The Voyage of Understanding (officially the Tour of the President to Alaska) was a trans-continental tour of the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

taken by President

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 ...

in the summer of 1923. It marked the first time a sitting president visited

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The tour took place during the final weeks of Harding's life, as he fell ill during the tour and died. Harding wished to spend time outside of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

following a number of scandals that had begun to cast a shadow over his presidency, most notably the

Teapot Dome scandal The Teapot Dome scandal was a bribery scandal involving the administration of United States President Warren G. Harding from 1921 to 1923. Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyomin ...

. He chose to embark on a tour to improve public relations in anticipation of his reelection campaign in 1924. President Harding, along with Florence Harding and a large company of officials, began the tour across the United States aboard the ''Superb''. On July 5, Harding and his companions arrived in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

and boarded the USS ''Henderson'' on a voyage to Alaska. During his time in Alaska, he visited

Mount McKinley National Park Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is an American national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve e ...

and what is now the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for cla ...

. He also attended the completion of the

Alaska Railroad Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

in Nenana, where he drove in the final spike. As he concluded the Alaska portion of his tour in late July, Harding began to complain of cramps, indigestion, fever and shortness of breath. He died in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

on August 2. The original cause of death was stated to be a stroke, but it is now believed that he died of a heart attack. The

Harding Railroad Car The Harding Railroad Car is a historically significant Pullman railroad passenger car located at Pioneer Park (aka Alaskaland) in Fairbanks, Alaska. Also called Denali, and designated with equipment number X-336 by the Alaska Railroad, the ...

was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1978, and the ''Superb'' was listed in 1998.

Itinerary

References

{{Warren G. Harding 1923 in the United States June 1923 events July 1923 events August 1923 events Presidency of Warren G. Harding