians argue Mellon's

00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:02.940
policies really fueled the boom. Yes, particularly

00:38:02.940 --> 00:38:05.420
more libertarian leaning historians like Schweickart

00:38:05.420 --> 00:38:08.400
and Allen. They contend that Mellon's tax policies

00:38:08.400 --> 00:38:10.920
set the stage for the most amazing growth yet

00:38:10.920 --> 00:38:13.340
seen in America's already impressive economy.

00:38:13.619 --> 00:38:17.039
It's a significant economic legacy, often completely

00:38:17.039 --> 00:38:18.960
overshadowed by the scandals that came later.

00:38:19.079 --> 00:38:20.940
It really is a different picture than the usual

00:38:20.940 --> 00:38:22.960
narrative. And Harding wasn't just focused on

00:38:22.960 --> 00:38:25.539
taxes. He embraced new technologies, too. He

00:38:25.539 --> 00:38:27.860
absolutely did. He saw the future. The 1920s,

00:38:27.980 --> 00:38:30.659
that was the dawn of the motor car age. Mass

00:38:30.659 --> 00:38:32.920
production of cars was transforming everything,

00:38:33.179 --> 00:38:35.760
stimulating highway construction, rubber, steel,

00:38:36.300 --> 00:38:38.619
even hotels for tourists. And he supported federal

00:38:38.619 --> 00:38:41.780
investment in roads. Big time. He signed the

00:38:41.780 --> 00:38:45.119
Federal Highway Act of 1921. It invested a significant

00:38:45.119 --> 00:38:48.980
amount, $162 million back then, about $3 billion

00:38:48.980 --> 00:38:52.059
today, into building up America's highway system

00:38:52.059 --> 00:38:56.340
between 21 and 23. He said in 1922 that the motor

00:38:56.340 --> 00:38:59.280
car reflects our standard of living, engages

00:38:59.280 --> 00:39:02.230
the speed of our present day life. He got it.

00:39:02.429 --> 00:39:04.489
What about radio and aviation? Still very new

00:39:04.489 --> 00:39:07.369
then. He urged regulation for radio broadcasting

00:39:07.369 --> 00:39:10.710
as early as April 1921. His Commerce Secretary

00:39:10.710 --> 00:39:13.030
Hoover really took the lead there, convening

00:39:13.030 --> 00:39:14.949
conferences that led to voluntary agreements

00:39:14.949 --> 00:39:16.730
on assigning radio frequencies the beginnings

00:39:16.730 --> 00:39:19.210
of order in the airwaves. Hoover also pushed

00:39:19.210 --> 00:39:21.150
for developing commercial aviation, focusing

00:39:21.150 --> 00:39:24.469
on safety rules and pilot licensing. Full regulation

00:39:24.469 --> 00:39:26.469
came later, but they laid the groundwork. So

00:39:26.469 --> 00:39:28.570
a very pro -business administration overall.

00:39:28.710 --> 00:39:30.710
Definitely. Harding believed government's role

00:39:30.710 --> 00:39:33.050
was to help business thrive. He viewed organized

00:39:33.050 --> 00:39:35.449
labor with, well, suspicion. How did he handle

00:39:35.449 --> 00:39:37.750
labor issues? There were major strikes in 1922.

00:39:38.130 --> 00:39:40.989
Yeah, 1922 was a tough year for labor relations.

00:39:41.429 --> 00:39:44.349
Falling wages, high unemployment led to widespread

00:39:44.349 --> 00:39:48.070
unrest. You had a huge coal miner strike. Half

00:39:48.070 --> 00:39:50.949
a million miners led by John L. Lewis walked

00:39:50.949 --> 00:39:53.690
out over wage cuts. How did Harding respond?

00:39:53.849 --> 00:39:56.010
He offered a compromise, got the miners to go

00:39:56.010 --> 00:39:57.989
back to work while a commission investigated

00:39:57.989 --> 00:40:01.849
their grievances. Then 400 ,000 railroad workers

00:40:01.849 --> 00:40:04.530
went on strike. Harding proposed a settlement,

00:40:04.630 --> 00:40:07.269
but the railroad managers rejected it. So then

00:40:07.269 --> 00:40:10.010
what? Attorney General Doherty stepped in and

00:40:10.010 --> 00:40:12.690
got a really sweeping federal court injunction

00:40:12.690 --> 00:40:14.969
to break the strike. Harding actually thought

00:40:14.969 --> 00:40:17.210
the injunction went too far and had it amended

00:40:17.210 --> 00:40:19.389
slightly. But it worked. The injunction ended

00:40:19.389 --> 00:40:21.329
the strike, though it left a lot of bad blood.

00:40:21.690 --> 00:40:23.969
shows the administration wasn't afraid to use

00:40:23.969 --> 00:40:27.130
federal power against labor. But there was one

00:40:27.130 --> 00:40:29.929
significant win for labor, the steel industry.

00:40:30.309 --> 00:40:32.690
Yes, that's a really notable achievement, often

00:40:32.690 --> 00:40:35.130
overlooked. While the eight -hour workday was

00:40:35.130 --> 00:40:37.250
becoming more common, the steel mills still had

00:40:37.250 --> 00:40:39.750
these brutal 12 -hour shifts seven days a week.

00:40:40.329 --> 00:40:42.230
Hoover and Harding thought this was just barbaric

00:40:42.230 --> 00:40:44.269
and put pressure on the steel manufacturers to

00:40:44.269 --> 00:40:48.150
change. Did they listen? Not at first. The head

00:40:48.150 --> 00:40:50.309
of U .S. Steel, Albert Gehry, led a committee

00:40:50.309 --> 00:40:52.909
that resisted. But then Harding wrote a letter

00:40:52.909 --> 00:40:55.309
to Gary urging the change and it got leaked to

00:40:55.309 --> 00:40:58.909
the press. The public outcry was huge. That pressure

00:40:58.909 --> 00:41:01.469
finally forced the manufacturers to give in and

00:41:01.469 --> 00:41:03.170
standardize the eight -hour day in the steel

00:41:03.170 --> 00:41:06.079
industry. a major victory. OK, let's shift to

00:41:06.079 --> 00:41:08.739
civil rights and immigration. Always complex

00:41:08.739 --> 00:41:11.420
areas. Harding seemed to make some positive signals

00:41:11.420 --> 00:41:14.500
on civil rights early on. He did. His very first

00:41:14.500 --> 00:41:17.019
address to Congress called for federal anti -lynching

00:41:17.019 --> 00:41:19.280
legislation. That was a significant statement.

00:41:19.539 --> 00:41:22.519
And then in October 1921, he gave this remarkable

00:41:22.519 --> 00:41:25.500
speech in Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham in

00:41:25.500 --> 00:41:27.760
the deep south. Yes. to a segregated audience

00:41:27.760 --> 00:41:30.800
20 ,000 whites, 10 ,000 blacks. And while he

00:41:30.800 --> 00:41:33.099
said social and racial differences probably couldn't

00:41:33.099 --> 00:41:35.659
be bridged reflecting the common view, then he

00:41:35.659 --> 00:41:37.800
boldly called for equal political rights for

00:41:37.800 --> 00:41:39.840
African Americans. What did he say exactly? He

00:41:39.840 --> 00:41:42.400
said, whether you like it or not, unless our

00:41:42.400 --> 00:41:45.619
democracy is a lie, you must stand for that equality.

00:41:46.500 --> 00:41:48.280
The black section of the audience reportedly

00:41:48.280 --> 00:41:51.119
cheered wildly. the white section listened in

00:41:51.119 --> 00:41:54.059
silence. That took real courage in that place

00:41:54.059 --> 00:41:56.679
at that time. Absolutely. And he spoke out after

00:41:56.679 --> 00:41:59.920
the Tulsa massacre. He did. Just three days after

00:41:59.920 --> 00:42:03.320
that horrific event in 1921, Harding spoke at

00:42:03.320 --> 00:42:05.719
Lincoln University, an all -black college in

00:42:05.719 --> 00:42:08.719
Pennsylvania, and condemned it. God grant that.

00:42:08.880 --> 00:42:11.820
We never see another spectacle like it. So he

00:42:11.820 --> 00:42:14.199
used the bully pulpit on race sometimes. He supported

00:42:14.199 --> 00:42:17.099
the Dyer anti -lynching bill too. Yes. He supported

00:42:17.099 --> 00:42:19.539
Congressman Leonidas Dyer's bill, which would

00:42:19.539 --> 00:42:21.739
have made lynching a federal crime. It actually

00:42:21.739 --> 00:42:24.519
passed the House in January 1922. But it failed

00:42:24.519 --> 00:42:27.260
in the Senate. It did. Southern Democrats filibustered

00:42:27.260 --> 00:42:29.719
it. And the Republican leader, Senator Lodge,

00:42:30.320 --> 00:42:31.940
eventually withdrew the bill so they could debate

00:42:31.940 --> 00:42:34.659
Harding's favored ship subsidy bill instead,

00:42:35.099 --> 00:42:37.780
which also failed, ironically. So black leaders

00:42:37.780 --> 00:42:41.219
blamed Harding. Many did. They felt he prioritized

00:42:41.219 --> 00:42:43.679
the subsidy bill over fighting for the anti -lynching

00:42:43.679 --> 00:42:46.360
law, that his desire for the subsidy hastened

00:42:46.360 --> 00:42:49.559
the dire bill's demise, shows the limits of presidential

00:42:49.559 --> 00:42:51.960
power against entrenched opposition, and how

00:42:51.960 --> 00:42:54.519
political priorities can have unintended consequences.

00:42:54.820 --> 00:42:57.320
A complex picture. What about immigration? This

00:42:57.320 --> 00:42:59.719
is the era of the Red Scare. Lots of anti -immigrant

00:42:59.719 --> 00:43:02.909
feeling. Very much so. Public suspicion, especially

00:43:02.909 --> 00:43:06.170
towards socialists, communists, Eastern and Southern

00:43:06.170 --> 00:43:09.289
Europeans, was high. Harding signed the Percentum

00:43:09.289 --> 00:43:12.489
Act of 1921. The first big quota act. Right.

00:43:12.789 --> 00:43:15.349
It drastically restricted immigration, limiting

00:43:15.349 --> 00:43:17.670
it to 3 % of the number of people from a given

00:43:17.670 --> 00:43:19.590
country who were already living in the U .S.

