July 16, 2024 • 9 mins
Scandal, fraud, embezzlement, wild parties, and illicit affairs—sounds very presidential, right? Not only was that the name of the game in the roaring 20s, a lot of it was essentially covered up by the press during Warren Harding’s short presidency. It was pure historical drama. With his sudden death, conspiracy theorists pointed at the ultimate insider.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, how crazy is our political atmosphere these days?
You think this is the worst it's ever been, Well
think again. How about a president whose administration was filled
with greed, corruption, and embezzlement, not to mention gambling, illegal drinking,
and illicit affairs. Ah, the Roaring twenties. I'm Patty Steele,
(00:20):
maybe the worst president in American history and maybe murdered
by the ultimate insider. That's next on the backstory. We're
back with the backstory over indulgence, crazy parties, widespread corruption,
and shady business dealings. Politics is usual, right, Why can't
(00:42):
we have leaders like they did back in the good
old days? Well, maybe we do. The Roaring twenties was
the party before the devastation of the Great Depression. The
country was becoming electrified. Movies and radio connected us all.
The aviation industry was taking off, and the mass production
of cars and trucks put everybody on the road, stimulating
(01:05):
other industries like rubber and steel, as well as highway
construction and the building of hotels. As folks ventured out,
and the president at the time reflected the easy going
party mentality of the people. Warren G. Harding took office
in nineteen twenty one. He was a good looking, charismatic
guy who promised to return to normalcy in the aftermath
(01:27):
of World War One. His was a landslide victory, but
almost immediately the scandals began. He was only in office
for a little over two years before his untimely death
in nineteen twenty three, but he and his cohorts were
nothing but trouble. A former newspaper publisher, Harding himself admitted
he was unfit to be a president. He totally relied
(01:50):
on his wife, his friends, and associates to help him
make decisions, and that group, known as the Ohio Gang,
became infamous for their corruption and greed. One of the
most notorious scandals was called the Teapot Dome Affair. It
involved federal oil reserves in Teapot Dome, Wyoming. It turned
(02:13):
out Albert Fall, Harding's Secretary of the Interior, had taken
bribes and then secretly leased the oil fields to private companies.
It became one of the biggest political scandals in US history.
One conservationist said, when Fall was first appointed Secretary of
the Interior, you could find a worse choice, but it
might be a near impossible task. And there was so
(02:36):
much more. Charles Forbes, head of the Veterans Bureau, was
caught embezzling millions of dollars that was supposed to go
to VA hospitals. Harding's Attorney General, Harry Daugherty, was caught
up in a bunch of scandals, including bootlegging and bribery.
The White House was a total soap opera, with gambling,
illicit affairs, and illegal drinking. Don't forget Prohibition had just
(02:59):
been inacted, and Harding's personal life was filled as drama.
The president was a notorious womanizer, and his extramarital involvements
were an open secret in Washington in those days. The
press was sort of complicit in covering up the president's
sex life, an unspoken agreement that lasted right up until
(03:20):
Bill Clinton's presidency, when it came to a screeching hall.
Harding had had an ongoing affair back home in Ohio
with Carrie Fulton Phillips, which lasted for fifteen years before
ending abruptly. As he headed to the White House in
nineteen twenty, he called a hall to it to protect
his reputation. Some historians say Carrie was actually the love
(03:41):
of Harding's life, he'd written many letters to her, finally
released decades after all parties were dead, in which he
told her the enticements of my mind and body are
combined in just you. Wow. He was a romantic, and
there were others, but one of Harding's most infamous affy
affairs was with Nan Britton, a young woman also from
(04:03):
his hometown of Mary In, Ohio. After Harding's death, she
claimed he was the father of her daughter. There were
lots of denials from his family and friends when their
affair was detailed in NaN's tell all book, The President's Daughter.
Its nineteen twenty seven release cost a huge scandal. The book,
which was dedicated to all unwedded mothers and their innocent
(04:26):
babies whose fathers were usually not known to the world,
was actually sold like porn door to door, wrapped in
brown paper, and it was a hit. While the President
had still been very popular following his unexpected death, his
reputation had taken something of a hit due to the
other scandals which were then coming out, and a lot
(04:47):
of people believe NaN's claim. The public ate up the
salacious details, such as NaN's story about the two of
them having sex in a closet near the Oval office
with Secret Service agent's post to ward off intruders. Now.
The Harding family responded, saying the late president was infertile
and couldn't have fathered a child since he'd had mumps
(05:09):
as a little boy. Nan maintained that Harding had given
her five hundred dollars a month in child support for
the daughter he never met. Nothing was definitively settled about
this until DNA testing confirmed NaN's claim, but not until
twenty fifteen, almost ninety years after the book was published.
With all his scandals, it makes sense that Harding doubted
(05:32):
his own ability to be an effective president, and he
shared that opinion about himself regularly. He told friends he
felt unfit for the office and overwhelmed by the responsibilities.
