Calvin Coolidge

Born July 4, 1872 (Plymouth Notch, Vermont)
Died January 5, 1933 (Northampton, Massachusetts)

U.S. president

"The business of American is business."

President Calvin Coolidge presided over the Roaring Twenties, a decade when a thriving U.S. economy was sometimes called Coolidge Prosperity. Thrust into the presidency when Warren G. Harding (1865–1923; served 1921–23; see entry) died suddenly, Coolidge soon had to confront several scandals involving members of Harding's administration. His quick, firm response helped to restore the public's faith in the nation's highest office. A man of few words, he was known as "Silent Cal," Coolidge was also a leader of little action. Deeply conservative, he believed that government should stay as far out of business affairs as possible. Although some blame the laissez-faire (hands-off), probusiness policies of Coolidge's presidency for the stock market crash (which occurred after he left office), the majority of U.S. citizens approved of his ideas at the time.

Hard work and thrift

Coolidge's ancestors arrived from Great Britain in the seventeenth century, and one of them served as a soldier in the American Revolution (1775–83). The future president was

born John Calvin Coolidge (he later dropped his first name) in the quiet Vermont village of Plymouth Notch. His father, also named John Calvin Coolidge, worked at various times as a farmer and shopkeeper and held a number of local political offices. From his father, Coolidge learned the values of hard work, honesty, and thrift and the idea of public service as a duty. His mother, Victoria Moor Coolidge, a sensitive woman who appreciated poetry and nature, died when he was twelve; a beloved sister also died in childhood.

Coolidge was a shy boy who would become a reserved, uncommunicative man. He suffered from allergies and did not make friends easily. Coolidge attended his village's oneroom school until he was fourteen, when he entered Black River Academy in Ludlow, Vermont. Later he went to Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he studied hard and developed strong debating skills. It took some time for his classmates to get to know him, but eventually they came to appreciate his dry wit. Coolidge was chosen to speak at his 1895 graduation, and he also won first prize in a national essay contest.

Having decided to become a lawyer, Coolidge prepared himself by reading law in the office of two attorneys in Northampton, Massachusetts. Two years later he passed the state's bar examination (a qualifying test for lawyers). He opened his own office in Northampton, where he made a decent living but never became rich. His carefully kept records show, for example, that in the first year he earned five hundred dollars. Never one to spend much money, Coolidge never owned his own house and did not own a car until he was vice president of the United States.

Beginning a career in politics

Coolidge's father had often been involved in politics, and Coolidge seems to have considered this a natural role for himself as well. He was active in the Republican Party in 1896 and 1897, and the next year he was elected as a Northampton city councilman. For the next thirty years Coolidge would rarely be out of political office. From the beginning he took a conservative approach to the issues, but he did support two important reform measures of the period: amendments to the U.S. Constitution that would allow for the direct election of senators and give women the right to vote.

While living a somewhat lonely life in Northampton, Coolidge was renting a room across from the Clarke Institute for the Deaf. By chance he met one of the school's teachers, Grace Anna Goodhue, whose outgoing, sunny personality was in stark contrast to his own. As quoted in Nathan Miller's NewWorld Coming: The 1920s and the Making of Modern America, Coolidge later remarked that he had hoped that, "after having made the deaf to hear, Miss Goodhue might perhaps teach the mute to speak." Although many people found them an unlikely pair, the two were married in 1905. About a year after their marriage, the couple's first son, John, was born, followed in 1908 by the birth of Calvin Jr.

Despite his reserved, quiet nature, Coolidge was able to attract the support of a variety of voters, especially those from the working class. He was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1906 and again the following year. In 1909 he was elected mayor of Northampton. In this position he worked to make city government more efficient, to lower taxes, and to reduce the city's debt; these are some of the same goals he would later bring to the office of the presidency. The voters sent Coolidge to the Massachusetts state senate in 1911, where he eventually achieved such a prominent leadership role that he was elected president of the senate. This made Coolidge the highest-ranking Republican officeholder in Massachusetts (the state's governor and lieutenant governor were Democrats).

Receiving national attention

Coolidge continued his upward climb in Massachusetts politics when, beginning in 1915, he spent three years as lieutenant governor. In 1918 he was elected governor. In this office he attracted little national attention until 1919, when his handling of a local crisis brought him widespread praise. In Boston, the state's largest city, the police force had long complained of low pay, long hours, and poor working conditions. Having received no response from the city government, they voted to form a union under the umbrella of the American Federation of Labor, or AFL (an organization made up of unions from a variety of industries and professions).