00:43:19.789 --> 00:43:23.250
based on the 1910 census. This hit Italians and

00:43:23.250 --> 00:43:25.849
Eastern European Jews much harder than, say,

00:43:25.929 --> 00:43:28.409
Irish or Germans who had larger populations here

00:43:28.409 --> 00:43:30.780
in 1910. But there was some leniency in how it

00:43:30.780 --> 00:43:33.940
was applied. Apparently so. Sources say Harding

00:43:33.940 --> 00:43:36.880
and his labor secretary, James Davis, tried to

00:43:36.880 --> 00:43:39.219
ensure it was enforced humanely. They allowed

00:43:39.219 --> 00:43:41.460
nearly a thousand immigrants who were technically

00:43:41.460 --> 00:43:44.519
deportable under the new law to remain. So, again,

00:43:44.559 --> 00:43:47.280
you see this tension between bowing to public

00:43:47.280 --> 00:43:50.219
pressure for restriction and a desire for maybe

00:43:50.219 --> 00:43:52.820
some compassion in individual cases. Another

00:43:52.820 --> 00:43:55.219
act of normalcy people point to is his release

00:43:55.219 --> 00:43:58.119
of Political prisoners. Yes, that was significant.

00:43:58.840 --> 00:44:01.219
Eugene Debs, his socialist opponent in 1920,

00:44:01.300 --> 00:44:03.679
was still in prison for opposing World War I.

00:44:04.139 --> 00:44:07.460
Wilson had refused to pardon him. Doherty, Harding's

00:44:07.460 --> 00:44:09.699
attorney general, actually met Debs and was apparently

00:44:09.699 --> 00:44:11.659
impressed by him. But there was opposition to

00:44:11.659 --> 00:44:13.659
releasing him. Oh, yeah, from veterans groups,

00:44:13.719 --> 00:44:15.960
even from Florence Harding. But Harding went

00:44:15.960 --> 00:44:18.440
ahead. He commuted Debs's sentence on December

00:44:18.440 --> 00:44:22.239
23, 1921. Debs even came to the White House to

00:44:22.239 --> 00:44:24.139
thank Harding before going home. That must have

00:44:24.139 --> 00:44:26.780
been quite a scene. Imagine, Harding released

00:44:26.780 --> 00:44:29.760
23 other war opponents at the same time and kept

00:44:29.760 --> 00:44:32.539
reviewing cases. He defended it as necessary

00:44:32.539 --> 00:44:35.340
to get the nation back to normalcy, to heal the

00:44:35.340 --> 00:44:38.219
divisions from the war. A pretty bold move, politically.

00:44:38.659 --> 00:44:41.929
And finally, his judicial appointments. He got

00:44:41.929 --> 00:44:44.409
to shape the Supreme Court. He did. Made four

00:44:44.409 --> 00:44:47.309
appointments in just over two years. Most famously,

00:44:47.610 --> 00:44:49.909
he fulfilled a promise to appoint former President

00:44:49.909 --> 00:44:53.230
William Howard Taft as Chief Justice. Taft finally

00:44:53.230 --> 00:44:56.269
got his dream job. He did. The other three were

00:44:56.269 --> 00:44:59.150
solid economic conservatives, George Sutherland,

00:44:59.389 --> 00:45:02.789
Pierce Butler, Edward Terry Sanford. These appointments

00:45:02.789 --> 00:45:05.190
definitely shifted the court in a more conservative

00:45:05.190 --> 00:45:08.030
direction for years to come. Plus, he appointed

00:45:08.030 --> 00:45:10.909
dozens of judges to lower federal courts. So

00:45:10.909 --> 00:45:13.889
his impact on the judiciary was quite significant.

00:45:14.170 --> 00:45:16.860
OK. Let's turn to foreign policy. Harding made

00:45:16.860 --> 00:45:18.980
it clear from the start that his Secretary of

00:45:18.980 --> 00:45:21.440
State, Charles Evans Hughes, would be largely

00:45:21.440 --> 00:45:24.000
in charge. Yes, a big departure from Wilson,

00:45:24.079 --> 00:45:26.980
who really ran his own foreign policy. Harding

00:45:26.980 --> 00:45:29.699
trusted Hughes and gave him significant autonomy.

00:45:30.139 --> 00:45:32.199
And Harding's main stance was clear. No League

00:45:32.199 --> 00:45:34.699
of Nations. He hardened his position after the

00:45:34.699 --> 00:45:36.960
election, deciding the U .S. wouldn't join even

00:45:36.960 --> 00:45:39.980
a modified version. So first step was officially

00:45:39.980 --> 00:45:42.610
ending the war. The U .S. was technically still

00:45:42.610 --> 00:45:44.690
at war since the Versailles Treaty wasn't ratified?

00:45:45.170 --> 00:45:47.590
Exactly. They passed the Knox Porter Resolution

00:45:47.590 --> 00:45:51.210
in July 1921. It formally declared peace and

00:45:51.210 --> 00:45:53.070
reserved any rights the U .S. might have had

00:45:53.070 --> 00:45:55.530
under the Versailles Treaty. Then they negotiated

00:45:55.530 --> 00:45:57.829
separate peace treaties with Germany, Austria,

00:45:58.010 --> 00:46:00.269
and Hungary, which were ratified later that year.

00:46:00.610 --> 00:46:03.010
Finally, the war was officially over for America.

00:46:03.250 --> 00:46:05.369
Did the U .S. completely ignore the League after

00:46:05.369 --> 00:46:08.550
that? Not entirely. At first, the State Department

00:46:08.550 --> 00:46:11.329
kind of ignored League communications or bypassed

00:46:11.329 --> 00:46:14.730
them. But by 1922, they started engaging cautiously.

00:46:15.039 --> 00:46:18.059
The U .S. consul in Geneva began attending league

00:46:18.059 --> 00:46:20.880
meetings as an observer, but only for technical

00:46:20.880 --> 00:46:23.780
and humanitarian matters, not political ones.

00:46:23.980 --> 00:46:26.719
So limited engagement, not full isolation. What

00:46:26.719 --> 00:46:29.260
about the huge war debts owed to the U .S. and

00:46:29.260 --> 00:46:31.639
German reparations? That was a massive issue.

00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:33.960
European governments wanted the U .S. to reduce

00:46:33.960 --> 00:46:36.619
the debts they owed from the war. Germany wanted

00:46:36.619 --> 00:46:39.139
its reparation payments reduced, but the U .S.

00:46:39.159 --> 00:46:41.539
refused to deal with it multilaterally. They

00:46:41.539 --> 00:46:44.260
insisted on negotiating with each country separately.

00:46:44.429 --> 00:46:47.070
Mellon handled the debts. Harding wanted to give

00:46:47.070 --> 00:46:49.909
Mellon broad authority to negotiate debt reductions,

00:46:50.289 --> 00:46:52.590
but Congress passed a more restrictive bill in

00:46:52.590 --> 00:46:57.150
1922. Still, Hughes managed to negotiate a key

00:46:57.150 --> 00:46:59.630
agreement with Britain. They agreed to pay off

00:46:59.630 --> 00:47:02.329
their war debt over 62 years at a low interest

00:47:02.329 --> 00:47:05.210
rate. That became the model for deals with other

00:47:05.210 --> 00:47:08.230
countries. And the German reparations issue eventually

00:47:08.230 --> 00:47:11.809
led to the Dawes Plan in 1924 after Harding's

00:47:11.809 --> 00:47:13.940
death. What about relations with the new Bolshevik

00:47:13.940 --> 00:47:16.840
government in Russia? Wilson had refused to recognize

00:47:16.840 --> 00:47:18.780
them. Right. And the U .S. had even sent troops

00:47:18.780 --> 00:47:21.239
to Russia during their civil war. Under Harding,

00:47:21.519 --> 00:47:23.519
policy was largely driven by Commerce Secretary

00:47:23.519 --> 00:47:26.039
Herbert Hoover, who actually had a lot of experience

00:47:26.039 --> 00:47:28.280
dealing with Russia. Who were advocated engagement.

00:47:28.480 --> 00:47:30.739
He did, especially on the humanitarian front.

00:47:31.280 --> 00:47:34.739
When a terrible famine hit Russia in 1921, Hoover's

00:47:34.739 --> 00:47:37.139
American Relief Administration provided massive

00:47:37.139 --> 00:47:39.860
amounts of food aid. The Soviets hoped this might

00:47:39.860 --> 00:47:42.280
lead to U .S. recognition, but it didn't. So

00:47:42.280 --> 00:47:44.829
no recognition, but maybe trade. Hoover supported

00:47:44.829 --> 00:47:47.170
allowing trade with the Soviets, arguing U .S.

00:47:47.210 --> 00:47:49.230
companies would lose out if they didn't engage.

00:47:49.769 --> 00:47:52.269
But Secretary Hughes was opposed to recognition

00:47:52.269 --> 00:47:55.769
and wary of trade. So the issue remained unresolved

00:47:55.769 --> 00:47:58.530
during Harding's presidency, a clear division

00:47:58.530 --> 00:48:01.329
within the cabinet. OK, one of Harding's biggest

00:48:01.329 --> 00:48:04.050
foreign policy successes, maybe the biggest,

00:48:04.429 --> 00:48:06.829
was the Washington Naval Conference. Absolutely.

00:48:07.170 --> 00:48:09.469
A major achievement. Disarmament and cutting

00:48:09.469 --> 00:48:12.690
defense spending was a campaign promise. An influential

00:48:12.690 --> 00:48:15.809
senator, William Bora of Idaho, proposed a conference

00:48:15.809 --> 00:48:18.829
of the major naval powers, the US, Britain, Japan,

00:48:18.829 --> 00:48:21.989
to agree on cuts to their fleets. Harding jumped

00:48:21.989 --> 00:48:24.510
on the idea. So they invited other nations, too.

00:48:24.809 --> 00:48:27.289
Yes. Representatives from nine nations eventually

00:48:27.289 --> 00:48:30.969
gathered in Washington in November. The timing

00:48:30.969 --> 00:48:33.070
was significant. Too many delegates attended

00:48:33.070 --> 00:48:35.449
the Armistice Day ceremonies at Arlington National

00:48:35.449 --> 00:48:37.809
Cemetery, where Harding gave this very moving

00:48:37.809 --> 00:48:40.250
speech at the entombment of the unknown soldier.

00:48:40.769 --> 00:48:42.969
It set a solemn, hopeful tone for the talks.

