Prohibition: Thirteen Years That Changed America - Plot & Excerpts
Warren Gamaliel Harding was, if not the worst, certainly the weakest, most indecisive president in American history. This need not have been disastrous — America faced no major external threats between 1920 and 1923 — had not the start of Prohibition coincided with the beginning of his presidency. As it was, “the Harding Administration was responsible in its short two years and five months for more concentrated robbery and rascality than any other in the whole history of Federal Government.”1 Harding was not an evil man, nor was he, personally, exceptionally corrupt by the standards of the time. The abysmal record of his administration was partly due to a “character flaw” inherent in the man — his excessively good-natured, amicable disposition. A former colleague in his early days noted that “he wanted to be everybody’s friend ... a small town play boy.” His entourage was well aware of his craving to be liked and exploited this weakness to the hilt, knowing that he was too dependent on his friends to deal with them harshly even when their corrupt practices led to public scandals.
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