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.