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{{Short description|American politician (1877–1934)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{For|other people with a similar name|William Harding (disambiguation){{!}}William Harding}}
{{For|other people with a similar name|William Harding (disambiguation){{!}}William Harding}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox Governor
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = William Lloyd Harding
|name = William Lloyd Harding
|image = William Lloyd Harding in 1915.jpg
|image = William Lloyd Harding in 1915 (1).jpg
|image_size = 140px
|order1 = 22nd
|order1 = 22nd
|office1 = Governor of Iowa
|office1 = Governor of Iowa
Line 10: Line 10:
|term_start1 = January 11, 1917
|term_start1 = January 11, 1917
|term_end1 = January 13, 1921
|term_end1 = January 13, 1921
|predecessor1 = [[George W. Clarke]]
|predecessor1 = [[George W. Clarke (Iowa politician)|George W. Clarke]]
|successor1 = [[Nathan E. Kendall]]
|successor1 = [[Nathan E. Kendall]]
|office2 = [[Lieutenant Governor of Iowa]]
|office2 = [[Lieutenant Governor of Iowa]]
|governor2 = [[George W. Clarke]]
|governor2 = [[George W. Clarke (Iowa politician)|George W. Clarke]]
|term_start2 = January 16, 1913
|term_start2 = January 16, 1913
|term_end2 = January 11, 1917
|term_end2 = January 11, 1917
|predecessor2 = [[George W. Clarke]]
|predecessor2 = George W. Clarke
|successor2 = [[Ernest Robert Moore|Ernest R. Moore]]
|successor2 = [[Ernest Robert Moore|Ernest R. Moore]]
|birth_date = {{birth date|1877|10|3}}
|birth_date = {{birth date|1877|10|3}}
|birth_place = [[Sibley, Iowa]], [[U.S.]]
|birth_place = [[Sibley, Iowa]], U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1934|12|17|1877|10|3}}
|death_date = {{death date and age|1934|12|17|1877|10|3}}
|death_place = [[Des Moines, Iowa]], [[U.S.]]
|death_place = [[Des Moines, Iowa]], U.S.
|party = [[Republican Party of Iowa|Republican]]
|party = [[Republican Party of Iowa|Republican]]
|spouse =
|spouse =
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|signature =
|signature =
}}
}}
'''William Lloyd Harding''' (October 3, 1877 – December 17, 1934) was an [[US|American]] Republican politician. He was the [[List of Governors of Iowa|22nd Governor of Iowa]], from 1917 to 1921.
'''William Lloyd Harding''' (October 3, 1877 – December 17, 1934) was an American Republican politician. He was the [[List of Governors of Iowa|22nd Governor of Iowa]], from 1917 to 1921.


==Early life==
==Early life==
William Lloyd Harding, was born in [[Sibley, Iowa]], on October 3, 1877.<!--it would be good to have something about his parents, siblings, and upbringing--> He later lived in [[Sioux City, Iowa|Sioux City]].<ref name="fagWHarding">{{Find a Grave|6665665}}</ref> From 1897 to 1901, he attended [[Morningside College]], and then went on to earn his law degree from the [[University of South Dakota]].<ref name=legislature>{{cite web |url=https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/historicalInformation?lastName=Harding&firstName=William&chamberID=&leadershipPositionID=&partyID=3&districtID=&countyID=97&gaYear=Any&historicalGA=Any&historicalLA=Any |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054732/https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/historicalInformation?lastName=Harding&firstName=William&chamberID=&leadershipPositionID=&partyID=3&districtID=&countyID=97&gaYear=Any&historicalGA=Any&historicalLA=Any |archivedate=March 4, 2016 |title=The Iowa Legislature: Historical Information |accessdate=November 4, 2016}}</ref>
William Lloyd Harding, was born in [[Sibley, Iowa]], on October 3, 1877.<!--it would be good to have something about his parents, siblings, and upbringing--> He later lived in [[Sioux City, Iowa|Sioux City]]. From 1897 to 1901, he attended [[Morningside University|Morningside College]], and then went on to earn his law degree from the [[University of South Dakota]].<ref name=legislature>{{cite web |url=https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/historicalInformation?lastName=Harding&firstName=William&chamberID=&leadershipPositionID=&partyID=3&districtID=&countyID=97&gaYear=Any&historicalGA=Any&historicalLA=Any |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054732/https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/historicalInformation?lastName=Harding&firstName=William&chamberID=&leadershipPositionID=&partyID=3&districtID=&countyID=97&gaYear=Any&historicalGA=Any&historicalLA=Any |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |title=The Iowa Legislature: Historical Information |access-date=November 4, 2016}}</ref>