After nineteen Boston police officers who had been union organizers were suspended from their jobs, the police force voted to stage a strike. This action caused near-chaos in Boston, with rioting and violence erupting; three people were killed, and much property was damaged. Boston's mayor appealed to Coolidge for help, but at first he was told that this was a local matter that the governor could not resolve. Eventually Coolidge did send in additional troops to help restore order. Then he informed the striking officers that they would not be allowed to return to their jobs.

In a telegram to AFL president Samuel Gompers (1850–1924), who had protested the governor's action, Coolidge made the famous statement, "There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time." Although union leaders and members criticized this harsh response, almost everybody else in the nation approved of it. Coolidge won universal admiration (even Democratic president Woodrow Wilson [1856–1924; served 1913–21] praised him) and was easily reelected the following fall.

A quiet vice president

As the 1920 Republican Party convention (when party delegates gather to select a nominee for the presidential election) approached, Republicans around the nation had high hopes of winning the presidency. Having been made famous by the Boston police strike, Coolidge was among those discussed as a possible candidate. When the convention began, however, the Republicans nominated Ohio senator Warren G. Harding as its presidential candidate. For the position of vice president, the party leaders favored Senator Irving Lenroot of Wisconsin, but the general delegates rebelled and elected Coolidge. It was felt that this serious, unsmiling New Englander would bring balance to a ticket headed by an outgoing, friendly native of the Midwest.

The 1920 election marked a major shift in mood and focus in the United States. Following the end of World War I (1914–18), a particularly bloody and devastating conflict that seemed to shake the foundations of society, people were ready for a change. The reforming spirit of the Progressive Era (which lasted roughly from 1900 to 1914) was replaced with a strong desire both to stay out of other nations' troubles and to maintain the status quo (keep things as they are).

In this kind of atmosphere, the traditional conservatism of the Republican Party appealed to voters, and the Democrats were unable to provide an attractive alternative. The Democratic candidate, Ohio governor James M. Cox (1870–1957), was a wealthy newspaper publisher who lacked any strong ideas about what

direction the United States should take. A few months before the election, Harding promised a "return to normalcy," which he later defined (as quoted in Geoffrey Perret's book America in the Twenties) as "a regular steady order of things.… normal procedure, the natural way, without excess." The people of the United States demonstrated their faith in Harding's philosophy, electing him by a wide margin.

As vice president, Coolidge was a quiet presence in Harding's administration. He presided over the U.S. Senate, the traditional role of the vice president, and made a few speeches. He was not part of the inner circle of a president who had surrounded himself with personal friends (which would later be to his advantage). As Harding's presidency continued, rumors of corruption at the highest levels of government began to circulate. It seems likely that Harding was aware of some wrongdoing by several members of his administration, although his own honesty has never been questioned. In any case, while touring the West in the summer of 1923, Harding died suddenly of an apparent heart attack.

Suddenly president

Coolidge was visiting his father in Vermont when, on August 2, he was awakened in the middle of the night with the news of the president's death. At 2:47 am, Coolidge's father, who was a justice of the peace (a person authorized to perform certain legal formalities), gave him the oath of office (the official, verbal promise a president makes to fulfill the duties of his office). The oath was administered again later at an official ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Realizing that the U.S. public was shaken by the sudden death of their president, Coolidge immediately vowed to continue the policies that Harding had put into place. He also planned to keep most of Harding's appointed officials, especially such important and competent men as Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon (1855–1937) and Commerce Secretary (and future president) Herbert Hoover (1874–1964; see entry). Soon after becoming president, however, Coolidge was faced with a crisis.

The scandals that had been lurking beneath the surface during the last months of Harding's presidency finally emerged. The worst of these, known as the Teapot Dome scandal because it involved oil reserves near Teapot Dome, Wyoming, was investigated during congressional hearings held in late 1923 and early 1924. It was revealed that Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall (1861–1944) had leased drilling rights on several government oil reserves in the West to private oil companies in exchange for money. These pieces of oil-rich land were supposed to be used only by the U.S. military, but Fall had arranged for their transfer from the Department of the Navy to the Interior Department.

Fall was convicted of bribery and was sent to prison. Another close adviser of Harding, Harry Daugherty (1860–1941), also had to leave the administration under a cloud of suspicion. Coolidge, meanwhile, had successfully distanced himself from the corruption. By moving quickly to ensure that the scandals were investigated and the wrongdoers punished, he had helped to restore U.S. citizens' faith in the office of the president. His low-key manner and reputation for honesty also did much to calm the public.

