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(John) Calvin Coolidge, President |
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"Callow Cal," as he was nicknamed, presided over a time of unprecedented prosperity in the United States. Personally honest and forthright, he chose not to run for a second term, leaving his chosen successor, Herbert Hoover, to bear the burden when the economy collapsed. |
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(John) Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) was the 30th President of the United States. Born in Plymouth, Vermont, he graduated from Amherst College in 1895 and settled in Northampton MA to practice law. He soon ran for local office, and by 1914 was president of the Massachusetts Senate, then lieutenant-governor, and finally governor (1919-1920). His use of the state militia to break the Boston police strike of 1919 brought him national notice. Elected vice-president in the Harding administration (1920), his personal honesty protected him from Harding's corruption scandals. Coolidge assumed the presidency upon Harding's death (1923), taking the oath of office by lamplight at 2:30 am in his boyhood home (where he had gone on vacation). His father, John Coolidge, the local notary public, administered the oath. His New England honesty and down-to-earth simplicity served him well in politics, and contributed greatly to his popularity. He was famously taciturn. As he put it, "I've noticed that nothing I've never said has hurt me." A woman who sat next to Coolidge at a dinner party once bet that she could get him to say at least three words. Coolidge didn't even look at her as he said "You lose." His political philosophy was one of laissez-faire toward business, less spending for government, and tax cuts for everyone. After World War I, some people wanted the US to forgive the war loans it had made to Europe because of the hardship it would cause the devastated countries to repay them. Coolidge's response was "They hired the money, didn't they?" The raging prosperity during his term of office (1923-1929) cast a warm glow on him personally and seemed to confirm the wisdom of his policies, which in fact were leading the country headlong into the Depression. As he (later) put it so astutely, "When a great many people are unable to find work, unemployment results." He chose not to run for a second elected term (even though he probably would have won), supporting Herbert Hoover's candidacy instead. This proved wise, as the economy then crashed on Hoover's watch, not Coolidge's. Coolidge was famous for sleeping at least eight hours each night, taking long naps during the day, and not even opening his mouth during interviews. In 1933 when someone told New York poet, wit and writer Dorothy Parker that Coolidge was dead, her response was "How can they tell?" His last will and testament was 23 words long. His boyhood home in Plymouth VT is now a museum, and Coolidge descendants ran the local cheese factory for many years.
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