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.

8/24/2020

Tuesday, August 24, 1920 (CHARLES EVANS HUGHES)

Charles Evan Hughes, the previous Republican candidate for president, travels on the same train to Marion as Al Jolson and the members of the theatrical league. On the front porch, he tells a crowd of thousands:
We do not want a trickster. We do not want a shrewd politician. We do not want one who is isolated, who is removed, but we do want a man of courage, possessed of sound common sense, who has an appreciation of American institutions and who knows how to conduct great affairs in according with the spirit of our institutions. We want one who will give us a high standard of administration. We want some one who will, taking account of the great obligations of the most resourceful people of the world, enter upon the performance of these obligations and carry them successfully in a manner consonant with the maintenance of our national security. Such a man is Senator Harding.
According to reports, Hughes "was having the time of his life. He joined in the chorus of 'Mr. Harding, You're the Man for Us,' and with the rest of the crowd helped Blanche Ring in the singing of 'Rings on My Fingers.'" Later that evening, before leaving for St. Louis, Hughes releases a statement in praise of Harding, "a man of rare poise, high-minded and sincere."

Here are pictures from Harding Collection at the Ohio History Connection:
  • Hughes (on the left), Harding, and an unidentified man (unfortunately) stand outside campaign headquarters, which is next to the Harding home:
  • Hughes speaks to the crowd from the Harding front porch. If you look closely you can see Harding standing behind Hughes, looking at his notes:
  • Hughes is still speaking, and Harding, in the same position as above, is easier to see:
  • Harding, Jolson, and Hughes stand next to an incorrectly identified actress (I don't believe it is Blanche Ring):

  • A photo of Harding, actor Eugene O'Brien, and Hughes will be published in numerous newspapers over the next couple of months, as shown here:

Sources:
  • "Hughes Declares Harding Best Man." New York Times. 25 August 1920.
  • "Hughes Praises Harding." New York Times. 26 August 1920.
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