Just as he had promised, Coolidge continued with the probusiness policies that Harding had established. He backed Mellon's proposals to cut taxes, reduce the national debt, and keep tariffs (taxes on imports, which were meant to benefit U.S. companies) high. He also supported the Immigration Act of 1924, which put restrictions on the number of newcomers from other nations who could move to the United States.

Despite his reputation for being uncommunicative, Coolidge was actually quite a visible leader. He was always willing to pose for photographs, sometimes dressed in silly costumes, and he spoke to the U.S. people often through the new medium of radio. In fact, he was the first U.S. president to use radio to express his ideas and policies. Coolidge also held two press conferences a week, although he chose ahead of time the questions he would answer.

Winning a second term

As the 1924 election approached, Coolidge looked forward to a chance to become president by winning votes, rather than by circumstance. By this time, many of the people of the United States identified Coolidge with the traditional values of common sense and thrift. His honesty and integrity made him a comforting presence in a world that seemed to be changing rapidly. On top of all this, the economy was booming. It seemed that the laissez-faire approach to government that Coolidge supported was working, and it was hard for Democratic nominee John Davis (1873–1955) and Progressive Party candidate Robert La Follette (1855–1925) to prove otherwise.

Coolidge did not put a lot of effort into campaigning, partly because he did not need to and partly because, in the summer of 1924, he was grieving the loss of his youngest son. Sixteen-year-old Calvin Jr. had died from blood poisoning that resulted from a blister he received while playing tennis on the

Charles Dawes: A Distinguished Public Servant

Charles Dawes had a successful career as a businessman and public servant. His involvement in federal government culminated with the vice presidency under Calvin Coolidge. When Coolidge became president after the 1924 election, Dawes entered the vice president's seat with his usual dynamic energy, turning what had usually been a quiet role into one of strong advocacy.

The son of a Civil War hero and one-term member of Congress, Dawes was born in 1865 in Marietta, Ohio. He earned a law degree in 1886 from the Cincinnati Law School and began practicing law the next year in Lincoln, Nebraska. Dawes published an influential book on U.S. banking practices in 1894, which helped establish his reputation as a financial theorist.

In 1893 Dawes moved to Chicago, Illinois, and met William McKinley, whom he supported in the 1896 presidential election. President McKinley rewarded Dawes for his support by appointing him comptroller of the currency. This position placed Dawes in charge of the system for producing money. Dawes soon resigned the post to run for the Illinois senate. Upon his defeat, he turned his attention to business and became a prominent figure over the next decade. He served as president of a new and successful bank, was involved with many Chicago-area charities and civic organizations, and also wrote essays and lectured.

During the 1910s and 1920s, Dawes served successfully in several government posts. After being appointed to lead the new Bureau of the Budget in 1921, Dawes helped to reduce federal government spending by more than one-third. In 1923 he played an important role in the Allied Reparation Commission, established to deal with Germany's economic collapse following its defeat in World War I. Dawes earned the 1925 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on what was called the "Dawes plan," a five-year program to help Germany stabilize its economy and repay its debts.

Dawes was chosen as the Republican vice presidential nominee to run alongside Calvin Coolidge in his 1924 bid for reelection. During the campaign Coolidge, whose teenaged son had recently died, played a low-key role while Dawes made many speeches and appearances. He railed against the Ku Klux Klan and accused the Progressive Party's candidate, Robert M. LaFollette, of being a political radical.

As vice president, Dawes took his role as head of the U.S. Senate more seriously than had many of his predecessors. He actively urged action on a number of proposed laws and measures, including the Kellogg-Briand Pact, banking reform, and relief for farmers.

Dawes left the vice presidency in January 1929. He went on to serve as ambassador to Great Britain (1939–32) and then as head of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (1932), which was established to provide relief to the banking industry following the October 1929 stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression. Dawes served only a few months in that position before returning to his banking job in Chicago. He remained active in business affairs and charity work until his death in 1951.

White House court. Despite Coolidge's low-key approach, the campaign that had as its slogan "Keep Cool with Coolidge" was successful. The election results showed that Coolidge had won an impressive 54 percent of the popular vote, while Davis had won 29 percent and La Follette 17 percent.

