Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge was born in the backroom of his father's general store in Plymouth, Vermont , on the Fourth of July in 1872. His only sister died when she was fifteen, and without close neighbors in his rural hometown of Plymouth, Coolidge formed close relationships with both

of his parents. As a child, he was painfully shy, a trait he struggled with throughout his life.

Coolidge graduated from Amherst College and was admitted to the bar in 1897. His law practice was in Northampton, Massachusetts , but work as a lawyer soon took a back seat to politics. Within a year, he became a city councilman, and from there he worked his way up through local and state offices. Coolidge was governor of Massachusetts from 1919 to 1921.

Coolidge attracted national attention as governor when he called in the National Guard to end a Boston police strike that had become violent. This move made him unpopular with labor unions (formally organized associations of workers that advance their members’ views on wages, work hours, and labor conditions), but it also made him a hero to Americans who considered labor protests a threat to public safety.

From vice president to president

Warren G. Harding (1865–1923; served 1921–23) was elected president in 1920. Coolidge was his vice president, and the two balanced each other well, with Harding being the more outgoing, social politician. When Harding suddenly died of heart failure in 1923, Coolidge, known to Americans as “Silent Cal,” took over the presidency and reassured the mourning nation.

Coolidge inherited from his boss an administration that was rife with scandal and corruption. He managed to distance himself from the scandals, of which he was not a part, and earned himself a reputation for honesty and frugality. His successful efforts improved the much-tarnished image of the Republican Party , and he was easily elected to a full term as president in 1924.

Continues in the Harding tradition

Coolidge ran his presidency along the same basic lines as Harding: The role of government was not to get involved in business and industry. To that end, he kept taxes low, protective tariffs (taxes on imported goods) high, and immigrants to a minimum. The U.S. economy during Coolidge's presidency was strong. In foreign relations, he made sure European war debts were paid and focused on peace-keeping treaties and alliances to help prevent another war.

Coolidge did not seek reelection in 1929. Instead, he returned with his wife to Massachusetts, where he wrote his memoirs and published magazine articles explaining his philosophy of limited government. The former president died in his home of coronary thrombosis (obstruction of blood flow to the heart due to a clot) in January 1933.