US Presidents For Dummies
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Winning reelection and preparing for war
It wasn’t until 1916 that President Wilson saw a need to strengthen the U.S. military forces. For the first time, Wilson publicly stated that the U.S. military would not only be used for the defense of the country but also to protect other nations.
As he was getting the country ready for war, Wilson also faced reelection. The Republican Party united again. Roosevelt brought his Bull Moose supporters back into the party, but he refused to stand as a candidate. The Republican Party nominated Charles Evan Hughes, the former governor of New York and a member of the U.S. Supreme Court, to face Wilson.
The election was truly a cliffhanger. On election night, Wilson went to bed believing that he had lost the race. When he woke up, he found out that he’d been reelected. The voters in California, one of the most progressive states in the nation, made the difference, though Wilson carried the state by just 4,000 votes. When the final tally was in, Wilson, shown in Figure 14-2, won 277 electoral votes to Hughes’s 254. Wilson’s campaign slogan, “He kept us out of war,” made the difference, but he couldn’t continue to keep the United States neutral.
Figure 14-2: The President and Edith Wilson on their way to the presidential inauguration in March 1917.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Entering World War I
Inept German foreign policy pushed the United States into WWI. In January 1917, Germany announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare: Germany threatened to torpedo and sink any ship, including U.S. ships, that traded with the Allied powers.
Wilson responded by breaking off diplomatic relations with Germany and mobilizing U.S. military forces. In the next three months, German submarines sank three U.S. ships, killing 36 sailors.
On April 2, 1917, Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany in one of the most memorable speeches in U.S. history. The following is an excerpt from Wilson’s speech:
The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make.
Within four days, both houses passed the declaration, and the United States entered WWI on the side of the Allied powers.
The last straw for Wilson was the Zimmermann telegram. This telegram, sent to the German ambassador in Mexico and intercepted by the British in 1917, asked Mexico to join in a war against the United States. If the Mexican government agreed, Germany promised a return of the territory lost to the United States in the Mexican-American War.
Getting the public involved
Wilson moved quickly to get the country ready for war. By the end of the year, he had the following elements in place:
The Selective Service Act was implemented. This act allowed the U.S. government to draft men between the ages of 21 and 30 to serve in the military.
The U.S. economy turned into a wartime economy. Under the able leadership of Republican, and future president, Herbert Hoover, industries started to produce weapons, ammunition, military equipment, and food.
By the summer of 1917, the first U.S. troops were in Europe. Within a year, two million U.S. soldiers fought in Europe, making the difference in an Allied victory. Germany launched one final offensive against France in 1918 in an attempt to conquer the country before U.S. soldiers could get there to defend it. The offensive fell short. In November 1918, the German empire surrendered.
Making the Peace
The time came to make peace in Europe. Wilson speculated that the Allies would win with U.S. help. For this reason, Wilson was ready to make peace in Europe and strengthen democracy in the process.
Advocating Fourteen Points
In January 1918, Wilson outlined his famous Fourteen Points, as a condition for peace in Europe, in a speech to Congress. With the surrender of Germany in November 1918, he was ready to put these points in place. The most important provisions of the Fourteen Points were
Abolition of secret diplomacy: Wilson believed that all diplomatic activity should be open to public scrutiny.
Protection of the seas: Wilson wanted the seas to be open in both peace and wartime.
Removal of international trade barriers: Wilson advocated lower tariffs against imports to stimulate worldwide trade.
Reduction of armaments and the introduction of arms control: Wilson believed in arms control, or the limitation of armaments, as well as disarmament, or the reduction of armaments. He wanted talks to start immediately.
Resolution of colonial disputes: Wilson believed that the colonial power and the people living within the colony itself should be able to resolve their differences peacefully.
Evacuation of Russian territory: After the collapse of the Russian empire and the emergence of a new communist government in Russia, many foreign powers sent troops to Russia — including the United States, which tried to protect its own national interests.
Restoration of Belgium: Belgium was conquered by Germany during WWI and needed to be reestablished.
Return of the province of Alsace-Lorraine from Germany to France: The province of Alsace-Lorraine was conquered by Germany in 1871.
Creation of an independent Polish state: The country of Poland disappeared after the Seven Year War (1756–1763). It had been divided between Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Russia. Wilson wanted it restored.
Creation of the League of Nations, an international peacekeeping organization: The League of Nations operated on the concept of collective security, which stated that an attack on a member state equaled an attack on all members. In theory, this concept outlawed war in the world.
With the surrender of Germany, it was time to turn the Fourteen Points into reality.
