My Favorite Harding Book

I had hoped the 100th anniversary of Harding's election would result in new Harding books. As of today, that doesn't seem likely and I will have to celebrate the anniversary by re-reading the Harding books I already own. I will discuss some of them on the blog, starting with my absolute favorite one: Dead Last: The Public Memory of Warren G. Harding's Scandalous Legacy by Phillip G. Payne. 

The book was published by the Ohio University Press in 2009, and I return to it every time my interest in Harding is rekindled. I pulled it off the shelf after the Carrie Phillips letters were finally released...and after DNA testing proved that Harding was the father of Nan Britton's baby...and after that same DNA testing proved he was not the first black president...and now during the centennial of his campaign for the White House. Payne addresses all of these topics, and it would be amazing if he decided to revisit them now that unsealed letters and modern science have solved some mysteries.

The chapter I enjoy the most is "Harding Alley," which chronicles the transfer of the Harding papers to the Ohio Historical Society in 1963, the tensions that existed between the "serious historians" who wanted to be the first to publish a biography that included research culled from the unorganized papers, and the legal battle to keep the Phillips letters from public view until 2014. I think it is much more interesting than you'd expect, but I am a history buff spending a summer scanning century-old newspapers as a way to beat lock-down monotony. My idea of interesting is different than most.

Most importantly, the book changed the way I perceive Harding, and that change occurred because of "Harding as Icon," a section in the first chapter:

Harding was not the worst president to ever occupy the White House. His was a short administration with successes and failures. Harding is our worst president not because of Teapot Dome but because he was judged as an example of what happens when a man falls short of the American myth of governance by the virtuous common man. Harding is seen as a failure because he personified the worst aspects of a place and a time (p. 17)

If you are curious why a president mourned by millions upon his unexpected death is now "dead last" in public memory, Payne does an outstanding job explaining how that happened. This is a great read.

 

Links:

• Public Opinion on Warren G. Harding - a CSPAN presentation with Phillip G. Payne
• Warren G. Harding: America's Least Favorite President - a radio interview with Phillip G. Payne