Customer Reviews

Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

John Dean has achieved the considerable feat of rescuing the reputation of a man who is generally considered one of the worst presidents in U.S. history. He does this by drawing the reader's attention to what made Harding one of the most popular American presidents during his lifetime: a speedy and significant economic recovery, a major international arms reduction agreement, and, perhaps most importantly, a reduction in divisiveness from his predecessor's final two years in office.

Not long after Warren Harding's death in August, 1923, public and critical opinion toward his presidency began a precipitous decline. Several scandals - some of which had already emerged during his presidency and some of which would only come out after his death - began to symbolize his regime. Harding's presidential papers, which could have helped remove some of the black marks towards his administration, were withheld from public view, allowing fictionalized and grossly unhistorical accounts of his presidency to stand as the only available record.

Harding's fundamental decency, his good political instincts, and his high regard for public service were lost in the one-sided reckoning of his presidency. Even in the selection of his cabinet and other personnel, Harding was far better than is now widely assumed. While several scandals arose among his cabinet and staff (none of which implicated the president himself), Harding made several outstanding and notable selections to his cabinet and to the Supreme Court: Andrew Mellon as Treasury Secretary, Herbert Hoover as head of the Department of Commerce, William Howard Taft as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are some examples.

Harding was not a five-star president, and this biography does not make the case he was. This is a five-star book about the man and his presidency that makes the case they deserve far better recognition than they have received. John Dean shows there was far more to Harding and his presidency than smoke-filled poker rooms, womanizing, and political scandals and corruption that have come to symbolize his administration.

John W. Dean's new short biography of Warren G. Harding, the twenty-ninth president of the United States, is a welcome addition to the scant amount of good literature on the president who enjoyed a great reputation while in office, but sank to the bottom of the list when scandals and corruption in his administration were exposed after his death. For us Harding enthusiasts Dean's book makes the explicit point that Harding wasn't really all that bad...that after all, he had some successes in the abbreviated term he served from 1921-1923. To this end, I believe Dean has made a strong case.

Warren Harding was a man whose entire life seemed to be clouded in intrigue and mystery. It's always been a wonder to me why historians haven't written more about him. From the gossipy "The Shadow of Blooming Grove" (1968) through Dean's book, one senses a definite uptick in Harding's reputation. Dean recites Harding's accomplishments....the Washington disarmament conference (1921-22), the creation of the Bureau of the Budget and his naming of former president William Howard Taft to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The author gives Harding praise for his efforts to help settle the coal and railroad strikes and his ability to stand up to Congress when he thought he was right. In Dean's book President Harding comes across more forcefully than in other books I've read about this president.

Dean suggests that one of Harding's biggest political achievements was his ability not to make enemies. Of course, this was his biggest problem, too. Dean is careful not to elevate Harding too high and the overall success of this book is to keep Harding out of the cellar of the ranking of presidents. Perhaps that space can now be occupied by James Buchanan.

John Dean conquers no new real historic ground. The book is very short and more, I think, aimed at readers who don't know too much about Warren Harding. Dean's prose is sometimes a bit wooden and I wish he had included a few more photographs. I particularly enjoyed the section on Harding's selection of the cabinet and the comments about Harding's speaking style and substance by William McAdoo and H.L. Mencken (page 73) are very funny.

Was Warren G. Harding fit for the presidency? Even Harding wondered about that, himself. John Dean has essentially said "yes" and I agree with him. The author has presented a well-researched book and one that deserves to be read.

I decided to read this book after seeing Dean plug it on C-SPAN. It sounded fascinating, and it was. As a history student and reader, I had never bothered to read up on Harding and had been subjected to the repeated, glib assessments of the 29th president as a bland mediocrity, a morally compromised Republican get-along, go-along who comfortably fell into the presidency and did little but play poker, drink bootleg liquor, and frolic with his mistress in the White House before dying of a bellyache.

Wrong, concludes Dean. I doubt that anyone will ever make the case for Harding being a great president, but Dean at least makes a case for his being a competent chief executive who racked up some worthwhile accomplishments during his twenty-nine months in office. Eschewing the myths that grew up around the man after his death in August, 1923, Dean evaluates the personal attacks that were made on Harding and finds them wanting in both veracity and objectivity.

