"President Warren Gamaliel Harding", our twenty-ninth President was born in Morrow County, Ohio. President Harding's father was a local farmer who later became a Medical Physician. President Harding studied at a secondary College and in 1892 moved with his family to Marion, Ohio where he studied law for a short time unsuccessfully.

President Harding worked on a newspaper as a typesetter then, with the help of a close friend, bought another called the "Marion Star". President Harding, for the next several years, worked at making the newspaper a success.

President Harding was a handsome, good-natured man with a fine speaking voice, a friend of everyone he met. In 1891, President Harding married "Florence Kling De Wolfe", the daughter of a very wealthy banker. President Warren Gamaliel Harding and Florence Kling De Wolfe Harding were not blessed with a family of their own.

As the Marion Star prospered, President Harding's influence began to spread. President Harding became involved in local politics and soon became prominent because of his ability as an orator. President Harding was elected to the "State Senate of Ohio" for two consecutive terms and served one term as "Lieutenant Governor", then went back to the newspaper business.

President Harding's political career seemed to be ended when he was badly defeated for Governor in 1910, but because he was such a fine speaker he was chosen to place "President William Howard Taft's" name in nomination at the "1912 Republican Convention".  Two years later President Harding was elected to the "United States Senate."

President Harding's Senate career was completely undistinguished, except that he was a faithful follower of his party's policies. It was this quality that gained him the nomination for the "Republican Party Convention of 1920". The convention was dead-locked, and President Harding's manager gathered some Republican Senators in a "smoke filled room" and maneuvered the nomination.

President Harding's campaign was colorless, he never made it clear whether or not he was in favor of the "League of Nations", but the country wanted the return to normalcy that President Harding had promised. President Harding was elected by a large margin with  "President Calvin Coolidge" and his Vice President.

President Harding was completely unqualified for the prestigious position of President of the United States. His return to normalcy meant high tariffs, lower taxes for the wealthy, and protection of business against labor. The Harding Administration killed the League of Nations and made the "World Court" powerless.

By 1923, Washington D.C. was buzzing with gossip about corruption in several government departments, especially the rumor that "Secretary of the Interior Falls" had leased Navy oil reserve to private interests. It was discovered later that the corruption also involved the "Secretary of the Navy", the "Department of Justice", and the "Veteran's Bureau".

While the Senate investigation was going on,  President Harding made a speaking tour. President Harding got word of the Senate's discoveries in Alaska. Returning to San Francisco, he was reported to be ill, and he died on August 2, 1923.

Written by:
Karen Palumbo
Photography "NOT' by:
Robert Palumbo
5/11/2010