Caroline "Carrie" Phillips (née Fulton; September 22, 1873 – February 3, 1960) was a mistress of
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...
, 29th
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
. The young Carrie Fulton was known by admirers to have epitomized the
Gibson Girl
The Gibson Girl was the personification of the feminine ideal of physical attractiveness as portrayed by the pen-and-ink illustrations of artist Charles Dana Gibson during a 20-year period that spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries in th ...
portrait of beauty, a look popular at the turn of the 20th century. Her relationship with Senator Warren G. Harding was kept secret from the public during its time and for decades thereafter. The affair ended when Phillips
blackmailed Harding during the Senator's run for office for President of the United States.
Phillips is the only woman known to have successfully blackmailed a president of the United States.
Early life
Born September 22, 1873, in Dayton, Ohio, Phillips was the only daughter of Matthew Henry Fulton (1840–1906) and his wife Kate M. Swingly (1851 – after 1873). She had five younger brothers: George Fred, Percy Matthew, James Edward, Thomas Durman, and Chester Courtney Fulton. She was raised by her parents in Bucyrus, Ohio, where her father was a telegraph operator.
Her paternal grandfather, George Washington Fulton (1802–1864), was a successful businessman and engineer active in developing the town of
New Brighton, Pennsylvania
New Brighton is a borough in north-central Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Beaver River northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 5,719 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
Histor ...
. George married Mary Ann Kennedy (1812–1887), a sister of Matthew T. Kennedy (1804–1884) and Samuel Kennedy (1810–1886), brothers who established the Kennedy
Keg Works first at
Fallston, Pennsylvania
Fallston is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Beaver River. The population was 255 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
History
Fallston takes its name from a waterfall in the ...
(1836), and later opened a second operation in New Brighton (1876). George was successful in various ventures, from lumber to real estate, some in connection with his brothers-in-law, with his family reaping the advantages of his success in wealth, comfort, and education.
Carrie married James Phillips in 1896, and the couple moved to Marion where Phillips was co-proprietor of the Uhler-Phillips Company, one of Marion's leading dry goods establishments. The couple quickly established themselves as active members of the local society, in large part due to Phillips’ charm and beauty. Among Phillips's friends and confidants was
Florence Harding
Florence Mabel Harding (née Kling; August 15, 1860 – November 21, 1924) was the first lady of the United States from 1921 until her husband's death in 1923 as the wife of President Warren G. Harding.
Florence first married Pete De Wolfe ...
, wife of the owner and publisher of the city's leading newspaper, ''
The Marion Star
''The Marion Star'' (formerly known as ''The Marion Daily Star'') is a newspaper in Marion, Ohio. The paper is owned by the Gannett Newspaper organization, the paper is also notable as having once been owned and published by Warren G. Harding ( ...
''.
Affair with Warren Harding
James and Carrie had two children, daughter Isabelle (1897–1968) and son James, Jr. (1899–1901). The boy died as a toddler, and, during this time of grief Mrs. Phillips and Warren Harding grew close, despite their respective marriages and friendships. The Phillipses and the Hardings undertook tours of Europe together, all while Phillips and Harding carried on their intimate relationship.
After the affair came to light, Florence Harding, Warren's wife, was furious. She claimed that this was not the first time that her husband had entered into an affair with a woman whom she considered a friend. To separate the two lovers and allow time for the respective marriages to be reconciled, the Phillips family returned to Europe, leaving the Hardings in Marion. While in Germany, Mrs. Phillips became immersed in German culture. She chose to stay in Germany and enrolled their daughter in school there. James Phillips returned to the United States alone.
While Mrs. Phillips was in Europe, Harding ran for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. As Europe moved closer to the brink of war, Phillips returned to the United States. Her passion for Germany was very well known. Upon returning to Marion, Phillips' affair with Harding reignited. Phillips reportedly threatened to expose the affair if Harding voted in favor of war with Germany.
In mid-1920, immediately following his acceptance of the
Republican Party nomination, Harding disclosed his affair with Mrs. Phillips to Republican Party officials, also disclosing that Phillips was in the possession of hundreds of love letters he had written to her, many on Senate stationery. Reportedly wary of a scandal involving an affair as well as Phillips' support of the German government, the Republican Party urged Mr. and Mrs. Phillips to keep their travels abroad a private matter. Mrs. Phillips responded by dictating terms under which she would consider the party's wishes. In return for Phillips' silence on the matter, the Republican Party offered to pay the way for an extended tour of Asia and the Pacific Islands, as well as an annual stipend to Phillips for the remainder of her life.
After the affair
After Mrs. Harding's death, Mrs. Phillips relocated to Germany. Mr. Phillips died on July 3, 1939, at the age of 73, from heart disease.
Carrie Fulton Phillips died on February 3, 1960, at the age of 86.
[Ohio. Division of Vital Statistics. Death Certificates and Index, December 20, 1908 – December 31, 1953. State Archives Series 3094. Ohio Historical Society, Ohio.] She was buried in
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
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*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
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Cemetery, next to her husband and infant son. Their daughter Isabelle and her husband William Helmuth Mathee are also buried in the family plot. Isabelle and Mathee had a son, also named William Helmuth Mathee (1920–1988).
Following Phillips' death, the love letters to Warren Harding became the centerpiece of a court battle that pitted Phillips’ daughter, Isabelle Phillips Mathee, against nephews of
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...
. The Library of Congress publicly opened letters between Phillips and Harding on July 29, 2014.
In a subsequent legal action, Isabelle Mathee joined the Hardings and received a temporary injunction that prevented historian
Francis Russell's inclusion of the material in his book, ''The Shadow of Blooming Grove''. Ultimately, the court ruled the letters would be sealed until July 2014, at which time their contents would be made public. The material is now in the possession of the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
, with copies held at
Ohio Historical Society
Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...
.
Love letters
In 1964, about 1,000 pages of love letters written by Harding to Phillips between 1910 and 1920 were discovered. The letters were written while Harding was Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and subsequently as a sitting US senator. Upon discovery, the letters were sealed and handed over to the Library of Congress on condition that they not be released to the general public for 50 years. On July 29, 2014, 1000 pages of the Harding-Phillips love letters became public. In 2009, the historian and lawyer
James Robenalt published a smaller collection of letters, based on microfilm copies located in Cleveland’s Western Reserve Historical Society. This collection has been reproduced in Robenalt’s book, ''The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage During the Great War''.
References
* Robenalt, James D. ''The Harding Affair, Love and Espionage During the Great War'' Palgrave Macmillan (2009), .
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Carrie Fulton
1873 births
1960 deaths
American expatriates in Germany
Mistresses of United States presidents
People from Marion, Ohio
Warren G. Harding
People from Dayton, Ohio
People from Bucyrus, Ohio