Harding’s Lovers

Scandals In and Out of the Bedroom

Many people say you can tell who a person is by their friends and William Harding’s “Ohio Gang” plays true to that. Harding picked his wanton and corrupt friends as his cabinent members who left him the legacy of the Teapot Dome Scandal. However, there are other hidden scandals that this president has in store.

Nan Britton was a secretary and visited Harding in the White House frequently. At 19 she became impregnanted without a husband. To cover up the shame, she told a nosy landlord that her husband died in the Great War. She later revealed one year before his reelection that her daughter, Elizabeth, was fathered by the President himself. Although Harding provided financial assistance, he never made an effort to see his daugther nor did he acknowledge the paternity.

But, one lover wasn’t enough for Harding. He also had a long-term affair with the wife of a local dry goods store owner. Harding got hit with consequences though. During the 1920 election, she blackmailed him for $50,000 and a cruise to China.