Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the United States, isn’t very popular. If you heard something about Harding on Presidents Day, it probably wasn’t anything positive.
A 2015 poll conducted by the American Political Science Association rated Harding 42nd out of 43 presidents. However, I don’t agree that Harding should be at the bottom of the barrel. For one thing, Harding fought for the protection of rights.
The early 20th century was plagued by racism. In 1920, an average of two black Americans were victims of lynching every week, according to the NAACP.
Woodrow Wilson, Harding’s predecessor, imposed internment on German Americans during World War I and also signed the free speech-restricting Espionage Act of 1917 — the same law that was recently used to justify charges against Edward Snowden.
Amid these national struggles, Harding became a president who stood up for civil rights.
He fought against racism in the South with passionate speeches and vigorous support for a civil rights law that was, unfortunately, defeated in the Senate.
Harding did succeed in desegregating the White House. Further, in an act of political kindness, Harding pardoned the Socialist Eugene V. Debs, who had been imprisoned just for speaking out against the U.S. government because of the Espionage Act.
Despite how often Harding tackled moral issues, it could be argued his most remarkable triumphs lay in economics. In 1920, a depression damaged the U.S. economy.
Stock prices plummeted and businesses failed.
Although unemployment wasn’t officially measured before World War II, economists Stanley Lebergott and Christina Romer estimate unemployment within the U.S. spiked to nearly 12 percent within a year of the crash.
This, the 1920-21 Depression, is what Harding inherited on day one. The reason this economic emergency didn’t receive a fancy name is probably due to how quickly the situation turned around.
By the time Harding died in office two years later, he had helped unemployment bottom out at 3 percent. He had kicked off the Roaring Twenties.
Does this man deserve to be remembered as one of America’s worst presidents?
Harding’s critics point to his character flaws.
Admittedly, he was notorious for drinking, gambling and having extramarital affairs.
Worse, his administration became associated with scandals that shook Americans’ trust in the government, but those scandals were caused by the untrustworthy friends to whom Harding had given Cabinet positions.
As far as historians know, Harding himself never plunged his hands into the mud. In my mind, Harding’s faults shouldn’t overshadow his wide-ranging accomplishments.
Even the best presidents have a dark side. The world doesn’t need perfect leaders; it simply needs the good in them to outweigh the bad. That is how Harding deserves to be remembered.
People aren’t perfect, and neither are presidents.
mitcchri@indiana.edu
@AtlasMitchell
