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| Warren G Harding circa 1921 |
First, he was a womanizer. This sets him into the company of Clinton and JFK. However, he trumps them all because his one affair lasted throughout his political career as Senator of Ohio, Lt. Governor of Ohio and POTUS. Not since Jefferson, at least to my knowledge, had a President fathered children out of wedlock by a mistress. TJ and Warren did. [Note: Grover Cleveland was also believed to have fathered one also. Not yet proven.]
He had the fourth shortest presidency, 881 days. Zach Taylor, John Garfield and William Henry Harrison had the top 3 shortest presidencies. You would think with that little time in office you wouldn't leave much of a legacy. Wwwwelll.
He was a Republican. I'd like to say that that says a lot, but it really doesn't. The 1920s Republican party was much different from the mess we have today, but not by much. But more fun facts about WGH:
- The sixth president to die while in office.
- The second president to die while in office in the 20th century.
- Was considered the worse president (by polls) of all time. However, within the last decade, for some odd reason, James Buchanan has surpassed Harding as the worst. The main reason was his lack of leadership leading up to the the Civil War. Yeah. Blame one guy for the Civil War. All those assholes in Congress from the North and South had nothing to do with it. I think it was because he was a life-long bachelor or possibly gay. I'm just saying. People back in those times never trusted life-long bachelors unless they were whore masters with a persistent case of gonorrhea. Anyway, married dudes always despise the free, single man.
The one scandal had it been revealed while he was alive and in office and would have ruined his reputation and political career was the Teapot Dome Scandal. Not only did this happen under his watch, two of his cabinet members were behind it. For those of you who know little about the Teapot Dome Scandal, tap the link or for a quick synopsis, page down to the bottom. There was another scandal (which had been brought to his attention) but was caught and dealt with before it was revealed.
His Suspicious Death
Harding was not a healthy man in the first place. He had heart problems. He knew he had heart problems. He had heart problems for over twenty years. He was cautioned about taking a trip like he did. But after this scandal, believing his reputation would be tarnished, he needed to get out of Washington. He chose a cross county whistle-stop train tour to speak to the American people and do some preemptive damage control, politicking and to bloviate. Bloviate, a term commonly used back then to describe the typical Ohioan politician. He was a person who spoke for long periods of time and yet said nothing. The verb "to bloviate" is the act of creating bloviation. Bloviation was, in Ohio, a term meant to describe idle chatter. [Wikipedia] The guy would never get a second term if the scandals (there were others) and his extramarital affairs became public. Fortunately for Warren, it came out after his death.
The President chartered his own private train and steamed across America to meet the people. Six weeks into the three month tour, he fell ill. In July 1923 while stopped in San Francisco, he died. He had been feeling unwell sporadically throughout the tour. He was under the care of a doctor he and his wife used for years. Unfortunately, the guy was a homeopathic surgeon and considered a quack by other doctors. It was also believed his ineptitude precipitated Harding's death.
However!
Another theory (a conspiracy theory) had developed after his death. He was killed. Murdered. Poisoned. Some believed poisoned by his wife. What followed his death gave cause for this theory.
- Florence Harding, wife of the decease, insisted on no autopsy.
- Once she returned to Washington, she destroyed many of his private documents.
- Whispers were a motive to keep him from being prosecuted for the scandals by his cabinet.
- More whispers were a motive for his philandering.
The theory that she was aware of his philandering and killed him out of jealousy or revenge may hold some water, but truthfully, women in that time, in that position, tended to turn the other cheek. However, what gives this idea a little credence is knowing his health was fragile, no one would question his death and without an autopsy, no one would be the wiser. It was revealed after his death of his several affairs and fathering a daughter by a mistress. All valid reasons to "off" the guy. But murder is wrong.
I don't know if I can buy into this theory. But it is a highly compelling argument. I've known of women to kill husbands for lesser offenses. Just watch ID Investigative Discovery Channel. There are all kinds of programs about women killing off their men. Scary and true.
I believe the autopsy would have shown the ineptitude of their doctor, Charles E. Sawyer. An autopsy might have proven Sawyer's misdiagnosis and erroneous treatments. However, like many people back then, no one concerned themselves with living a healthy lifestyle. Everyone smoked, drank and ate fatty red meats and foods. Harding imbibed in abundance. He was a ticking time bomb. It was commonly known that he suffered from heart problems specifically an enlarged heart as well as the stress from the job and his wife's own kidney ailment, neurasthenia, bouts of chest pain and shortness of breath. He had all kinds of signs of something looming ahead. He also suffered from Couldn't-Keep-It-In-His-Pants syndrome, a lesser ailment.
The reason for the document destruction could be she was burning old love letters or documents that may have shown Harding's complaisance with his cabinet members' illegal activities or a dozen other reasons. It was noted in Trani and Wilson's biography of Harding that he was more concerned with keeping the scandals secret than seeking justice. [Paraphrased from Wikipedia] She may have been trying to hide this from Congress. After all, she would have to live with the fallout after his death. Because you know the real poop comes out after someone leaves life. Look at what they're doing with Michael Jackson. Kiddie porn. Really? Fortunately, for her, thanks to her doctor's quackery, she died about 18 months later.
Warren G. Harding was the sixth sitting president to pass while in office. I don't believe he was assassinated by a bad doctor and/or his wife. He suffered a heart condition for twenty years prior to his death. He was a newspaper man and then a junior senator, who was not qualified to be president. He got caught up in the Republican political machine. It ate him up and spit him out.
My final decree: He died of a heart attack and/or a cerebral hemorrhage, depending on which account you want to believe. He, also, had pneumonia, which probably brought on whatever it was that killed him. He lived the good life and fought ... well, he fought some fight, but in the end, like we all, he lost to the grim reaper.
Teapot Dome Scandal
- It occurred in 1921-22 during Harding's administration and under his nose.
- It involved 2 cabinet members and the Naval petroleum reserves in Teapot Dome, WY and California.
- It was an under the table deal with leasing the reserves to private interests who were the cabinet members' cronies at low rates without proper authority and without competitive bidding. A Big No-No!
- Before the Watergate scandal, Teapot Dome was regarded as the "greatest and most sensational scandal in the history of American politics". [Wikipedia, Cherny, Robert W. "Graft and Oil: How Teapot Dome Became the Greatest Political Scandal of its Time". History Now. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History]
Final note: In the two plus years as president he did succeed on some campaign promises despite the negative stuff. Let's face it. No president is ever perfect. Even Lincoln, the number one polled president, is now believed to have been bi-sexual and told and made racist jokes and remarks. For a good synopsis on Harding's life and political career check this out. Until next time, stay safe!
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