Traveling to Europe
To Wilson’s great disappointment, the U.S. public didn’t reward him with majorities in Congress in the November 1918 elections. Wilson openly attacked the Republicans during the 1918 elections and urged people to vote for Democrats. Many voters felt that it was inappropriate to engage in partisan politicking while the country was still at war. They punished Wilson by voting Republican. The Republicans won both houses of Congress and began opposing Wilson’s policies.
Wilson traveled to Europe in December 1918, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to do so. He received a hero’s welcome. In January 1919, he opened the peace conference in Paris.
The conference in Paris proved to be disappointing to Wilson. British and French leaders disliked Wilson personally — Prime Minster Lloyd George described him as a cross between Jesus Christ and Napoleon — and they had no interest in adopting many of the Fourteen Points.
By June, Wilson had sacrificed most of the Fourteen Points in order to keep the idea of an international organization alive. By the time Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, ending the war, only the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France, the establishment of a League of Nations, and the establishment of independent Belgian and Polish states remained from the original 14 points.
Wilson left for home to convince the Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles.
Losing the peace at home
Wilson returned home in July 1919, expecting that the Senate would quickly ratify the Treaty of Versailles. But Wilson made a grave political blunder by not taking any prominent Republicans to the Paris peace conference. The Republicans felt slighted and started undermining Wilson at home while he was overseas negotiating peace.
So, when it came to ratifying the peace treaty, the Republican majority in the Senate had a few reservations. The main sticking point was the fact that the Charter of the League of Nations required the United States to make troops available to defend other member countries.
The president toured the country in an effort to drum up public support. He traveled close to 10,000 miles, exhausting himself in the process. On October 2, 1919, Wilson suff
ered a stroke. He ended his tour and returned home, partially paralyzed.
The Senate voted down the Treaty of Versailles in November 1919, and then voted it down again the following year. The next president, Republican Warren G. Harding, signed a separate peace treaty with Germany when he assumed office in 1921.
Woodrow Wilson received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1920 for creating the League of Nations — an organization that his own country never joined.
The League of Nations came into existence in 1920, with 42 nations joining the organization. It lasted until 1946, when it was replaced by the United Nations. During the League’s years of existence, 63 nations were members at one time or another. The League was administered by a League Council, representing permanent members. The League Council included Great Britain, France, Italy, and later Germany, the Soviet Union, and Japan. All decisions in the council had to be unanimous, giving each member an absolute veto over the League’s polices.
Serving out his term
Even though Wilson was paralyzed on the left side of his body, he decided not to resign but to remain in office until his term expired in March 1921. The public didn’t receive information concerning his health problems. Wilson’s wife helped him with day-to-day activities, such as writing his signature, during the last 18 months of his term.
Wilson retired from public office in 1921 and lived in seclusion until his death in 1924. To the end, he believed in the League of Nations and never forgave the Republicans for not allowing the United States to join his beloved organization.
Chapter 15
Roaring through the ’20s with Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover
In This Chapter
Being unfit for the presidency: Harding
Staying silent and accomplishing nothing: Coolidge
Reacting too slowly to the Great Depression: Hoover
T his chapter covers the three Republican presidents of the golden 1920s. Times were good: The economy was booming until 1929, and the country wasn’t involved in any foreign conflicts. So the presidents didn’t do much.
Harding was too busy playing poker and cheating on his wife to run the country. Coolidge didn’t want to do anything but sleep. And Hoover reacted to the Great Depression a little too late. Today, all three presidents are considered failures. None of them even cracks the top-20 list of presidents.
Living the High Life: Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding, shown in Figure 15-1, has the distinction of being one of the worst presidents in U.S. history. He wasn’t interested in the presidency. He himself thought that he was unfit for office. He only enjoyed the office because it allowed him to pursue his true loves in life: gambling, drinking, and willing women. As he said of himself, “I am a man of limited talents from a small town. I don’t seem to grasp that I am president.”
Harding’s administration is famous for its corruption. Harding himself wasn’t crooked, but he appointed many friends who used their positions to enrich themselves, which reflected badly on Harding.
Figure 15-1: Warren G. Harding, 29th president of the United States, and his dog Laddie.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Harding was one of the most immoral and hypocritical individuals to ever occupy the White House. He married for money and had many adulterous affairs (fathering a child with one mistress). The Republicans paid one of his long-time girlfriends to go to Europe so that she’d be out of the way during the presidential campaign. Even though he supported prohibition, he had his own distributor provide him and his poker buddies with liquor in the White House. By 1923, these actions came back to haunt him. However, his premature death at the age of 57 saved him from many embarrassments.
