Editing Warren G. Harding (section)

===Political setbacks and western tour===
{{See also|Harding Railroad Car}}
[[File:President Harding in Alaska on Presidential Train.jpg|thumb|Harding aboard the presidential train in Alaska, July 1923, with secretaries Hoover, Wallace, Work, and Mrs. Harding]]
Entering the 1922 midterm congressional election campaign, Harding and the Republicans had followed through on many of their campaign promises. But some of the fulfilled pledges, like cutting taxes for the well-off, did not appeal to the electorate. The economy had not returned to normalcy, with unemployment at 11&nbsp;percent, and organized labor angry over the outcome of the strikes. From 303 Republicans elected to the House in 1920, the new [[68th United States Congress|68th Congress]] saw that party fall to a 221–213 majority. In the Senate, the Republicans lost eight seats, and had 51 of 96 senators in the new Congress, which Harding did not survive to meet.{{sfn|Trani & Wilson|pp=80–81}}

A month after the election, the [[lame-duck session]] of the outgoing [[67th United States Congress|67th Congress]] met. Harding then believed his early view of the presidency—that it should propose policies, but leave their adoption to Congress—was no longer enough, and he lobbied Congress, although in vain, to get his ship subsidy bill through.{{sfn|Trani & Wilson|pp=80–81}} Once Congress left town in early March 1923, Harding's popularity began to recover. The economy was improving, and the programs of Harding's more able Cabinet members, such as Hughes, Mellon and Hoover, were showing results. Most Republicans realized that there was no practical alternative to supporting Harding in 1924 for his re-election campaign.{{sfn|Murray 1973|p=95}}

In the first half of 1923, Harding did two things that were later said to indicate foreknowledge of death: he sold the ''Star'' (though undertaking to remain as a contributing editor for ten years after his presidency), and he made a new will.{{sfn|Trani & Wilson|pp=172–173}} Harding had long suffered occasional health problems, but when he was not experiencing symptoms, he tended to eat, drink and smoke too much. By 1919, he was aware he had a heart condition. Stress caused by the presidency and by Florence Harding's own chronic kidney condition debilitated him, and he never fully recovered from an episode of influenza in January 1923. After that, Harding, an avid golfer, had difficulty completing a round. In June 1923, Ohio Senator Willis met with Harding, but brought to the president's attention only two of the five items he intended to discuss. When asked why, Willis responded, "Warren seemed so tired."{{sfn|Murray 1969|pp=438–439}}

In early June 1923, Harding set out on a journey, which he dubbed the "[[Voyage of Understanding]]".{{sfn|Murray 1973|p=95}} The president planned to cross the country, go north to [[Alaska Territory]], journey south along the West Coast, then travel by a U.S. Navy ship from San Diego along the Mexican and Central America West Coast, through the Panama Canal, to Puerto Rico, and return to Washington at the end of August.{{sfn|Murray 1969|p=441}} Harding loved to travel and had long contemplated a trip to Alaska.{{sfn|Trani & Wilson|p=172}} The trip would allow him to speak widely across the country, to politic and [[bloviation|bloviate]] in advance of the 1924 campaign, and give him some rest{{sfn|Murray 1969|pp=439–440}} away from Washington's oppressive summer heat.{{sfn|Murray 1973|p=95}}

Harding's political advisers had given him a physically demanding schedule, even though the president had ordered it cut back.{{sfn|Dean|p=147}} In Kansas City, Harding spoke on transportation issues; in [[Hutchinson, Kansas]], agriculture was the theme. In Denver, he spoke on his support of Prohibition, and continued west making a series of speeches not matched by any president until Franklin Roosevelt. Harding had become a supporter of the [[Permanent Court of International Justice|World Court]], and wanted the U.S. to become a member. In addition to making speeches, he visited [[Yellowstone National Park|Yellowstone]] and [[Zion National Park]]s,{{sfn|Murray 1969|pp=442–443}} and dedicated a monument on the [[Oregon Trail]] at a celebration organized by venerable pioneer [[Ezra Meeker]] and others.{{sfn|Dary|pp=322–323}}

On July 5, Harding embarked on {{USS|Henderson|AP-1|6}} in Washington state. He was the first president to visit Alaska, and spent hours watching the dramatic landscapes from the deck of the ''Henderson''.{{sfn|Dean|p=149}} After several stops along the coast, the presidential party left the ship at [[Seward, Alaska|Seward]] to take the [[Alaska Railroad]] to [[McKinley Park, Alaska|McKinley Park]] and [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]], where he addressed a crowd of 1,500 in {{convert|94|F}} heat. The party was to return to Seward by the [[Richardson Highway|Richardson Trail]], but due to Harding's fatigue, they went by train.{{sfn|Murray 1969|pp=446–447}}

On July 26, 1923, Harding toured [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]] as the first sitting American president to visit Canada. He was welcomed by the [[Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia]] [[Walter Cameron Nichol|Walter Nichol]],<ref>{{cite web| url=https://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/u-s-president-warren-gamaliel-harding-and-lieutenant-governor-nichol-in-procession-on-granville-street-vancouver| title=Item D-01800 – U.S. President Warren Gamaliel Harding and Lieutenant Governor Nichol in a procession on Granville Street, Vancouver| date=July 26, 1923| publisher=Royal British Columbia Museum| access-date=July 29, 2020}}</ref> [[Premier of British Columbia]] [[John Oliver (British Columbia politician)|John Oliver]], and the Mayor of Vancouver, and spoke to a crowd of over 50,000. Two years after his death, a memorial to Harding was unveiled in [[Stanley Park]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_harding.htm |website=The History of Metropolitan Vancouver |title=Warren G. Harding & Stanley Park |access-date=June 14, 2015 |archive-date=September 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916212018/http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_harding.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Harding visited a golf course, but completed only six holes before becoming fatigued. After resting for an hour, he played the 17th and 18th holes so it would appear he had completed the round. He did not succeed in hiding his exhaustion; one reporter thought he looked so tired that a rest of mere days would be insufficient to refresh him.{{sfn|Murray 1969|pp=447–448}}

In [[Seattle]] the next day, Harding kept up his busy schedule, giving a speech to 25,000 people at [[Husky Stadium|the stadium]] at the [[University of Washington]]. In the final speech he gave<!-- phrasing is designed to exclude the speech he could not give in San Francisco that was released to the press -->, Harding predicted statehood for Alaska.<ref name=aaaaiblf>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=775XAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bvQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5690%2C4345509 |work=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=(Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Alaska all right is belief of president after visit |date=July 28, 1923 |page=2}}</ref>{{sfn|Murray 1969|p=448}} The president rushed through his speech, not waiting for applause from the audience.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lange|first=Greg|title=U.S. President Warren G. Harding makes his last speech in Seattle on July&nbsp;27, 1923|url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=878|publisher=HistoryLink.org|date=February 10, 1999|access-date=June 14, 2015}}</ref>