CLOSE-UP of FEATURED HARDING ARTIFACT

Warren Harding grew up surrounded by friends and family in a small town, where he developed a charming and trusting demeanor. He later became a financial success after reviving the local newspaper, The Marion Daily Star.

Warren married Florence Kling DeWolfe in 1891. After her husband entered state politics, Florence managed the newspaper and persuaded her husband to run for the Senate. The grand porch of their Victorian home made an excellent speaker's platform when Senator Harding conducted his successful "front porch campaign" for the presidency in 1920.

Within two years, the presidency was embroiled in scandal after President Harding discovered that friends he had appointed to government positions had been accepting bribes. He traveled across the nation in an attempt to revive his former popularity. While on the west coast he was stricken with a sudden illness, and died within a few days.