Of course, Harding was tainted in life and in death by the shenanigans of two cabinet members and some of their cronies. I do wish Dean had gone deeper into the treatment that the U.S. news media gave to Teapot Dome and the other scandals that scarred Harding's administration, and whether his tarnished reputation can be traced to a few partisan journalists (such as H.L. Mencken, whom Dean does talk about at length). Although Dean portrays Harding (who was for many years a newspaper publisher) as getting along famously with White House reporters and the Republican-dominated news media of his day, there must have been something beyond politics that motivated Mencken and Harding's other detractors to constantly trash him. Eastern elitism? Scorn for Harding's often tortured oratory? (He wasn't a bad writer, just ... different.) Contempt for his rather laid-back leadership style, which emphasized compromise rather than confrontation? There's a subject for a book in itself, but not a book of this volume's limited scope.

Of course, Dean's own tarnished White House years (and their common Ohio background) have likely made him a sympathetic Harding biographer. And this book -- part of a series of short presidential bios -- was never intended as the last word on Harding or his presidency. But for the general public, at least, Dean's account of Harding blows the dust off of history and reminds us that the past needs frequent re-examination and re-evaluation. Harding may not be among America's great or near-great presidents, but Dean makes a strong case for considering him with respect and, perhaps, even some admiration. Of course, there are other Harding biographies of the post-1964 era (the crucial year in which Harding's presidential papers finally were made public) that are less admiring than Dean, and I'd like to read them as well. But Dean is a reasonable place to start.

John Dean has done the impossible: he has made Harding not only sympathetic, but competent! Dean has done his homework and as such presents facts, not speculation and rumor. He correctly points out that no biography of Harding has taken his Presidential papers into account and have instead relied almost exclusively on gossip rags written when the scandals of the era were still fresh. Dean's writing is so fluid and effortless that outisde of the fresh perspective, the book is highly readable and engaging. I only wish that it could have been longer. Although I loved the entire book, it was worthwhile for two big reasons. One, the myth of the "smoke-filled room" has finally been put to rest. Harding was, in fact, actively seeking the nomination and played a key role in positioning himself at the convention. Second, Harding's administration had several key achievements, all of which have been ignored because of scandals that did not involve Harding personally. While the disarmament conference and establishment of a Bureau of the Budget were key, I have new affection for Harding because of two highly unpopular decisions that were, in retrospect, the right things to do. He vetoed the Veteran's Bonus Bill that would have broken the budget, and he pardoned Eugene V. Debs. Those two acts alone make him a "profile in courage." And there's also the Birmingham speech on race that shocked whites throughout the South, and his hard-working nature that in all likelihood helped bring about his premature death. Harding is no Lincoln (of course), but he is a figure that deserves our respect and sympathy because he has been so horribly misjudged for so long. Thanks, Mr. Dean for one of the best books of the series. Keep writing!

John Dean, no stranger to White House scandals, author's this book of our 29th President for whom the White House's own internet site degrades. What is most impressive about this book is that Dean uses verifiable facts about what was accomplished during Harding's tenure (fourth shortest of all presidents), and what more he intended to do. This in sharp contrast to another short biography in this American President's series, William Mckinley, by Kevin Phillips who used more conjecture of "what might have happened if Mckinley had lived" to give greater importance to Mckinley.

The story of Harding is particularly of interest since it is a story of basically a self made man (his family neither impoverished, nor rich). He was a decent and hard working man who seemed to see his role as president as one to allow America to prosper, ease international worries, and bring normalcy after the controversial policies of the Wilson administration.

Harding spoke in the deep south about racial equality, he allowed Blacks into the federal government (reversing the Wilsonian racism that his apologists so often downplay), organized a major peace conference among world powers, sought U.S. participation in a world court, established what is now the government accounting office and established economic policies that directly led to the "roaring twenties." Additionally, he defied public opinion by releasing Eugene Debs, and others (so long as they were not involved with violence) jailed by Wilson under the now discredited anti-sedition act, and he looked for a resolution to the labor-business problems. He also won the presidency by a then record majority.

Harding provided a cabinet that included a future president and one of the more esteemed chief justices in the Supreme Court history. Furthermore, his worse appointment, Albert Falls for the Interior, was widely supported for the post by the public, press, and Congress and he was easily confirmed. Dean takes to task the more sensational accounts of Harding (e.g., having sex in a W.H. closet, fathering a (...) child [he was sterile], that he was a drunkard, a gambler, a pawn of congress, that he was killed by his wife, etc.).

What basically happened was that Harding died before the nature of the Tea Pot Dome scandals became known to anyone but the criminals (Falls had already resigned), so he could not work to correct negative impressions of his administration, and other authors were not aware that the Harding papers survived to refute many of the negative claims. Also, I believe that Harding was a target for pompous, class-minded writers and socialites who disliked his not coming from a more proper stock and education. I didn't mean to be so extensive, but I believe that this is a valuable book and perhaps more needed to correct history than most of the other books in this series.

