A Note on My Harding Research

The information I posted during 2020 mostly covered Warren Harding's front-porch campaign from his home on Mt. Vernon Avenue in Marion, Ohio. The campaign officially started on July 31, 1920, and ended on September 25. The plan was to post daily on events that occurred exactly 100 years ago that day, but I shared other information as well. You'll have to read bottom-to-top if you want to follow the campaign from Day 1.

I used the open web for some of my research but also information accessible by using my library card or my subscription to www.newspapers.com. The most useful resource was the Marion Star, which was owned by the Hardings at the time of the campaign. I also browsed online copies of other newspapers like the New York Times, the Washington Star, and the Dayton Daily News, which, in 1920, was owned by Harding's Democratic opponent, Governor James M. Cox. I also posted information from other newspapers that covered Harding's trips away from Marion during the campaign.

Another great resource I used was Dale E. Cottrill's The Conciliator, a 1969 biography of the president that expanded an earlier bibliography of Harding's speeches. An online version is available at the Internet Archive, but I used a hard copy borrowed from the State Library of Ohio.

Readers should not construe anything posted here as a political statement on my part. I just like Harding as a historical topic.

7/04/2020

Sunday, July 4, 1920

The Hardings depart Cumberland, Maryland, after 9 a.m. Harding tips hotel staff with new dollar bills. Harding was "compelled to hold another impromptu reception, shaking hands with 100 or more people, including many tourists, whose cars were parked in the vicinity."


An uneventful trip to Zanesville, Ohio, included stops in Washington, Pennsylvania, to have lunch with a cousin and at Wheeling, West Virginia, to purchase newspapers and cigars. At Wheeling, the Hardings are met by friends, who escort them to a local hotel for an informal reception that lasted less than 30 minutes. Harding's only reference to politics today is in response to a question from a local reporter.

Q: What will you do if the Democrats at San Francisco nominate Governor Cox [of Ohio] for president?

A: Well, Jim Cox is a mighty fine fellow, but if the Democrats nominate him I'll have to beat him.

The group arrive in Zanesville in the afternoon. "I would haven't missed today's ride for anything," Mrs. Harding says. "You don't know what I've been through the last few weeks. I am tired, and now I'm going to have a bite to eat and go straight to bed." They have dinner at Hotel Rogge and retire to the Clarendon Hotel. Harding, however, meets briefly with prominent Republicans from the city and surrounding area. A public reception was not held "because of its being Sunday and in deference to Senator Harding's wish to avoid crowds."

The next day, Harding will tell the press that "we didn't get much sleep last night on account of Fourth of July noises."

Sources:
  • "Cumberland Greeting Gratifies Sen. Harding." Baltimore Sun. 5 July 1920.
  • "Harding Reaches Cumberland on Long Trip Home." Washington Star. 4 July 1920.
  • "Harding Reaches Zanesville, Ohio." New York Times. 5 July 1920.
  • "Neighbors Turnout to Greet Harding." New York Times. 6 July 1920.
  • "Senator Warren G. Harding Makes 'Brief' Stop in City." Wheeling Intelligencer. 5 July 1920.
  • "Spends Night at Zanesville." Baltimore Sun. 5 July 1920.
  • "Stopped in Zanesville." Zanesville Times Recorder. 6 July 1920.

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