Warren G Harding

Warren Harding was born on November 2, 1865, in Corsica, Ohio. The family moved to a farm in
Caledonia, Ohio, when he was a small boy. He was one of six children.
Harding attended a one-room school at Blooming Grove and went on to Ohio Central College
(1800-1882). He took a part-time job at a printing shop and learned how to run a press. Because of this, he edited the campus newspaper while in college. He graduated from college (1882) with a B.S. degree. Harding married Florence King DeWolfe at his home in Marion, Ohio, on August 15, 1860. She was a divorcée with one son. They had an unhappy marriage, but Mrs. Harding worked hard to make the family newspaper, The Marion Star, a financial success. She was interested in astrology and once visited a clairvoyant who predicted her husband would become president but die in office. As First Lady, Mrs.Harding was an elegant entertainer. She died of kidney disease sixteen months after her husband and is buried by his side. The couple had no children.
Prior to the presidency, Harding served Ohio as a state senator (1899-1903), lieutenant governor (1903-1905), and US Senator (1915-1921). He was in favor of the Prohibition and women’s right to vote. On most difficult issues, he took the Republican position in order to bring unity to the party and avoid confrontation. He did, however, support President Wilson’s effort to keep America out of WWI. He was a strong patriot and championed the rights of the workingman.
As president, Harding refused to join the League of Nations, thus assuring its failure. He signed papers ending the war without a formal ceremony. Harding was the first president to speak for civil rights in the South. It was his hope that black men would regard themselves as “full participants in the benefits and duties of American citizens.” He established the Bureau of the Budget, recognizing that there needed to be controls placed on Federal expenditures. Finally, during his administration, Harding convened the Washington Conference for the Limitation of Armament in which Great Britain and the United States agreed to limit the number of battleships in their Navies. In addition, the four powers, France, the United
States, Britain, and Japan agreed to respect each other’s territory in Asia and peacefully resolve any disagreements among them.
Early in 1923, Harding had to face rumors of corruption in his administration. Investigations
proved that many of his appointees were corrupt. Harding began a speaking tour of the United States to convince people that he was still an honest man. He had high blood pressure and heart disease. While on the tour, he fell ill and died in San Francisco on August 2, 1923.

-Clancy Darcy