00:48:43.349 --> 00:48:45.030
And Secretary Hughes made a dramatic opening

00:48:45.030 --> 00:48:48.340
move. Incredibly dramatic. At the very first

00:48:48.340 --> 00:48:51.559
session, Hughes stunned the delegates by proposing

00:48:51.559 --> 00:48:54.639
specific deep cuts. He said the U .S. would scrap

00:48:54.639 --> 00:48:57.420
30 warships, battleships, and cruisers if Great

00:48:57.420 --> 00:49:01.059
Britain scrapped 19 and Japan scrapped 17, basically

00:49:01.059 --> 00:49:03.139
putting America's own fleet on the chopping block

00:49:03.139 --> 00:49:06.579
first to show they were serious. Bold move. Did

00:49:06.579 --> 00:49:09.500
it work? Largely, yes. The conference was a big

00:49:09.500 --> 00:49:11.840
success. They reached agreements setting limits

00:49:11.840 --> 00:49:13.940
on the tonnage of capital ships, battleships,

00:49:14.099 --> 00:49:17.219
and aircraft carriers for the major powers. Though,

00:49:17.519 --> 00:49:19.940
importantly, it didn't limit smaller ships like

00:49:19.940 --> 00:49:22.300
cruisers and submarines, which allowed for naval

00:49:22.300 --> 00:49:24.380
buildups later. What else did they agree on?

00:49:24.619 --> 00:49:26.539
They settled some disputes over islands in the

00:49:26.539 --> 00:49:28.440
Pacific and agreed to limits on using poison

00:49:28.440 --> 00:49:30.980
gas and warfare. Overall, Harding and Hughes

00:49:30.980 --> 00:49:33.679
got widespread praise both at home and abroad

00:49:33.679 --> 00:49:36.420
for this diplomatic achievement. And key senators

00:49:36.420 --> 00:49:38.900
like Lodge and Oscar Underwood helped ensure

00:49:38.900 --> 00:49:41.599
the treaties were ratified by the Senate. A real

00:49:41.599 --> 00:49:43.780
win for arms control. Should you could achieve

00:49:43.780 --> 00:49:46.599
things outside the League framework. But not

00:49:46.599 --> 00:49:48.960
everything went smoothly. The shipping board

00:49:48.960 --> 00:49:51.880
had issues. Yeah, that was less successful. The

00:49:51.880 --> 00:49:54.039
U .S. had built over a thousand ships during

00:49:54.039 --> 00:49:56.860
WWI and now didn't know what to do with them.

00:49:57.440 --> 00:49:59.699
Harding appointed Albert Lasker the ad man from

00:49:59.699 --> 00:50:02.000
his campaign as chairman of the shipping board.

00:50:02.360 --> 00:50:04.519
Lasker actually ran the fleet profitably for

00:50:04.519 --> 00:50:07.019
a while, hoping to sell the ships off. But they

00:50:07.019 --> 00:50:09.760
couldn't sell them? Not easily. Lasker recommended

00:50:09.760 --> 00:50:12.280
a big government subsidy for the American Merchant

00:50:12.280 --> 00:50:14.360
Marine to make buying and operating the ships

00:50:14.360 --> 00:50:17.340
more attractive. Harding pushed hard for the

00:50:17.340 --> 00:50:20.539
subsidy bill in Congress, but it was deeply unpopular

00:50:20.539 --> 00:50:22.719
and got filibustered to death in the Senate,

00:50:23.199 --> 00:50:24.780
so most of those government ships eventually

00:50:24.780 --> 00:50:27.420
just got scrapped. A big waste, really. What

00:50:27.420 --> 00:50:30.900
about Latin America? Harding had criticized Wilson's

00:50:30.900 --> 00:50:33.079
interventions there during the campaign. He had.

00:50:33.139 --> 00:50:35.059
He'd attacked Wilson's policies in the Dominican

00:50:35.059 --> 00:50:37.440
Republic and Haiti, and even went after Franklin

00:50:37.440 --> 00:50:40.739
Roosevelt for his role in Haiti. Secretary Hughes

00:50:40.739 --> 00:50:42.619
worked to improve relations with Latin American

00:50:42.619 --> 00:50:45.300
countries who were very wary of how the U .S.

00:50:45.300 --> 00:50:47.840
used the Monroe Doctrine to justify intervention.

00:50:48.119 --> 00:50:50.630
Did U .S. troops actually leave? They were withdrawn

00:50:50.630 --> 00:50:54.170
from Cuba in 1921, but U .S. forces remained

00:50:54.170 --> 00:50:56.710
in Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic

00:50:56.710 --> 00:50:59.170
throughout Harding's presidency. So the rhetoric

00:50:59.170 --> 00:51:01.210
changed more than the reality on the ground in

00:51:01.210 --> 00:51:03.769
some places. But he did try to mend fences with

00:51:03.769 --> 00:51:07.789
Colombia over Panama. Yes, that was significant.

00:51:08.119 --> 00:51:10.460
He secured Senate ratification of the Thompson

00:51:10.460 --> 00:51:14.099
-Arrusha Treaty in April 1921. It granted Colombia

00:51:14.099 --> 00:51:18.380
$25 million, a huge sum then, over $440 million

00:51:18.380 --> 00:51:21.340
today as compensation for the U .S.-backed Panamanian

00:51:21.340 --> 00:51:24.179
Revolution back in 1903 that stripped Panama

00:51:24.179 --> 00:51:27.159
from Colombia. A major gesture to repair past

00:51:27.159 --> 00:51:29.940
damage. Did that satisfy Latin American concerns

00:51:29.940 --> 00:51:32.719
about interventionism? Not entirely. The U .S.

00:51:33.019 --> 00:51:35.219
still refused to formally renounce interventionism,

00:51:35.400 --> 00:51:37.400
though Hughes did pledge to limit it to countries

00:51:37.400 --> 00:51:39.519
near the Panama Canal and be clearer about U

00:51:39.519 --> 00:51:41.860
.S. aims. But the underlying policy remained,

00:51:42.000 --> 00:51:44.099
which left lingering mistrust. And relations

00:51:44.099 --> 00:51:46.679
with Mexico were also tricky. Wilson hadn't recognized

00:51:46.679 --> 00:51:48.960
the revolutionary government there. Right. The

00:51:48.960 --> 00:51:51.980
Mexican president, Alvaro Obregón, wanted U .S.

00:51:52.119 --> 00:51:54.920
recognition before negotiating issues like compensation

00:51:54.920 --> 00:51:58.139
for American losses during the revolution. But

00:51:58.139 --> 00:52:00.440
Hughes and Interior Secretary Fall initially

00:52:00.440 --> 00:52:03.199
opposed recognition first. They sent Mexico a

00:52:03.199 --> 00:52:05.760
draft treaty demanding pledges to protect American

00:52:05.760 --> 00:52:08.139
property and settle claims. Obregón refused.

00:52:08.260 --> 00:52:10.739
He refused to sign anything before getting recognition.

00:52:11.059 --> 00:52:13.699
Instead, he cleverly worked behind the scenes,

00:52:13.760 --> 00:52:15.940
building ties with American businesses operating

00:52:15.940 --> 00:52:18.869
in Mexico, launching a PR campaign. in the U

00:52:18.869 --> 00:52:21.829
.S. These efforts gradually soften the resistance

00:52:21.829 --> 00:52:24.150
in Washington. So recognition didn't happen under

00:52:24.150 --> 00:52:26.349
Harding? No, it remained unresolved when he died,

00:52:26.630 --> 00:52:28.909
but the groundwork was laid. The U .S. finally

00:52:28.909 --> 00:52:31.010
recognized the Obergone government on August

00:52:31.010 --> 00:52:34.590
31st, 1923, just under a month after Harding's

00:52:34.590 --> 00:52:37.389
death, and largely on Mexico's terms. Hashtag,

00:52:37.489 --> 00:52:40.289
hashtag, seven. The voyage of understanding and

00:52:40.289 --> 00:52:43.900
sudden death. OK, so by 1922, Harding's presidency

00:52:43.900 --> 00:52:46.320
hit some turbulence. The midterm elections didn't

00:52:46.320 --> 00:52:48.760
go well for the Republicans. No, they were a

00:52:48.760 --> 00:52:51.219
real setback. Even though Harding had delivered

00:52:51.219 --> 00:52:53.800
on things like tax cuts, a lot of his policies

00:52:53.800 --> 00:52:56.539
hadn't really resonated with voters yet. Unemployment

00:52:56.539 --> 00:52:58.579
was still pretty high at 11 percent that year.

00:52:59.159 --> 00:53:01.280
Organized labor was angry about the strike breaking.

00:53:02.019 --> 00:53:04.340
Republicans lost a lot of seats in both the House

00:53:04.340 --> 00:53:07.039
and Senate. Did that change Harding's approach?

00:53:07.449 --> 00:53:10.570
It seems to have. He realized his initial hands

00:53:10.570 --> 00:53:12.809
-off view of the presidency, proposed policies,

00:53:12.989 --> 00:53:15.230
let Congress figure it out wasn't working. He

00:53:15.230 --> 00:53:17.809
started getting more personally involved, actively

00:53:17.809 --> 00:53:20.530
lobbying for legislation, like that failed ship

00:53:20.530 --> 00:53:23.309
subsidy bill. Showed he was adapting, learning

00:53:23.309 --> 00:53:25.269
on the job, maybe? And things started looking

00:53:25.269 --> 00:53:28.239
up in 1923. His popularity recovered. It did.

00:53:28.440 --> 00:53:31.139
Yeah. After Congress adjourned in March 23, the

00:53:31.139 --> 00:53:33.880
economy was clearly improving. The programs run

00:53:33.880 --> 00:53:36.380
by his star cabinet members, Hughes, Mellon,

00:53:36.500 --> 00:53:38.480
Hoover, were starting to show positive results.

00:53:39.000 --> 00:53:42.079
His popularity began to rebound. Most Republicans

00:53:42.079 --> 00:53:45.099
fully expected him to run for reelection in 1924

00:53:45.099 --> 00:53:47.099
and were ready to support him. It looked like

00:53:47.099 --> 00:53:50.139
he was weathering the storm. But behind the scenes,

00:53:50.480 --> 00:53:52.860
his health was failing, even if he didn't always

00:53:52.860 --> 00:53:55.400
show it. Yes, definitely declining. And there

00:53:55.400 --> 00:53:57.820
are these little hints looking back. In the first

00:53:57.820 --> 00:54:01.599
half of 1923, he sold the Marion Star, the newspaper

00:54:01.599 --> 00:54:04.260
that made him. Said he'd stay on as a contributing

00:54:04.260 --> 00:54:07.260
editor, but still, selling it was significant.

