Harry M. Daugherty

Harry Micajah Daugherty (/ˈdoʊ.ərti/; January 26, 1860 – October 12, 1941) was an American politician. A key Republican political insider from Ohio, he is best remembered for his service as Attorney General of the United States under presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge, as well as for his involvement in the Teapot Dome scandal during Harding's presidency.

Despite his status as a key political leader of the Ohio Republican Party from the 1880s to the first decade of the 20th century, Daugherty was only briefly a statewide elected politician by serving just two terms in the Ohio General Assembly, working closely during the last two years with state governor William McKinley. Although he sought national office several times, Daugherty was thwarted in his effort to obtain the nomination of his party and was never elected to office again.

Daugherty remained an influential figure behind the election of several U.S. representatives and senators. He was Harding's campaign manager at the 1920 Republican National Convention. Following Harding's successful election, Daugherty was named attorney general. In that capacity, he was instrumental in winning presidential pardons for jailed anti-war dissidents such as Eugene V. Debs. Twice the subject of federal corruption investigations, Daugherty was forced in 1924 to resign his post as attorney general by Coolidge.

Harry M. Daugherty was born on January 26, 1860, in the small town of Washington Court House, Ohio. Daugherty's father, John H. Daugherty, was the Pennsylvania-born son of Irish immigrants and worked as a farmer and tailor. His mother, Jane Draper Daugherty, was from a prominent Ohio family with Virginia roots dating back to the time of the American Revolution. Daugherty was a first cousin of actress Majel Coleman.

Daugherty's father died of diphtheria when Harry was just four years old, as did one of his brothers, leaving his mother as the sole provider for the household. Harry and his older brother, Mally, were forced by economic necessity to take a variety of jobs from a relatively early age to help with the family's living expenses. Daugherty's mother later recalled that he was so young when he worked in a local grocery store that he had to stand on a wooden crate to reach the cash register.

Daugherty's mother wanted him to become a Methodist minister, but the prospect of life as a clergyman held no appeal for him. Instead, after graduating from high school in Washington Court House, Daugherty studied medicine for a year before taking a position as a cub reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer.

In 1878 Daugherty entered the University of Michigan Law School, accepted there despite not having first obtained an undergraduate education. He supplemented his insufficient income by gambling, winning a significant sum betting on the election of James Garfield in the 1880 presidential election. Sports betting was also an area of some interest to Daugherty and his brother, who went so far as to tap telegraph wires so that they could obtain game information in advance. Initially successful, this ethically shady activity was ultimately discovered and exposed by local gamblers puzzled by the brothers' uncanny success.

Daugherty graduated from law school in 1881 and returned home to Ohio, where he accepted a job in the office of a Washington Court House attorney, spending his spare time preparing to take the Ohio state bar examination.