==Political career==
==Political career==
Harding entered politics in 1906, serving as a Republican member of the Iowa House of Representatives, a position he held for six years.<ref name=legislature /> He also served as Iowa's lieutenant governor from 1913 to 1917 during the terms of Republican governor [[George W. Clarke]]. Harding won the 1916 Republican gubernatorial nomination, won the election in a landslide (winning 98 of 99 counties<ref>Derr, Nancy. [http://uipress.lib.uiowa.edu/bdi/DetailsPage.aspx?id=154 "Harding, William Lloyd"] ''The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa''. University of Iowa Press, 2009. November 4, 2016.</ref>) and was sworn into the governor's office on January 11, 1917. He was reelected to a second term in 1918, and thus was governor during four years which roughly coincided with [[World War I]] and especially the United States' involvement in it.<ref>[http://genealogytrails.com/iowa/bio_william_lloyd_harding.htm William, Lloyd Harding]. From ''Iowa, Its History & Its Citizens'', Volume 2, 1918.</ref> During that time, there were "defense councils" in every state,<ref>http://people.cas.sc.edu/dubinsk/LING240/readings/Frese.2005.Babel.Proclamation.pdf,footnote17{{dead link|date=May 2016}}</ref> and the entry of the United States into the war followed President Wilson's famous statement "the world must be made safe for democracy",<ref name=wilson>Woodrow Wilson, War Declaration to Congress, April 2, 1917</ref> and its companion statement, "millions of men and women of German birth and native sympathy live amongst us....Should there be any disloyalty it will be dealt with a firm hand of repression.”<ref name=wilson />
Harding entered politics in 1906, serving as a Republican member of the Iowa House of Representatives, a position he held for six years.<ref name=legislature /> He also served as Iowa's lieutenant governor from 1913 to 1917 during the terms of Republican governor [[George W. Clarke (Iowa politician)|George W. Clarke]]. Harding won the 1916 Republican gubernatorial nomination and then won the election in a landslide (winning 98 of 99 counties.<ref>Derr, Nancy. [http://uipress.lib.uiowa.edu/bdi/DetailsPage.aspx?id=154 "Harding, William Lloyd"] ''The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa''. University of Iowa Press, 2009. November 4, 2016.</ref>) He was sworn into the governor's office on January 11, 1917.


Harding was convinced that assimilation would heighten patriotism and felt there is a connection between communication and assimilation. He also claimed that all foreign languages provided an opportunity for the enemy to scatter propaganda. Harding became the only governor in the United States to outlaw the public use of all foreign languages.<ref>http://people.cas.sc.edu/dubinsk/LING240/readingsFrese.2005.Babel.Proclamation.pdf {{dead link|date=May 2016}}</ref> He addressed those issues in an edict whose title was the [[Babel Proclamation]], which prohibited all public communication in any language other than English.<ref>"Orders German Language Out of All Schools in Iowa." ''Des Moines Register'', May 26, 1918: 10A</ref>
Harding was reelected to a second term in 1918 and thus was governor during the four years which roughly coincided with [[World War I]].<ref>[http://genealogytrails.com/iowa/bio_william_lloyd_harding.htm William, Lloyd Harding]. From ''Iowa, Its History & Its Citizens'', Volume 2, 1918.</ref> During that time, there were "defense councils" in every state,<ref>http://people.cas.sc.edu/dubinsk/LING240/readings/Frese.2005.Babel.Proclamation.pdf,footnote17{{dead link|date=May 2016}}</ref> following President Wilson's famous statement "the world must be made safe for democracy",<ref name=wilson>Woodrow Wilson, War Declaration to Congress, April 2, 1917</ref> and "millions of men and women of German birth and native sympathy live amongst us....Should there be any disloyalty it will be dealt with a firm hand of repression."<ref name=wilson />


