Fact of the Day: Lose Vice President? Become President Later

Despite being one of the most popular and man most elected to the presidency; FDR lost as a running mate in the 1920 presidential election. Warren G. Harding beat James M. Cox in a landslide. 

My Thoughts on the Presidency of Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding became our 29th President after a landslide victory. 

He was the first President to really reform budgeting and accounting. I believe since Harding, every year a President presented a budget to Congress. Which was a good move I think. 

Bad fate seem to hit Harding pretty early in his term. People were coming home from World War I and the wartime economy had some trouble transferring over to a peacetime one. Harding was credited to solving the depression that followed by cutting the high taxes to fund the war.

Despite being rather conservative, he did spend a bit more than you might think. He gave money to build highways, knowing full-well the advantages of the "motor car" to the American people. 

He was rather unhelpful towards labor though. When strikes came out they usually were met with Federal force and unlike previous times the government was behind business not the workers. 

Ironically he was responsible for the first major social-welfare act in American history. A program for pregnant women and sick children. Or as the Republicans would call it today as "Socialized Medicine". 

I give him respect for releasing many Socialists, Communists, and Anarchists who were imprisoned during the first Red Scare. Freedom of Speech comes first and that's what he did!

During his term, he had many scandals plague his office. One of them being the Teapot Scandal among many others. Most of these scandals were people under him using their role in government to get rich. Perhaps the first major case in modern American history of such a plague of corruption and money. 

Shortly before his first term was up, Harding died of unknown causes. His wife might have killed him by poison, or he might of died of stroke or heart attack. It was quite a strange case, maybe a bigger mystery than the "Who really killed JFK?" theories. His wife did tried to burn many of his Presidential papers to "protect his legacy" or something. What did Harding do behind the backs of Americans? The world may never know. 

I don't have too many hard feeling towards Harding. I admit he did a lot of good things, and did a lot of things in such a short time. He may not have been a great president due to scandals, but I wouldn't call him bad.