The Tragedy of Normalcy: The Presidency of Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding, the twenty-ninth President of the United States, served from 1921 until his sudden death in 1923, presiding over a period of national exhaustion following World War I. A handsome and affable man with an impressive speaking voice, Harding was seen by many as the perfect antidote to the intense, idealistic progressivism of Woodrow Wilson. His victory in 1920 was a landslide based on one simple, resonant campaign promise: a "return to normalcy."
Harding’s political career began in his hometown of Marion, Ohio, where he built The Marion Star newspaper into a successful and influential enterprise. His genial nature, combined with a willingness to align himself with the conservative "Old Guard" of the Republican Party, led him through the ranks of Ohio politics: state senator, lieutenant governor, and eventually to the U.S. Senate in 1914.
His 1920 presidential nomination was a classic example of a political compromise. The Republican convention was deadlocked among several powerful contenders, and in the famous "smoke-filled room," party bosses settled on Harding—a man they viewed as pliable, loyal, and appealingly presidential in appearance. Facing a country tired of wartime sacrifices and Wilson’s international crusades (like the League of Nations), Harding’s call for a return to simple, pre-war life resonated profoundly, leading him to win by the largest popular vote margin in history at the time.
Harding’s brief administration did achieve several significant, positive accomplishments, primarily in returning the nation to a peacetime, business-first footing:
Fiscal Stability: He appointed capable men to key cabinet posts, most notably Andrew Mellon as Secretary of the Treasury, who successfully worked to reduce the national debt and institute a conservative fiscal policy.
Federal Budget System: Harding signed the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, which created the Bureau of the Budget (now the Office of Management and Budget) and put the federal government on a clear, systematic budgetary path for the first time. This was a critical step in modernizing federal finance.
Foreign Policy: His most significant foreign policy achievement was the Washington Naval Conference (1921–1922). Under the leadership of Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes, the world's major naval powers agreed to limit the size of their navies, halting the arms race in large vessels for a decade and marking a rare success for arms control and diplomacy in the wake of the Great War.
Civil Rights: Despite his conservative base, Harding showed genuine, if politically cautious, support for civil rights, notably becoming the first president to openly advocate for federal legislation against lynching in a bold speech in Birmingham, Alabama.
Harding aimed for a hands-off, efficient administration, embodying the slogan of "Less government in business and more business in government." However, this approach, coupled with his trusting nature, proved to be his ultimate downfall.
Harding’s genial nature was coupled with a poor ability to judge character and a deep loyalty to old friends. He surrounded himself with a group of Ohio associates, nicknamed the "Ohio Gang," who were unqualified for and utterly corrupted by their high-level government positions. These men saw public office as a direct opportunity for personal enrichment.
Unbeknownst to the public, the Harding administration was quickly becoming riddled with fraud and deceit. The two most damaging scandals were:
The Veterans' Bureau Scandal: Charles R. Forbes, the director of the newly created Veterans' Bureau, systematically embezzled an estimated $2 million through illegal sales of government supplies, overcharging for land purchases, and receiving kickbacks from contractors. Forbes eventually resigned and was later convicted of conspiracy to defraud the government.
The Teapot Dome Scandal: This was the most serious and sensational scandal of the era. Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall convinced Harding to transfer control of two massive naval oil reserves—one at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, and another at Elk Hills, California—from the Navy Department to the Interior Department. Fall then secretly leased these valuable reserves to private oil companies without competitive bidding, in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal bribes, gifts, and no-interest "loans" that dramatically improved his lifestyle.
While Harding was never personally implicated in the financial schemes, he had appointed the corrupt officials and was aware of the mounting rumors of malfeasance. He reportedly confided to a journalist, "I have no trouble with my enemies, but my friends... they're the ones that keep me walking the floors nights." He was a man out of his depth, trapped by the betrayal of those he trusted most.
In the summer of 1923, plagued by stress and ill health, Harding embarked on a "Voyage of Understanding" tour across the country and to Alaska. During the trip, rumors of the growing scandals—along with reports of his own extramarital affairs—caught up with him.
While traveling back from Alaska, Harding collapsed. He died suddenly in San Francisco on August 2, 1923, at the age of 57, likely from a heart attack or stroke. The nation mourned him deeply, believing they had lost a popular president, unaware of the rot beneath the surface of his administration.
In the years following his death, Senate investigations fully exposed the depth of the corruption. Albert B. Fall was convicted of accepting a bribe in 1929 and became the first former cabinet member in history to be imprisoned for crimes committed while in office. The subsequent revelations of financial misconduct and personal betrayal permanently destroyed Harding’s reputation, securing his place as one of the least capable and most scandal-ridden presidents in American history. His promise of "normalcy" was tragically shattered by the unprecedented scale of corruption among his closest associates.