The Harding Scandals
The relationship between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky stunned the nation, as well it should have.
However, Clinton was hardly the first president to use the White House for extra-marital affairs, nor was
he the most scandalous president - That honor would go to Warren Harding.
Harding became president when Prohibition was in effect and the Roaring
Twenties had not quite taken off. It was a time when the country wanted to
have fun. It was also a time when the country didn't have a peephole into
the White House, taking away the first family’s privacy like today.
Harding was a kind, likable man, but he was not especially intelligent.
Perhaps no President was friendlier, and few had less sense of what was
expected of a President. Warren Harding brought a number of his Ohio
cronies{friends} with him to Washington. These men weren't politicians or
men interested in gov’t. They were businessmen, for the most part, who were
Warren Harding
more interested in what they could gain from the government. This became
obvious during the Teapot Dome scandal, where Harding’s "advisors" struck up an illegal deal for land
and oil. Harding washed his hands of the affair, but a good number of men had their careers ruined.
Perhaps Harding had a "presidential look" while running for election, but he didn’t maintain what many
today like to think of as a "presidential lifestyle." In the evenings, Harding would invite his cronies and
some trusted members of Congress, which included fellow Ohioan Speaker of the House Nick
Longworth and his wife Alice, for poker games that would last all night. During Prohibition, bathtub gin
and other alcoholic beverages flowed in the Harding White House. His wife, Florence - usually referred to
as “Duchess” by Harding's friends - would act as a waitress, serving drinks, lighting cigars, bringing new
packs of cards, and Harding and the others would play poker and gamble.
Florence Harding accepted the idea that the White House had been, essentially, turned into the back
room of a musty bar, but she refused to pay heed to the rumors of Harding's love affairs. The most
famous of the affairs was with Nan Britton, a young woman he knew in
Ohio and had brought to Washington. She was given free access into
the White House, and she and Harding used bathrooms, closets, offices,
or whatever space was available. When she became pregnant, she
claimed the child was Harding's, and after his death, she wrote a book
that discussed their relationship. Nan Britton wasn’t
the only woman that Harding brought into the White
House. He charmed many women, and his affairs
were numerous.
The Duchess
The Teapot Dome scandal was a bribery incident
that took place during President Harding administration in 1922–1923. Secretary of
Interior Albert B. Fall leased{rented out} Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome
Wyoming & two other locations to private oil companies at a very low rates without
competitive bidding to create a fair and legal transaction. Albert Fall was given a
$385,000 Bribe, the practice of offering something (usually money) in order to gain
an illicit advantage for the low bids. In 1922 -1923, the leases became the subject
of an investigation by Senator Thomas J. Walsh. Fall was later convicted for
accepting bribes from the oil companies, fined $100,000 and sentenced to a year in prison.
Other Scandals followed; Jess Smith an assistant to the U.S. Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty,
acting as Daugherty’s middleman and engaging in a number of petty scams. These scams included
selling liquor licenses, granting paroles in exchange for bribes and for other such activities. Charles
Forbes, director of the Veteran's Bureau, who Harding had appointed on a whim. Once in the job,
Forbes began illegally selling government supplies to private contractors at bargain prices. He practiced
graft on an immense scale and wasted hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars. For example, his
department bought $70,000 worth of floor cleaner—enough to last 100 years—at more than 24 times the
fair price These scandals and more were a key factor in destroying the public reputation of the Harding
administration.
Warren G. Harding dies while serving as President. He had a heart attack while on a campaign swing
from Alaska to California in 1923. There was speculation and rumors flying that his wife, tired of his
affairs and gambling, had poisoned him, this was never proven true. He was succeeded by Vicepresident Calvin Coolidge who served in office from 1923 until March 1929.
Directions: Answer all the questions below
1) What is the main idea of this article? _________________________________________________________
2) What modern U.S President is Harding compared to and why? ______________________________________
3) Based on paragraph #1, you can infer that Harding’s presidency occurred during what time period?
4) Paragraph #2 states “…Harding brought a number of his Ohio cronies with him to Washington.”
 The meaning of the word cronies in the context of the sentence above is: _______________________
5) Describe and Explain 3 Scandals associated with President Harding in this article. Include at least 3 specific
details from the article:
a. ______________________________________________________________________________
b. ______________________________________________________________________________
c. ______________________________________________________________________________
6) What clues does the article give that indicate Harding & Britton did not try to hide their affair? List 2
a.___________________________________ b. _______________________________________________
7) Us the political Cartoon to answer the following question:
a) What issue or event does the cartoon deal with?
b) Describe the action taking place in the cartoon.
c) What is the cartoon’s message?
8) The Teapot Dome Scandal started because…(explain the deal made)
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9) Why do you think people were outraged over the Teapot Dome Scandal?
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