Since I started this blog back in April, I have amassed quite a following!  Judging by all the comments I moderate, this following consists almost entirely of bots.

Well, bots of the Internet, rejoice!  After a four-month hiatus, I am returning to my keyboard! I will once again begin producing content, providing you with fresh new canvases on which to paint your poorly written, spamtastic masterpieces…which I will then delete.

If any human is accidentally reading this, the truth is that the structure of my blog (posting a write up of a different President each week, in order) ended up boring me pretty quickly.  It felt too much like I was producing assignments for a fifth grade social studies class.  I ended up getting stuck on Thomas Jefferson (one of my top five favorite presidents) because I wanted to get it just right since I wouldn’t be posting about him again for a while.

Moving forward, I’m dropping the one-president a week thing and writing about whatever Presidential topic happens to be on my mind, definitely giving priority to documenting any field trips I may take to places with Presidential significance.  My general goal is to produce one main post a week, while also reviving my Warren G. Harding Wednesdays series (at least most weeks).  We’ll see what happens…

Bots, get ready.  It’s go time.

 

Why bother leaving home just to campaign to be President of the United States?  Warren G. Harding conducted the majority of his three-month presidential campaign right from his front porch in Marion, Ohio.  Crowds would come from all over to be part of the spectacle, on some days doubling the population of the small town of 29,000.

The more typical method of campaigning at the time was the same as it is now, where the candidate travels from town to town delivering speeches.  Harding’s opponent, James Cox, did just this.  Even so, front porch campaigns weren’t unheard of.  James Garfield (1880), Benjamin Harrison (1888) and William McKinley (1896) all became President after successful front porch campaigns.  While front porch campaigns still occasionally occur for local or regional candidates, Harding was the last US President to run a front-porch campaign.

The whole town of Marion took part in the festivities.  Local volunteers helped direct the crowds, and Harding’s neighbors were encouraged to open their homes to the visitors.  Harding’s next door neighbors even temporarily relocated during the campaign so that their home could be used as the Republican National Headquarters!  All these efforts contributed to the the idea of Harding as a simple man from a small town, and help ensure his landslide victory.

Hello!  Welcome to my blog.

While I’m no Presidential scholar, I am someone who has an interest in all things related to US Presidents (particularly if that President is Warren G. Harding).  I’ll be using this blog as an excuse to blather on about some of my favorite historical figures, and to hopefully learn something in the process.

I plan on having two regular weekly posts, one profiling a different president each week, and one shorter post indulging my obsession with Warren G. Harding.  In addition, I will put up other posts that don’t follow a set schedule. I’m especially looking forward to writing about some of my upcoming visits to various President-related landmarks!  Let’s see where this goes…