00:54:07.659 --> 00:54:10.769
He also made a new will. Actions that some later

00:54:10.769 --> 00:54:13.150
saw as maybe a subconscious sense that time was

00:54:13.150 --> 00:54:15.570
short. He had known heart issues. Yes, he'd had

00:54:15.570 --> 00:54:18.010
health problems off and on for years. And when

00:54:18.010 --> 00:54:20.070
he wasn't having symptoms, he apparently tended

00:54:20.070 --> 00:54:23.650
to overeat, drink, smoke too much. Classic unhealthy

00:54:23.650 --> 00:54:25.789
lifestyle. He'd known about a heart condition

00:54:25.789 --> 00:54:28.690
since at least 1919. Add the immense stress of

00:54:28.690 --> 00:54:30.929
the presidency, plus his wife Florence was suffering

00:54:30.929 --> 00:54:32.610
from a chronic kidney condition which worried

00:54:32.610 --> 00:54:35.590
him. It all took a toll. He had the flu earlier

00:54:35.590 --> 00:54:38.750
in 1923, too. Yeah, a bad bout of influenza in

00:54:38.750 --> 00:54:41.730
January 23. And sources say he never fully bounced

00:54:41.730 --> 00:54:43.909
back. Started struggling to even finish a round

00:54:43.909 --> 00:54:46.469
of golf. Another senator, Willis, saw him in

00:54:46.469 --> 00:54:48.889
June 23 and remarked that Harding just seems

00:54:48.889 --> 00:54:51.550
so tired. Which makes his next decision seem

00:54:51.550 --> 00:54:54.889
almost reckless. This huge trip he planned for

00:54:54.889 --> 00:54:57.650
the summer of 23. The Voyage of Understanding,

00:54:57.789 --> 00:55:00.590
he called it. Incredibly ambitious. Plan to travel

00:55:00.590 --> 00:55:03.570
all across the country by train. go north up

00:55:03.570 --> 00:55:05.869
to the Alaska Territory, then south along the

00:55:05.869 --> 00:55:08.429
west coast, then take a Navy ship through the

00:55:08.429 --> 00:55:10.989
Panama Canal, and finally back to Washington

00:55:10.989 --> 00:55:14.860
by late August. What was the purpose? A pre -campaign

00:55:14.860 --> 00:55:18.280
swing for 1924. Partly that, yeah. A chance to

00:55:18.280 --> 00:55:21.219
get out, meet people, give speeches, or bloviate,

00:55:21.260 --> 00:55:23.340
as he himself apparently called his own oratory

00:55:23.340 --> 00:55:26.460
sometimes. Also, frankly, just to escape the

00:55:26.460 --> 00:55:29.440
brutal Washington, D .C. summer heat. But the

00:55:29.440 --> 00:55:31.460
schedule was incredibly demanding, especially

00:55:31.460 --> 00:55:33.559
for someone in his condition. Where did he go

00:55:33.559 --> 00:55:36.039
on the first leg? Spoke about transportation

00:55:36.039 --> 00:55:38.519
in Kansas City, farming in Hutchinson, Kansas,

00:55:38.719 --> 00:55:41.639
tackled prohibition in Denver, visited Yellowstone

00:55:41.639 --> 00:55:44.420
and Zion National Parks, dedicated a monument

00:55:44.420 --> 00:55:47.280
on the old Oregon Trail. He also, interestingly,

00:55:47.599 --> 00:55:49.619
started speaking out more strongly in favor of

00:55:49.619 --> 00:55:51.679
the U .S. joining the World Court during this

00:55:51.679 --> 00:55:54.400
trip. Then up to Alaska. It was groundbreaking.

00:55:54.650 --> 00:55:57.429
First sitting president ever to visit Alaska

00:55:57.429 --> 00:55:59.889
embarked on the USS Henderson from Washington

00:55:59.889 --> 00:56:02.750
State on July 5th. Sources say he spent hours

00:56:02.750 --> 00:56:04.909
just watching the amazing Alaskan scenery go

00:56:04.909 --> 00:56:07.849
by. He gave a speech to about 1 ,500 people in

00:56:07.849 --> 00:56:11.730
Fairbanks in 94 degree heat. Wow, then Canada.

00:56:11.929 --> 00:56:14.090
Also at first. First sitting U .S. president

00:56:14.090 --> 00:56:17.489
to visit Canada, toured Vancouver on July 26th,

00:56:17.489 --> 00:56:21.230
spoke to a huge crowd, over 50 ,000 people. They

00:56:21.230 --> 00:56:23.889
actually unveiled a memorial to him in Vancouver's

00:56:23.889 --> 00:56:25.869
Stanley Park a couple of years later, shows the

00:56:25.869 --> 00:56:28.050
goodwill he generated there. But the trip was

00:56:28.050 --> 00:56:30.170
clearly taking a visible toll. Oh, absolutely.

00:56:30.409 --> 00:56:32.409
In Vancouver, he tried to play golf, but only

00:56:32.409 --> 00:56:34.250
managed six holes before he was exhausted, had

00:56:34.250 --> 00:56:36.429
to rest for an hour. Then he played the last

00:56:36.429 --> 00:56:38.269
two holes just so it looked like he finished

00:56:38.269 --> 00:56:40.750
the round. A reporter who saw him there wrote

00:56:40.750 --> 00:56:43.349
that he looks so tired that a rest of mere days

00:56:43.349 --> 00:56:45.610
would be insufficient to refresh him. His last

00:56:45.610 --> 00:56:48.289
speech was in Seattle. Yes, July 27th at the

00:56:48.289 --> 00:56:51.250
University of Washington. Spoke to 25 ,000 people,

00:56:51.670 --> 00:56:54.329
predicted statehood for Alaska, but accounts

00:56:54.329 --> 00:56:56.530
say he rushed through the speech, didn't wait

00:56:56.530 --> 00:57:00.090
for applause, just seemed drained. And that same

00:57:00.090 --> 00:57:03.389
night, things took a bad turn. They did. He went

00:57:03.389 --> 00:57:06.289
to bed early. Later that night, he called for

00:57:06.289 --> 00:57:09.360
his personal physician, Dr. Charles Sawyer. complaining

00:57:09.360 --> 00:57:12.500
of bad pain in his upper abdomen. Sawyer thought

00:57:12.500 --> 00:57:15.139
it was just his recurring stomach problems, but

00:57:15.139 --> 00:57:18.380
another doctor on the trip, Joel Boone, suspected

00:57:18.380 --> 00:57:20.559
a heart issue. What did they tell the press?

00:57:20.860 --> 00:57:24.099
They downplayed it. Said it was an acute gastrointestinal

00:57:24.099 --> 00:57:26.780
attack. Canceled his planned weekend stop in

00:57:26.780 --> 00:57:29.139
Portland. Did he seem to rally? A bit. He felt

00:57:29.139 --> 00:57:31.079
better the next day on the train heading down

00:57:31.079 --> 00:57:34.670
to San Francisco. Arrived there July 29th. He

00:57:34.670 --> 00:57:37.050
even insisted on walking from the train to his

00:57:37.050 --> 00:57:39.829
car trying to show he was okay before they rushed

00:57:39.829 --> 00:57:42.329
him to the Palace Hotel. But he relapsed at the

00:57:42.329 --> 00:57:45.449
hotel. Yes, suffered a relapse. The doctors now

00:57:45.449 --> 00:57:47.969
confirmed heart problems and also diagnosed pneumonia.

00:57:48.369 --> 00:57:50.429
They confined him strictly to bed, treated him

00:57:50.429 --> 00:57:53.130
with liquid caffeine and digitalis, and for a

00:57:53.130 --> 00:57:55.449
few days he seemed to be improving again. The

00:57:55.449 --> 00:57:57.769
nation breathed a sigh of relief. But it was

00:57:57.769 --> 00:58:00.909
temporary. Tragically, yes. On the afternoon

00:58:00.909 --> 00:58:02.969
of August 2nd, he still seemed to be getting

00:58:02.969 --> 00:58:05.969
better. Doctors even allowed him to sit up in

00:58:05.969 --> 00:58:09.489
bed. Around 730 that evening, Florence was reading

00:58:09.489 --> 00:58:12.469
to him an article from the Saturday Evening Post,

00:58:12.989 --> 00:58:16.130
a flattering piece called, A Calm Review of a

00:58:16.130 --> 00:58:18.949
Calm Man. And his last words. He apparently told

00:58:18.949 --> 00:58:20.650
Florence, that's good, go on, read some more.

00:58:21.170 --> 00:58:23.190
And just seconds later, he suddenly... twisted

00:58:23.190 --> 00:58:26.070
convulsively and collapsed back in the bed, gasping.

00:58:26.170 --> 00:58:29.190
Oh my gosh. Doctors rushed in, tried to revive

00:58:29.190 --> 00:58:31.429
him, but it was too late. Warren G. Harding was

00:58:31.429 --> 00:58:33.750
pronounced dead. He was only 57. What was the

00:58:33.750 --> 00:58:36.010
official cause of death given? Initially, they

00:58:36.010 --> 00:58:38.250
attributed it to a cerebral hemorrhage, basically

00:58:38.250 --> 00:58:41.050
a stroke. Cardiac arrest symptoms weren't as

00:58:41.050 --> 00:58:43.510
well understood back then. And significantly,

00:58:43.929 --> 00:58:46.329
Florence Harding refused to allow an autopsy.

00:58:46.559 --> 00:58:49.559
A decision that fueled speculation for years.

00:58:49.780 --> 00:58:51.960
His death must have shocked the country. A huge

00:58:51.960 --> 00:58:54.539
shock. He was genuinely liked and admired, as

00:58:54.539 --> 00:58:56.780
the sources say. The public had been following

00:58:56.780 --> 00:58:58.960
his illness closely. They'd been reassured by

00:58:58.960 --> 00:59:01.500
the reports he was recovering. His sudden death

00:59:01.500 --> 00:59:04.179
hit the nation hard. And the funeral journey

00:59:04.179 --> 00:59:07.940
was a major national event. Immense. His body

00:59:07.940 --> 00:59:10.480
was placed in a casket put on a train for this

00:59:10.480 --> 00:59:12.920
mournful journey back across the country to Washington

00:59:12.920 --> 00:59:16.719
D .C. Newspapers followed every step. An estimated

00:59:16.719 --> 00:59:19.380
nine million people lined the railroad tracks

00:59:19.380 --> 00:59:21.800
along the road just to pay their respects as

00:59:21.800 --> 00:59:24.780
the train passed. Nine million. Incredible. Gives

00:59:24.780 --> 00:59:26.679
you a sense of his popularity at that moment.

00:59:27.019 --> 00:59:29.340
He lay in state in the U .S. Capitol rotunda.

