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 Harding, who was elected president in the election of 1920,
initiated an era of conservative government based upon policies that were rooted
in constitutional limited government. Harding was a constitutional conservative
who revered the American Founding. He described the Constitution as “the very
base of all Americanism, the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ of American liberty, the very
temple of equal rights.” Harding was a conservative nationalist who placed the
interests of America first.
On Nov. 2, 1865, Warren Gamaliel Harding was born in Blooming
Grove, Ohio. A conservative in a Republican Party that also had a progressive
wing, Harding served in the United States Senate before winning the presidency.
He supported President William Howard Taft in the Republican civil war of 1912
that split the GOP when progressives bolted to join former President Theodore
Roosevelt in the Bull Moose Party.
In the 1920 presidential election, Harding campaigned on a “return to normalcy,”
which translated into an abandonment of the progressive domestic and foreign
policies associated with President Woodrow Wilson and a return toward
constitutional limited government. He also campaigned on the slogan of “America
First.”
Harding, just as with President William McKinley, ran a “front porch” campaign
and thousands of people visited his home. At his home, Harding would give
speeches and greet visitors. Al Jolson even wrote and performed a song, “Harding
You’re the Man for Us,” at the Harding home. Harding won the election in a
landslide.
Once in office, Harding rejected the imperial presidency of Wilson and selected
several notable leaders including Andrew Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury,
Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Commerce, and Charles Evans Hughes, as Secretary of
State.
President Harding’s first major challenge was to pull the nation’s economy out
of depression at the end of World War I. In the “forgotten depression” of
1920-1921, the nation faced 11.7% unemployment and much economic uncertainty. In
the process, the national debt had escalated because of the war, tax rates were
extremely high, and government spending was out of control.
The solution that Harding utilized was to restore the economy
by stimulating the private sector by reducing regulations and slashing tax
rates. The historian Paul Johnson in Modern Times wrote that the short-lived
depression was the “last time a major industrial power treated a recession by
classic laissez-faire methods…”
As president, Harding believed and advocated for economy in government. Harding
called for reduced spending, tax reduction, and paying down the national debt.
Reform was brought to the federal budget process with the Budget and Accounting
Act. Although the federal government has increased dramatically in size in
comparison to Harding’s time in office, he still had to say no to demands to
increase spending.
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Harding, along with Treasury Secretary Mellon,
advocated for a conservative fiscal policy. This included reducing
both spending and tax rates. As a result, “federal spending was cut
from $6.3 billion in 1920 to $5 billion in 1921 and $3.2 billion in
1922. Federal taxes fell from $6.6 billion in 1920 to $5.5 billion
in 1921 and $4 billion in 1922,” noted Jim Powell, senior fellow
with the Cato Institute. Harding also started to chisel away at the
national debt.
Harding also appointed pro-business individuals to
regulatory agencies and he nominated conservatives to the Supreme
Court. Some of President Harding’s Court appointments included Chief
Justice William Howard Taft and Justice George Sutherland, both of
whom are considered judicial conservatives. Harding also advocated a
policy of civil rights and civil liberties for African Americans.
He also pushed for and achieved limiting
immigration through reform, and he addressed the importance of
Americanization and citizenship. In terms of foreign policy, Harding
took a more nationalist approach. It is often assumed that Harding
was an isolationist, but this is untrue. Harding and Secretary of
State Hughes led the Washington Naval Conference, which led to
disarmament in the aftermath of WWI.
Harding also placed the interests of America first in terms of trade
by supporting the protective tariff. Harding believed that a tariff
would benefit and protect American industry, agriculture and labor.
“I believe in the protective tariff policy and know we will be
calling for its saving Americanism again,” stated President Harding.
The Fordney-McCumber tariff was passed as a result.
The Harding economic program, which was continued by President
Calvin Coolidge after his death, was responsible for creating the
roaring economy of the 1920s. Coolidge would continue to reduce
spending, tax rates and pay down the national debt.
President Harding deserves reconsideration just as historians have
given President Ulysses S. Grant, whose administration was also
marked by scandal. Scandals did occur in Harding’s administration,
but he was not personally connected.
Many of the policy challenges that the nation is being confronted
with today could be solved by following the principles and polices
of President Harding. Harding’s conservative nationalism is an
example for today’s policymakers.
President Harding, just as with President Donald Trump, believed in
America First and American exceptionalism. As Harding said, we are
forever devoted “to safeguard America first, to stabilize America
first, to prosper America first, to think of America first, to exalt
America first, and to live for and revere America first.”
John Hendrickson serves as the policy director for Tax Education
Foundation of Iowa
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