Warren Gamaliel Harding

Birth-Death: (1865 - 1923 ) Term: (1921-1923 )

Many of Harding's campaign speeches were a conglomerate of ideas that seemed to promote a positive mood, but did little in terms of specifics. When Harding was elected, he began to move the nation back to conditions prior to World War I. He removed wartime controls, reestablished a high protective tariff, and restricted immigration. Harding became aware of a scandal in government, but died before he could address it.

Domestic Events of Warren Harding

    The election of 1920 was the first election in which women voted. The remarkable gap between Harding and Cox, the democratic candidate, was explained in terms of protest against government regulation, high taxes and the League of Nations.

    As a result, the Republicans were eager to increase the rates of the protective tariff. The Fordney-McCumber tariff was the highest one yet, higher than the Payne-Aldrich tariff passed during the Taft administration. Instead of helping the nation's economy, however, the tariff sparked similar tariffs around the world. Other countries of the world increased their rates, and this was one of the causes of the Great Depression.