President Woodrow Wilson was a ruined man. A decade ago, in 1911, he was an ambitious first-term governor of New Jersey speaking to an audience of Democrats in Indianapolis. "We have not made any embarrassing promises; we have not made any entangling alliances," he explained to those assembled. He was speaking not of alliances abroad but of wicked alliances with the wealthy interests and political establishment.
"We are ready to go in any direction that we want to go, and we want to go in the direction of the light. We have seen the light and we have seen the growing dawn of a new day; our faces are alight with the reflection from that kindling sky. We know that there are steep and rugged paths ahead of us, but we have the blood, the full blood, and the hope of youth in us; we have the confidence that the people believe in us and are going to support us..." [1]
Wilson would win the presidential election of the following year in a landslide against incumbent President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt. His progressive coalition would push through numerous bold legislative changes. The Federal Reserve, the Clayton Antitrust Act, child labor reform, a lowered tariff, agricultural aid, the Federal Trade Commission, victory in the Great War, and the Nineteenth Amendment were all accomplishments of the Wilson administration and his allies in Congress. However, he had intervened militarily in various Latin American nations, racially segregated the federal government, and failed to enact his Fourteen Points and bring the United States into the League of Nations under his terms. Wilson had suffered a debilitating stroke late into his presidency, and he was now a frail husk. To add insult to injury, the American people had elected a new president with an agenda driven by reaction and a return to a less progressive status quo. Wilson, for all of his former vigor and vision, had been utterly destroyed by his time in office and harshly repudiated by the voice of the popular will.
Now, on March 4, 1921, Wilson was supported out of the White House by a cane and his secret service detail, lifted into an open automobile, and seated beside a man who, albeit a year his elder, was in prime condition. This man, "tanned [and] strikingly presidential in appearance with his gray hair and commanding physical presence," [2] was president-elect Warren Gamaliel Harding. Indeed, even Harding's critics were forced to admit to the polished, poised, and purely presidential nature of the man of the hour. Journalist H.L. Mencken remarked that Harding "differed vastly from the simple rustic who was lifted out of oblivion on that Hades hot day in Chicago last summer," and even though he had spoken scathingly toward the pomposity and bewilderment of many of Harding's speeches, Mencken noted with reluctant praise that:
"There was a delicate and indescribable touch to the set of his coat, his collar fitted perfectly, distinction radiated from his necktie; he was shod like the leading actor in a Broadway play. But more important than the change in the vestments of the man was the change in the man himself. One found him somehow more solid, more deliberate in movement, more conscious of the glare upon him." [3]
Mencken would return to less flattering commentary on Harding's reputation a mere paragraph later in this particular article, but the flavorful description glimpses at the far more exquisite pleasure in what Harding's fans must have seen, heard and felt that day.
The vehicle that Wilson and Harding sat in - a Packard Twin 6 issued by the Republican National Committee - was a first for a presidential inauguration day. Harding became the first president to have driven to the day's festivities instead of by other means. He was also, incidentally, the first qualified driver to hold the presidential office. President Wilson, who did not allow his drivers to travel any faster than 25 mph in his own Pierce Arrow, seemed to have surprised Harding with his weakened condition. The nervous Harding supposedly made small talk about his interest in animals, particularly elephants, during the drive. History author Kenneth Ackerman says that Harding "had a fondness for elephants based on his sister’s having lived in Siam as a missionary, where she owned one as a pet. When Harding said he always wanted to own one himself, Wilson shot back: “I hope it won’t turn out to be a white elephant.” Wilson laughed." Some online secondary sources make the claim that the typically serious Wilson teared up at part of the elephant story.
By the time the vehicle reached the Capitol grounds, Harding had been cheered by adoring Americans lining the streets. He tipped his hat and enjoyed himself on what had originally been a somewhat awkward car ride. The Harding Home staff notes that it was a chilly 30 degrees early that day before climbing about ten degrees later. The wind was sharp and biting but the sky clear. Wilson and Harding likely enjoyed having their thick coats and tall hats for their time outdoors. After the men arrived to further ovations, they entered the Capitol Building and parted ways. Harding's words to Wilson were gracious and kind:
"Goodbye, Mr. President. I know you are glad to be relieved of your burden and worries. I want to tell you how much I have appreciated the courtesy you extended to me."
The feeble incumbent would not remain for the ceremonial transition of power and inaugural address of his successor as he was feeling particularly fatigued after the excursion. History judges Wilson with a cautious eye; he was a starry-eyed academic, a marvelous oratorical driver of the people's passions, and an usher for some of the most consequential and helpful reforms to our constitutional system ever seen under one administration. Yet, he was vicious in his racism - the vile impact of his time in office on the African-American populace has earned him due criticism from the left and the right in contemporary politics and academia. The stunning and divisive personality and legacy of Woodrow Wilson will always be discussed in our republic, for his was, if nothing else, a fascinating reign. A frustratingly controversial, larger-than-life president laid low, Woodrow Wilson left office with a dull whimper after entering in a blazing storm of expectation.
~~Keep Watch for Part 2~~
Sources for Reference -
[1] Congressional Record, Volume 48, Part 12 (August 17,1912), pp. 606-609.
[2] Dean, John W. Warren G. Harding (New York: Times Books, 2004), pp. 95-96.
[3] Mencken, H.L. "Harding Faces Task With Air of Confidence" (Baltimore Evening Sun, March 4, 1921).
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