William L. Harding

American politician (1877–1934)

For other people with a similar name, see William Harding.

William Lloyd Harding

22nd Governor of Iowa
In office
January 11, 1917 – January 13, 1921
Lieutenant| Ernest R. Moore
Preceded by| George W. Clarke
Succeeded by| Nathan E. Kendall
Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
In office
January 16, 1913 – January 11, 1917
Governor| George W. Clarke
Preceded by| George W. Clarke
Succeeded by| Ernest R. Moore
Iowa House of Representatives
In office
1907–1913
Constituency| District 58
Personal details
Born| (1877-10-03)October 3, 1877
Sibley, Iowa, U.S.
Died| December 17, 1934(1934-12-17) (aged 57)
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Political party| Republican
Spouse|

Carrie Lamoreaux

(m. 1907)​

Children| 1
Alma mater| Morningside College
University of South Dakota (LLB)

William Lloyd Harding (October 3, 1877 – December 17, 1934) was an American politician who served as the 22nd Governor of Iowa, from 1917 to 1921.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

## Early life

[edit]

William Lloyd Harding, was born in Sibley, Iowa, on October 3, 1877, to Orlando B. and Emalyn (née Moyer) Harding, the fourth of nine children.[1][2][3][5][4][6]They hailed from Pennsylvania.[2] From 1897 to 1901, he attended Morningside College, and then went on to earn his law degree from the University of South Dakota in 1905.[1][2][5][4][6]

He began the practicing law in Sioux City with the firm of Oliver, Harding & Oliver.[2] He came to be a partner of James W. Kindig, later an Iowa Supreme Court justice.[2][5]

He was married to Carrie Lamoreaux on January 9, 1907, and had a daughter named Barbara.[2][3][5]

## Political career

[edit]

### Iowa House

[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][2][4][5][6] He was a ranking member of the Judiciary Committee and the Chairman of the Committee on Municipal Corporations.[4][5]

### Governorship

[edit]

He also served as Iowa's lieutenant governor from 1913 to 1917 during the tenure of Republican governor George W. Clarke.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Harding won the 1916 Republican gubernatorial nomination and then won the election in a landslide (winning 98 of 99 counties).[2][4][5] He was sworn as governor on January 11, 1917 by Chief Justice F. R. Graynor.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

#### Babel Proclamation

[edit]

Harding was reelected to a second term in 1918 and thus was governor during the four years which partly coincided with World War I.[1][2][3][4] During that time, there were "defense councils" in every state, following President Wilson's famous statement "the world must be made safe for democracy",[7] 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."[7]

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.[1][4][8] On May 23, 1918 he addressed these issues in an edict whose title was the Babel Proclamation, stating:[1][3][4][6][9]

> FIRST. English should and must be the only medium of instruction in

> pubic, private, denominational or other similar schools.

> SECOND. Conversation in public places, on trains and over the telephone should be in the English language.

> THIRD. All public addresses should be in the English language

> FOURTH. Let those who can not speak or understand the English language conduct their religious worship in their homes.

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."[10]

His hostility towards immigrants and foreign ethnic groups extended beyond Germans and included Iowans of Norwegian and Danish descent.[8]

#### Rest of the Governorship

[edit]

During his tenure, rural schools were consolidated, prison labor was abolished and a survey to establish state historical sites was done.[1][4][5] The State Board of Conservation was created, as well as the state park system.[4][5] The state also passed federal amendments in support of Women's Suffarage and Prohibition.[5]

### Censure

[edit]

Iowa Attorney General Horace Havner launched an investigation which revealed that a campaign worker solicited a cash donation of $5,000 from the father of a young man convicted of rape. In return for the money, the convicted man was promised a pardon.[3][6] Harding granted this pardon.[3]

On April 11, 1919, the Iowa House initiated impeachment proceedings against Harding.[8] After debating for one day, the House decided against impeachment and pursued censure.[8]

Several resignations resulted, and an impeachment proposal was initiated but denied. A censure motion was approved by a vote of 70-34.[1] He did not run again in 1920.

## Later Life

[edit]

After leaving the Governor's Mansion, he joined Harding, Rnffcorn & Jones law firm in Des Moines.[5]

In September 1934 while at a campaign event in Crawfordsville, Indiana, Harding suffered a serious heart attack, which lead to a declining health.[2][5]

Harding died of diabetes on December 17, 1934 in Des Moines.[1][2] He then was entombed in a mausoleum at the Graceland Park Cemetery in Sioux City, Iowa.[1][2][3][4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Gov. William Lloyd Harding". National Governors Association. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "William Lloyd Harding Woodbury County". Iowa State House of Representatives. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "William Lloyd Harding THE BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF IOWA University of Iowa Press Digital Editions". University of Iowa. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "From Iowa, Its History & Its Citizens William Lloyd Harding". Genealogy Trails. January 1, 1918. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Notable Deaths William Lloyd Harding" (PDF). Iowa State House of Representatives. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h "William Harding: Making the case for perhaps Iowa's worst governor". Iowa History Journal. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
7. ^ a b "Woodrow Wilson, "War Message" Delivered to Congress, April 2, 1917" (PDF). Marine Corps University. April 2, 1917. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
8. ^ a b c d Peterson, Peter (October 1, 1974). "Language and Loyalty: Governor Harding and Iowa's Danish-Americans During World War I". University of Iowa. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
9. ^ "Orders German Language Out of All Schools in Iowa." Des Moines Register, May 26, 1918: 10A
10. ^ 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.

Party political offices

Preceded by

George W. Clarke

|  Republican nominee Governor of Iowa
1916, 1918 | Succeeded by

Nathan E. Kendall

Political offices
Preceded by

George W. Clarke

|  Lieutenant Governor of Iowa
1913–1917  | Succeeded by

Ernest Robert Moore

Preceded by

George W. Clarke

|  Governor of Iowa
January 11, 1917 - January 13, 1921  | Succeeded by

Nathan E. Kendall

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