Terabith Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 Happy birthday to Warren Harding! (11/2) On any list of worst presidents, Warren Harding almost always makes the list. It’s possible there were four or five presidents worse than him, but not many. He was the president during Prohibition, but he was famous for all the alcohol he served in the White House. Alcohol that was procured from federal agents who seized it from bootleggers. Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter Alice, then an adult, was a regular at Harding’s poker nights, said, “No rumor could have exceeded the truth. Trays with bottles containing every imaginable brand of whiskey stood all about” as the first lady mixed the drinks. Harding was purportedly drunk on whiskey during an Oval Office confrontation with railroad leaders about a strike negotiation. Harding made his friend Albert Fall the Secretary of the Interior. Fall was later arrested for accepting bribes in exchange for selling American oil fields to business associates. This was only one of the many, many scandals during the Harding administration. The head of the Office of Alien Property and the head of the Justice Department were both convicted of accepting bribes, and the head of the Veterans Bureau skimmed profits and organized an underground drug ring. He also was really, really into his affairs. In 1905, while he was still running a newspaper, he started an affair with Carrie Phillips, whose husband owned a department store in town. Harding’s wife was in the hospital being treated for a life-threatening kidney infection. Carrie Phillips’s husband was in the sanitarium “soothing his nerves.” This affair went on for a long time, and Harding wrote all sorts of love letters to Phillips, in which he named his penis Jerry and in which he wrote some really bad poetry, including such gems as, “I love your poise/Of perfect thighs/When they hold me in paradise…/I love the rose/Your garden grows/Love seashell pink/That over it glows.” However, such bad poetry and poor decision making as putting the details of your illicit sexual encounters in writing exposes one to blackmail. Before he was nominated by the Republican party to run for president, Harding was asked if he had any skeletons in his closet. He thought for like five minutes and then was like, “Uh, nope. No skeletons.” Bad move, Republican party. They wound up paying her between $20,000-25,000 (almost $300k in today’s money), along with $5k each month while Harding was president, as well as sending her and her husband to Europe on an extended holiday during the time he was campaigning. He also had a confirmed child with another woman, Nan Britton, who was more than 30 years younger than Harding and wrote a tell-all book (to earn money to support Harding’s illegitimate child) in which she described losing her virginity to Harding at age 20 while he was a senator, an encounter during which the New York Vice Squad burst down the door, only to realize who Harding was before they backed out with apologies. His affair with Britton lasted six years, and included frequent encounters in a closet in the White House while the Secret Service kept an eye out for Harding’s wife. Warren Harding died of a heart attack while he was in the middle of his first term of office. An FBI agent accused his wife of poisoning him out of jealousy over his affairs, but no evidence to that effect was ever produced. 5 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 Ah yes, Warren Harding, the Donald Trump of his day. Scandals unending, only crony hires, unhappy spouse, copious affairs. Florence Harding was a serious force. He'd never have gotten anywhere without her, so she's really at fault that he made it to the top, even if she was desperately unhappy. She loved him way too much to poison him though. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 (edited) I love these, @Terabith. I just read the kids a book (for the second time) about Teddy Roosevelt, thanks to your mini-bio a few days ago. I think we'll skip a Harding bio for my 6- and 10-year-olds! ETA: Someone did make a presidential picture book about him. Did they include the blackmail? Emily Edited November 3, 2022 by EmilyGF 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted November 3, 2022 Author Share Posted November 3, 2022 8 minutes ago, EmilyGF said: I love these, @Terabith. I just read the kids a book (for the second time) about Teddy Roosevelt, thanks to your mini-bio a few days ago. I think we'll skip a Harding bio for my 6- and 10-year-olds! ETA: Someone did make a presidential picture book about him. Did they include the blackmail? Emily Good question! I think if I was writing a children's bio on him, I would focus on his childhood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 Another excellent installment, thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 IMO, the nation was very fortunate that Calvin Coolidge succeeded him. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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