Warren G. Harding / John W. Dean.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dean, John W. (John Wesley), 1938-

Series:

American presidents series (Times Books (Firm))

The American presidents series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923.

Harding, Warren G.

Presidents--United States--Biography.

Presidents.

United States.

United States--Politics and government--1921-1923.

Politics and government.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xviii, 202 pages ; 22 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Times Books, 2004.

Summary:

Warren G. Harding may be best known as America's worst president. His administration was marked by scandal: the Teapot Dome Affair, corruption in the Veterans Bureau and the Justice Department, and the posthumous revelation of a child of an extra-martial affair. All was not bad news, however. Harding's 1920 slogan, "America's present need is not heroics but healing, not nostrums but normalcy" gave voice to a public exhausted by the intense politics of the previous Wilson administration. Raised in a small town in Ohio, Harding took hold of a failing weekly newspaper and turned it into a success. Showing a talent for local politics, he rose from state senator to lieutenant governor, running unsuccessfully for governor in 1910; four years later, he was elected U.S. Senator. With his middle-of-the-road political views, he was seen as a unifier in Congress and became quite popular. He was nominated for the presidency due to a stalemate between the other two Republican hopefuls. As president he passed legislation limiting the number of immigrants, set the highest tariffs in U.S. history with the Fordney-McCumber Act of 1922, persuaded Congress to adopt unified federal budget creation, and with Andrew Mellon's tax plan, reduced income tax and the national debt. In this wise and compelling biography, John W. Dean--no stranger to controversy himself--explores the truths and explodes the myths surrounding our 29th president's tarnished legacy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [189]-191) and index.

ISBN:

0805069569

OCLC:

52688197