Florence Kling Harding

                    First Lady Florence Harding was born Florence Mabel Kling on August 15, 1860, in Marion, Ohio, and given the nickname of Flossie.  Her parents were Amos King (June 15, 1833) and Louisa Mabel Hanford Bouton (September 2, 1835-June 23, 1893).  Her father married a second time in July 1907 to Caroline Beatty Denman (1858-1925).  She was the oldest of three children; her brothers were Clifford Bouton (October 13, 1861-July 11, 1937) and Vetallis Hanford (November 7, 1866-July 1, 1938).

                    Florence'sancestry was German, French, and English.  Her French Huguenot ancestors migrated to England in order to escape religious persecution.  Her maternal English ancestors came from the Hanford clan and were among the colonial founders of Canaan, Connecticut.  Her grandmother Elizabeth Vetallis was probably a Catholic from southern France.  Some residents from Marion, Ohio, claimed in 1920 that her paternal grandfather was Jewish and originated from Wurttemberg, Germany; his people were German in origin, but there is no documentation about their religion.  

                    Amos Kling owned a hardware store, banker, and local investor as well as owning and developing real estate.  There was claim that he was the "richest man in a small town," and Florence "grew up in a setting of wealth, position, and privilege."  One of those privileges was a music course at the Cincinnati Conservatory that completed her education.  She was very much like her "strong-will father in temperament" and became self-reliance, a rarity for girls at that time.  

                    Florence was pregnant when she eloped at age 19 with Henry "Pete" Atherton DeWolfe in 1880, her childhood friend and neighbor.  There is apparently no official record or legal marriage license for the couple; therefore, they might have just had a common law marriage.  At any rate, DeWolfe was a spendthrift and heavy drinker, and the couple separated soon after the birth of their son, Marshall Eugene DeWolfe (also known as Marshall Eugene Kling) in 1880.  There is apparently a record that she obtained a divorce in 1886 and resumed her maiden name.

                    Florence returned to Marion with her infant son, but she refused to live with her parents.  She rented rooms and earned her money by giving piano lessons to children in the neighborhood.  She eventually allowed her parents to raise her son.

                    Warren G. Harding was the publisher of the Daily Star, the only newspaper in Marion.  Warren and Florence began courting soon after they met in 1890 and were soon engaged.  Florence's father did not approve of the match; he accosted Warren in the street, called him names, and threatened his life if he did not leave Florence alone.

Warren was 25 and Florence was 30 when they married on July 8, 1891 in his home in Marion, Ohio, a house designed and built by Warren.  Warren called his wife "Duchess," and Florence called her husband "Wur'n" as she pronounced it.  They did not have any children together, but Marshall, Florence's son, lived with them sometimes.  He worshipped his stepfather and wanted to follow in his steps in the newspaper business.  

The marriage was not a happy one because Harding neglected his wife; he sought refuge from her strong personality with his friends and with other women.  The marriage was apparently a success as a business because Florence used her "dominating personality" and "great ambitions for her husband" (George H. Mayer, World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 9, p. 58) to make him successful. 

Florence used her "martial demeanor" and "managerial skills" to make his newspaper a financial success.  She took over and ran the Star's circulation department for 14 years and made sure that the paper was efficiently distributed and subscriptions were paid.  She also worked hard to help him become politically successful, and the newspaper prospered as his political success increased.  She was a tireless worker for his election after he was nominated for President in 1920.  She said once, "I have only one real hobby - my husband."  Norman Thomas, one of her newsboys, recalled that "Mrs. Harding in those days ran the show.  Her husband was the front; it was she who was the real driving power in the success …."  

Mrs. Harding had never been to the White House prior to the election of her husband.  After meeting with President-elect and Mrs. Harding to discuss the social customs and the value of ceremony in the White House, former President Taft wrote to his wife Helen that the new First Lady was "a nice woman" and would "readily adapt herself."  This proved to be very true because Mrs. Harding hosted elegant garden parties and readily mixed with guests as the First Lady. She opened the mansion and the grounds again as they had been closed due to President Wilson's long illness.  She energetically performed her duties as First Lady even though she suffered from a chronic kidney ailment.  The Hardings had a crowded social calendar, but Mrs. Harding still found time to host garden parties regularly for veterans.  Even though the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution made liquor illegal, President and Mrs. Harding had fun poker parties in the White House library.