When was the last time you read anything about our 29th President? Most folks would have to admit that they have not encountered the subject since high school. In most textbooks and indeed by most historical accounts Warren Harding was an incompetent President who was dogged by scandal. Not so says John Dean!!!! Dean has written a very engaging little book that takes yet another look at Warren Harding's brief Presidency. According to Dean, history has been quite unfair to the man. Using recently unearthed documents previously thought to have been destroyed, Dean portrays Harding as a personally engaging fellow and a predominately centrist President. Alas, he was betrayed by several of his appointees, most notably Interior Secretary Albert Fall and an old chum from Ohio, the Attorney General William Dougherty. But Harding died just as the Teapot Dome scandal began to erupt. He was not around to defend himself but there appears to be precious little evidence that Harding was directly involved in the scandals in any way. Is this just revisionist history? Hard to say. But John Dean is quite convincing in his presentation. I am compelled to read more about Harding before reaching any final conclusions. If you are a history buff who has not yet partaken of any of the books in Arthur Schlesinger's American Presidents Series you a doing yourself a serious disservice. I have read a few of them now and they are top notch!!!

Part of the problem that America has with Warren G. Harding is that it has been feeding off the scandal and myth proffered up by Harding's alleged mistress, Nan Britton in her book The Presidents Daughter (1927), and off the totally unreliable tabloid story told by grifter Gaston Means in his ghost written mess "The Strange Death of President Harding". With Britton claiming that she had had sex with Harding in a Senate coat closet, the result of which was Harding's alleged daughter Elizabeth Ann, and Means claiming that Harding's wife poisoned him, Americans have been fed a steady stream of ineundo and heresay when it comes to the nations 29th President.

However one-time Marion resident John Dean has done an incredible job at seperating fact from fiction regarding Harding, and in doing so has accomplished a commendable job. Dean protrays Harding for what he was - a man who was loyal to his party and friends, and the price he paid for being so. It is important to state that Harding was a flawed man - his well documented affair - better documented elsewhere than in this work - with his wife's friend Carrie Phillips speaks to that, however Harding did exactly as the party bosses wanted him to do - win the White House race in 1920. From there, Harding's 27 months in the White were neither long enough for him to accomplish great measures by which we judge our current Presidents, nor were they serene. However Harding did establish the Veterans Administration, speak out publically against racism in Birmingham Alabama (a very progressive step for 1921) and propose a department of Welfare to ensure that Americans in the lowest income levels received a helping hand rather than a cold shoulder from their government. His undoing, however was combination of trusting the untrustworthy, and leaving no one of merit behind to defend his honor in the shadow of the Teap Pot Dome scandal.

Dean's comptemporary Dr. Robert F. Ferrell PhD., author of the Strange Deaths of President Harding (the "deaths" in the title being a play on words regarding Means salacious work) does a fine job at debunking the myth by examing facts with a microscope. Dean takes the next logical step in applying fact to events as they were, not as they were reported to a country anxious to blame the scandals on anyone other than a corrupt party system.

For those who care to take the time to look at this book, chances are that enlightenment will result. For those who can't get past Dean's personal history, this is simply a romp by one person entangled in scandal about another. But this reader found this work to be informative, and an important step in helping to give Harding's legacy a most honest appraisal.

I applaud the efforts of John Dean-a man no stranger to controversy. In this slim volume Dean manages to craft a convincing argument that much of what has been said or believed about Harding was based largely on rumors and falsehoods. Although I do feel Dean makes Harding appear too good, he never tries to make the argument that Harding should be considered a great or near great president (I don't believe anyone can make that argument). But he convincingly illustrates that Harding is by no means the worst president. He disproves the prevailing myths that Harding was lazy, weak, incompetent, not an independent thinker, and a slob (which is utterly ridiculous as Harding was always immaculately dressed). Using Harding's official papers and the observations of those who worked directly with and observed Harding (some of whom were not Harding fans) he proves that in fact, the exact is opposite is true. Also he refutes the belief that Harding did absolutely nothing when he learned of the scandal in his administration. In particular, when he learned of Charles Forbes' crookedness he asked him to render his letter of resignation, and was even observed by one reporter with his hands around Forbes' neck referring to him as a "double-crossing bastard". I don't in any way believe that Harding was involved in the scandals or profited from them. However, I wish he would have done more by coming forward and publicly decrying the actions of Forbes and apologizing to the American people for erring in judgment. Had he lived, he would have had no choice but to.

