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.

10/09/2020

Saturday, October 9, 1920 (KANSAS AND OKLAHOMA)

From the Marion Star: "Rapidly turning his trip into a campaign against the Wilson league of nations, Senator Warren G. Harding dipped into Kansas and Oklahoma today, on the final lap of his brief invasion of the Middle and Southwest."

Wichita, Kansas

"Despite the early hour of 9 o'clock in the morning crowds lined the streets of Wichita, Kan., and cheered as Senator and Mrs. Harding motored to the forum at the International Wheat Show. Six thousand persons gave Senator Harding a roaring greeting...," per the New York Times. Wichita is "the point where President Wilson broke down last fall, in his swing about the country in the league's behalf," according to the Star. Harding speaks briefly to students from the Kansas College of Agriculture.

Winfield, Kansas

"Senator Harding's special train arrived at South Winfield at 11:35... The Senator was greeted with hearty applause and happy smiles of welcome. The crowd realized the brevity of the time for the talk the Senator was to give, and cut the applause short in the anxiety to hear as much as possible... The crowd which heard Senator Harding here filled an area equal to nearly a quarter of an acre. The lowest estimate of the number present was fifteen hundred, and it was probably two thousand."

Arkansas City, Kansas

"Senator Warren G. Harding...spoke for thirty minutes to a crowd of more than two thousand people at the Santa Fe station here today... The train pulled in on schedule, 12:05 and slowly made its way through the throng..." (Arkansas City Daily News)

Newkirk, Oklahoma

"It was not known here that Senator Harding would stop in Newkirk until about five minutes before his arrival, so it was a small but eager crowd that greeted him at the station. Harding's special arrived in Newkirk at 1:15 and he spoke from the rear platform o about eighty persons."

Ponca City, Oklahoma

"All Kay county was apparently in Ponca City to greet Senator Warren G. Harding today in his invasion of the Southland... From a booth at the north end of the Santa Fe depot here Senator Harding began to speak promptly at ten minutes of two o'clock to an audience of approximately 10,000 people..."


Perry, Oklahoma

Guthrie, Oklahoma

Edmond, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

"Senator Warren G. Harding...spoke to a wildly enthusiastic throng that filled the fairgrounds pavilion Saturday night, after receiving perhaps the greatest ovation ever accorded a candidate in Oklahoma City. From the time of his arrival here at 4:55 p.m., he was never out of the sound of wild cheering of crowds that lined the streets and followed his car on journeys from train to Huckins [hotel] and from Huckins to the fair grounds... He spoke for an hour and 20 minutes, and his slightest gesture, his simplest expression of policy or patriotism provoked applause... He left Oklahoma City at 11:15 p.m."

Sources:
  • "Crowd of Over 10,000 Here to Greet Sen. Harding." Ponca City News. 9 October 1920.
  • "Harding Talks to Thousands." Oklahoma News. 11 October 1920.
  • "Newkirk People Hear Harding Saturday." Newkirk Republican News Journal. 15 October 1920.
  • "Senator Harding Greeted Big Crowd Here." Winfield Daily Courier. 9 October 1920.
  • "This Was Harding Day in Arkansas City--Big Crowd to Meet the Senator." Arkansas City Daily News. 9 October 1920.
  • "Wilson Dodges Truth on Pact." Marion Star. 9 October 1920.
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