harding, warren g.

A political leader of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who served as president from 1921 to 1923. As Republican party candidate in the campaign of 1920, he described his goal as a return to “normalcy” after the ambitious foreign and domestic policies of the outgoing Democratic president, Woodrow Wilson; Harding strongly opposed the participation of the United States in the League of Nations. As Harding’s presidency went on, the corruption of some of the officials he appointed became increasingly evident; Harding died in office before the worst of the Harding scandals came to light.