"I am not fit for this office and should have never been here."

 

 

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Basic Information

 

Circumstances

 

Presidential Hats

 

Achievements & Failures

 

Conclusion

 

Quotes

 

Sources

 

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Abroad

Social:

1. Throughout the 1920's (and also into the 1930's) in Israel, an entire group of various doctors and psychologists came together and created what would be "what would become a prolonged effort to provide child-rearing guidance for parents." They did this because people were beginning to hope for the creation of the establishment of the State of Israel. Jewish people in Palestine dreamed of living in their own nation and creating history & a "new native Jew."

 

Political:

1. Progression of the League of Nations, which was formed in 1920: The League of Nations was concluded to be formed at the Paris Peace Conference, which lasted four years. Their goals were to prevent wars and resolve issues such as welfare (disease and slavery are two other examples), and basically negotiate for peace.

 

2. Mellon and Huges wanted to lower costs and did not want to continue to spend money on expensive navel development. Hughes called for a navel conference in Washington to keep the present status. He proposed the scrapping of fifteen American capital ships that were built during the war. His plan also called for rough equality between England and the U.S. Also in the conference, the Nine Power Treaty came about. In this treaty, all of the signature states with interests in the Far East guaranteed the territorial integrity of China and an "open door" to trade and investment there.

 

Economical:

1. During World War I, the United States had loaned billions of dollars to Europe. In 1920, the amount equaled approximated $12 million. Mellon, Secretary of Treasury, appointed Charles G. Dawes whom created the Dawes plan, in which Europe came together and was able to revise the loans, ending up with paying America only around $2.2 billion when originally the debt was around $22 billion. As for reparations, the US paid Europe $2 billion, which contributed to a huge soar in the economy of countries, particularly Germany. Overall, it seemed unfair.

 

2.As is known, president Harding delegated many of his duties to others. His secretary of state Charles Evans Hughes, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover, and Secretary of Treasury Andrew Mellon worked together. They wanted to design a foreign policy that would enable the U.S. to be a part of the world economy while retaining a free hand in international relations. They wanted to borrow less from other countries and more from U.S. banks. Huges and Hoover secured minor

concession on rubber in Malaya and oil in Middle Eastern countries such as Mesopotamia and Persia.

 

At Home

Social:

1. First commercial radio broadcast in 1920

2. Harding was tolerant on civil liberties. He honestly criticized the unfair treatment of African Americans. He once gave a lecture to a segregated crowed and talked about the virtues of racial equality and the evils of segregation.

 

Political:

1. Some people whom Harding chose for his Cabinet and such started taking advantage of the government behind Harding's back. Some to most scandals, such as the Teapot Dome scandal (the worst one), in the government became revealed after his sudden death.

 

2. The Johnson Immigrant Quota Act of 1921 (see below, economical) limited southern and eastern European immigrants because there were less in the U.S. at that time. Republicans liked this because the southern and eastern European immigrants were more likely to become Democrats.

 

Economical:

1. Unemployment rates were up and immigrants came in and turned parts of major cities into slum areas. Harding favored the Johnson Immigrant Quota Act of 1921 which did not let annual immigration of a given nationality to exceed three percent of the number of immigrants from that country who lived in the U.S. in 1019. This was one in a series of anti-immigrant laws that favored northern Europeans and Western Hemisphere-immigrants.

 

 

2. Harding signed the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921: there would be unified budget instead of individual submissions from Congress (see "Chief Executive" Hat, below)

 

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Commander-in Chief Hat: military- 0/10 
Harding had little knowledge of military experience and handed the job over to others who were up to it. Even though there were no real
wars going on, he did not even participate and take in the controlling and commanding the Navy.
 

Chief Executive: laws- 3/10
He wanted to put off work for Congress as much as possible. As for laws that passed during his presidency, Harding only agreed to 
acts such as lowering the immigration rate (see below). During his time, government also took in a lot of business profit shares, and
increased tax rates. President Harding signed the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. This allowed the president to present a unified 
budget, instead of having each cabinet secretary submit a budget to Congress. It also created the General Accounting Office for auditing 
of farm credit. Harding avoided or possibly were oblivious to many problems that were going on politically, such as secretaries
and politicians abusing their positions. Harding was a hardworking president though, in a curious way. He was indecisive toward a lot of 
laws. He said, "I listen to one side and they seem right. And--God!--I listen to the other side and they seem just as right. I can't 
make a damn thing out of this problem." He didn't know what to decide on because he wanted to please everyone.
 

