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.

9/13/2020

Monday, September 13, 1920 (MARION HARDING-FOR-PRESIDENT RAILROAD CLUB)

Members of the Marion Harding-for-President Railroad club march to the Harding home in the afternoon. Banners in the crowd include:

  • Future Parades, November 2, Mt. Vernon Avenue; March 4, Pennsylvania Avenue
  • The Government Must Change Conductors, Harding Is the Man
  • Harding Gets Our First Vote
  • Harding Never Sleeps at the Switch
  • Harding Was for Us, So We Are for Harding
  • Harding Will Not Sidetrack Us
  • He Is a Good Neighbor, So Will Be a Good President
  • Let Harding Pilot the Train of State
  • Our Support Measures in Carloads
  • Safety Always with Harding at the Throttle
  • Safety First, Elect Harding
According to the Star, the "nominee raps rail control of government":
Gentlemen of the Harding and Coolidge Railway Employees Club: It is source of very special satisfaction to have your call, and be able to talk to you concerning some matters relating to the restoration and operation of the American railways. I rejoice in the opportunity to speak to you concerning the appreciation of our people of the railway activities by which they are served...

Voters in Maine go to the polls today, weeks before the rest of the nation. In response to a Republican victory, Harding releases a statement this evening:

The result in Maine is reassurance that the American people mean to return to representative government under the Constitution through the agency of the Republican Party, and that Maine takes the lead in declaring for America unmortgaged to the old world, but still ready to serve humanity as American conscience impels.

This editorial cartoon about the Maine vote is published in tomorrow's Washington Star. I'm sure it means something:

Sources:

  • "Cummins-Esch Act Fair to All." Marion Star. 14 September 1920.
  • "Republicans Sweep Maine By 65,000." New York Times. 14 September 1920.

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