[1] Harwood's predecessor, Lawrence William Cramer, had been told to resign by Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes in December after a controversy.
Ickes, who had tagged Congressman Kent Keller for the position, wrote that Harwood called him for the job after consulting with Democratic boss Ed Flynn.
To local disadvantage, Harwood sharply restricted travel between the U.S. and the British Virgin Islands, but under his tenure, the St. Croix air base was constructed.
Harwood told Reconstruction Finance Corporation chairman Jesse Jones that he had been promised a federal judgeship for the money, "and, if that was not available, he would take a commission as a general in the Army or in the high brass of the Navy."
He was thus disappointed with the governorship, and when Elliott's business went bankrupt, Harwood refused Jesse Jones's offer (on behalf of FDR) to settle the loan for $1,000.