The Many Scandals And Mysterious Death Of A President

History has not been kind to President Warren Harding because of his affairs.

President Warren Harding died on August 2, 1923. He had taken office just 16 months prior to his death, leaving the nation shocked. As the fallen politico was mourned, there were many shocking revelations that would reshape how Americans viewed him.

The allegations that were made against Harding caused many to wonder about his true cause of death. The actions of his widow and former First Lady, Florence Harding, led many to believe the president was assassinated.

Doctors initially claimed that Harding had suffered a stroke due to food poisoning. The cause of death was later changed to a heart attack. An hour after her passed, Florence asked for Mr. Harding to be embalmed. Even with those reasons for the untimely loss of her husband, Florence would not allow an autopsy to be done on the fallen president.

Another decision that left many scratching their heads: An hour after her passed, Florence asked for Mr. Harding to be embalmed.

Florence’s actions led many to wonder what she was hiding. If the president had died of natural causes, why not assure the American public of that? Then slowly, a motive for her actions began to take shape.

Secrets Of The Heart

Rumors had always persisted that President Harding was unfaithful to Florence. No one knew exactly how many other women there were, but everyone knew that he had other lovers. His bed was quite warm at all times.

One of the women known to have been one of Warren’s ladies was Carrie Fulton Phillips. Their affair lasted for more than 15 years despite them being on different sides of the political landscape. The passion between them was unstoppable. Historians have come to believe that Harding viewed Phillips as the love of his life.

There was another woman that Florence and Phillips shared the president with. She was Nan Britton. When she came forward with her story, it was regarded as untruthful. Her claims that she had given birth to Hardings only children made it seem even more outrageous.

Britton wrote and peddled a book in 1927, The President’s Daughter, with all of the details of their affair. It shocked those that read it and his supporters. Harding’s estate hit back with their own book, The Answer To The President’s Daughter. In their book, they called Britton every name in the book. She was in their view, a gold-digger.

She sued them and won. Britton was awarded a grand total of $0. In later years, Ancestry.com would prove that Britton’s daughter, Elizabeth Blaesing, was indeed sired by Harding.

While to the public, Florence played the dutiful wife, she was fuming inside. Before Harding’s passing, she found love letters that he wrote to Phillips. To say she was not happy about the affair would be an understatement.

Teapot Destroys Harding

While Harding was hardly innocent when it came to adultery, many believe those were his only self-inflicted scandals. However, those were not the only controversies attributed to his presidency and administration.

President Taft signed legislation in 1910. Just over a decade later, Harding signed an executive order transferring the ownership of the Teapot Dome Oil Field in Wyoming from the navy to the Department of the Interior. This on its own was not scandalous.

Interior Secretary Albert Hall went behind his boss’s back and leased the oil fields to the founder of Sinclair Oil, Harry F. Sinclair. Hall also leased drilling rights to the Elk Hill oil fields to Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company.

Hall was given nearly $500,000 from the oil companies. Legal experts caution that the bribes he accepted were illegal, not the leases that he made with the oil companies.

The scandal led the Supreme Court of the United States to make an important ruling. It was because of this case that they said congress had the power to subpoena and force people to testify before the House and Senate.

While this was happening behind Harding’s back, he has still shared the brunt of the blame. Historians have often wondered how the boss didn’t know what was happening. Because Florence was so involved in his political career, especially the presidency, some have wondered if she knew what was happening. It would give Harding plausible deniability.

Inquiry Into Death

In the early days of 1923, Harding made some moves that add to the mystery of his death. After having owned The Marion Star since 1884, he sold the newspaper. There was a caveat that he would stay on as editor after he was no longer president.

He also changed his will. While lawyers encourage clients to update their estate plans, many wondered why the president would do such a thing. Much of his estate was left to Florence. Something that was not a surprise, except to those who knew about his mistresses.

In the middle of the year, Harding decided it was time to hear from the American people. He decided to undertake what was called the “Voyage of Understanding.” In June 1923, he set out for Alaska.

Numerous people reported that the president and first lady had been arguing for much of the trip. The love letters to Phillips was the topic that they fought about the most. Florence was quite angry about the betrayal.

Harding became ill. Many attributed it to food poisoning and his unhealthy lifestyle. While many thought of Florence as cunning and determined, nobody thought she was capable of murder.

Until the affairs became public knowledge. It was then people started wondering about Florence’s decisions. On the surface, her not allowing an autopsy and having her husband embalmed were innocent. Added to the other pieces of Harding’s death and eyebrows were raised.

The doctors maintained it was a stroke that killed Harding but historians disagreed. They say it must have been a heart attack because it happened so suddenly.

Some historians have gone rogue. They allege that Florence, fearing the embarrassment of divorce, poisoned Harding.

The truth will never be known as Florence died in 1924.