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Playing with History
How does one celebrate a presidency scarred by sexual indiscretion, corruption perpetrated by friends of the president and the suicide of a prominent political operative and official in the Justice Department? These are not questions concerning the late, lamented presidency of William Jefferson Clinton. Rather, they came to mind when I was in Ohio in November and saw an announcement for a ceremony celebrating the 136th birthday of President Warren G. Harding and the 82nd anniversary of his election. As a historian who greatly admires the 29th president of the United States (largely for his entertainment value) and as a student of public pageantry, I felt compelled to attend. The setting on the crisp, Saturday morning was the Harding Memorial in the president’s hometown of Marion, where Harding, his wife, Florence, — and some say his dog — lay side-by-side. Cynics claim that when the president and Mrs. Harding were interred here, it was as close as they had been to one another in a horizontal position in eons. The Harding Memorial is itself quite lovely. Made of Georgian marble and done in the American classical style, it is surrounded by beautiful greenery. Inside the rotunda are flowers, ivy and a single Japanese maple tree that provides shade for the graves. The Memorial dominates the landscape of this part of the city, and one would expect that it is a major tourist attraction. Unfortunately, however, Harding’s tarnished reputation not only diminished its potential, it haunted the Memorial from the start. After the completion of the Memorial in 1927, it took considerable effort before President Hoover could be persuaded to come to Marion for the dedication. By the time he arrived in 1931, Hoover’s reputation had been so badly damaged by the Depression that he may have concluded that no further damage would result by honoring Harding’s memory. I did not expect the ceremony on Nov. 3 to delve into the more seedy details of Harding’s presidency. Indeed, what piqued my interest was the notion of how history is recast. As it turns out, the transformation is simple: Open with patriotic music, frame the ceremonies within the concerns of the day (Sept. 11 and terrorism) and present Harding in the universal context as a person from whom there is much to learn. Dress all this up by fudging the historical record a bit and by emphasizing “Harding the Patriot” and Harding as a ‘man of the people.” The only problem was that most of the positives mentioned about Harding had a dark underside to them, which, of course, went unspoken. A subdued crowd, estimated at 75 (excluding participants), gathered near the front of the Memorial at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony opened with music by the Harding High School Choir: "America the Beautiful," "The Star-Spangled Banner," and the post-9.11 obligatory "God Bless America." When they finished their duties, the choir beat a hasty retreat to waiting minivans. No doubt they had a more significant engagement that demanded their attention — a mall opening or car wash, perhaps. Other students who remained were overheard saying that they were getting extra-credit in their French class for attending. But, why not! After the raising of the flag, Mayor Jack Kellogg welcomed the crowd and introduced the guests. An invocation stressing current national issues rather than historical ones followed. An award was presented to the Ohio Historical Society’s director of site operations for his dedicated service on behalf of the Memorial and the Harding Home. No one pointed out that the Society itself protected the memory of the late president by locking up love letters Harding had written during his affair with Carrie Phillips, the wife of a close friend. Several other speakers delivered generalities and platitudes, many of which ignored the honored president entirely. References to the current crisis filled the void. This seemed wise. The honored guest was Dr. Warren G. Harding III, the grandson of the president’s younger brother. Looking to accentuate the positive, Dr. Harding extolled the president as a "Friend of the Working Man." No doubt this sent labor leaders of the 1920s spinning in their graves, as American labor suffered severe setbacks in this era of big business. Weak labor was a cornerstone of Harding’s "return to normalcy,” his campaign slogan in 1920. Harding succeeded in creating a new word — normalcy — and provided a near perfect description of America’s desire to forget idealism and get on with the business of creating wealth. Dr. Harding recalled President Harding’s support of Woodrow Wilson and World War I, portraying his ancestor as a progressive man when it came to international affairs. The irony here is that Harding’s vote for the war came only after considerable agony, since Carrie Philips, an admirer of all things German, threatened to expose their affair if Harding voted for war. In the end, political survival trumped fear, and Harding voted for the war declaration. This was Harding’s true Profile in Courage, but there was no mention of it here. Dr. Harding also addressed the foreign policy achievements of the Harding Administration, noting the Washington Naval Disarmament Conference and the treaties that came from it. Historians have usually given credit to Charles Evans Hughes, the secretary of state and organizer of the conference, for this achievement, but in all fairness Hughes was part of the Harding Administration, so Harding does deserve some credit. Dr. Harding’s portrait of the president ultimately was quite impressive. It did not contain anything but the facts, although it omitted many other facts. The final speaker, representing President Bush, was Brig. Gen. Dennis J. Laich, commander of the 300th Military Police Command. The general focused on the current crisis, praised the military for its service to the forces of freedom and noted Harding’s defense of freedom as president of the United States. Then came the portrait of Harding as a friend of veterans. Indeed, the Harding Administration was responsible for establishing a new federal agency to serve the veterans of World War I and oversaw the building of an impressive system of veteran’s hospitals. In good taste, if not in the service of history, the vast corruption within the Veteran’s Bureau by Director Charles Forbes, who defrauded the agency of millions, was not mentioned. Forbes owed his appointment as director to the fact that he had once played poker with a then-Sen. Harding. Following the general’s comments, a wreath was laid at the Harding grave as Taps was played. It was, as they say, a historic occasion; relatively harmless and reassuring. And it offered a great lesson in how history can be shaped to serve most any person or point of view. Clinton’s supporters could do worse than to visit Marion, Ohio for a glimpse at how it is done. Richard C. Crepeau is a professor of history at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He is the author of Baseball: America’s Diamond Mind (click here to purchase). Related Sites |