In a 1925 speech to newspaper publishers, Coolidge made one of his most famous statements, declaring that "the business of America is business." He remained true to this belief. During Coolidge's second term, his cabinet continued to be dominated by conservative Republican businessmen who believed that the government did best by doing little. That meant not restricting companies by making them follow a lot of regulations. It also meant reducing income taxes, in order to give ordinary consumers more money to spend while also allowing the wealthy to make more investments. This economic strategy, known as "trickle-down economics" because the benefits are supposed to seep down through all levels of society, would become popular again in the 1980s during the administration of President Ronald Reagan (1911–2004; served 1981–89). In fact, Reagan so admired Coolidge that he replaced a White House portrait of President Harry Truman (1884–1972; served 1945–53) with one of "Silent Cal."

Domestic and foreign affairs

Despite Coolidge's general opposition to government interference in business affairs, his presidency saw the passage of some laws that imposed restrictions on two new and important industries: radio broadcasting and aviation. With the farming sector, however, Coolidge took a more detached approach. U.S. farmers had experienced a major decrease in demand for their products after World War I. Their profits had dropped drastically, and they were among those who did not share in the general prosperity of the 1920s (the coal-mining and textile industries were also suffering during this decade). Twice Coolidge vetoed (refused to sign) the McNary-Haugen Bill, which would have provided farmers with federal assistance.

Coolidge left much of the responsibility for foreign affairs to Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948) and Hughes's successor, Frank Kellogg (1856–1937). He did not support U.S. involvement in the League of Nations (an organization set up after World War I to foster cooperation between countries). He opposed the effort to cancel the war debts of several European nations, which had borrowed money from the United States to pay for the conflict but were having trouble paying it back.

Coolidge's somewhat vague wish to encourage peace in the world led him to sponsor the 1927 Geneva Naval Conference, which was supposed to result in agreements to reduce the size of participating nations' naval forces. The conference was unsuccessful, though, due to several countries' inability to agree on terms. The next year, Coolidge supported the signing of the Kellogg-Briand Pact, through which fifteen countries (later joined by a number of others) renounced war as a means of resolving conflicts. Because the agreement included no means of enforcement, however, it was virtually meaningless. The outbreak of World War II in the late 1930s would prove just how empty the promise had been.

Another foreign-affairs accomplishment of Coolidge's presidency was the restoration of good relations with Mexico after a dispute involving oil lands. Coolidge appointed a new ambassador, Dwight Morrow (1873–1931), who helped to smooth over the conflict. In a move that was criticized by those who resented U.S. interference in other countries' affairs, Coolidge sent five hundred Marines to Nicaragua to restore order after a revolution replaced that country's government with a new, more conservative administration.

As the election of 1928 approached, it seemed likely that Coolidge's popularity would ensure his reelection. While on vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota, however, Coolidge surprised his supporters by announcing that he would not run for president. Some believed that Coolidge's depression over the death of his son, added to the physical exhaustion from which both he and his wife were suffering, had led to this decision. It has also been suggested that Coolidge foresaw the economic crisis that would soon occur. The out-of-control speculation and lack of regulation of the banking and credit industries that occurred during Coolidge's administration would be cited as major factors in the October 1929 stock market crash.

In any case, Coolidge left his successor, Herbert Hoover, to face the disaster (and to take most of the blame). After leaving office Coolidge returned to Northampton, where he spent much of his time writing newspaper and magazine articles. He died of heart disease on January 5, 1933.

For More Information

Books

Abels, Jules. In the Time of Silent Cal. New York: Putnam, 1989.

Ferrell, Robert H. The Presidency of Calvin Coolidge. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998.

Haynes, John Earl. Calvin Coolidge and the Coolidge Era: Essays on the History of the 1920s. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1998.

Kent, Zachary. Calvin Coolidge: Thirtieth President of the United States. Chicago, IL: Children's Press, 1988.

McCoy, Donald R. Calvin Coolidge: The Quiet President. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1988.

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

Stevens, Rita. Calvin Coolidge: 30th President of the United States. Ada, OK: Garrett Education Corp., 1990.

Webb, Kenneth. From Plymouth Notch to President: The Farm Boyhood of Calvin Coolidge. Taftsville, VT: Countryman Press, 1978.

Web Sites

"Calvin Coolidge: 30th President of the United States." The Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation. Available online at http://www.calvin-coolidge.org/index.html. Accessed on June 22, 2005.

"Calvin Coolidge." The White House. Available online at http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/cc30.html. Accessed on June 22,2005.