00:59:29.739 --> 00:59:33.000
Then after services in D .C., his body was taken

00:59:33.000 --> 00:59:36.119
back home to Marion, Ohio for burial. Who attended

00:59:36.119 --> 00:59:38.449
the burial? President Coolidge, of course, Chief

00:59:38.449 --> 00:59:41.070
Justice Taft, Florence, Harding's elderly father,

00:59:41.670 --> 00:59:44.030
and notably giants of American industry were

00:59:44.030 --> 00:59:47.269
there. Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone,

00:59:47.690 --> 00:59:49.710
a real testament to the respect he commanded,

00:59:49.889 --> 00:59:51.869
at least at the time of his death. He and Florence

00:59:51.869 --> 00:59:54.289
are buried together in Marion now. Yes, in the

00:59:54.289 --> 00:59:56.989
Harding tomb. It wasn't dedicated until 1931.

00:59:57.349 --> 00:59:59.469
President Herbert Hoover presided and Calvin

00:59:59.469 --> 01:00:02.050
Coolidge attended, a final resting place for

01:00:02.050 --> 01:00:04.349
a president whose reputation was about to undergo

01:00:04.349 --> 01:00:06.619
a seismic shift. All right. This is where the

01:00:06.619 --> 01:00:08.980
story of Warren G. Harding takes that sharp,

01:00:09.219 --> 01:00:12.320
devastating turn, almost entirely after his death.

01:00:12.699 --> 01:00:14.760
We mentioned his cabinet was a mix. Right. He

01:00:14.760 --> 01:00:16.900
appointed lots of friends and acquaintances from

01:00:16.900 --> 01:00:20.400
Ohio to federal jobs. Some were perfectly competent,

01:00:20.559 --> 01:00:22.440
like his doctor, Charles Sawyer, who actually

01:00:22.440 --> 01:00:24.739
tried to warn him about corruption. Others were

01:00:24.739 --> 01:00:26.719
just kind of ineffective political appointments.

01:00:27.079 --> 01:00:29.719
But then there was the Ohio Gang. Yes, the Ohio

01:00:29.719 --> 01:00:32.550
Gang. a group of his appointees who proved to

01:00:32.550 --> 01:00:35.570
be outright corrupt. And the crucial point here

01:00:35.570 --> 01:00:37.829
is that most of the scandals that completely

01:00:37.829 --> 01:00:40.690
destroyed Harding's reputation emerged after

01:00:40.690 --> 01:00:43.409
he died. Sources suggest he was often unaware

01:00:43.409 --> 01:00:45.650
of the illegal stuff going on, at least initially.

01:00:46.250 --> 01:00:49.289
This posthumous flood of revelations is key to

01:00:49.289 --> 01:00:51.369
understanding his legacy. He did become aware

01:00:51.369 --> 01:00:53.469
of some corruption before he died, like in the

01:00:53.469 --> 01:00:55.769
Veterans Bureau. Yes, he learned about major

01:00:55.769 --> 01:00:57.929
corruption in the Veterans Bureau in January

01:00:57.929 --> 01:01:02.070
1923. But his handling of it, as one source puts

01:01:02.070 --> 01:01:05.150
it, did him little credit. He basically allowed

01:01:05.150 --> 01:01:07.650
the corrupt director Charles R. Forbes to resign

01:01:07.650 --> 01:01:10.469
and flee to Europe to avoid immediate scandal.

01:01:11.150 --> 01:01:13.309
Forbes did eventually come back and serve prison

01:01:13.309 --> 01:01:15.989
time, but Harding's instinct was to hush it up

01:01:15.989 --> 01:01:19.730
initially. What about Jess Smith, Doherty's aide?

01:01:20.110 --> 01:01:22.489
Harding also learned that Smith was deeply involved

01:01:22.489 --> 01:01:24.840
in corruption at the Justice Department. Just

01:01:24.840 --> 01:01:27.539
before leaving on that final Western trip, Harding

01:01:27.539 --> 01:01:29.559
ordered Attorney General Doherty to get Smith

01:01:29.559 --> 01:01:31.579
out of Washington and keep him off the trip.

01:01:32.159 --> 01:01:35.800
Shortly after, on May 30, 1923, Jess Smith committed

01:01:35.800 --> 01:01:38.480
suicide. Did Harding know the full extent of

01:01:38.480 --> 01:01:41.789
Smith's crimes? or Gardy's potential involvement.

01:01:42.170 --> 01:01:44.489
It's uncertain, according to historian Robert

01:01:44.489 --> 01:01:47.090
Murray. Murray argues Harding wasn't personally

01:01:47.090 --> 01:01:48.650
involved in the corruption and didn't approve

01:01:48.650 --> 01:01:50.929
of it, but his failure to act decisively against

01:01:50.929 --> 01:01:53.170
these figures earlier proved catastrophic for

01:01:53.170 --> 01:01:55.309
his reputation later. And there was that conversation

01:01:55.309 --> 01:01:58.110
he had with Hoover on the Western tour, asking

01:01:58.110 --> 01:02:00.389
about what to do if you knew about a big scandal.

01:02:00.690 --> 01:02:03.860
Right. Reportedly asked Hoover, if you knew of

01:02:03.860 --> 01:02:06.300
a great scandal in our administration, would

01:02:06.300 --> 01:02:08.119
you, for the good of the country and the party,

01:02:08.420 --> 01:02:11.679
expose it publicly, or would you bury it? Hoover

01:02:11.679 --> 01:02:14.400
strongly advised publishing it, taking the hit,

01:02:14.500 --> 01:02:17.260
but getting credit for integrity. Harding hinted

01:02:17.260 --> 01:02:19.739
the scandal involved Jess Smith, but clammed

01:02:19.739 --> 01:02:22.280
up when Hoover pressed him about Doherty's possible

01:02:22.280 --> 01:02:25.190
role. You can feel the weight of this knowledge

01:02:25.190 --> 01:02:27.230
crushing him in those final weeks Okay, let's

01:02:27.230 --> 01:02:29.570
talk about the big one the scandal that really

01:02:29.570 --> 01:02:32.250
became synonymous with Harding's administration

01:02:32.250 --> 01:02:35.699
teapot dome Teapot Dome. It sounds almost quaint,

01:02:35.760 --> 01:02:38.179
but it was huge. It involved a government oil

01:02:38.179 --> 01:02:40.800
reserve in Wyoming called Teapot Dome, one of

01:02:40.800 --> 01:02:43.480
three set aside specifically for the Navy's future

01:02:43.480 --> 01:02:46.320
fuel needs. There had been debate for years about

01:02:46.320 --> 01:02:48.000
whether these reserves should be developed or

01:02:48.000 --> 01:02:50.500
kept pristine. And Harding changed who controlled

01:02:50.500 --> 01:02:55.019
them. Yes. In May 1921, Harding signed an executive

01:02:55.019 --> 01:02:57.199
order transferring control of the Teapot Dome

01:02:57.199 --> 01:03:00.230
Reserve and two others in California. Elkills

01:03:00.230 --> 01:03:02.670
and Buena Vista, from the Navy Department to

01:03:02.670 --> 01:03:04.869
the Department of the Interior, run by Albert

01:03:04.869 --> 01:03:08.190
B. Fall, then Navy Secretary Edwin Denby consented

01:03:08.190 --> 01:03:11.500
to the transfer. On the surface, maybe just seemed

01:03:11.500 --> 01:03:13.980
like bureaucratic shuffling. But Fall had plans

01:03:13.980 --> 01:03:17.280
for those reserves. Big plans. And secret plans.

01:03:18.000 --> 01:03:21.260
In July 1921, Fall secretly leased the drilling

01:03:21.260 --> 01:03:23.260
rights at the Elk Hills Reserve in California

01:03:23.260 --> 01:03:27.019
to an oil tycoon named Edward Doheny. No competitive

01:03:27.019 --> 01:03:29.719
bidding. Then later, a Wyoming senator, John

01:03:29.719 --> 01:03:31.760
Kendrick, found out the teapot dome itself had

01:03:31.760 --> 01:03:34.019
also been secretly leased. Also without bidding.

01:03:34.179 --> 01:03:36.739
Yes, to another oil magnate, Harry Sinclair and

01:03:36.739 --> 01:03:39.360
his mammoth oil company. Again, no... announcement,

01:03:39.519 --> 01:03:41.980
no competitive bids. When Senator Kendrick asked

01:03:41.980 --> 01:03:43.719
the Interior Department for the documents, they

01:03:43.719 --> 01:03:46.039
refused. That immediately raised red flags. So

01:03:46.039 --> 01:03:48.820
the Senate got involved. Yes. A Senate resolution

01:03:48.820 --> 01:03:52.099
forced Interior to disclose the leases. The justification

01:03:52.099 --> 01:03:55.599
given was military preparedness. Sinclair's company

01:03:55.599 --> 01:03:57.699
was supposed to build some oil storage tanks

01:03:57.699 --> 01:03:59.980
for the Navy in exchange for the drilling rights.

01:04:00.570 --> 01:04:03.869
But the secrecy and lack of bidding smelled fishy.

01:04:04.210 --> 01:04:06.610
Conservationists were outraged. Furious. People

01:04:06.610 --> 01:04:09.090
like Difford Pinchot demanded an investigation.

01:04:09.650 --> 01:04:12.110
Senator Robert La Follette, a progressive Republican,

01:04:12.769 --> 01:04:15.449
initiated a Senate investigation, which was eventually

01:04:15.449 --> 01:04:18.489
led by a tenacious Democratic senator from Montana,

01:04:18.989 --> 01:04:21.400
Thomas J. Walsh. And Walsh started digging. He

01:04:21.400 --> 01:04:24.139
did, painstakingly. He uncovered a letter from

01:04:24.139 --> 01:04:26.239
Harding himself confirming his knowledge and

01:04:26.239 --> 01:04:28.460
approval of the transfer of the reserves to Fall

01:04:28.460 --> 01:04:31.000
and the subsequent leases. The public hearings

01:04:31.000 --> 01:04:34.119
began in October 1923, a couple of months after

01:04:34.119 --> 01:04:35.820
Harding's death. What happened at the hearings?

01:04:36.480 --> 01:04:38.599
Fall, who had conveniently resigned from Interior

01:04:38.599 --> 01:04:41.420
earlier that year, denied taking any money. So

01:04:41.420 --> 01:04:44.079
did Sinclair and Doheny. But Senator Walsh kept

01:04:44.079 --> 01:04:46.519
digging, found evidence that Fall had suddenly

01:04:46.519 --> 01:04:49.000
started spending lavishly on his ranch back in

01:04:49.000 --> 01:04:51.460
New Mexico. Where did Fall say the money came

01:04:51.460 --> 01:04:54.199
from? He claimed it was a loan from Edward B.

