13 Comments
Elayna Muller
3/28/2014 06:37:09 am
I would give Warren G. Harding and his administration a D as opposed to a D- for Calvin Coolidge and his administration. Harding chose valuable men for his administration such as Harry Daugherty (attorney general), Senator Albert B. Fall (secretary of the interior), Herbert Hoover (secretary of commerce), Taft (to the Supreme Court), and other members of the Ohio Gang, but he failed to realize that most of these men were engaged in fraud and corruption. Probably the most famous scandal was the Teapot Dome Scandal where Fall persuaded Harding to switch the control of the naval oil reserves from the Navy Department to the Interior Department. This swap allowed Fall to lease this oil to two businessmen who paid him nearly half a million dollars in return; however, Harding found out and sentenced him to a year in prison for bribery. (Only a year…) Harding was told to be friendly and talkative, yet he was also corrupt and easily persuaded. As a president, he was weak and let himself be fooled and conned. “Harding’s intellectual limits were compounded by his penchant for gambling, illegal alcohol, and attractive women.” He did have his accomplishments, though. These include: Harding called the Washington Disarmament Conference which helped to avert war in the Pacific for two decades, he persuaded the U.S. to participate in the Permanent Court of International Justice, established the efficient Bureau of the Budget, reduced the national debt, tried to repair the nation’s foreign policy, and cut taxes significantly. Cutting these taxes only benefitted the rich, so this shows just how corrupt Harding was. I give him a D because he was a person who lacked ethics along with sympathy for the poor and less fortunate. On the other hand, Coolidge receives a D- from me for putting his wants over the country’s needs. Both these presidents took passive approaches to their office; however, Coolidge was less active than Harding was by not letting the government interfere with the public too much. He was said to be stubborn, silent, and moralistic. Coolidge shared many of the Ku Klux Klan views, predominantly those on women who were insubordinate. He firmly believed in government economy, reduced taxation, and aid to private business without accompanying restrictive regulation. Also, in 1927, he vetoed the soldiers' bonus bill. In my opinion, both of these presidents were selfish and lazy. They did as little as they possibly could to help America and just let others in the administration make the decisions for them. Similarly, they were uncaring; differently, Harding was in it to have less of a leash and Coolidge was there because of his ego. He thought he was the bees’ knees while he watched America sink deeper and deeper into depression with no thought what-so-ever on the fact that it was his ruling that could have helped prevent it. I am disappointed and upset with how they ran this country, but I know they could’ve used their position to do worse, so I can’t very well give them an F. This is just my opinion, though, so not total facts.
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Timmi Keisel
3/30/2014 08:19:43 am
You were very harsh with your grading, but I agree with your answer! I agree that they "took passive approaches too their office." Great job!
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McCall Etl
3/30/2014 03:16:53 pm
I was like Timmi, and at first I was like holy cow, Elayna's a wee bit harsh! But I feel like you backed up your answer with some very good points and I really enjoyed reading your opinion. I'm sure there were some points that could've raised their grades but the fact that there was a scandal involved ruins my opinion of Harding.
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Luke Stewart
3/31/2014 03:30:49 am
Very harsh but agreeable. Nice answer
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Rachel Frantz
3/30/2014 09:50:22 am
I believe that often times the successes of the Harding and Coolidge administration are masked by their flaws. I would have to give the Harding administration a C-. Warren Harding got caught up in some bad business, and he didn’t really do anything too great to make up for his mistakes. Coolidge however I would give a B. He might not have been as “active” of a president as people may have wanted, but he did a lot of good for our country including limiting government spending. Both administrations believed in protecting the American industry. They each had a very pro-business approach towards their presidency. Coolidge even said, “The chief business of the American people is business. “ They both reduced taxes and put tariffs on imported goods. Harding reduced taxes for corporations and the wealthy whereas Coolidge reduced taxes for everyone. One major difference between the two administrations was the popularity of each. Harding took some harsh critique from the people of America while Coolidge remained fairly popular throughout his time as president. The personalities of each president were fairly different. Harding had a congenial attitude and more of a casual leadership style. Coolidge on the other hand was more somber and took a no nonsense approach to his presidency. Harding made some huge mistakes as president including the Teapot Dome Scandal. Coolidge didn’t necessarily have a blaring mistake. Perhaps Coolidge’s major flaw was not seeing the demise his booming economy would soon bring; however, you can’t be too harsh on him for this because not many people of the time new economics well enough to prevent the recession that was coming.
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Zane Boerner
3/30/2014 12:46:58 pm
I agree with your answer. They both had some success but still had some big flaws.
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Ashton Reinhardt
3/30/2014 03:13:29 pm
Well said. I like how you pointe out that they were successful but yet they also had some major flaws
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Emily Muller
3/30/2014 02:35:20 pm
The Harding administration deserves a C- in my opinion, while the Coolidge administration receives a B+. The Harding administration was full of scandals and corruption such as the Teapot Dome Scandal that gave Harding's wealthy friends access to oil in California and Wyoming. But in addition to the scandals, Harding was a generally weak president, and gambled and partied a lot, which many believe caused his death. Coolidge's administration on the other hand, is wildly underrated. Coolidge reduced taxes, which everyone loves, and he limited government spending in order to justify cutting taxes. However, a major flaw in his administration was that he did not prepare for the economic collapse that would soon follow. Coolidge was a much better president than Harding even though he is partly to blame for the Great Depression.
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Ashton Reinhardt
3/30/2014 03:12:22 pm
I give the Harding administration a “D-“. I strongly dislike the fact that there were so many scandals throughout his presidency. I feel like he played dirty. Harding never wanted to be president. But he was pushed into politics. I think you can see that he never had passion for his job. I like easy going people, but I think that he was too easy going. He hung out with the wrong set of men, and I believe that put a bad taste in the country. Throughout his presidency, Harding limited immigration. He was also involved in the Teapot Dome Scandal, not to mention the sexual scandals he inquired. I give Coolidge a “B” He showed determination to preserve the old morals and economic precepts and amid the material prosperity. Many Americans enjoyed this. He called for isolations in foreign policies, tax cuts, economic, and limited aid to farmers.
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becca
3/31/2014 12:23:16 am
I would give harding and his adminstrayin
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becca
3/31/2014 12:33:42 am
Administration a D. He didnt seem want to be there as much as he loved to party. Other then he was scandalous he didnt like his job so it was like waking up in the morning and blowing off as much as possible with out being of "trouble." I.would give coolidge a a b. He seem to have love and faith for his job. He reduced tax and backed it up with limited goverment spending. But he did so many things showing through his presidency his morals beliefs. He was great but he was no Teddy.
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becca
3/31/2014 12:36:40 am
I like your answer you pointed out both success and flaws but you justify the great making the, success the bigger picture. Good job!
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Luke Stewart
3/31/2014 03:29:54 am
The Harding administation had many flaws from the begining. Harding rose to power with he help of unhonest men and gave them power. He was aslo involved in many scandels. His administration recieves the lowest grade i have given of a D. Coolidge on the other hand would recieve a B-. He was not a terrible president but he was too passive and did not do much to better the country.
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