COOLIDGE, CALVIN 1872-1933

President of the united states, 1923-1929

Massachusetts Governor

Over the course of a quarter-century Calvin Coolidge successfully climbed the political ladder. Beginning in 1898 as city councilman of Northampton Massachusetts, he proceeded through local and state offices, finally reaching the White House in 1923. As governor of Massachusetts, Coolidge attracted national attention in 1919, when he called in the National Guard to end the Boston police strike, which had turned violent. Although it made him unpopular with Samuel Gompers and organized labor, Coolidge's strikebreaking endeared him to Americans who considered labor protests a radical threat to public safety.

Balancing the Ticket in 1920

Coolidge's dramatic termination of the Boston police strike earned him national attention and sparked rumors about a presidential bid. He did not campaign vigorously in 1920, but his name was placed in nomination at the 1920 Republican National Convention that year, and he received thirty-four votes on the first ballot. The old-guard Republicans who helped to secure the presidential nomination for Warren G. Harding wanted Sen. Irvine L. Lenroot of Wisconsin for vice president, but in defiance of the party establishment the delegates chose the cautious, aloof New England governor to balance a ticket headed by the gregarious midwestern senator.

Coolidge Inherits Harding's Mess

Following Harding's sudden death in 1923, "Silent Cal" assumed the presidency and effectively calmed a nation mourning a beloved president. He masterfully distanced himself from Harding administration corruption scandals. Coolidge's reputation for honesty and frugality was exactly what the Republican Party needed to preclude a public backlash. With decisiveness and speed Coolidge created an investigative commission and prosecuted all alleged violators of the public trust.

Lackluster President

Coolidge was easily nominated and elected to a full term as president in 1924, That he lacked imagination, leadership skills, idealism, and compassion for suffering farmers mattered little to Americans who admired his support for big business and willingness to maintain the status quo. He kept tariffs high, taxes low, and immigrants out. Twice he vetoed the McNary-Haugen Bill to provide government price supports for agriculture. "The business of America is business," Coolidge often asserted, and he committed his presidency to that maxim.

Source:

Donald R. McCoy, Calvin Coolidge: The Quiet President (New York: Macmillan, 1967).

BOSTON POLICE STRIKE

BOSTON POLICE STRIKE. About three-quarters of the Boston, Massachusetts police force went on strike 9 September 1919, when the police commissioner refused to recognize the officers' right to affiliate with the American Federation of Labor. To prevent the strike, Mayor Andrew J. Peters and a citizens' committee made compromise proposals relating to pay and working conditions, but the police commissioner rejected them. The resulting strike left Boston virtually unprotected, and disorder, robberies, and riots ensued.

At the time of the strike, Boston's police commissioner was appointed, not by the mayor of the city, but by the governor of the state. Before the strike occurred, Calvin Coolidge, then governor, was urged by the mayor and the citizens' committee to intervene, but he refused to act. When the rioting occurred, Peters called out the Boston companies of the militia, restored order, and broke the strike. With the city already under control, Coolidge ordered the police commissioner again to take charge of the police and called out the entire Massachusetts militia, declaring, "There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time." This action gave Coolidge a reputation as a courageous defender of law and order, which led to his nomination for U.S. vice president (1920) and his eventual election (1924) to the presidency.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Russell, Francis. A City in Terror: 1919, The Boston Police Strike. New York: Viking, 1975.

Sobel, Robert. Coolidge: An American Enigma. Washington, D.C.: Regnery, 1998.

Clarence A.Berdahl/a. g.

See alsoAmerican Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations ; Boston ; Conciliation and Mediation, Labor ; Labor ; Massachusetts ; Police ; Trade Unions .