01:04:54.380 --> 01:04:56.340
McLean, the publisher of the Washington Post

01:04:56.340 --> 01:04:59.119
and a friend of Harding's. But McLean denied

01:04:59.119 --> 01:05:01.780
giving him such a loan. Then Doheny admitted

01:05:01.780 --> 01:05:04.940
she'd give him Fall $100 ,000 in cash, but claimed

01:05:04.940 --> 01:05:06.780
it was just a personal loan between friends.

01:05:07.539 --> 01:05:09.619
Fall eventually took the fifth when called to

01:05:09.619 --> 01:05:12.380
testify again. Very damaging. So what did the

01:05:12.380 --> 01:05:16.050
investigation ultimately find? bribes. Yes. Investigators

01:05:16.050 --> 01:05:18.190
concluded that Fall and a relative had received

01:05:18.190 --> 01:05:21.489
about $400 ,000 in cash and bonds from Doheny

01:05:21.489 --> 01:05:23.349
and Sinclair around the same time he granted

01:05:23.349 --> 01:05:25.849
them the leases. The connection was undeniable.

01:05:26.010 --> 01:05:28.789
And Fall was convicted. He was. Convicted of

01:05:28.789 --> 01:05:32.780
accepting bribes in 1929. And in 1931, Albert

01:05:32.780 --> 01:05:35.159
Fall became the first U .S. cabinet member ever

01:05:35.159 --> 01:05:37.239
to go to prison for crimes committed while in

01:05:37.239 --> 01:05:39.920
office. A landmark moment in government corruption.

01:05:40.139 --> 01:05:42.039
What about Sinclair and Doheny, the ones who

01:05:42.039 --> 01:05:44.360
paid the bribes? Sinclair was eventually convicted,

01:05:44.440 --> 01:05:46.739
but only of jury tampering and contempt of Congress

01:05:46.739 --> 01:05:49.579
served a short sentence. Doheny, incredibly,

01:05:49.840 --> 01:05:52.000
despite admitting giving Fall the $100 ,000,

01:05:52.300 --> 01:05:55.420
was acquitted by a jury in 1930. Wow. Justice

01:05:55.420 --> 01:05:57.880
wasn't exactly even handed there. Not at all.

01:05:58.260 --> 01:06:01.099
But the damage was done. Teapot Dome became the

01:06:01.099 --> 01:06:03.320
ultimate symbol of the Harding administration's

01:06:03.320 --> 01:06:06.179
corruption, forever staining his name, even though

01:06:06.179 --> 01:06:08.639
the worst details emerged after his death. And

01:06:08.639 --> 01:06:10.760
the Justice Department under Dardee wasn't immune

01:06:10.760 --> 01:06:13.699
either. Far from it. Dardee's appointment itself

01:06:13.699 --> 01:06:15.960
was controversial, given his background as an

01:06:15.960 --> 01:06:19.539
Ohio lobbyist and political fixer. People immediately

01:06:19.539 --> 01:06:21.559
suspected he must have been involved in Teapot

01:06:21.559 --> 01:06:24.139
Dome, although he and Fall weren't actually close.

01:06:24.889 --> 01:06:27.690
In February 1924, the Senate voted to investigate

01:06:27.690 --> 01:06:29.789
the Justice Department itself, while Dougherty

01:06:29.789 --> 01:06:31.630
was still the attorney general. Who led that

01:06:31.630 --> 01:06:34.309
investigation? Another tough Montana senator,

01:06:34.630 --> 01:06:37.469
Burton K. Wheeler. And he uncovered the dealings

01:06:37.469 --> 01:06:39.869
of Jess Smith, Dougherty's aide who had committed

01:06:39.869 --> 01:06:43.269
suicide. Smith had been running extensive influence

01:06:43.269 --> 01:06:47.130
peddling schemes out of the infamous Little Greenhouse

01:06:47.130 --> 01:06:49.489
on K Street. Little Greenhouse, what was that?

01:06:49.639 --> 01:06:52.900
It was literally a little greenhouse on K Street

01:06:52.900 --> 01:06:55.739
in DC where Smith and some associates met with

01:06:55.739 --> 01:06:58.880
people, allegedly taking payoffs from bootleggers

01:06:58.880 --> 01:07:01.280
and others seeking favors from the Justice Department.

01:07:01.840 --> 01:07:05.039
Witnesses, including Smith's ex -wife, Roxy Stinson,

01:07:05.599 --> 01:07:07.480
testified and alleged that Daugherty himself

01:07:07.480 --> 01:07:09.940
was personally involved, that he knew what Smith

01:07:09.940 --> 01:07:12.699
was doing. What happened to Daugherty? Coolidge

01:07:12.699 --> 01:07:15.570
was president by then. Coolidge demanded Doherty's

01:07:15.570 --> 01:07:18.710
resignation in March 1924, when Doherty refused

01:07:18.710 --> 01:07:21.150
to give Senate investigators access to Justice

01:07:21.150 --> 01:07:23.929
Department files. Doherty was later indicted,

01:07:24.050 --> 01:07:26.469
along with Colonel Thomas W. Miller, who ran

01:07:26.469 --> 01:07:29.309
the Office of Alien Property Custodian. What

01:07:29.309 --> 01:07:31.340
was the charge? defrauding the government in

01:07:31.340 --> 01:07:33.739
a deal involving releasing assets of a German

01:07:33.739 --> 01:07:36.519
-owned company seized during the war. Jess Smith

01:07:36.519 --> 01:07:39.199
had deposited $50 ,000 likely bribe money from

01:07:39.199 --> 01:07:41.199
the deal into a joint bank account he shared

01:07:41.199 --> 01:07:43.699
with Daugherty. Conveniently, Daugherty's records

01:07:43.699 --> 01:07:46.599
for that account were destroyed. So did Daugherty

01:07:46.599 --> 01:07:50.059
get convicted? No. Miller, the alien property

01:07:50.059 --> 01:07:52.559
custodian, was convicted and served prison time.

01:07:53.179 --> 01:07:55.559
But Daugherty went through two trials, and both

01:07:55.559 --> 01:07:58.539
ended in hung juries. The charges were eventually

01:07:58.539 --> 01:08:00.719
dropped. He was never convicted of anything.

01:08:00.900 --> 01:08:03.639
But his reputation was ruined. Absolutely devastated.

01:08:03.980 --> 01:08:06.519
His refusal to testify in his own defense, claiming

01:08:06.519 --> 01:08:08.840
he needed to protect confidential communications

01:08:08.840 --> 01:08:11.260
related to Harding looked terrible. He spent

01:08:11.260 --> 01:08:13.099
the rest of his life blaming his troubles on

01:08:13.099 --> 01:08:15.719
his political enemies and communists. But the

01:08:15.719 --> 01:08:18.420
damage was permanent. And then there was the

01:08:18.420 --> 01:08:20.220
Veterans Bureau scandal. You mentioned Harding

01:08:20.220 --> 01:08:22.659
knew about that one before he died. Yes, a particularly

01:08:22.659 --> 01:08:25.260
ugly one, betraying the very soldiers Harding

01:08:25.260 --> 01:08:28.430
claimed to champion. Charles R. Forbes, the director

01:08:28.430 --> 01:08:30.489
of the Veterans Bureau, was this energetic guy

01:08:30.489 --> 01:08:33.029
who consolidated power over veterans hospitals

01:08:33.029 --> 01:08:35.510
and their construction, getting control transferred

01:08:35.510 --> 01:08:39.270
from the Treasury Department in April 1922 with

01:08:39.270 --> 01:08:41.529
Harding's support and backing from the American

01:08:41.529 --> 01:08:44.409
Legion. His job was to build hospitals for wounded

01:08:44.409 --> 01:08:47.569
WWI vets. Right. Hundreds of thousands needed

01:08:47.569 --> 01:08:50.149
care. But Forbes immediately started running

01:08:50.149 --> 01:08:52.789
scams. He conspired with construction companies

01:08:52.789 --> 01:08:55.210
run by Elias Mortimer and Charles Hurley to give

01:08:55.210 --> 01:08:58.170
them contracts, inflating the costs massively

01:08:58.170 --> 01:09:01.550
from maybe $3 ,000 per hospital bed to $4 ,000

01:09:01.550 --> 01:09:04.430
and then splitting the profits three ways. Some

01:09:04.430 --> 01:09:06.369
money also went to the Bureau's chief counsel,

01:09:06.510 --> 01:09:08.390
Charles Kramer. Just skimming off the top of

01:09:08.390 --> 01:09:10.710
contracts meant for veterans. Exactly. Graft

01:09:10.710 --> 01:09:13.710
was everywhere, even land acquisition. They bought

01:09:13.710 --> 01:09:16.100
a site near San Francisco worth less than $20

01:09:16.100 --> 01:09:20.000
,000 for $105 ,000, and Forbes and Kramer split

01:09:20.000 --> 01:09:22.579
$25 ,000 at the difference. Unbelievable. What

01:09:22.579 --> 01:09:25.840
else? In November 1922, Forbes started selling

01:09:25.840 --> 01:09:28.579
off vast stockpiles of valuable hospital supplies,

01:09:28.800 --> 01:09:31.000
sheets, medicines, equipment from a depot in

01:09:31.000 --> 01:09:33.100
Perryville, Maryland, for pennies on the dollar,

01:09:33.659 --> 01:09:37.300
to an insider firm connected to Mortimer. Meanwhile,

01:09:37.439 --> 01:09:39.640
the Veterans Bureau was buying new supplies at

01:09:39.640 --> 01:09:42.279
inflated prices. Just pure fraud. How did it

01:09:42.279 --> 01:09:45.359
get exposed? Dr. Sawyer, Harding's personal physician,

01:09:45.460 --> 01:09:47.539
who also chaired a federal hospital board, got

01:09:47.539 --> 01:09:50.300
wind of it. He investigated, found proof of Forbes'

01:09:50.500 --> 01:09:52.779
schemes, and presented it to Harding in January

01:09:52.779 --> 01:09:56.500
1923. How did Harding react? Sources say he was

01:09:56.500 --> 01:09:59.520
shocked, alternated between rage and despondency.

01:09:59.899 --> 01:10:02.840
But his first instinct was damage control. He

01:10:02.840 --> 01:10:04.920
demanded Forbes resign immediately, but allowed

01:10:04.920 --> 01:10:07.579
him to flee to Europe first, hoping to avoid

01:10:07.579 --> 01:10:10.420
a public scandal. Forbes officially resigned

01:10:10.420 --> 01:10:14.560
February 15, 1923. But the story got out anyway.

