The eldest of eight children, Warren Gamaliel Harding was born in 2nd of November, 1865, in Corsica (now Blooming Grove), Ohio. His father, George Tryon Harding, was a farmer, a businessman and a doctor. Harding’s mother, Phoebe, was a midwife. Growing up in an idyllic village was a life that Harding thoroughly enjoyed. He attended a one-room school and helped organize and play the community band. At the age of 14, Harding attended college in Ohio Central College. While there, he got his first experience of editing with the campus newspaper until he graduated in 1882. Harding then taught at school for a while, but he stopped before the end of the school year because he absolutely hated him.
The sale of aMarion Daily Star in Marion, Ohio. At first the newspaper struggled, but in the end it prospered, growing alongside the thriving city. Harding bought a friend’s odds and won the odds from the remaining partner in a poker game to become the card’s owner. Marrying a wealthy divorcee named Florence Ling de Wolfe in 1891 turned out to be a fortuitous event for Harding’s editorial career and his political career. He brought a child with him from a previous marriage, along with a sharp business mind and abundant monetary resources. Harding and his wife, however, have never had children of their own together.
Rise to power
Warren’s marriage to Florence marked the beginning of Harding’s rise to political power. She encouraged him to run for a seat in the Ohio Senate in 1898. He was an unshakable conservative Republican, who was able to write well and speak with a vibrant expressive voice. He was also a man with an attractive appearance and a congenial personality. After winning the seats and serving two terms as State Senator, Harding was recruited to run for the winning Lieutenant Governor. After serving a two-year term in his first major government executive role, he then returned to his journalistic activities.
Losing an offer for the Governorate in 1910, Harding continued to be active in political circles and, at the 1912 Republican National Convention, gave a speech to nominate William Taft as a candidate for his second term as President of the United States. 1914 led his election to the United States Senate, where Harding remained until his presidential inauguration in 1921. Harding’s career as a senator was said to be indistinct, as he tended to be a pacifier and conciliatory and did not take energetic positions on many questions. In 1920, a Harding admirer from Ohio started promoting him for the presidential nomination because, as they said, “he looks like a president.” Harding won the avalanche presidential election of the 1920s in the United States. In fact, it was the biggest margin of victory so far, with Harding earning 60% of the popular votes and the majority of the electoral votes 404 against 127 for the democrat James Cox, also a native of Ohio. 1920 also saw the first US presidential elections in which women were allowed to vote.
Contributions
The results obtained by Harding in the office were characterized by the pursuit of the pro-business republican agenda. Taxes for multinationals and wealthy people have been reduced, as well as the promotion of strict immigration limits. Harding also signed the 1921 Budget and Accounting Act. The act rationalized the federal budget system and established the General Accounting Office, which controlled government spending. His appointment of former President William H. Taft as head of the Supreme Court is the only time in US history that a former CEO has ever held this position. Harding managed to nominate a handful of very capable men in Cabinet positions, such as Herbert Hoover as Secretary of Commerce, Charles Evan Hughes, as Secretary of State and Andrew Mellon as Secretary of the Treasury. However, many of the friends he named, as it turns out, were accused of misconduct and corruption, although not while he was still alive.
The challenges
Most of the challenges that Harding faced as president seem to stem from personal problems. He had a fifteen-year extramarital affair with one of his neighbors in Marion, Ohio. He blackmailed him before running for US presidency, and was given money and sent to Europe. Harding also had an affair with another woman from Marion. She gave birth to her daughter and, although she never publicly acknowledged the child, she sent $ 500.00 every month for child support. It was not until 2015 that her daughter was confirmed as her, which turned out to be Harding through DNA testing.
Death and inheritance
Although Harding had occasional bouts of illness, something that seemed to be related to stress and that forced him to be hospitalized several times in a short period of time while he was working on his newspaper, he always seemed healthy enough. However, during a tour promoting transnational politics in the United States, old Harding of 57 fell ill and died in a hotel in San Francisco on the 2nd of August, 1923. There was no autopsy, but his death is believed to be was caused by a heart attack. Harding was well liked while he was president, but after his death numerous personal and political scandals emerged. The infamous Teapot Dome Scandal is at the top of the list. In that debacle, Harding’s home secretary, Albert Fall, rented public lands to oil companies in exchange for gifts and personal loans. Many other members of the cabinet were found guilty of corruption and misconduct even after his death. To this was added the word of both his domestic affairs in Ohio, which was disclosed to the public.
Unfortunately, Harding’s legacy and reputation were lost in a quagmire of betrayal, and many regard his term as a precedent in the economic policy that contributed to the Great Depression that began 6 years after his death. which was disclosed to the public. Unfortunately, Harding’s legacy and reputation were lost in a quagmire of betrayal, and many regard his term as a precedent in the economic policy that contributed to the Great Depression that began 6 years after his death. which was disclosed to the public. Unfortunately, Harding’s legacy and reputation were lost in a quagmire of betrayal, and many regard his term as a precedent in the economic policy that contributed to the Great Depression that began 6 years after his death.
