{{Short description|1923 tour of the US President to Alaska}} {{Infobox event|image=President Harding in Alaska on Presidential Train.jpg|caption=Harding and company on the presidential train in Alaska|date={{start and end dates|1923|06|20|1923|08|02}}; {{time interval|1923}} ago|duration={{time interval|June 20, 1923|August 2, 1923}}|location=United States and Canada|type=Speaking tour}} {{Warren G. Harding series}} The '''Voyage of Understanding''' (officially the '''Tour of the President to Alaska''') was a trans-continental tour of the Western United States taken by President Warren G. Harding in the summer of 1923. It marked the first time a sitting president visited Alaska and Canada. 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. following a number of scandals that had begun to cast a shadow over his presidency, most notably the Teapot Dome scandal.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=President Harding’s Voyage of Understanding |url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/digital-library/projects/president-hardings-voyage-of-understanding |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=White House Historical Association |language=en |archive-date=2022-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307020904/https://www.whitehousehistory.org/digital-library/projects/president-hardings-voyage-of-understanding |url-status=dead }}</ref> He chose to embark on a tour to improve public relations in anticipation of his reelection campaign in 1924.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Reamer |first=David |date=2021 |title=The history of presidential visits to Alaska, starting with Warren G. Harding’s ill-fated ‘Voyage of Understanding’ |work=Anchorage Daily News}}</ref> President Harding, along with Florence Harding and a large company of officials, began the tour across the United States aboard the ''Superb''.<ref name=":0" />
On July 5, Harding and his companions arrived in Tacoma, Washington, and boarded the USS ''Henderson'' on a voyage to Alaska.<ref name=":2" /> During his time in Alaska, he visited Mount McKinley National Park and what is now the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He also attended the completion of the Alaska Railroad in Nenana, where he drove in the final spike.<ref name=":1" /> 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 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Markel |first=Howard |date=2015-08-02 |title=The 'strange' death of Warren G. Harding |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/strange-death-warren-harding |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}</ref>
The Harding Railroad Car was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and the ''Superb'' was listed in 1998.
== Itinerary == {| class="wikitable" |+ ! colspan="3" |Itinerary<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=Official Itinerary: The Tour of the President of Alaska |year=1923}}</ref> |- !Date !City !Notes |- |June 20 |Washington, D.C. | |- |June 21 |St. Louis, Missouri | |- |June 22 |Kansas City, Missouri | |- |June 23 |Hutchinson, Kansas | |- |June 24 |Denver, Colorado | |- |June 25 |Cheyenne, Wyoming | |- |June 26 |Salt Lake City, Utah | |- |June 27 |Cedar City, Utah |Visited Zion National Park, opened a new railroad branch line |- |June 28 |Pocatello, Idaho<br />Idaho Falls, Idaho | |- |June 29 |Butte, Montana<br />Helena, Montana | |- |June 30 |Gardiner, Montana |Visiting Yellowstone National Park |- |July 1 |Gardiner, Montana | |- |July 2 |Spokane, Washington | |- |July 3 |Meacham, Oregon | |- |July 4 |Portland, Oregon | |- |July 5 |Tacoma, Washington |Boarded the USS ''Henderson'' |- |July 6-25 |Alaska |Via the USS ''Henderson'' |- |July 26 |Vancouver, British Columbia |Via the USS ''Henderson'' |- |July 27 |Seattle, Washington |Via the USS ''Henderson'' |- |July 28 |Portland, Oregon | |- |July 29 |Merced, California |Visiting Yosemite National Park |- |July 30 |El Portal, California | |- |July 31 |San Francisco, California | |- |August 1 |Los Angeles, California |Canceled |- |August 2-3 |Santa Catalina Island |Canceled |- |August 4 |San Diego, California |Canceled |}
== References == <references />
{{Warren G. Harding}}
Category:1923 in the United States Category:June 1923 in the United States Category:July 1923 in the United States Category:August 1923 in the United States Category:Presidency of Warren G. Harding