01:10:14.920 --> 01:10:17.359
Gossip travels fast in Washington. The Senate

01:10:17.359 --> 01:10:19.880
launched an investigation. Kramer, the chief

01:10:19.880 --> 01:10:22.760
counsel, committed suicide in March. Mortimer,

01:10:22.939 --> 01:10:24.579
whose wife had apparently been having an affair

01:10:24.579 --> 01:10:26.880
with Forbes, turned state's evidence and became

01:10:26.880 --> 01:10:29.350
a key witness against him. Forbes eventually

01:10:29.350 --> 01:10:32.310
returned, was convicted in 1924, and served two

01:10:32.310 --> 01:10:34.510
years in federal prison. And Harding's handling

01:10:34.510 --> 01:10:37.630
of it just looked bad. Really bad. As historians

01:10:37.630 --> 01:10:40.390
Tranana and Wilson put it, one of the most troublesome

01:10:40.390 --> 01:10:42.489
aspects of the Harding presidency was that he

01:10:42.489 --> 01:10:44.569
appeared to be far more concerned with political

01:10:44.569 --> 01:10:47.550
liabilities of a scandal than in securing justice.

01:10:48.270 --> 01:10:50.869
That perception stuck. Okay, beyond the political

01:10:50.869 --> 01:10:53.510
corruption, Harding's personal life also became

01:10:53.510 --> 01:10:56.529
fodder for scandal after his death. The extramarital

01:10:56.529 --> 01:11:00.430
affairs. Yes. It emerged he'd had a long 15 -year

01:11:00.430 --> 01:11:02.569
affair with a woman from Marion named Carrie

01:11:02.569 --> 01:11:05.189
Fulton Phillips. It ended around 1920 when he

01:11:05.189 --> 01:11:07.789
was running for president. Love letters between

01:11:07.789 --> 01:11:11.029
them were discovered decades later in 1963, kept

01:11:11.029 --> 01:11:14.350
sealed for years, finally unsealed in 2014. And

01:11:14.350 --> 01:11:16.569
the letters were passionate. Apparently very

01:11:16.569 --> 01:11:19.239
much so. Biographer Francis Russell, who saw

01:11:19.239 --> 01:11:21.399
them earlier, concluded Phillips was the love

01:11:21.399 --> 01:11:24.340
of Harding's life. This revelation of a serious

01:11:24.340 --> 01:11:26.939
long -term affair added another layer to the

01:11:26.939 --> 01:11:29.020
negative image. And then there was Nan Britton.

01:11:29.260 --> 01:11:31.619
Nan Britton, another mistress, also from Marion,

01:11:32.180 --> 01:11:34.640
she claimed Harding fathered her daughter, Elizabeth

01:11:34.640 --> 01:11:37.420
Ann Blazing. Harding always denied it, and his

01:11:37.420 --> 01:11:39.979
family long maintained he was infertile due to

01:11:39.979 --> 01:11:42.460
childhood mumps. But DNA testing proved Britton

01:11:42.460 --> 01:11:46.359
right. Yes. In 2015, DNA tests comparing descendants

01:11:46.359 --> 01:11:48.600
confirmed Harding was indeed Elizabeth Ann's

01:11:48.600 --> 01:11:50.659
father. And Britton wrote a book about it. She

01:11:50.659 --> 01:11:54.060
did. In 1927, she published The President's Daughter.

01:11:54.180 --> 01:11:56.680
It was dedicated to all unwedded mothers and

01:11:56.680 --> 01:11:59.239
became a huge bestseller, though it was considered

01:11:59.239 --> 01:12:01.800
scandalous and sold door to door by Britton herself

01:12:01.800 --> 01:12:04.239
initially. What did the book allege? Besides

01:12:04.239 --> 01:12:06.479
claiming Harding was the father, it included

01:12:06.479 --> 01:12:09.140
salacious details like alleging they had sex

01:12:09.140 --> 01:12:11.359
in a coat closet right near the Oval Office.

01:12:11.710 --> 01:12:14.529
Britten actually lost a libel suit against someone

01:12:14.529 --> 01:12:16.489
who wrote a rebuttal book calling her claims

01:12:16.489 --> 01:12:20.149
lies. But many people believed her story. And

01:12:20.149 --> 01:12:22.609
it just further dragged Harding's reputation

01:12:22.609 --> 01:12:25.409
through the mud. Absolutely. It painted him as

01:12:25.409 --> 01:12:27.609
morally bankrupt on top of being politically

01:12:27.609 --> 01:12:30.930
incompetent or tolerant of corruption. Britten

01:12:30.930 --> 01:12:33.590
claimed Harding had secretly paid her child support

01:12:33.590 --> 01:12:36.550
about $500 a month, but said she destroyed his

01:12:36.550 --> 01:12:39.029
romantic letters to her. It's interesting, as

01:12:39.029 --> 01:12:41.720
Sinclair noted. Grover Cleveland got elected

01:12:41.720 --> 01:12:44.899
president in 1884, even though it was known he'd

01:12:44.899 --> 01:12:47.420
fathered a child out of wedlock. Harding seemed

01:12:47.420 --> 01:12:49.899
to face a harsher judgment. It does seem that

01:12:49.899 --> 01:12:52.279
way. Maybe the times had changed. Maybe the combination

01:12:52.279 --> 01:12:54.380
of political and personal scandals was just too

01:12:54.380 --> 01:12:57.560
much. Or maybe, for whatever reason, Harding

01:12:57.560 --> 01:13:00.399
just wasn't afforded the same leeway. It raises

01:13:00.399 --> 01:13:02.479
questions about how we judge historical figures

01:13:02.479 --> 01:13:04.739
and whether those standards are applied consistently.

01:13:05.060 --> 01:13:07.720
So let's recap the trajectory of Harding's reputation.

01:13:08.090 --> 01:13:11.729
immediately after he died. Huge outpouring of

01:13:11.729 --> 01:13:15.029
grief, widespread admiration. Absolutely. Deeply

01:13:15.029 --> 01:13:16.750
mourned, not just in the US, but internationally

01:13:16.750 --> 01:13:19.569
too. European papers called him a man of peace.

01:13:20.310 --> 01:13:22.470
American journalists wrote glowing tributes,

01:13:22.649 --> 01:13:25.670
some saying he literally gave his life for his

01:13:25.670 --> 01:13:29.090
country. The first biographies were pure hagiography,

01:13:29.310 --> 01:13:31.350
like Joe Mitchell Chapel's Life and Times of

01:13:31.350 --> 01:13:33.850
Warren G. Harding, our after -war president in

01:13:33.850 --> 01:13:38.130
1924. Just pure praise. But that admiration evaporated

01:13:38.130 --> 01:13:40.689
incredibly quickly. Almost overnight. As the

01:13:40.689 --> 01:13:42.970
scandal started breaking Teapot Dome, the Veterans

01:13:42.970 --> 01:13:45.550
Bureau just missed suicide. The narrative flipped

01:13:45.550 --> 01:13:48.449
completely. Harding administration rapidly became

01:13:48.449 --> 01:13:50.829
shorthand for corruption and incompetence. And

01:13:50.829 --> 01:13:53.090
books published in the late 20s really cemented

01:13:53.090 --> 01:13:55.949
that negative view. They did. William Allen White's

01:13:55.949 --> 01:13:58.989
masks in a pageant just skewered him. Samuel

01:13:58.989 --> 01:14:01.489
Hopkins Adams wrote a fictionalized, but clearly

01:14:01.489 --> 01:14:04.810
based on Harding, novel called Revelry that depicted

01:14:04.810 --> 01:14:06.890
his time as one of utter presidential weakness.

01:14:07.069 --> 01:14:09.470
It was a sensation. And Nan Britton's book added

01:14:09.470 --> 01:14:12.340
the personal sleaze factor. Right. The president's

01:14:12.340 --> 01:14:14.760
daughter came out in 1927, further damaging his

01:14:14.760 --> 01:14:18.039
public image. Even his successor, Calvin Coolidge,

01:14:18.119 --> 01:14:20.699
wanted nothing to do with him publicly. Coolidge

01:14:20.699 --> 01:14:23.220
refused to dedicate the Harding tomb in Marion.

01:14:23.460 --> 01:14:26.380
Hoover eventually did it. Hoover did in 1931.

01:14:26.960 --> 01:14:29.439
But by then, Hoover himself was deeply unpopular

01:14:29.439 --> 01:14:31.279
because of the Great Depression, so it didn't

01:14:31.279 --> 01:14:34.399
exactly rehabilitate Harding's image. And Samuel

01:14:34.399 --> 01:14:37.239
Hopkins Adams wasn't done of him. He kept writing

01:14:37.239 --> 01:14:40.579
about Harding. Culminating in his 1939 biography,

01:14:41.180 --> 01:14:44.380
era, the life and times of Warren G. Harding,

01:14:44.560 --> 01:14:47.060
where he famously called Harding an amiable,

01:14:47.260 --> 01:14:49.979
well -meaning, third -rate Mr. Babbit. A babbit,

01:14:50.260 --> 01:14:52.359
like the Sinclair Lewis character. Exactly, just

01:14:52.359 --> 01:14:55.300
sort of a mediocre, conformist, boosterish, small

01:14:55.300 --> 01:14:57.300
-town businessman completely out of his depth.

01:14:57.640 --> 01:14:59.779
That image really stuck, became the dominant

01:14:59.779 --> 01:15:02.399
historical verdict for decades. But some later

01:15:02.399 --> 01:15:05.119
historians felt this was unfair, too unbalanced.

01:15:05.340 --> 01:15:08.159
Yes. John Dean, who wrote a biography of Harding

01:15:08.159 --> 01:15:10.420
much later, argued that those early accounts

01:15:10.420 --> 01:15:13.239
by White and Adams were remarkably unbalanced

01:15:13.239 --> 01:15:16.039
and unfair, just exaggerating all the negatives,

01:15:16.460 --> 01:15:18.600
blaming Harding for everything, giving him zero

01:15:18.600 --> 01:15:21.840
credit for any successes. But Dean admits, yet

01:15:21.840 --> 01:15:24.640
the myth has persisted. When did historians start

01:15:24.640 --> 01:15:27.359
taking a fresh look? Was it when his papers were

01:15:27.359 --> 01:15:30.159
opened? That was a turning point, yes. Harding's

01:15:30.159 --> 01:15:32.359
personal papers were finally open to researchers

01:15:32.359 --> 01:15:36.199
in 1964. That sparked a new wave of biographies.

01:15:36.699 --> 01:15:38.960
Francis Russell's The Shadow of Blooming Grove

01:15:38.960 --> 01:15:42.340
came out in 1968. It was controversial, arguing

01:15:42.340 --> 01:15:44.960
those old rumors about Black ancestry deeply

01:15:44.960 --> 01:15:46.920
affected Harding psychologically. Were there

01:15:46.920 --> 01:15:49.600
more positive interpretations too. Robert K.