Harding’s early political career
The Ohio Republican Party recruited Harding to run for the Ohio state senate in 1898. He won his initial race and was reelected in 1900. In 1903, he became the lieutenant governor of Ohio, a post he held for two terms.
While working in the Ohio state government, Harding befriended Harry M. Daugherty, a major leader in the Ohio Republican Party. Daugherty became his trusted advisor and campaign manager.
When Harding lost the race for governor in 1910, he wanted to retire from politics. His wife and friends had other ideas. They talked him into staying active in politics. In 1914, he won a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Harding’s years as a senator were undistinguished. He supported the conservative wing of the Republican Party, pushing for higher tariffs and the abolition of the manufacturing and sale of liquor. In 1919, he opposed the Treaty of Versailles, which established the League of Nations. In other words, Harding was a loyal Republican who pleased the party leadership.
Loving the good life
Warren G. Harding was born in Corsica, Ohio in 1865. His father was a homeopathic doctor and part-time veterinarian. After graduating from Ohio Central College in 1882, Harding tried his hand at many jobs — he taught school, sold insurance, organized a musical band, and even studied law.
Harding finally settled on a job at the local newspaper in Marion, Ohio, where he worked as a printer and reporter. He quickly lost his job because he was a Republican and the paper supported Democratic viewpoints. After losing his job, he opened his own newspaper. He bought the bankrupt Marion Star for $300 and turned it into a success by pledging to mention anybody living in Marion in the paper at least once a year.
Harding also joined every social club available. His personality helped him make many friends. Harding was a fun guy who told dirty jokes and was willing to play poker and drink whiskey with just about anyone.
Harding married Florence Kling DeWolfe, a woman five years older than he, in 1891. The marriage wasn’t a happy one. Harding married DeWolfe for her money. He referred to her as a shrew and gave her the nickname “The Duchess.”
Harding cheated on her constantly. He had two long-lasting affairs. The first one was with Carrie Phillips, the wife of one of his closest friends. The second was with Nan Britton, whom he met while she was still in high school. The affair with Britton lasted into his presidency and produced a daughter. Britton would secretly enter the White House at night, and the two would make love in the small closet next to the president’s office.
Becoming president by default
By 1919, Harding’s political handler, Daugherty, believed that Harding was ready for the presidency. He sent Harding to speak all over the country.
Harding created his campaign slogan, “A Return to Normalcy,” by mistake. He meant to say “normality,” but he misspoke. The term stuck, and the Republican Party used it to convey that they wanted to take the country back to the good old days of pre-World War I America. The slogan sat well with a nation ready to forget about World War I.
At the Republican convention, Harding, a second-rate candidate, seemed a long shot. However, when the party couldn’t agree on a candidate, Harding started looking better. After a long night in one of the famous smoke-filled rooms, the Republican Party agreed on Harding. Calvin Coolidge, the governor of Massachusetts, became his vice-presidential candidate.
After winning the nomination, Harding stayed in Ohio and campaigned from his front porch. His handlers didn’t want him to mingle with the voters: They were afraid that he would offend and alienate them.
Harding won 61 percent of the popular vote and 404 electoral votes — one of the largest landslide victories in U.S. history.
President Warren Gamaliel Harding (1921–1923)
Harding’s inaugural speech set the tone for what was to come. His address was the worst in U.S. history. A British reporter called it “the most illiterate statement ever made by the head of a civilized government.” Harding’s treasury secretary, after listening to many of Harding’s speeches, said, “His speeches left the impression of pompous phrases moving over the landscape in search of an idea. Sometimes these meandering words would actually capture a straggling thought and bear it triumphantly, a prisoner in the midst, until it died of servitud
e and overwork.”
Defrauding and scandalizing the nation
Harding’s first priority as president was to organize a weekly poker game that his whole cabinet was required to attend. Many political decisions took place while the president and his cabinet played cards.
Harding’s cabinet contained some of the best and worst people to ever serve the United States. Harding appointed his friends, referred to as the “Ohio Gang,” to high-level cabinet positions. The Ohio Gang started defrauding the government soon after they entered office. Following are some of the more famous scandals under Harding:
Charles Forbes, the head of the Veteran’s Bureau, defrauded the government of $200 million. Harding allowed him to flee the country. When he returned, years later, Forbes went to jail. Forbes was the first U.S. cabinet member to be sentenced to jail.
Harry M. Daugherty, the attorney general, sold alcohol during Prohibition. During Prohibition, it was illegal to make or distribute alcohol.
Albert B. Fall, the secretary of the interior, was involved in the Teapot Dome Scandal.