Florence was outspoken with her political views, particularly against the League of Nations and for women's suffrage.  She was very involved in her husband's life and possibly helped to write his inaugural speech because she mouthed some of the words and passages.  She reportedly said to her husband upon their arrival at the White House, "Well, Warren Harding, I got you the Presidency.  Now what are you going to do?"

The Harding campaign had taken place from the front porch of their home; therefore, Florence was able to carve out a dual public role as traditional housekeeper and modern activist.  After the election, she "continued to strike a duality as a modernist and traditionalist. She was one of the earliest First Ladies to feel that the citizenry were her constituency and her role entailed more than hostess in the White House.  `I feel that there is a great duty and responsibility which I must live up to,' she explained."

Florence Harding was "`particularly anxious… to help the women of the country to understand their government…  I want representative women to meet their Chief Executive and to understand the policies of the present administration.'  She invited not only women's political groups but also women federal workers, girls graduating from high school, college girls, and even African-American girls from local Dunbar High School.  She broke an unwritten social code and invited divorced women to social events.  While she did not publicly address the issue of birth control, she refused to condemn the movement for it when pressed by a reporter. Believing firmly in the necessity of physical exercise for women, she hosted a women's tennis exhibition game on the White House courts.  To the Camp Fire Girls, she wrote:  `The part that women play in the world has been greatly changed … It has broadened and enlarged and we will all be wise to recognize that a larger consideration for the health and physical advancement of the girls will better fit them for the role they must assume.'  Her message to the Girl Scouts was almost militaristic:  `Let us, as in the past, persist in overcoming all obstacles.  No matter what the sacrifice may be we must proceed with the great upbuilding work….'" 

Mrs. Harding was interested in astrology and visited Madam Marcia, a noted clairvoyant in Washington in early 1920 - while Warren was a still long shot to win the election.  The Madam predicted that Warren would be elected President and that he would die suddenly while in office.

Florence enjoyed traveling with her husband.  She was with him when he made his nationwide "Voyage of Understanding" during the summer of 1923.  She was by his side when he suddenly became sick and died in San Francisco, California, on August 2, 1923.  His death came before the major scandals in his administration became known by the public.  She showed "astonishing fortitude" as she accompanied the body of her husband on the long train ride back to Washington as well as enduring the state funeral at the Capitol and the last service and burial at Marion.  She also destroyed many documents in an effort to protect the image of her husband.

Mrs. Harding planned to remain in Washington, D.C. to make a new life for herself there as well as to travel in Europe;  however, her kidney ailment flared up again.  Her friend and former Surgeon General, Dr. Charles E. Sawyer, insisted that she go back to Marion for treatment and recovery.  She died in Marion of renal failure on November 21, 1924, less than sixteen months after the death of her husband, and was buried next to him.  "The Harding Memorial in Marion, Ohio, is considered by many historians to be the most beautiful of Presidential Tombsin the United States." 

Was Warren G. Harding Great?

                    Warren G. Harding is ranked among the ten most conservative Presidents of the United States.  He campaigned on the promise of "Less government in business and more business in government" and won the presidential election by a landslide.  During his administration wartime controls were eliminated, taxes were slashed, a Federal budget system was established, a high protective tariff was restored, and tight limitations on immigration were imposed.

                    In spite of these conservative measures, President Harding has been consistently ranked by polls of historians and scholars as one of the worst Presidents.  They judged him on his presidential record and his accomplishments in office; they also judged him on the corruption during his administration due to the Tea Pot Dome Scandal, "one of the most notorious government scandalsin United States history."    President Harding was not part of the corruption, but members of his administration were involved in it.          His administration was also damaged by a "short but severe depression" in 1921.  This depression was short because conservative principles were followed and prosperity returned, bringing in the Roaring Twenties. 

                    President Harding apparently was a true conservative as shown by the following quotes.  

