The Last Will and Testament of a Dying President

Warren Harding. Harding is much maligned as one of America’s worst presidents. His administration is commonly pictured as a failure, and he as a dim-wit snookered by his appointees (some of whom were found to be corrupt). This opinion was initially generated by the muck-raking books written during the Great Depression which saw the Roaring Twenties as a binge that led to disaster, and found in the deceased and defenseless president a convenient target. However, his contemporaries felt very differently during his term, and he was widely respected and extremely popular. Moreover, his administration had some real accomplishments. It slashed taxes, established the Federal Budget Bureau, restored a protective tariff, and saw the postwar depression give way to a new surge of prosperity. The Five Power Naval Treaty of 1922 made large cuts in the world’s navies, a significant step toward peace. Moreover, Harding openly advocated civil rights, at a time when it was certainly not fashionable. However, even as he worked to fulfill his responsibilities as president, Harding was not a well man. In mid-January 1923, he caught what was thought of as a cold or influenza, but may have been abdominal angina. It lingered on and on, and by late February the President was weak and lacked stamina; nonetheless he pushed himself to take a strenuous trip to Florida. After he returned his intimates began to see troubling signs that Harding was ill, signs that would today be readily recognizable as cardiac disease but were less easily diagnosed then. His valet told one of the Secret Service detail that Harding couldn’t sleep at night, nor lie down, as he needed to be propped up to catch his breath. He was also short of breath playing golf, having to drag himself from hole to hole. With the presidential election of 1924 was just a year away, Harding then planned a fateful trip to the west for June. He labelled it as a “Voyage of Understanding,” and designed it to show himself to the people and bring directly to them his administration’s programs and proposals. Harding’s political concept for the trip was sound, but he was not up to it physically. Mrs. Harding was sufficiently concerned to insist that physicians accompany them and remain as close to the President as possible at all times. On June 20, 1923, the day of departure, the presidential train was scheduled to leave Washington for St. Louis at 2:00. Harding was already tired before leaving and this caused concern. In such a situation it was determined that the President should make his Last Will and Testament prior to getting underway. Document Signed as president, 3 pages folio on carbon-like paper, Washington, D.C., June 20, 1923, being Harding’s actual will with his notation “Only true copy – signed and witnessed” on the first page. The will contains 15 clauses. The President leaves his wife real estate in their hometown of Marion, Ohio, including part of his old newspaper offices (“the east half of the Star office building”), and their home (“our residence on Mount Vernon Avenue”). He also gives her the income from most of his investments, stocks and bonds, during her life, providing that the principal be paid at her death to his brothers and sisters. She receives their personal property, with a specific notation that she may exercise her judgment in making gifts or donations of “any articles of historical value to any society, organization or person.” Harding left his father the use of a home and some income on bonds and securities, and remembered with a small sum his wife’s grandchildren. His own nieces and nephews, however, received what was then the considerable sum of $10,000 each. He remained loyal to two of his chief employees from his newspaper days, giving them money “as a mark of my appreciation of the faithful service rendered to me in the conduct of The Marion Star.” Other bequests were to two churches in Marion, and to the city of Marion itself, which he left fully $25,000 “to be applied in the creation of some permanent improvement…in any one of the three city parks.” Most interesting of all, in a sense, was his self-effacing request “that no part of my estate shall be expended for a monument other than a simple marker at my grave.” The will was witnessed by his long-time aide and secretary, George Christian, Charles Hard, and by Harding’s corrupt Attorney General, Harry Daugherty. Our information is that a few small changes in this will were suggested by Daugherty, and that another copy was executed immediately after which superceded this one. Thus this copy was never probated and is not in a public record office in Ohio. Harding’s trip saw him cross the country by rail, meeting and speaking with the public and officials along the way. It was successful but so grueling that the President told his advance man that the return schedule needed to be modified to give him more rest, as “It will kill me. I just cannot keep up such a pace without dire consequences…” After leaving Alaska, he was unwell in Vancouver. In Seattle he read his speech listlessly and appeared confused, then pronounced himself “exhausted.” The decision was taken to go immediately to San Francisco and stay for a few days of rest. On the way there Harding was breathless, uncomfortable and breathing heavily. His usually high blood pressure had dropped, and an examination disclosed that his heart was dilated and he had congestive heart failure. He was rushed to a suite in the Palace Hotel upon arrival, where his heart problem worsened. On August 2 the President was dead of a heart attack. The nation was plunged into mourning. As the president’s ceremonial procession traveled from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., the New York Times said, “The public’s response is the most remarkable expression of affection, respect and reverence in U.S. history.” Not wanting to worry the public, during his final days Harding’s advisors issued misleading bulletins from his bedside which stated that there was nothing seriously wrong with him, or which mentioned food poisoning, or that he was recovering. These did Harding a disservice, as rumors that he had been poisoned or had died suspiciously circulated widely. Thus rumors, rather than his accomplishments, were the focus of conversations about his death, though the truth was innocent. A unique document in our experience – the Last Will and Testament of a dying president, executed the day he left Washington for the last time. From the Forbes Collection.