Rare US Peace President: Warren G. Harding
Growing up in the 50’s, we were taught by popular culture, even in school, that the worst president among America’s 34 thru Eisenhower, was Warren Gamaliel Harding (March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923). Harding was ancient history for us school kids, having died in office 3 decades earlier in just his 29th month as president. We couldn’t be bothered seeking to understand his governance.
What warranted Warren’s 34th place presidential finish among historians? Oh, he had a few scandals in which some appointees made a killing swindling Uncle Sam while Harding was busy playing poker along with bootleg liquor with his ‘Ohio Gang’ cronies at their K Street playhouse. His affair and resulting love child with a young secretary from back home helped cement his lowly standing.
But that narrative offered not one word on Harding’s policy governance which crammed much good into his brief administration, especially peace, both at home and abroad.
Domestically, Harding was way ahead of both his predecessors and successors on racial equality. He told the Convention that nominated him in his acceptance speech, "No majority shall abridge the rights of a minority. I believe black citizens of America should be guaranteed the enjoyment of all their rights, that they have earned their full measure of citizenship bestowed, that their sacrifices in blood on the battlefields of the republic have entitled them to all of freedom and opportunity, all of sympathy and aid that the American spirit of fairness and justice demands.” That was gutsy talk for presidential nominee in white supremacist America.
He promptly reversed the removal of black civil service employees from federal offices that was practiced by his 3 predecessors, especially uber racist Woodrow Wilson. On August 26, 1921, he became the first 20th century president to openly advocate for black political, educational and economic equality. And he advocated this before a segregated audience in deep south Birmingham, AL. Only the black section cheered.
But it was in foreign affairs that Harding’s words and deeds of peace resonated worldwide. He not only didn’t initiate a single international intervention, he made strides toward reconciliation with foreign targets of US interference. Even more importantly, he promoted disarmament, which was both successful and lasted over a decade after his death, only done in by German and Japanese expansionism.
Harding was America’s first Good Neighbor to Latin America. He withdrew US troops from Cuba his predecessors sent multiple times to protect US business interests. He criticized his predecessor’s endless interference in Haiti, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua as well. He achieved a treaty with Columbia that payed them $25 million in reparations for TR’s fomented revolution there to build the Panama Canal. He also worked with Mexican President Alvaro Abregon to reestablish diplomatic relations with Mexico that had been severed by Woodrow Wilson as part of Wilson’s several Mexican interventions.
But he’s greatest legacy was promoting what today’s America wouldn’t dream of: disarmament. He achieved the largest global-disarmament agreement ever during the Washington Naval Conference of 1921, which halted the construction of new battleships for more than a decade. He started at home drawing down one of the world’s largest militaries to just 140,000 personnel. Tho America had the world’s largest navy, Harding pegged its future strength to parity with Britain and Japan.
But going further, Harding and his Secretary of State, Charles Evans Hughes, convened that Washington Naval Conference in November, 1921, with representatives from the US, Japan, Britain, France, Italy, China, Belgium, Netherlands and Portugal. It achieved reduction in dozens of warships by the US, Britain and Japan. A reporter remarked that the Harding-Hughes duo “sank in 35 minutes more ships than all of the admirals of the world have sunk in centuries.”
The conference produced six treaties and twelve resolutions on issues ranging from signatories agreeing to honor their respective territorial integrity in the Pacific, limiting tonnage of naval ships, and modernizing custom tariffs. Italy joined the US, Britain, France and Japan in establishing a ratio of battleship tonnage that each country agreed to honor.
Back at home, Harding released socialist presidential contender Eugene Debs, jailed by the anti free speech Woodrow Wilson for criticizing the WWI draft. He also released 22 other antiwar dissidents as well. Julian Assange should have been so lucky to reveal America’s dirty laundry under a President Harding.
A century after his death, only JFK, another short term president in just his last year, could arguably be judged as promoting such a profoundly impactful peace agenda.
Wouldn’t the US be better off today if we had, occupying the Oval Office, a hard drinking, adulterous, poker playing president who promoted peace, instead of straight arrow provoking perpetual war?