                    President Harding could have been describing our nation right now when he said, "America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration."

                    This quote definitely shows the importance of choosing friends wisely:  "I have no trouble with my enemies.  I can take care of my enemies in a fight.  But my friends, my goddamned friends, they're the ones who keep me walking the floor at nights!"

                    Here are some more quotes from President Harding showing his true conservative nature: 

                    This quote shows that President Harding believed in God, "It is my conviction that the fundamental trouble with the people of the United States is that they have gotten too far away from Almighty God."

                    Again, President Harding was describing our day and our entitlement mentality:  "Our most dangerous tendency is to expect too much of government, and at the same time do for it too little."

                    This quote sounds very much like the famous one of John F. Kennedy:  "In the great fulfillment we must have a citizenship less concerned about what the government can do for it and more anxious about what it can do for the nation."

                    This quote is very true!  "There is something inherently wrong, something out of accord with the ideals of representative democracy, when one portion of our citizenship turns its activities to private gain amid defensive war while another is fighting, sacrificing, or dying for national preservation."

I can see why President Harding was ranked among the ten most conservative Presidents, but I can clearly see also that his ranking did not come from his leadership.  He was apparently a poor leader who brought his "friends" into his administration but then failed to lead them properly.  People lost faith in his administration because of the behavior of his "friends", not because of his own personal behavior.  This is a good example of why leadership and conservative principles are important.  Can we consider Warren G. Harding to be "great" in spite of his inability to control his "friends"?

More information on the life of President Warren G. Harding can be found here.

Teapot Dome Scandal

The Teapot Dome Scandal was "one of the most notorious government scandals in United States history." It took place while Warren G. Harding was President of the United States and was part of the reason for his poor ranking among U.S. Presidents.

The scandal was investigated by committees of the U.S. Senate and a special commission from 1922 to 1928. The investigation found the Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall guilty of persuading Harding "to transfer control of three naval oil reserves from the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Interior in 1921."

Fall then leased the reserves - located at Elk Hill, California, and Teapot Dome, Wyoming - to two private oil companies without competitive bidding in 1922. Fall was given a "loan" for $100,000 for helping to arrange the Elk Hills transfer and more than $300,000 in cash, bonds, and valuable livestock for the Teapot Dome transfer. He then resigned from office in 1923 and joined one of the companies. The government sued to cancel the leases and won the case in 1927. Fall became "the first Cabinet member to go to jail for crimes committed while in office." He was convicted of accepting a bribe in 1929, fined $100,000, and sentenced to one year in prison.

Facts and quotes for this post came from an article by Robert D. Palmet in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 19, p 74.

Warren G. Harding

Warren Gamaliel Harding (1865-1923) came to the office of the President of the United States in 1920 because Americans were tired of "wartime restraints and world problem" and hoped he could somehow bring back the pre-World War I days. His campaign slogan of "Back to Normalcy" encouraged this hope. Americans were so desperate to rid themselves of the policies of President Woodrow Wilson that they probably would have elected any Republican to the office of President. The people were especially opposed to Wilson's "definition of American ideals, and his unwillingness to accept any changes in his plan for a League of Nations." Americans were tired of their responsibilities in world affairs and wanted to go back to normal activities.

"Normal" was difficult to produce in the Roaring Twenties because different people thought of it differently. At one end of the spectrum there were the "rebels" who drank bootleg gin and danced in cabarets. At the other end were those who wanted more standardized thought and behavior; they included those who tried to enforce Prohibition as well as tried to ban the teaching of evolution in the schools. There were so many different ideas of how to get back to normal that Harding would be cross-wise with somebody no matter what his policy.
Harding was an easygoing newspaper publisher and Senator before becoming President, and his Administration was a popular one until the short and severe depression of 1921. Faith in his administration was destroyed within the first two years because of corruption in government agencies and the Teapot Dome oil scandal. Harding is unanimously ranked by historians as one of the weakest Presidents. His failure came because he "was weak-willed and a poor judge of character." His death was probably hastened by anxiety over the corruption in government circles. He was the sixth President to die while in office.