Harding had inherited a country that was in disarray. After years of war, the country suffered from a massive recession. Additionally, Congress was divided and at odds and the majority of Americans were fed up with Wilson and his heavy handed policies. When Harding spoke of a "Return to Normalcy" (the term normalcy was a term he coined) he was not saying, contrary to popular belief, that he wanted to turn back time and regress to the past. He wanted to put "America First", that is to say, that he felt that America needed to put its own tattered house in order before going to someone else's country to put their house in order. Harding promised the American people that he would be "hands off" and let Congress do their job-something that the American people very much wanted. Even though he promised the American people that he would let Congress do their job, and be "hands off", he was very much involved in the process and I feel does not get enough credit for the accomplishments of his brief 2 year tenure. And as time progressed, however he believed that he would have to renege on this campaign promise of being laissez-faire, or "hands off".

Had Harding lived, I believe he would have been able to disassociate himself from and overcome the scandals. The public would have forgiven him, and he would have been re-elected. Who knows what kind of President he would have become-judging from his papers and his speeches during his Alaska trip he would have become a very good one. In death, however he was defenseless against the vicious lies that were perpetrated against, not only him but also his adoring wife Florence-he became a scapegoat, and unchecked and unexamined myths and untruths continued to circle him.

Many dismiss Harding calling him a "bore", "A joke", etc. But regardless of public opinion Harding deserves to have his life and his presidency more carefully explored and re-considered. Indeed President Harding was by no means a perfect president or a perfect man, but he was not incompetent. He was highly flawed-in fact some of his most attractive attributes: his kindness, gentleness, friendliness, his trusting nature-were perhaps his most fatal flaws. But he was not the monster, villain and crook that he has been made out to be. I feel however, that will take a commanding effort to undue the decades of damage to President Harding. John Dean's contribution is a good start.

John W. Dean has two connections to Warren G. Harding. First, Dean was council to President Nixon during the time of Watergate and he gave damaging testimony at the Senate Watergate hearings. Harding's administration was struck by a series of scandles, the most famous being Teapot Dome. Secondly, John Dean is from the same small town in Ohio that was home to Harding, Marion, Ohio. Although I believe that Dean may have gotten a little hysterical in alleging (in another book) that President Bush's administration is "worse than Watergate," this book was well written, well researched, and makes a strong point that Harding has been unfairly judged by history.

Surveys of historians have often judged Harding as the worst president. In his "History of the American People," historian Paul Johnson has written that Harding's administration accomplished a lot and that he has been misjudged by history. Dean also indicates that Harding was a significantly better president than he has been given credit for. Dean attributes much of this to enemies of Harding publishing books, shortly after his death while nobody came to his defense. Most of Harding's papers hadn't been discovered at that time, the erroneous belief being that they had been destroyed. Therefore, harsh and inaccurate criticism went unrefuted.

Harding was a genial newspaper publisher who was elected to the Senate and, in 1920, was elected President. There was a recession at the end of the Wilson administration and during Harding's presidency, the economy turned and a period of prosperity ensued. Harding died during the first term and the scandles broke around this time. Harding was not involved in the scandles but, the fact that members of his administration were involved reflected badly on him in the eyes of many. However, many unfair myths were spread about Harding. Even though he had been ill on a trip to the West Coast and Alaska (and at times, the progonosis seemed poor), after his death, there were rumors that he had been poisoned. Other unsubstantiated rumors were that Harding fathered a child out of wedlock. Dean is very skeptical of this allegation. All sorts of rumors that impugned Harding circulated and, most of these rumors were false.

Dean argues forcefully that Harding was a significantly better president than for which he had been given credit. Early on, papers which would have helped shed light on his presidency were not available. Furthermore, his enemies were making allegations unrefuted. Contributions, such as this by Dean, give Harding's memory some justice. If you want to really know who the worst president ever was, I recommend the biography (which is part of this American Presidents series) of James Buchanan.

What I really like about this book is that it pointed out Harding's genuine accomplishments without feeling the need to be some nutty right-wing defensive rant about this man who was also a serial adulterer, lazy-minded, and drank heavily during Prohibition. He was a human being with all the good and bad traits. Too often Harding is either demonized as all bad with no accomplishments or a saint as is propogated by Treacle Roman (?), the old lady historian of Ohio and even worse, the terribly researched and embarrassingly flawed Strange Deaths of President Harding by Robert Ferrell. In absolute contrast, Dean gives us the fully balanced Harding who succeeded publicly despite his failures privately. Most especially, Harding should be considered a civil rights Republican President - the most important since Lincoln.