Calvin Coolidge
Born on July 4, 1872 in Plymouth VT, he was named John Calvin Coolidge, but in early adulthood he dropped the "John". Coolidge was the son of a village storekeeper. His upbringing was idealistic. Inculcated in him at an early age were attributes of caution, dependability, fairness,honesty, industry, thrift, tolerance and unpretentiousness, and a belief in man's perfectibility. He graduated from Armherst College with honors, and entered law and politics in Northampton Massachusetts. Because his father was a frequent officeholder in Vermont, politics came easy to Calvin Coolidge. In 1898 he was nominated and elected as a city councilman. From then until his retirement from presidency he was seldom out of public office In 1905 he suffered his only election defeat,in a contest for school committeeman. That year he gained his wife, Grace Anna Goodhue, the daughter of a Vermont mechanical engineer. Slowly, methodically, he went up the political ladder from councilman in Northampton to Governor of Massachusetts, as a Republican. En route he became thoroughly conservative.
At the 1920 Republican national convention, Coolidge, a favorite candidate for president, was passed over. Warren G. Harding was nominated. The delegate spontaneously selected Coolidge for Vice President. That Fall Harding and Coolidge won a landslide victory.
At 2:30 on the morning of August 3, 1923, while visiting in Vermont, Calvin Coolidge received word that Warren G. Harding had died. He was now President. At 2:47 am, by the light of a kerosene lamp, Coolidge was sworn in as the thirtieth president by his father, who was a notary public. Placing his hand on the family bible, he took to oath of office. A few hours later, the new President left for Washington to take up his duties. He restored confidence in an administration discredited by scandals. He won the presidential election in 1924, defeating R. La Follette.
Coolidge was fairly successful in getting what he wanted during his full term as president. Heading the list were paring the national debt and reducing income taxes, so there would be more money for consumer spending. Other measures included orderly growth of civil and military aviation, expansion of the serves of the department of Agriculture and Commerce, regulation of radio broadcasting, development of waterways, flood control, and encouragement of cooperative solutions to farm problems. Twice, he blocked enactment of the McNary-Haugen bill, which proposed to dump farm surpluses abroad in the hope of raising domestic market prices, because he objected to its price-fixing features and its cost.
Coolidge declined to run for reelection. He retired in 1929 to Northampton, where he busied himself writing newspaper and magazine articles. He seldom took an active role in politics. His health declined rapidly, and on January 5, 1933, he died of coronary thrombosis. He was buried in the family plot in Plymouth Notch, where the Coolidge homestead is operated as a museum by the state of Vermont.
For more information about President Calvin Coolidge visit:
Encyclopedia Americana: Calvin Coolidge