Harding was convinced that assimilation would heighten patriotism and felt there is a connection between communication and assimilation. He also claimed that any foreign language provided an opportunity for the enemy to scatter propaganda. Harding became the only governor in the United States to outlaw the public use of all foreign languages.<ref>http://people.cas.sc.edu/dubinsk/LING240/readingsFrese.2005.Babel.Proclamation.pdf {{dead link|date=May 2016}}</ref> He addressed those issues in an edict whose title was the [[Babel Proclamation]], which prohibited all public communication in any language other than English.<ref>"Orders German Language Out of All Schools in Iowa." ''Des Moines Register'', May 26, 1918: 10A</ref> It forbade the use of [[foreign language]]s in public, over the telephone, in school, and in religious services. In response to complaints from pastors, Harding stated that "there is no use in anyone wasting his time praying in languages other than English. God is listening only to the English tongue."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ross |first=William G. |title=Forging new freedoms: nativism, education, and the Constitution, 1917-1927 |date=1994 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-3900-5 |location=Lincoln |pages=45 |chapter=The War against German America}}</ref>
The [[Babel Proclamation]], which forbade the use of [[foreign language]]s in public, over the telephone, in school, and in religious services, was controversial, and possibly unconstitutional. It came about due to the large anti-German sentiment during the [[World War I|First World War]]. Harding's time in office was marred by scandal and other controversy. His hostility towards immigrants and foreign ethnic groups extended beyond Germans and, for example, included Iowans of [[Norwegian people|Norwegian]] descent.<ref>[http://www.legis.iowa.gov/Legislators/legislatorAllYears.aspx?PID=3272 William L. Harding, Iowa General Assembly] {{dead link|date=May 2016}}</ref>


Harding's time in office was marred by scandal and controversy. His hostility towards immigrants and foreign ethnic groups extended beyond Germans and included Iowans of [[Norwegian people|Norwegian]]<ref>[http://www.legis.iowa.gov/Legislators/legislatorAllYears.aspx?PID=3272 William L. Harding, Iowa General Assembly] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121213082333/http://www.legis.iowa.gov/Legislators/legislatorAllYears.aspx?PID=3272 |date=December 13, 2012 }}</ref> and Danish<ref>{{cite news|title=Would an Apology Be in Order?|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16465796/william_l_harding_18771934/|newspaper=The Des Moines Register|date=July 25, 1918|page=4|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = January 12, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> descent.
An investigation revealed an alleged bribe of 5K for the Governor’s pardon of a felon convicted of rape. Several resignations resulted, and an impeachment proposal was initiated but denied. A censure motion was approved by a vote of 70-34. He did not run again.(1920)
<ref>Derr, Nancy. "Harding, William Lloyd" The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press, 2009. Web. January 24, 2017, [http://uipress.lib.uiowa.edu/bdi/DetailsPage.aspx?id=154]</ref><ref>[https://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_iowa/col2-content/main-content-list/title_harding_william.html]</ref>


==Death==
==Censure==
An investigation revealed an alleged bribe of $5,000 for the Governor's pardon of a felon convicted of rape. Several resignations resulted, and an impeachment proposal was initiated but denied. A censure motion was approved by a vote of 70-34. He did not run again in 1920.
Harding was known for his oratory abilities and he continued to be a favorite speaker for Republican party events long after his term as Iowa’s governor had ended.<ref>Sioux City Public Museum Pearl Street Research Center, SC-12, Folder #2</ref>
<ref>Derr, Nancy. "Harding, William Lloyd" The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press, 2009. Web. January 24, 2017, [http://uipress.lib.uiowa.edu/bdi/DetailsPage.aspx?id=154]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_iowa/col2-content/main-content-list/title_harding_william.html |title=William Lloyd Harding |website=www.nga.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118012325/http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_iowa/col2-content/main-content-list/title_harding_william.html |archive-date=2012-01-18}}</ref>

He is buried in a mausoleum at the Graceland Park Cemetery in [[Sioux City, Iowa]].<ref name="fagWHarding" />


== References ==
== References ==
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{{s-start}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[George W. Clarke (Iowa politician)|George W. Clarke]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee [[List of Governors of Iowa|Governor of Iowa]]|years=[[1916 Iowa gubernatorial election|1916]], [[1918 Iowa gubernatorial election|1918]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Nathan E. Kendall]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[George W. Clarke]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Lieutenant Governor of Iowa]]|years=1913–1917}}
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{{s-aft|after=[[Ernest Robert Moore]]}}
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{{succession box|title=[[Governor of Iowa]] |before=[[George W. Clarke (Iowa politician)|George W. Clarke]] |after=[[Nathan E. Kendall]] |years=January 11, 1917{{spaced ndash}}January 13, 1921}}
{{s-end}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Iowa}}
{{Governors of Iowa}}
{{Lieutenant Governors of Iowa}}
{{Lieutenant Governors of Iowa}}
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[[Category:Iowa lawyers]]
[[Category:Iowa lawyers]]
[[Category:University of South Dakota alumni]]
[[Category:University of South Dakota alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the Iowa House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Lieutenant Governors of Iowa]]
[[Category:Lieutenant governors of Iowa]]
[[Category:Governors of Iowa]]
[[Category:Republican Party governors of Iowa]]
[[Category:Politicians from Sioux City, Iowa]]
[[Category:Politicians from Sioux City, Iowa]]
[[Category:Iowa Republicans]]
[[Category:Republican Party state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:People from Sibley, Iowa]]
[[Category:People from Sibley, Iowa]]
[[Category:20th-century Iowa politicians]]