Chief Diplomat:  foreign affairs- 4/10
Because Harding had a short term in the office, he did not have enough time to interact in foreign affairs. Also, he gave this position to the
 U.S. Secretary of State, Charles E. Hughes. (Hughes, along with the Secretaries of Commerce and Treasury, were able to create a 
foreign policy in which America was able to join in international economic affairs with such countries like England and ones in the Middle
East. Harding did have to contribute because he was the president.
Ceremonial Head of State: traditions/people- 8/10
There isn't much record of his being ceremonial head of state, except the fact that he traveled to states a lot and visiting the scenery/people/etc. 
As you can see from the picture above, he loved visiting specific places and getting to know America's people as a whole. He was even the
first President to visit Alaska, and he even went to Canada.
Many people liked Harding because he liked to get to know the people
and, in an effort to please, he got along with everyone.
Manager of the Economy: economics- 4/10 
Harding was able to control the immigration rate of America. Countless incomings of immigrants overpopulated big cities and turned 
parts of them into slums, taking down the economy down with it. At this time, America was just beginning to heal from its war wounds so it was 
a major problem when it came to unstoppable immigration. He reduced the rate a lot so that the economy could slowly improve. Unfortunately, 
Harding did not give a watchful eye to the increasing unemployment rates other than this. Harding also believed in the Prohibition act (no 
manufacturing, selling... of alcohol) to decrease the number of lazy people and slums in the country, but even he himself took advantage of this  
law and got drunk himself. 
Party Leader: political parties- 9/10
Harding intimidated the Democrats during his president campaigns and made them back off, boosting the popularity of the Republican Party. He  
did support his fellow Republicans. He listened to them and let them run the government just as much (or even more) as he did. Whatever the  
Republicans voted on, he usually agreed.  
National Leader: how to lead america, not just govern- 1/10 
Harding himself admitted that he was a poor leader. He wanted to be liked, and therefore did not take on the pressure of leading: persuading  
others and taking control. He was hanging out with people who were bad influences (the "Ohio gang," see below). Also, Harding even drank 
during the time of the Prohibition Act. He picked men for his Cabinet based on their achievements and experience, not on their personalities  
and how much they could be trusted. He practically let them take over the job of being president. Harding believed in the notion of "America  
First" and promised that he would not lead the nation as a dominating "giant" but rather cared about "the tranquillity of our country."  
Instead of moving forward, Harding wanted to lead America to the old days, to the "normalcy" of the past. However, many ex- and to-be presidents  
were astonished. "How can he lead when he does not know where he is going?" Wilson demanded. But Harding knew he wasn't a good leader, and  
was getting criticized. He hated offending anyone and always wanted to please people so he took the criticism seriously and started backing out  
and surrounding himself with the most intelligent politicians and secretaries. How could he have been a good leader when he even admitted  
himself that he was terrible? 
 

AVERAGE RATING: 4.15/10 
legend:
 
0-1 | did not deserve to be president in the first place
 
2-3 | bad
 
4-5 | mediocre
 
6-8 | pretty good
 
9-10 | a Great President

 

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Intro

President Warren G. Harding came into officer during the early 1920's. He wasn't very smart and wasn't a great leader, but his best quality--an easygoing personality--made him popular and ideal for presidency.

 

Achievements

Many of Harding's achievements are stated above in the Presidential Hats section. Johnson Immigrant Quota Act of 1921 (immigrants) and Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 (submitted unified budget vs. individual budgets) were some of Harding's achievements in office. He also was able to become popular with the American people by visiting them ever so often and getting along so well with them. Despite Harding's shortcomings of not being able to be both very decisive and pleasing, he approved of many great acts and tried to restore America back to its old "normalcy" instead of a possible danger of moving it forward.

 

Failures

He did little to help farmers grow their crops and almost nothing to improve unemployment rates. Harding decided to give positions to political supporters whom he believed were capable of the jobs. However, this sort of method went back on him as those political supporters started abusing their positions for personal benefits. One major scandal due to this bad choice was the Teapot Dome Scandal. The Teapot Dome Scandal involved Albert Fall, Harding's Secretary of Interior. Fall had been bribed and was able to lease Teapot Dome, an oil company, illegally even though it was government-owned. The finding and arrest of this situation occurred after Harding's unexpected death.
During the time of Harding's presidency, the government had taken an awfully large share of business profits. Income tax rates went up to almost 73% to "cease investing in corporate securities," and even wealthy men's lives went down the gutter.

 

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Would Harding be considered a president of greatness?

 

"Poor Warren. He wasn’t a bad egg, just weak. He loved women and Ohio." -John Ashbery

 

No. Although he was popular, his legacy and and impact left him with being called "one of the worst presidents in American history." As you can see from the ratings of how Harding wore his hat, it is concluded that he was a mediocre president in office.

