Name William Harding Died December 17, 1934 | Role American Politician Education Morningside College | |
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William Lloyd Harding (October 3, 1877 – December 17, 1934) was an American politician. He was the 22nd Governor of Iowa, from 1917 to 1921.
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Early life
Born in 1877 in Sibley, Iowa, Harding's hometown was Sioux City, Iowa.
Political career
William Lloyd Harding, Iowa's twenty-second governor, was born in Sibley, Iowa on October 3, 1877.
From 1897 to 1901, he attended Morningside College, and then went on to earn his law degree from the University of South Dakota. Harding entered politics in 1906, serving as a Republican member of the Iowa House of Representatives, a position he held for six years. 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 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 WWI. During that time, there were defense councils in every state, and the entry of the United States into WWI followed President Wilson's famous statement "the world must be made safe for democracy"., and 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.”
Harding was convinced that destroying the vital bond of language within ethnic communities would force assimilation of minorities into the dominant culture and heighten a sense of patriotism in a time of war. He understood the connection between communication and assimilation. Harding became the only governor in the United States to outlaw the public use of all foreign languages. Governor Harding [thought the] loss of one’s native language, was a small sacrifice compared to the good it could do saving the lives of American boys overseas by curbing sedition at home. And, he also thought ALL [emphasis added] foreign languages provided an opportunity for the enemy to scatter propaganda. He addressed those issues in a proclamation which became known as the Babel Proclamation.
Politics being what politics is, the Babel Proclamation became controversial.
Post-Governor life
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.
He is buried in a mausoleum at the Graceland Park Cemetery in Sioux City, Iowa.