In one of the eerier scenes in White House history, Florence Harding sat in the East Room over the coffin of her recently deceased husband. It was reported she spoke to him, telling him “now no one will hurt you.” Richard Norton Smith talks a bit more about Florence Harding’s interesting personal history before becoming First Lady, calling her a woman of “great pluck and resolve."
Richard Norton Smith is a historian and award-winning author of books on a wide variety of historical topics. Hes is currently a Scholar in Residence at George Mason University.