 

In order to be considered a great president, one must be able to handle the tasks of being president, meaning, one has to be honorable, make wise decisions, be responsible, and be well educated on the different areas of presidency. President Harding was popular in office but lacked all these qualities. Once in office, Harding told his close friends that the job was beyond him. He was known as a good fellow and enjoyed being liked more then being a good president. He couldn’t say no to his friends because he wanted to be liked. He appointed his friends into office and with them, played poker, drank whisky, smoked, and kept late hours. And as president, one must obey the laws. However, this was always beyond president Harding as he drank, while in office, during Prohibition. He had a bad relationship with his wife and therefore had affairs with at least two women, one of who was thirty years younger than him. They kept meeting in the Oval office and the affair continued until his death. Harding even admitted that he could not handle being a leader. Harding, as a president, tried to avoid as many issues as possible. He also delegated many of his tasks to other members of the office. He was obviously very unprofessional, irresponsible, and not a good role model, which every president should be. He could not make wise decisions and he practically approved everything the Republican Party voted for. Harding was indecisive because, most of the time, he would agree with both sides and did not want to make a final decision to choose one option, therefore leaving the others with the unchosen option upset at him.

 

Harding knew little about foreign affairs when he came into the office and therefore gave a free hand to the Secretary of State Hughes. This is a very bad quality because as president, one must be very aware of foreign policy and he wasn’t had therefore had to delegate his job to others. That is one of the many examples of how he shows his irresponsibility and lack of education on the different areas of the presidency. As mentioned earlier, Harding was getting criticism on how he was handling the presidency so he surrounded himself with the greatest minds in politics, choosing them for his Cabinet, secretaries, etc. so that he did not have to handle as much pressure with so many more intellectually political people.

 

In conclusion, Harding does not deserve to be considered a great president. Ashbery was correct; Harding's affairs with women and involvement with the Ohio gang as well as his endless "I-want-to-please" personality led him to become a weak president.

 

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"My God, this is a hell of a job!" -President Warren Harding

 

"I don't know much about Americanism but it's a damn good word with which to carry an election." -President Warren Harding

 

"When we cannot support, we do not demand." President Warren Harding, State of the Union Address (December 8th, 1922)

 

"I don't know what to do or where to turn in this taxation matter. Somewhere there must be a book that tells all about it, where I could go to straighten it out in my mind. But I don't know where the book is, and maybe I couldn't read it if I found it." -President Warren Harding

 

"If you were a girl, Warren, you'd be in the family way all the time. You can't say 'no.'" President Harding's father, Dr. George Tryon Harding

 

"His speeches left the impression of an army of pompous phrases moving over the landscape in search of an idea." -Senator William G. McAdoo

 

"Harding was not a bad man. He was just a slob." -Alice Roosevelt Longworth, TR's daughter

 

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1. American President: "Compromise Choices, The" Thirteen WNET New York. PBS. 8 May 2007. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/amerpres/main_episode08.html>.

 

2. American President: President Warren G. Harding. University of Virginia. 4 May 2007. <http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/index.php/academic/americanpresident/harding>.

 

3. Cecere, Joanne K. "The Teapot Dome Scandal Trial: a Headline Court Case.(Young Adult Review)(Brief Article)." School Library Journal 48.3 (March 2002): 258(1). InfoTrac OneFile. Thomson Gale. International Academy High School. 8 May 2007. <http://find.galegroup.com/itx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=ITOF&docId=A84546781&source=gale&srcprod=ITOF&userGroupName=lom_inac&version=1.0>.

 

4. Fisher, Daniel. "Flashbacks." Forbes 178.6 (Oct 2, 2006): 32. InfoTrac OneFile. Thomson Gale. INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL. 8 May. 2007. <http://find.galegroup.com/itx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=ITOF&docId=ITOF&docId=A151568987&source=gale&srcprod=ITOF

&userGroupName=lom_inac&version=1.0>.

 

5. "Foreign Affairs." Miller Center of Public Affairs. 2007. University of Virginia. 13 May 2007. <http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/index.php/Ampres/essays/harding/biography/5>.

 

6. Kunhardt, Jr., Philip B., Philip B. Kunhardt III, and Peter W. Kunhardt. The American President. New York: Peguin Putnam, 1999.

 

 

7. McPherson, James M. To the Best of my Ability: The American Presidents. New York: DK Publishing, 2002.

 

8. "Warren Gamaliel Harding (1865 - 1923)." Miller Center of Public Affairs. 2007. 18 May 2007 .

 

 

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