The President with the Secret Life

Warren G. Harding wasn’t quite the man people thought he was. Of course, that realization wouldn’t become public until several decades after his death. But the news about this secret life wasn’t pretty and it would taint the legacy of his presidency forever.

Harding’s background was totally different from most presidents before him. For starters, he became the publisher of a newspaper. He married a divorcee (scandalous at the time), was the first celebrity-endorsed president, and since women could vote during his election, he became the first president to be voted in, in large part, by women. He also was the first president elected on his birthday. But it was some deep secrets that would eventually overpower anything else important he may have done during his short stint as president.

Early Life

Warren G. Harding was born in Marion, Ohio in 1865. He was the oldest of eight children. His father was a farmer, who later became a doctor and part owner of a local newspaper. His mother was a midwife.

Harding graduated from Ohio Central College (now defunct) in 1882 and moved to Marion, Ohio, where he eventually landed a job as a newspaper reporter. A few years later, he and a few partners purchased the newspaper, the Marion Star.

Political Start

Thanks to Harding’s willingness to be led by big businesses and the Republican leaders at the time, he got off to a great start in Ohio politics. His “presidential” looks and speaking skills helped propel him to the top. Though, one critic in the Democratic Party disagreed and said his speeches were nothing more than “an army of pompous phrases moving across the landscape in search of an idea.” Though many critics claimed Harding lacked the intellect necessary to hold the office of president and was only elected because he looked the part, he was elected by a landslide by promising a return to normalcy. After WWI, Americans just wanted things to calm down. The campaign promise worked.

The Warren G. Harding Administration (1920-1923)

Many historians say the greatest accomplishment in his presidency was the Budget and Accountability Act of 1921. It mandated that the president submit an annual budget to Congress. He also gave health benefits to veterans.

As a conservative businessman, he reduced taxes (particularly for corporations and wealthy individuals), enacted high protective tariffs, and limited immigration. Does this agenda sound familiar?

In 1923, Warren G. Harding became the first sitting president to visit Alaska. Unfortunately, his health had been declining. On his way back from the trip, he stopped in San Francisco. It was there that he suffered a heart attack and died. For awhile after his death, a rumor was spread that his wife had poisoned him. The country grieved.

Scandals and Love Letters

The grief of his death was short lived. Less than a year later, several scandals emerged. The biggest one was the Teapot Dome Scandal (what one historian called the most infamous scandal prior to Watergate). The scandal consisted of the Secretary of the Interior secretly leasing federally owned oil reserves to big oil companies for a hefty profit. There were other scandals involving other Cabinet members and political buddies who were making money off their positions too, though the President himself wasn’t said to be involved in any criminal activity. His management skills were questioned because of it though.

There was also a book released by someone named Nan Britton who claimed she had an affair with Harding and that he fathered her child. The book was a result of Harding’s death when Britton realized Harding had left her no money to raise her child. So, of course, a book was the answer. The book claimed that Harding had an affair with Britton that resulted in a very unplanned pregnancy. Harding had Britton hidden away in New Jersey, near a casino where he liked to gamble, when she became pregnant and he paid her off via secret messengers. When the book came out, most of the public claimed she was a liar, but it was a best seller. The truth, via DNA, came out 90 years later. Whether every account in the book was true, we may never know, but at least we now know that Britton’s child was indeed Harding’s.

After Harding died, his hometown was devastated and built a shrine to him that was so big, it almost seems out of place. Of course, the shrine was built before any of the scandals had come out.

It turns out Harding had numerous affairs both before and likely during his presidency. Not only did he father an illegitimate child, but he also wrote love letters so steamy they’d make you blush. Those letters have a story of their own. The woman he wrote them to, Carrie Fulton Phillips, was his best friend’s wife, who he saw on and off for at least 15 years. When she passed away, her lawyer found the letters hidden away. He turned them over to Harding’s family who made him promise he wouldn’t publish them. So, they were turned over to the Library of Congress who promised they’d remain sealed for 50 years. That year came up in 2014.  If you think the Clinton-Lewinsky affair was bad . . . the letters were scandalous even by today’s standards. We’ll just leave it at that (if you want to learn more about them, you can listen to the Washington Posts’s Presidential Podcast on Warren Harding).

First Lady

Florence Kling Harding was a divorcee who married 25-year-old Warren G. Harding when she was 31. She had one son from her previous marriage, though she and President Harding never had any children of their own together. That very fact led historians for a long time to believe that Harding was sterile and never could have fathered Nan Britton’s child (they were wrong, of course).

She helped run her husband’s newspaper business and once commented, “I have only one real hobby–my husband.”

Some historians rank her near the bottom end of successful First Ladies. She was the first First Lady to be assigned a Secret Service agent, the first to hold her own press conferences and the first to invite an actor to dinner at the White House.

After her husband passed away, she had all their correspondence and records burned, making you wonder what else the couple had to hide.

Why He’s Cool

He gave health benefits to veterans. Something they well deserved.

For Kids

What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? Are the things you’re doing, even supposedly in secret, going to bring honor to you and your family? Even if you think no one knows what you’re up to, it’s important to think about what that deed would say about you if everyone found out.

The Hardings also had a dog named Laddie Boy who may have been more popular than the president. Look up a picture of Laddie boy online and see if you can tell why people liked him so well.