President Harding Essay, Research Paper

The two former presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolige were alike in

some ways and different in others. President Harding was a news paper owner from Ohio.

He was chosen as the Rep. candidate after serving as an Ohio senator. Calvin Coolige was

the Vice-president at the time of Warren Harding’s death. Coolige fished the rest of

Harding’s term and then was re-elected. President Coolige followed Harding’s policies

when finishing his term, but after re-election he began to make some of his own. Harding

focused on trying to settle the nation back into peace. He tried to ensure this peace by

making treaties and disarmament acts. Harding also tried to lower taxes, take care of war

veterans, protect farmers, and collect wartime debts owed to the U.S. . However Harding

was not prepared to face the huge problems of the presidency. He made the mistake of

appointing some of his Ohio friends to high ranking positions. The men he appointed were

involved in many scandals and money stealing. Calvin Coolige like Harding was an

admirer of American business. They both believed that business should mainly be left

alone without government interference. Coolige especially believed business would be less

profitable with more regulation. He also believed, unlike Harding, that nothing could be

done to help the U.S. farmers. Coolige vetoed many bills designed to help farmers, like the

McNary-Haugen bill, by saying “Farmers have never made much money and I don’t

believe we can do much about it” . These two presidents were also very different when it

came to their personalities. Harding was laid back and likable, always playing cards with

his friends and smoking cigars. Coolige, on the other hand, was very quite plain and

thrifty. He said very little, earning him the nickname “Silent Cal.” These two presidents

were more different than alike. They shared only a few views and had very different

personalities.