Welcome to the homepage of The Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy. A Washington-area think-tank in the truest sense of the words, The Harding Institute believes in American ingenuity, a special role for America in the world, the manifest destiny of the American dream, and the importance of American leadership in the cause of freedom and liberty.
The Institute is committed to upholding the ideals of the 29th President of the United States, Warren G. Harding. As he said in his inaugural address:
"America's present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality...."
Known as the Great Leader of 1921-23, Harding's ideals held as true in his day, as they do today. His mistrust of the League of Nations and imposition of tight limitations of immigration were a harbinger of times to come. He demonstrated rare fiscal responsibility by eliminating wartime controls and slashing taxes, establishing a Federal budget system, and restoring the high protective tariff. And his commitment to put "less government in business and more business in government" has resonance through the ages.