Little Green House on K Street
Encyclopedia
The Little Green House on K Street was a residence at 1625 K Street
K Street (Washington, D.C.)
K Street is a major thoroughfare in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. known as a center for numerous think tanks, lobbyists, and advocacy groups.-Location:...

, NW, in Washington, DC, USA, that served as the unofficial headquarters of the Ohio Gang
Ohio Gang
The Ohio Gang was a group of politicians and industry leaders who came to be associated with Warren G. Harding, the twenty-ninth President of the United States of America.-Background:...

 during the Presidential Administration of Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...

. The name itself entered the American lexicon as a symbol of political corruption. The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

described the home as one of "the symbols of a nation's disgrace." The house was the site of the planning for what became known as the Teapot Dome Scandal
Teapot Dome scandal
The Teapot Dome Scandal was a bribery incident that took place in the United States in 1922–23, during the administration of President Warren G. Harding. Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome and two other locations to private oil companies at low...

.

History

The house was constructed by J. B. Edmonds of Iowa, a retired attorney, in 1880 for US$17,000.

During the early 1920s, it was rented by associates of Attorney General Harry Daugherty, including Jess Smith
Jess Smith
Jesse W. Smith also known as Jess Smith, was a member of President Warren G. Harding's Ohio Gang. He was born and raised in Washington Court House, Ohio, where he became a friend of Harry M. Daugherty. There, Daugherty helped him to become the successful owner of a department store...

 and Howard Mannington, and served as the location for numerous Presidential poker parties. Many of the corrupt deals of Harding's associates were allegedly hatched there, according to testimony before the Senate Committee investigating the Teapot Dome Scandal.

The building was razed in 1941 to make way for the 12-story Commonwealth Building.

Legacy

The house became synonymous with political cronyism. In 1934, Congressman Fred Britten
Frederick A. Britten
Frederick Albert Britten was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.-Career:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Britten attended Healds Business College, San Francisco, California. He was a Construction worker and a Business executive before his political career began. He served as member of the Chicago,...

 of Illinois famously compared the Red House on R Street in Georgetown, where the original New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...

ers strategized during the early years of the Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 Administration, to the Little Green House on K Street. The R Street address became known as the Brain Trust
Brain Trust
Brain trust began as a term for a group of close advisors to a political candidate or incumbent, prized for their expertise in particular fields. The term is most associated with the group of advisors to Franklin Roosevelt during his presidential administration...

's Little Green House on K Street. During the scandal involving the extramarital affairs of Senator John Ensign
John Ensign
John Eric Ensign is a former United States Senator from Nevada, serving from January 2001 until he resigned amid an investigation of an ethics violation in May 2011...

 and Congressman Chip Pickering
Chip Pickering
"Charles Willis Pickering" redirects here. For this former congressman's father, see Charles W. Pickering.Charles Willis "Chip" Pickering, Jr. is a politician in the U.S. state of Mississippi. He represented as a Republican in the United States House of Representatives...

in 2009, commentators frequently compared their C Street home to the Little Green House on K Street.

Sources

  • Dean, John W. Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents Series). Times Books, Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2004
  • Downes Randolph C. The Rise of Warren Gamaliel Harding, 1865–1920. Ohio University Press, 1970
  • Ferrell, Robert H. The Strange Deaths of Warren G. Harding, Columbia:MO, University of Missouri Press, 1998
  • Murray Robert K. The Harding Era 1921-1923: Warren G. Harding and his Administration. University of Minnesota Press, 1969
  • Sinclair, Andrew. The Available Man: The Life behind the Masks of Warren Gamaliel Harding 1965 online full-scale biography


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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