Mourning Warren G. Harding

This exhibit explores the power of black cloth as part of public and private displays of bereavement at the White House. Between 1841 and 1963, eight American presidents died while in office. By examining the fabrics used to decorate the White House for their funerals, as well as the mourning fashions of their spouses, one can track displays of grief through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and observe the mourning traditions that were either preserved or discarded to meet the needs of a growing, modernizing nation.

Warren G. Harding
Died on August 2, 1923

The progress of the century could be observed in the mourning rituals of President Harding, as presidential funerals evolved to include new forms of technology. Harding’s Washington funeral, which featured the customary horse-drawn caisson and funeral trains of previous State Funerals, was the first to also include a plane draped in black, flying overhead. The advancement of women’s rights was also evident. First Lady Florence Harding was more involved in the proceedings than previous presidential spouses. The Washington Post reported that “Mrs. Harding’s wishes are being explicitly obeyed in arranging for the funeral.” She designed the red, white, and blue flag-and-eagle floral arrangement that decorated the president’s coffin as it laid in state in the Capitol Rotunda. In contrast, the McKinley funeral planners ignored Ida McKinley’s expressed desire that her husband’s casket be covered with red or white carnations—his favorite flowers that he often wore as a boutonniere. They used roses, violets, and chrysanthemums instead.

While Mrs. Harding observed more traditional rules of mourning dress for her husband’s funeral, the long periods required of widows to remain in mourning attire was becoming a thing of the past; Vogue reported in 1923 that “the period of mourning for the widow is now usually one year, or eighteen months. [The mourning veil] is worn over the face only at the funeral and afterwards is draped over the hat…”

Gallery

Body of the Late President Harding leaving the White House

Date: August 8, 1923
Creator: Keystone View Company
Medium: Stereograph

This animation is derived from a stereographic photography card. The card contains two versions of the same scene from slightly different angles. When viewed through a stereoscope, the images come together to create the illusion of depth. It depicts President Harding's casket leaving the White House on August 8, 1923. Male mourning dress etiquette had almost completely disappeared by the early twentieth century, and a simple black armband such as those worn by the military officers in white was deemed sufficient. However, men’s mourning codes were always more relaxed than women's. For example, the amount of time a husband had to observe mourning for a wife was three months, rather than the twelve to eighteen months of mourning expected of a widow.

White House Historical Association

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President Harding's Body Lying in State, East Room, Side A

Date: August 8, 1923
Creator: Keystone View Company
Medium: Stereograph

The simplification of the State Funeral continued with President Harding. This stereograph reveals that the East Room chandeliers and windows were not draped with black fabric. Floral gifts were kept to a minimum, with only arrangements from President Calvin Coolidge and First Lady Grace Coolidge, the Supreme Court, Congress, and from the heads of foreign and state governments allowed.

White House Historical Association

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