http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/us/dna...-life.html

More interesting was the fact that Harding had no African blood in him. For years he was considered a "Black" president by friends and opponents. He always gracefully dodged the question, with the statement that somebody back there may have "jumped the fence" but he did not know who. A black commentator of the era, Joel Augustus Rogers, who drew a sort of Ripley's Believe it or Not version of Black History entitled Your History, for various newspapers for decades, claimed him to be a light black or mulatto who passed for white. Rogers also claimed the same for Presidents Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Vice President Hannibal Hamlin (South Carolina offered to put him up for auction to see how much he would fetch), and swarthy US Senator Daniel "Black Dan" Webster.

In the case of Lincoln, RKO Pictures held a contest in 1940 for whoever looked the most like Old Abe for its upcoming movie, Abe Lincoln in Illinois from thousands of photos submitted. Thomas Bomar won, hands down, until it was discovered that Bomar was black. The gala presentation was cancelled and Bomar was awarded the prize behind the scenes, so to speak, in a hush-hush ceremony.

There is more, but those interests might consult Ronald D. Smith and William L. Richter, Fascinating People and Astounding Event From American History (ABC-Clio, 1993)

Fascinating history! Had never heard of any of this....and Wild Bill - you are a hoot!

As I used to say to my students: If you can't trust your history professor, whom can you trust?

For awhile back about 15 years ago, we were fighting the rumor that Mr. Lincoln was truly a "black" Republican because a teacher here in our county had convinced a lot of her students over the years that it was a fact.

(08-13-2015 01:59 PM)Wild Bill Wrote:  More interesting was the fact that Harding had no African blood in him. For years he was considered a "Black" president by friends and opponents. He always gracefully dodged the question, with the statement that somebody back there may have "jumped the fence" but he did not know who. A black commentator of the era, Joel Augustus Rogers, who drew a sort of Ripley's Believe it or Not version of Black History entitled Your History, for various newspapers for decades, claimed him to be a light black or mulatto who passed for white. Rogers also claimed the same for Presidents Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Vice President Hannibal Hamlin (South Carolina offered to put him up for auction to see how much he would fetch), and swarthy US Senator Daniel "Black Dan" Webster.

In the case of Lincoln, RKO Pictures held a contest in 1940 for whoever looked the most like Old Abe for its upcoming movie, Abe Lincoln in Illinois from thousands of photos submitted. Thomas Bomar won, hands down, until it was discovered that Bomar was black. The gala presentation was cancelled and Bomar was awarded the prize behind the scenes, so to speak, in a hush-hush ceremony.

There is more, but those interests might consult Ronald D. Smith and William L. Richter, Fascinating People and Astounding Event From American History (ABC-Clio, 1993)

The Lincoln lookalike story is a hoot.

Tom

I didn't know about the Harding thing but have heard over the years that Lincoln was black. There are those that I have met who believe it. The beat goes on folks.

Grover Cleveland was another President with a paternity scandal, I believe. It has lived on through a political cartoon published at the time.

Laurie, that's true. Also I seem to recall Chester Arthur having some paternity scandal, but I don't trust my memory on stuff like that.

--Jim

There might be a little less of this in political circles if the wives would only sing this little song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY4jondX6tg

(08-14-2015 12:35 PM)Gene C Wrote:  There might be a little less of this in political circles if the wives would only sing this little song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY4jondX6tg

You got that right!

Somewhere in the basement is a copy of Gaston Means' "The Strange Death of President Harding" from 1930. He (and others) believed the president was murdered by Mrs. Harding to protect his reputation from further scandals.

--Jim

How thoughtful of her

Indeed Gene....LOL!!!

Warren Harding was himself personally honest. His appointees ranged from brilliant to the most corrupt men in Ohio and elsewhere. There is a story which ought to be true that Harding was so furious when he discovered one of his people was selling presidential pardons, that the president knocked the miscreant down, tried to choke him while yelling "you rat, you rat" and had to dragged away by aides and secret service men.

Tom