Latest revision as of 03:05, 17 November 2024

William Lloyd Harding
22nd Governor of Iowa
In office
January 11, 1917 – January 13, 1921
LieutenantErnest R. Moore
Preceded byGeorge W. Clarke
Succeeded byNathan E. Kendall
Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
In office
January 16, 1913 – January 11, 1917
GovernorGeorge W. Clarke
Preceded byGeorge W. Clarke
Succeeded byErnest R. Moore
Personal details
Born(1877-10-03)October 3, 1877
Sibley, Iowa, U.S.
DiedDecember 17, 1934(1934-12-17) (aged 57)
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Alma materUniversity of South Dakota

William Lloyd Harding (October 3, 1877 – December 17, 1934) was an American Republican politician. He was the 22nd Governor of Iowa, from 1917 to 1921.

Early life

[edit]

William Lloyd Harding, was born in Sibley, Iowa, on October 3, 1877. He later lived in Sioux City. From 1897 to 1901, he attended Morningside College, and then went on to earn his law degree from the University of South Dakota.[1]

Political career

[edit]

Harding entered politics in 1906, serving as a Republican member of the Iowa House of Representatives, a position he held for six years.[1] He also served as Iowa's lieutenant governor from 1913 to 1917 during the terms of Republican governor George W. Clarke. Harding won the 1916 Republican gubernatorial nomination and then won the election in a landslide (winning 98 of 99 counties.[2]) He was sworn into the governor's office on January 11, 1917.

Harding was reelected to a second term in 1918 and thus was governor during the four years which roughly coincided with World War I.[3] During that time, there were "defense councils" in every state,[4] following President Wilson's famous statement "the world must be made safe for democracy",[5] and "millions of men and women of German birth and native sympathy live amongst us....Should there be any disloyalty it will be dealt with a firm hand of repression."[5]

Harding was convinced that assimilation would heighten patriotism and felt there is a connection between communication and assimilation. He also claimed that any foreign language provided an opportunity for the enemy to scatter propaganda. Harding became the only governor in the United States to outlaw the public use of all foreign languages.[6] He addressed those issues in an edict whose title was the Babel Proclamation, which prohibited all public communication in any language other than English.[7] It forbade the use of foreign languages in public, over the telephone, in school, and in religious services. In response to complaints from pastors, Harding stated that "there is no use in anyone wasting his time praying in languages other than English. God is listening only to the English tongue."[8]

Harding's time in office was marred by scandal and controversy. His hostility towards immigrants and foreign ethnic groups extended beyond Germans and included Iowans of Norwegian[9] and Danish[10] descent.

Censure

[edit]

An investigation revealed an alleged bribe of $5,000 for the Governor's pardon of a felon convicted of rape. Several resignations resulted, and an impeachment proposal was initiated but denied. A censure motion was approved by a vote of 70-34. He did not run again in 1920. [11][12]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "The Iowa Legislature: Historical Information". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  2. ^ Derr, Nancy. "Harding, William Lloyd" The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press, 2009. November 4, 2016.
  3. ^ William, Lloyd Harding. From Iowa, Its History & Its Citizens, Volume 2, 1918.
  4. ^ http://people.cas.sc.edu/dubinsk/LING240/readings/Frese.2005.Babel.Proclamation.pdf,footnote17[dead link]
  5. ^ a b Woodrow Wilson, War Declaration to Congress, April 2, 1917
  6. ^ http://people.cas.sc.edu/dubinsk/LING240/readingsFrese.2005.Babel.Proclamation.pdf [dead link]
  7. ^ "Orders German Language Out of All Schools in Iowa." Des Moines Register, May 26, 1918: 10A
  8. ^ Ross, William G. (1994). "The War against German America". Forging new freedoms: nativism, education, and the Constitution, 1917-1927. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-8032-3900-5.
  9. ^ William L. Harding, Iowa General Assembly Archived December 13, 2012, at archive.today
  10. ^ "Would an Apology Be in Order?". The Des Moines Register. July 25, 1918. p. 4. Retrieved January 12, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ Derr, Nancy. "Harding, William Lloyd" The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press, 2009. Web. January 24, 2017, [1]
  12. ^ "William Lloyd Harding". www.nga.org. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012.
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee Governor of Iowa
1916, 1918
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
1913–1917
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Iowa
January 11, 1917 – January 13, 1921
Succeeded by