Warren G. Harding (1865–1923)

Warren G. Harding, born November 2, 1865, was the 29th president of the United States — a president elected in 1920 on a promise of a “return to normalcy” after the First World War. Harding came to the presidency as a well-liked Ohio newspaper publisher and senator, and he won one of the great landslide elections in American history. Yet his presidency, cut short by his death in office, would be remembered above all for the corruption scandals that came to light after he died — above all the Teapot Dome scandal, in which a cabinet secretary took bribes for oil leases.

Warren G. Harding was born in Ohio and made his name as a newspaper publisher before entering politics. He served as a United States senator from Ohio, where his genial manner and plain-spoken style made him popular with colleagues and voters alike. His rise was steady rather than spectacular: he was the kind of dependable party man whom colleagues trusted, and in 1920 the Republicans turned to him as their presidential nominee.

Warren G. Harding and the 1920 landslide

The 1920 election was a referendum on the postwar years. After the First World War, Americans were exhausted by foreign crusades and domestic upheaval, and Warren G. Harding offered them what he called a “return to normalcy” — a return to the steady, ordinary American life of before the war. The message struck a chord. Harding defeated his Democratic opponent in a landslide, carrying the country back toward the conservatism and calm of the prewar years.

His campaign style was famously relaxed. Where earlier campaigns had been wars of words, Harding’s “front porch” style — addressing the nation from his Ohio home — suited his easygoing personality and the country’s mood. The voters who swept him into office wanted a president who looked and sounded like them, and Harding, with his newspaper background and small-town Ohio roots, fit the part perfectly.

The Washington Naval Conference

Warren G. Harding’s most notable foreign-policy achievement was the Washington Naval Conference, which limited naval armaments among the world’s great powers. In the years after the First World War, the great navies of the world were racing to build ever-larger fleets, and the conference brought the leading naval powers to the table to agree on limits. It was a genuine early attempt at arms control, and it reflected Harding’s hope that the world could be made safer without another great war.

The conference was widely seen at the time as a triumph of diplomacy. For a president who had promised normalcy, it was normalcy on a global scale: the great powers agreeing, at least for a time, to put limits on their instruments of war. Harding’s administration deserves credit for making it happen, and the conference stands as the high point of his foreign policy.

Scandal: Teapot Dome and the corruption of the Harding administration

After Warren G. Harding’s death, the scandals began to surface. The worst was Teapot Dome, in which a cabinet secretary — the Secretary of the Interior — took bribes in exchange for secret oil leases on federal lands, including the Teapot Dome naval oil reserve. It was the worst corruption scandal in American history to that point, and it permanently stained the Harding administration’s reputation.

Harding himself was not personally accused of taking bribes, but the scandal revealed how thoroughly his administration had been corrupted by men he trusted. Harding had appointed friends and political allies to high office, and some of them used their positions for private gain. The image of the genial, trusting president whose friends looted the government became the enduring story of his presidency — a story of good nature exploited by bad men.

The Teapot Dome scandal reshaped how Americans thought about their government. It led to reforms, to criminal convictions, and to a lasting skepticism about the honesty of Washington that would echo through later scandals. For Warren G. Harding, it meant that history would remember his presidency less for the Washington Naval Conference than for the oil leases sold in the dark.

Warren G. Harding dies in office

Warren G. Harding died in office in San Francisco on August 2, 1923, less than two and a half years into his presidency. He was succeeded by Calvin Coolidge, his vice president, who finished the term and then won the presidency in his own right in 1924. Harding’s death meant that he never had to face the full exposure of the scandals — the investigations and the trials came after he was gone, and his reputation was settled by the revelations that followed.

The country mourned a popular president, and then, slowly, learned the truth about what had happened in his administration. It was a cruel reversal: the president who had promised a return to normalcy was followed into history by a storm of scandal that destroyed the image he had built.

Why Warren G. Harding matters

Warren G. Harding matters because his presidency is one of the great cautionary tales of American history. He was elected in a 1920 landslide on the promise of a “return to normalcy,” he achieved a genuine diplomatic success at the Washington Naval Conference, and yet he is remembered for Teapot Dome — for the cabinet secretary who took bribes for oil leases and the friends who betrayed his trust. His story is a reminder that a president’s character is tested not only by what he does, but by whom he trusts.

At the same time, Harding’s legacy deserves some balance. The newspaper publisher from Ohio who became the 29th president was a man of real warmth and decency, and his administration’s achievements — including the naval arms limitations — were real. History’s verdict on Warren G. Harding is harsh, but it is also a reminder of how much damage a few corrupt men can do to an honest president’s legacy.

How to mark the day

Mark Warren G. Harding’s birthday, November 2, by learning about one of the most dramatic presidencies in American history. Read about the 1920 landslide and the “return to normalcy” campaign, study the Washington Naval Conference and its attempt to limit naval armaments, and explore the Teapot Dome scandal — the cabinet secretary, the bribes, and the oil leases that made it infamous.

You can also mark the day by visiting the Harding Memorial or learning about his Ohio roots, where the newspaper publisher became a senator and then the 29th president. Consider the lessons of his administration: the importance of the company a leader keeps, the value of arms control, and the way a single scandal can define a presidency.

Frequently asked questions

When was Warren G. Harding born?
Warren G. Harding was born on November 2, 1865, in Ohio.

What number president was Warren G. Harding?
Warren G. Harding was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923.

What was Warren G. Harding’s “return to normalcy”?
It was the promise of his 1920 campaign: a return to the steady, ordinary American life of before the First World War, after years of war and upheaval. He won the 1920 election in a landslide on that message.

What was the Teapot Dome scandal?
The Teapot Dome scandal was a corruption scandal in the Harding administration in which a cabinet secretary took bribes in exchange for secret oil leases on federal lands, including the Teapot Dome naval oil reserve.

When did Warren G. Harding die?
Warren G. Harding died in office in San Francisco on August 2, 1923. He was succeeded by Calvin Coolidge.

Read more about November 2 on November 2 Holidays, Observances and History.