The Ohio Gang
Hilary Barrett
April 13, 2009
Ohio History
Dr. Patrick Thieving Their Way into History In 1919 World War I had come to an end. Ten years later the stock market crashed throwing the United States into a Great Depression. The time period in between was a time that was classified by a boom in the economy and prohibition legalized by the eighteenth amendment. This amendment had lead to an increase of organized crime nationwide. In that time span of these two prominent moments in American history was one of the most scandalous presidencies in American history. It came from no other than Ohioan Warren G. Harding. Harding can be considered one of the worst presidents of all time. He won the Presidential election of 1920 which made him officially the President in January of 1921. Once he became president, he immediately made up his cabinet. Three members of his cabinet included his attorney general Harry Daugherty, his secretary of the navy Edwin Denby, and his secretary of the interior Albert Fall. These three men along with Charles Forbes, Thomas Miller and Jess Smith were coined ‘The Ohio Gang’. ‘The Ohio Gang’ was a group of men either in Harding’s cabinet or they directly knew Harding. Although some of the members are not from Ohio, they were coined this name due to their relation to Harding. In fact a majority of the members were not from Ohio. Harding let these men do as they pleased. These men single handily put together some of the biggest scams of the 1920’s. The scandals they pulled off were neither elaborate or spectacular but they made a ton of money off of them. Daugherty was Harding’s first appointed cabinet member. The beginnings of ‘The Ohio Gang’ surfaced while Daugherty was in office. He was accused of selling his vote for five thousand dollars. From that point on any kind of scandal relating to Daugherty and had an affiliation with President Harding went simultaneously with ‘The Ohio Gang’. In a nutshell, as soon as Daugherty
April 13, 2009
Ohio History
Dr. Patrick Thieving Their Way into History In 1919 World War I had come to an end. Ten years later the stock market crashed throwing the United States into a Great Depression. The time period in between was a time that was classified by a boom in the economy and prohibition legalized by the eighteenth amendment. This amendment had lead to an increase of organized crime nationwide. In that time span of these two prominent moments in American history was one of the most scandalous presidencies in American history. It came from no other than Ohioan Warren G. Harding. Harding can be considered one of the worst presidents of all time. He won the Presidential election of 1920 which made him officially the President in January of 1921. Once he became president, he immediately made up his cabinet. Three members of his cabinet included his attorney general Harry Daugherty, his secretary of the navy Edwin Denby, and his secretary of the interior Albert Fall. These three men along with Charles Forbes, Thomas Miller and Jess Smith were coined ‘The Ohio Gang’. ‘The Ohio Gang’ was a group of men either in Harding’s cabinet or they directly knew Harding. Although some of the members are not from Ohio, they were coined this name due to their relation to Harding. In fact a majority of the members were not from Ohio. Harding let these men do as they pleased. These men single handily put together some of the biggest scams of the 1920’s. The scandals they pulled off were neither elaborate or spectacular but they made a ton of money off of them. Daugherty was Harding’s first appointed cabinet member. The beginnings of ‘The Ohio Gang’ surfaced while Daugherty was in office. He was accused of selling his vote for five thousand dollars. From that point on any kind of scandal relating to Daugherty and had an affiliation with President Harding went simultaneously with ‘The Ohio Gang’. In a nutshell, as soon as Daugherty