01:15:49.720 --> 01:15:52.260
Murray's The Harding Era in 1969 took a much

01:15:52.260 --> 01:15:54.859
more positive view. Murray tried to place Harding

01:15:54.859 --> 01:15:56.939
in the context of his times, highlighting the

01:15:56.939 --> 01:15:59.699
policy achievements. Though some critics, like

01:15:59.699 --> 01:16:02.239
Traney and Wilson, felt Murray maybe gave Harding

01:16:02.239 --> 01:16:04.239
too much credit for the successes of his talented

01:16:04.239 --> 01:16:06.720
cabinet members. And then even more revisionist

01:16:06.720 --> 01:16:09.920
takes later on. Yeah, in the 90s and 2000s, Robert

01:16:09.920 --> 01:16:12.079
Farrell's The Strange Deaths of President Harding,

01:16:12.119 --> 01:16:15.380
1996, explicitly challenged almost everything

01:16:15.380 --> 01:16:17.479
that had become accepted wisdom about Arding.

01:16:17.850 --> 01:16:21.069
John Dean's 2004 biography was also seen as highly

01:16:21.069 --> 01:16:23.289
revisionist, maybe sometimes downplaying the

01:16:23.289 --> 01:16:26.350
negative bits, but trying to offer a strong counter

01:16:26.350 --> 01:16:29.170
-narrative. Others still focused on his perceived

01:16:29.170 --> 01:16:32.489
weaknesses. Right. Historian Eugene Trani, for

01:16:32.489 --> 01:16:35.010
instance, attributed Harding's failures primarily

01:16:35.010 --> 01:16:38.250
to his own lack of depth and decisiveness, suggesting

01:16:38.250 --> 01:16:40.369
it was more about character flaws than just bad

01:16:40.369 --> 01:16:42.750
luck or bad friends. So the debate continues.

01:16:42.970 --> 01:16:44.890
And Harding consistently ranks near the bottom

01:16:44.890 --> 01:16:46.590
in those presidential ranking polls, historians

01:16:46.590 --> 01:16:49.409
do. consistently, often dead last or very close

01:16:49.409 --> 01:16:52.229
to it. He was ranked last out of 29 presidents

01:16:52.229 --> 01:16:55.590
in a famous Harvard poll back in 1948. Why do

01:16:55.590 --> 01:16:57.550
some historians think he ranks so poorly? Is

01:16:57.550 --> 01:16:59.970
it just the scandals? Well, Farrell argued it's

01:16:59.970 --> 01:17:02.390
because too many scholars rely on those early

01:17:02.390 --> 01:17:04.470
sensational accounts instead of digging into

01:17:04.470 --> 01:17:07.890
the primary sources. Another historian, Coffee,

01:17:08.270 --> 01:17:11.050
argued that a general academic lack of interest

01:17:11.050 --> 01:17:14.380
in Harding has cost him his reputation. For a

01:17:14.380 --> 01:17:16.560
long time, maybe it was just easier for historians

01:17:16.560 --> 01:17:19.359
to accept the worst president ever narrative

01:17:19.359 --> 01:17:21.840
than to grapple with the complexities. But that's

01:17:21.840 --> 01:17:23.739
changing. There's a really reassessment underway.

01:17:23.979 --> 01:17:27.060
There definitely is in recent decades. Some scholars

01:17:27.060 --> 01:17:29.399
are looking beyond the scandals at the actual

01:17:29.399 --> 01:17:32.060
policies and outcomes. That book, The Spoils

01:17:32.060 --> 01:17:35.699
of War, 2016, used quantitative measures and

01:17:35.699 --> 01:17:37.859
ranked Harding first among presidents for having

01:17:37.859 --> 01:17:40.619
the fewest wartime deaths combined with the highest

01:17:40.619 --> 01:17:43.619
per capita income growth during his term, a really

01:17:43.619 --> 01:17:45.859
provocative finding based on his economic record

01:17:45.859 --> 01:17:48.159
and keeping the U .S. out of conflict. Highlighting

01:17:48.159 --> 01:17:51.039
the economic boon and the period of peace. Exactly.

01:17:51.600 --> 01:17:54.350
Robert Murray argued Harding deserves more credit

01:17:54.350 --> 01:17:56.829
than historians have given, putting him on par

01:17:56.829 --> 01:17:58.850
with presidents like Franklin Pierce, Andrew

01:17:58.850 --> 01:18:01.470
Johnson, Benjamin Harrison, maybe even Calvin

01:18:01.470 --> 01:18:04.369
Coolidge. Murray stated Harding's administration

01:18:04.369 --> 01:18:07.149
had concrete accomplishments that were superior

01:18:07.149 --> 01:18:09.550
to a sizable portion of those in the nation's

01:18:09.550 --> 01:18:11.890
history. But Murray also acknowledged the flip

01:18:11.890 --> 01:18:16.420
side, the responsibility. Crucially, yes. Murray

01:18:16.420 --> 01:18:18.619
pointed out that in our system, the president

01:18:18.619 --> 01:18:21.539
isn't just an innocent bystander. Harding gets

01:18:21.539 --> 01:18:23.720
to claim credit for the successes of Hughes and

01:18:23.720 --> 01:18:26.180
Hoover, but he also must shoulder responsibility

01:18:26.180 --> 01:18:28.539
for a darty injustice and a fall in Interior.

01:18:29.060 --> 01:18:31.340
And he has to bear the blame for his lack of

01:18:31.340 --> 01:18:33.520
punitive action against corrupt officials like

01:18:33.520 --> 01:18:36.539
Forbes and Smith. So his inaction sealed his

01:18:36.539 --> 01:18:39.539
fate, reputation -wise. Murray argues that Harding's

01:18:39.539 --> 01:18:42.239
inaction forfeited his chance for a positive

01:18:42.239 --> 01:18:45.029
historical image. It made the negative verdict

01:18:45.029 --> 01:18:48.829
inevitable, if not wholly deserved. It's a really

01:18:48.829 --> 01:18:50.810
nuanced take acknowledging the achievements,

01:18:50.890 --> 01:18:53.310
but also the profound failures of leadership,

01:18:53.829 --> 01:18:55.789
especially in holding his own administration

01:18:55.789 --> 01:18:58.850
accountable. It leaves us with a much more complex

01:18:58.850 --> 01:19:02.750
and still debated legacy. Hashtag tag tag outro.

01:19:03.609 --> 01:19:05.829
So we've journeyed through this truly remarkable

01:19:05.829 --> 01:19:08.529
and ultimately quite tragic story of Warren G.

01:19:08.630 --> 01:19:11.460
Harding. A man who climbed from being a small

01:19:11.460 --> 01:19:14.100
-town Ohio newspaperman right to the very highest

01:19:14.100 --> 01:19:16.979
office in the land. Ushered in that era of normalcy,

01:19:17.119 --> 01:19:19.840
presided over significant economic recovery and

01:19:19.840 --> 01:19:22.560
growth. Only to have his legacy completely consumed,

01:19:22.579 --> 01:19:24.840
really, by personal scandals and the shocking

01:19:24.840 --> 01:19:26.619
corruption of people he put into power, people

01:19:26.619 --> 01:19:29.159
he trusted, almost all of it exploding after

01:19:29.159 --> 01:19:30.899
his sudden death. And what really stands out

01:19:30.899 --> 01:19:33.119
is that dramatic swing in how history has viewed

01:19:33.119 --> 01:19:36.039
him. From being arguably one of the most beloved

01:19:36.039 --> 01:19:38.140
presidents at the moment he died. Right. Those

01:19:38.140 --> 01:19:40.460
nine million people lining the tracks. Exactly.

01:19:40.979 --> 01:19:43.600
To be coming, for decades, almost a caricature

01:19:43.600 --> 01:19:46.399
of presidential failure and scandal. But now,

01:19:46.460 --> 01:19:48.579
as new information comes out, like his paper

01:19:48.579 --> 01:19:51.239
is finally being opened, and as historians take

01:19:51.239 --> 01:19:54.180
a fresh look, a more nuanced picture is starting

01:19:54.180 --> 01:19:58.020
to emerge. Still deeply flawed, absolutely, but

01:19:58.020 --> 01:20:00.319
more complex. And a powerful lesson, isn't it?

01:20:00.520 --> 01:20:02.720
About how historical judgments aren't always

01:20:02.720 --> 01:20:05.479
permanent. Definitely. And why does this matter

01:20:05.479 --> 01:20:08.399
to you, listening? Well, Harding's story is just

01:20:08.399 --> 01:20:10.720
such a potent reminder of how complicated leadership

01:20:10.720 --> 01:20:13.199
is, how much personal choices can impact public

01:20:13.199 --> 01:20:15.619
office, and how our collective memory of history

01:20:15.619 --> 01:20:18.159
isn't fixed. It's constantly evolving as we learn

01:20:18.159 --> 01:20:20.439
more. It really challenges us to look beyond

01:20:20.439 --> 01:20:22.420
the easy headlines, the conventional wisdom,

01:20:22.720 --> 01:20:24.760
right? To actually engage with all the facts,

01:20:24.899 --> 01:20:26.659
not just the simple, sensational narratives.

01:20:27.359 --> 01:20:30.520
Absolutely. So here's a final provocative thought

01:20:30.520 --> 01:20:33.000
to leave you with. Consider this if the full

01:20:33.000 --> 01:20:35.699
details, the sheer scale of Key Pot Dome, the

01:20:35.699 --> 01:20:38.039
Veterans Bureau fraud, if Harding's affairs,

01:20:38.180 --> 01:20:40.060
if all that had become public knowledge during

01:20:40.060 --> 01:20:42.720
his lifetime, or maybe what if he had lived longer,

01:20:42.939 --> 01:20:45.279
lived to confront those scandals directly, maybe

01:20:45.279 --> 01:20:47.640
take decisive action, fire people, prosecute

01:20:47.640 --> 01:20:49.859
them. How different would things have been? Exactly.

01:20:49.960 --> 01:20:52.420
How might the path of his presidency, maybe even

01:20:52.420 --> 01:20:54.520
American history, have been different? What does

01:20:54.520 --> 01:20:56.619
that tell us about that fine line between what's

01:20:56.619 --> 01:20:59.319
known publicly and what stays hidden and the

01:20:59.319 --> 01:21:01.409
enduring power of secrets? and their eventual

01:21:01.409 --> 01:21:03.689
revelation to shape a leader's ultimate place

01:21:03.689 --> 01:21:05.289
in history. Something to think about.