He struggled to control his administration and get ahead of
the crises that kept popping up during his two years
in office. Stress from all the chaos and corruptions surrounding
(05:54):
him took its toll. In nineteen twenty three, Harding decided
to do a cross country summer tour, hoping to reconnect
with the American people and give himself an image boost.
He called it a voyage of understanding, and the plans
had him going out west and also to Alaska. Now,
in fairness, he had always had heart problems and high
(06:14):
blood pressure, but he became increasingly ill during the trip.
By the time he reached San Francisco, he was at
the end. On August second, nineteen twenty three, Harding died
in his hotel suite at the Palace Hotel. The official
cause of death was a heart attack. But here's where
he gets a little sticky. Rumors and conspiracy theories quickly
(06:36):
began to circulate. Some believed that Harding had been poisoned,
and fingers were pointed at his wife, Florence. Florence Harding,
a tough as nail's chick, was known as the Duchess.
A number of historians believe she was the driving force
behind her husband's rise to the White House. She often
(06:57):
said he only made correct choices when he did what
she told him to do. She was highly protective of
him and deeply involved in his administration, advising him on
political matters. So why would anyone suspect that she'd poisoned him. Well,
she wanted to protect his legacy because she saw all
the scandals about to publicly erupt, as they did soon
(07:19):
after his death, and there was a lot of talk
that he would have been impeached for the teapot Dome
affair had he not died. Then there are the odd
actions she took as soon as he died, despite the
fact that he was just fifty seven years old and
in basically good health. She refused to allow an autopsy,
so they never knew exactly what killed him, and she
(07:40):
insisted that his body be embalmed less than an hour
after his death. She then quickly had him brought back
to Washington, d c. For a state funeral and burial
in Ohio. So did Florence Harding slowly murder her husband
with poison? Actually it's pretty unlikely, but as with our
current political climate, folks love a good conspiracy theory, and
(08:04):
for a short time they really seized on it. In
the end, Warren Harding was a pretty crummy president, not
so much because he was personally corrupt, but more because
he just wasn't up to the job. The power that
comes with the highest office demands someone with the strength
to manage not just public expectations and needs, but who
(08:25):
also understands the responsibility of choosing the right people for
his administration and knowing how to manage them. British historian
Lord Acton said, great men are almost always bad men.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I
(08:47):
hope you like the Backstory with Patty Steele. I would
love it if you would subscribe or follow for free
to get new episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to
dm me if you have a story you'd like me
to dig into and cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele
and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The
(09:08):
Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand
Group and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser.
Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday
and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with
comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty
Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening
(09:31):
to the Backstory with Patty Steele. The pieces of history
you didn't know you needed to know
All right, how crazy is our political atmosphere these days?
You think this is the worst it's ever been, Well
think again. How about a president whose administration was filled
with greed, corruption, and embezzlement, not to mention gambling, illegal drinking,
and illicit affairs. Ah, the Roaring twenties. I'm Patty Steele,
(00:20):
maybe the worst president in American history and maybe murdered
by the ultimate insider. That's next on the backstory. We're
back with the backstory over indulgence, crazy parties, widespread corruption,
and shady business dealings. Politics is usual, right, Why can't
(00:42):
we have leaders like they did back in the good
old days? Well, maybe we do. The Roaring twenties was
the party before the devastation of the Great Depression. The
country was becoming electrified. Movies and radio connected us all.
The aviation industry was taking off, and the mass production
of cars and trucks put everybody on the road, stimulating
(01:05):
other industries like rubber and steel, as well as highway
construction and the building of hotels. As folks ventured out,
and the president at the time reflected the easy going
party mentality of the people. Warren G. Harding took office
in nineteen twenty one. He was a good looking, charismatic
guy who promised to return to normalcy in the aftermath
(01:27):
of World War One. His was a landslide victory, but
almost immediately the scandals began. He was only in office
for a little over two years before his untimely death
in nineteen twenty three, but he and his cohorts were
nothing but trouble. A former newspaper publisher, Harding himself admitted
he was unfit to be a president. He totally relied
(01:50):
on his wife, his friends, and associates to help him
make decisions, and that group, known as the Ohio Gang,
became infamous for their corruption and greed. One of the
most notorious scandals was called the Teapot Dome Affair. It
involved federal oil reserves in Teapot Dome, Wyoming. It turned
(02:13):
out Albert Fall, Harding's Secretary of the Interior, had taken
bribes and then secretly leased the oil fields to private companies.
It became one of the biggest political scandals in US history.
One conservationist said, when Fall was first appointed Secretary of
the Interior, you could find a worse choice, but it
might be a near impossible task. And there was so
(02:36):
much more. Charles Forbes, head of the Veterans Bureau, was
caught embezzling millions of dollars that was supposed to go
to VA hospitals. Harding's Attorney General, Harry Daugherty, was caught
up in a bunch of scandals, including bootlegging and bribery.