Harding was born on November 2, 1865, on a farm near present-day Blooming Grove, Ohio, and was the eldest of eight children. His father was a farmer and a homeopathic doctor who also owned half of the Caledonia Argus, a weekly newspaper. His English ancestors settled at Plymouth in 1624 and moved to Ohio in 1820. Harding attended local grammar schools, learned to set newspaper type and attended a high school called Ohio Central College where he was editor of the school newspaper.

Harding passed a test to become a school teacher in 1882. He taught school for one term in a one-room schoolhouse and later called teaching "the hardest job I ever had." He studied law and sold insurance and returned to journalism working for the Marion Democratic Mirror. After he was fired in 1884 for supporting the wrong presidential candidate, he and two friends purchased the bankrupt Marion Star for $300.

He married divorcee Florence Kling DeWolfe in 1891. The Hardings had no children. Florence had great ambitions for her husband as well as a dominating personality. With her help, Harding built the Star into a prosperous newspaper. He served as a director of several corporations as well as a trustee for the Trinity Baptist Church.

After becoming known as both an editor and a skillful speaker, Harding was elected as a state senator in 1898 and as lieutenant governor in 1903. He lost a 1910 campaign for governor, but was chosen to nominate President William Howard Taft for a second term at the Republican National Convention in 1912. He later commented that this honor gave him a greater thrill than his own nomination. He gave the keynote speech at the 1916 national convention as well as served at permanent chairman.

Harding was elected to the United States Senate in 1914 where he was genial and popular and enjoyed the fellowship and prestige of the Senate. He introduced no major bills, spent much time finding jobs for friends, and usually voted with the Republican leadership. He was nominated as a compromise candidate for President at the 1920 Republican National Convention and chose Governor Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts to run as Vice President. He campaigned, gave speeches, and met visiting delegations from his front porch. He won an "overwhelming victory" as the first President to be elected while serving as a Senator. This was also the first presidential election where all women were allowed to vote and the results were broadcast over radio.

Harding's view of his constitutional powers was very narrow because he, like most Republicans, thought President Wilson had usurped powers originally belonging to Congress; therefore, he relied on his Cabinet and Congress to lead the nation.
Harding signed peace treaties that did not include the League of Nations covenant with Germany and other Central Powers, but Congress lead in domestic legislation when it placed the first quotas on immigration and reduced taxes in 1921 and raised tariffs in 1922.

Harding brought so many friends from Ohio to Washington that they became known as "the Ohio gang." His poor judgment of character was evident in the friends that were untrustworthy but given jobs in government because he enjoyed socializing with them. There was a tide of corruption that began to rise soon after he entered the White House. ”The Teapot Dome scandal was the most shocking case" and involved the Secretary of the Interior accepting "a bribe for leasing government-owned oil reserves to private companies." He was sentenced to prison in 1929. The Attorney General was tried in 1926 but freed when two juries failed to agree on a verdict. A friend of the AG committed suicide after the revelation that he was involved in arranging settlements between the Department of Justice and law breakers. Misuse of funds at the Veterans Bureau resulted in its legal adviser committing suicide and his director being sent to prison.

As if the scandals were not enough for the electorate to lose faith in Republicans, a depression in the farm region occurred. Harding - with his wife and a large official party - went on a speaking tour in June 1923 to revive confidence in his Administration. He traveled across the United States and made the first presidential visit to Canada and Alaska. During this trip he received a long message in code from Washington about a Senate investigation of oil leases. "Reporters later said that the depressed Harding asked them what a President could do when his friends betrayed him."

Harding became ill, presumably from food poisoning, while his train was passing through Seattle. The tour stopped in San Francisco where doctors said Harding had pneumonia. He had a short rally and died on August 2. No autopsy was performed and so no exact cause for his death is known.

Sorrowing Americans gathered to show honor to their President as the train carrying his body back to Washington. The public did not yet know about the scandals, and Mrs. Harding burned as much of his correspondence as possible to protect his memory. She died the following year and was buried beside Harding in Marion.

Facts and quotes for this post came from an article by George H. Mayer in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 9, pp 56-59.