Warren Gamaliel Harding was the twenty-ninth president of
the United States. He was the sixth president to die in office.
Harding was a tall, handsome man with a resounding voice and a
pleasing personality. At the time he was nominated for
president, he was not widely known. He had become prominent in
Ohio as a newspaper editor, and had been elected to the state
senate. The conservative wing of his political party had found
him a safe, dependable man. He had shown no particular ability
except the ability to attract and to get votes.
Harding received the Republican party's nomination for
president at the Chicago Convention of 1920. Harding and his
vice president, Calvin Coolidge, were elected by an overwhelming
majority of the popular and electoral votes over his opponents,
James M. Cox and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
From the beginning of his administration, Harding depended
heavily on his Congress and Cabinet to provide leadership.
Hardings and Coolidges - The President and Vice-Pr...
English: Calvin Coolidge.
English: Warren G. Harding, by Harris & Ewing.He
chose several qualified men to serve in his cabinet, but he also
chose many cabinet members because they were his friends or
because he owed them political debts. Many of them proved to be
completely unworthy of trust or of high office.
Harding declared early in his presidency that it was the
government's return to normalcy. His election was interpreted to
mean that the people did not want either the Versailles Treaty or
the League of Nations. The United States made separate treaties
with Germany and its allies, and refused to take part in world
affairs. Harding believed that the U.S. should take part in the
World Court, but at the same time he approved of limitations
which would have made the Court almost powerless by separating it
completely from the League of Nations.
The most important achievement of Harding's administration...