The White House was a total soap opera, with gambling,
illicit affairs, and illegal drinking. Don't forget Prohibition had just
(02:59):
been inacted, and Harding's personal life was filled as drama.
The president was a notorious womanizer, and his extramarital involvements
were an open secret in Washington in those days. The
press was sort of complicit in covering up the president's
sex life, an unspoken agreement that lasted right up until
(03:20):
Bill Clinton's presidency, when it came to a screeching hall.
Harding had had an ongoing affair back home in Ohio
with Carrie Fulton Phillips, which lasted for fifteen years before
ending abruptly. As he headed to the White House in
nineteen twenty, he called a hall to it to protect
his reputation. Some historians say Carrie was actually the love
(03:41):
of Harding's life, he'd written many letters to her, finally
released decades after all parties were dead, in which he
told her the enticements of my mind and body are
combined in just you. Wow. He was a romantic, and
there were others, but one of Harding's most infamous affy
affairs was with Nan Britton, a young woman also from
(04:03):
his hometown of Mary In, Ohio. After Harding's death, she
claimed he was the father of her daughter. There were
lots of denials from his family and friends when their
affair was detailed in NaN's tell all book, The President's Daughter.
Its nineteen twenty seven release cost a huge scandal. The book,
which was dedicated to all unwedded mothers and their innocent
(04:26):
babies whose fathers were usually not known to the world,
was actually sold like porn door to door, wrapped in
brown paper, and it was a hit. While the President
had still been very popular following his unexpected death, his
reputation had taken something of a hit due to the
other scandals which were then coming out, and a lot
(04:47):
of people believe NaN's claim. The public ate up the
salacious details, such as NaN's story about the two of
them having sex in a closet near the Oval office
with Secret Service agent's post to ward off intruders. Now.
The Harding family responded, saying the late president was infertile
and couldn't have fathered a child since he'd had mumps
(05:09):
as a little boy. Nan maintained that Harding had given
her five hundred dollars a month in child support for
the daughter he never met. Nothing was definitively settled about
this until DNA testing confirmed NaN's claim, but not until
twenty fifteen, almost ninety years after the book was published.
With all his scandals, it makes sense that Harding doubted
(05:32):
his own ability to be an effective president, and he
shared that opinion about himself regularly. He told friends he
felt unfit for the office and overwhelmed by the responsibilities.
He struggled to control his administration and get ahead of
the crises that kept popping up during his two years
in office. Stress from all the chaos and corruptions surrounding
(05:54):
him took its toll. In nineteen twenty three, Harding decided
to do a cross country summer tour, hoping to reconnect
with the American people and give himself an image boost.
He called it a voyage of understanding, and the plans
had him going out west and also to Alaska. Now,
in fairness, he had always had heart problems and high
(06:14):
blood pressure, but he became increasingly ill during the trip.
By the time he reached San Francisco, he was at
the end. On August second, nineteen twenty three, Harding died
in his hotel suite at the Palace Hotel. The official
cause of death was a heart attack. But here's where
he gets a little sticky. Rumors and conspiracy theories quickly
(06:36):
began to circulate. Some believed that Harding had been poisoned,
and fingers were pointed at his wife, Florence. Florence Harding,
a tough as nail's chick, was known as the Duchess.
A number of historians believe she was the driving force
behind her husband's rise to the White House. She often
(06:57):
said he only made correct choices when he did what
she told him to do. She was highly protective of
him and deeply involved in his administration, advising him on
political matters. So why would anyone suspect that she'd poisoned him. Well,
she wanted to protect his legacy because she saw all
the scandals about to publicly erupt, as they did soon
(07:19):
after his death, and there was a lot of talk
that he would have been impeached for the teapot Dome
affair had he not died. Then there are the odd
actions she took as soon as he died, despite the
fact that he was just fifty seven years old and
in basically good health. She refused to allow an autopsy,
so they never knew exactly what killed him, and she
(07:40):
insisted that his body be embalmed less than an hour
after his death. She then quickly had him brought back
to Washington, d c. For a state funeral and burial
in Ohio. So did Florence Harding slowly murder her husband
with poison? Actually it's pretty unlikely, but as with our
current political climate, folks love a good conspiracy theory, and
(08:04):
for a short time they really seized on it. In
the end, Warren Harding was a pretty crummy president, not
so much because he was personally corrupt, but more because
he just wasn't up to the job. The power that
comes with the highest office demands someone with the strength
to manage not just public expectations and needs, but who
(08:25):
also understands the responsibility of choosing the right people for
his administration and knowing how to manage them. British historian
Lord Acton said, great men are almost always bad men.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I
(08:47):
hope you like the Backstory with Patty Steele. I would
love it if you would subscribe or follow for free
to get new episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to
dm me if you have a story you'd like me
to dig into and cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele
and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The
(09:08):
Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand
Group and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser.
Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday
and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with
comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty
Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening
(09:31):
to the Backstory with Patty Steele. The pieces of history
you didn't know you needed to know
Host
Patty Steele
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