The National Archives at Kansas City will host Dr. Mark Hull on Tuesday, Jan. 15 for a lecture and discussion titled Bypassed by Greatness: The Warren Harding Years. A 6 p.m. informal reception will precede the event.
Warren G. Harding (1921-23) was an unlikely President in so many ways and, until being eclipsed by President Richard Nixon and Watergate, his administration was most often associated with what is perhaps the worst national corruption scandal, Teapot Dome. Harding’s death in office in 1923 likely saved him from even more damaging public revelations about his personal life. Harding rose from relative obscurity and was the perennial compromise candidate. He grew to political maturity in the “Gilded Age” of party bosses and widespread graft even as these practices were losing to the new tide of progressivism. Harding inherited a United States in conflict. America was one of the victorious Allied nations in World War I, yet it was burdened by pressing domestic issues: civil rights, women’s rights, Prohibition, and with an economic collapse just over the horizon. Although his abbreviated administration had a few notable successes, many historians consider Harding the worst president in the history of the Republic.
About the Speaker:
Mark Hull, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, KS. His undergraduate, master’s, and doctorate degrees are in history and he earned his juris doctorate from Cumberland School of Law. Prior to teaching at the CGSC, Hull taught at the University of Great Falls, Saint Louis University, and served as a brigade intelligence advisor to the U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division military transition team from 2006-07 in Iraq. His books include Irish Secrets: German Espionage in Wartime Ireland; Spies Like Us, A Tale of German Espionage in Wartime Ireland; and Concerning the Emancipation of the Slaves published in the book, A Meteor Shining Brightly: Essays on the Life and Career of Major General Patrick Cleburne. In addition he has written numerous articles and reviews on various topics ranging from war crimes, Medal of Honor recipients, and German military intelligence. Hull is also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, based in Great Britain.
For more information or to make a reservation for this free event call 816-268-8010 or register by email kansascity.educate@nara.gov.
The National Archives at Kansas City is one of 15 facilities nationwide where the public has access to Federal archival records. It is home to historical records dating from the 1820s to the 1990s created or received by Federal agencies in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. For more information, call 816-268-8000 or visit www.archives.gov/central-plains/kansas-city.
