Belated Happy Birthday Silent Cal!
On July 4, 1872 (140 years and 1 day ago), John Calvin Coolidge, Jr., the 30th President of the United States, was born in Plymouth Notch, Windsor County, Vermont, the only President to be born on Independence Day.
Coolidge was the oldest of two children of John Calvin Coolidge, Sr. and Victoria Josephine Moor. His father wore many hats, including a prosperous farmer, storekeeper and public servant. The elder Coolidge served in the Vermont House of Representatives and the Vermont Senate was the local tax collector as well as the Justice of the Peace who would later administer the Oath of Office to his son.
Coolidge became a lawyer and moved from Vermont to Massachusetts where he worked his way up the ladder of state politics. He was a City Councillor, later City Solicitor and then Clerk of the Courts in Northampton. He served in the Massachusetts state legislature but returned to Northampton to serve as Mayor of that city. He returned to the legislature, becoming a state senator, then lieutenant governor and eventually became Governor of that state.
As Governor, Coolidge came gained national attention from his handling of the the Boston Police Strike of 1919. It gave him a reputation as a man of decisive action. After less than two years as Governor of Massachusetts, he was asked to be Warren Harding's running mate in the 1920 Presidential election and he was elected as the 29th Vice President.
Coolidge succeeded to the Presidency upon the sudden death of Warren G. Harding in 1923. He was elected in his own right in 1924, he gained a reputation as a small-government conservative, and also as a man who said very little (earning him the nickname "Silent Cal.) There is the famous story (which may or may not be true) that Dorothy Parker, seated next to him at a dinner, said to him, "Mr. Coolidge, I've made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you" to which Coolidge replied "you lose." It was also Dorothy Parker who said, upon learning that Coolidge had died, "How can they tell?".
Coolidge restored public confidence in the White House after the scandals of his predecessor's administration, and left office with considerable popularity. But when the great depression hit in 1929, some criticized Coolidge as part of a laissez-faire approach to government. His reputation underwent a resurgence during the Ronald Reagan Administration for his small government philosophy. Today grading of his presidency is divided between those who approve of his reduction of the size of government programs and those who believe the federal government should be more involved in regulating and controlling the economy.
As President, Coolidge and his Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon had the philosophy that taxes should be lower and fewer people should have to pay them. Coolidge reduced federal expenditures and reduced the federal debt. In 1924 Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1924, which reduced income tax rates and eliminated all income taxation for two million people. Further tax cuts occurred and by 1927, only the wealthiest 2% of Americans paid any federal income tax. (It sounds mind-boggling today). One quarter of the federal debt was retired on his watch.
After his presidency, Coolidge retired to Northampton to a home called "The Beeches." He served as chairman of the Railroad Commission, and as honorary president of the American Foundation for the Blind, as a director of New York Life Insurance Company, as president of the American Antiquarian Society, and as a trustee of Amherst College.
Coolidge published his autobiography in 1929 and wrote a syndicated newspaper column, "Calvin Coolidge Says," from 1930 to 1931. Faced with looming defeat in 1932, some Republicans spoke of rejecting Herbert Hoover as their party's nominee, and instead drafting Coolidge to run, but Coolidge made it clear that he was not interested. Coolidge made several radio addresses in support of Hoover's re-election, even though the two men didn't really get along. Coolidge is quoted as having said "I have received much unsolicited advice from Hoover, all of it bad."
Coolidge died suddenly of a heart attack at The Beeches at 12:45 pm, January 5, 1933. Shortly before his death, Coolidge confided to an old friend: "I feel I no longer fit in with these times." Coolidge is buried beneath a simple headstone in Notch Cemetery, Plymouth Notch, Vermont.
Coolidge was the oldest of two children of John Calvin Coolidge, Sr. and Victoria Josephine Moor. His father wore many hats, including a prosperous farmer, storekeeper and public servant. The elder Coolidge served in the Vermont House of Representatives and the Vermont Senate was the local tax collector as well as the Justice of the Peace who would later administer the Oath of Office to his son.
Coolidge became a lawyer and moved from Vermont to Massachusetts where he worked his way up the ladder of state politics. He was a City Councillor, later City Solicitor and then Clerk of the Courts in Northampton. He served in the Massachusetts state legislature but returned to Northampton to serve as Mayor of that city. He returned to the legislature, becoming a state senator, then lieutenant governor and eventually became Governor of that state.
As Governor, Coolidge came gained national attention from his handling of the the Boston Police Strike of 1919. It gave him a reputation as a man of decisive action. After less than two years as Governor of Massachusetts, he was asked to be Warren Harding's running mate in the 1920 Presidential election and he was elected as the 29th Vice President.
Coolidge succeeded to the Presidency upon the sudden death of Warren G. Harding in 1923. He was elected in his own right in 1924, he gained a reputation as a small-government conservative, and also as a man who said very little (earning him the nickname "Silent Cal.) There is the famous story (which may or may not be true) that Dorothy Parker, seated next to him at a dinner, said to him, "Mr. Coolidge, I've made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you" to which Coolidge replied "you lose." It was also Dorothy Parker who said, upon learning that Coolidge had died, "How can they tell?".
Coolidge restored public confidence in the White House after the scandals of his predecessor's administration, and left office with considerable popularity. But when the great depression hit in 1929, some criticized Coolidge as part of a laissez-faire approach to government. His reputation underwent a resurgence during the Ronald Reagan Administration for his small government philosophy. Today grading of his presidency is divided between those who approve of his reduction of the size of government programs and those who believe the federal government should be more involved in regulating and controlling the economy.
As President, Coolidge and his Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon had the philosophy that taxes should be lower and fewer people should have to pay them. Coolidge reduced federal expenditures and reduced the federal debt. In 1924 Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1924, which reduced income tax rates and eliminated all income taxation for two million people. Further tax cuts occurred and by 1927, only the wealthiest 2% of Americans paid any federal income tax. (It sounds mind-boggling today). One quarter of the federal debt was retired on his watch.
After his presidency, Coolidge retired to Northampton to a home called "The Beeches." He served as chairman of the Railroad Commission, and as honorary president of the American Foundation for the Blind, as a director of New York Life Insurance Company, as president of the American Antiquarian Society, and as a trustee of Amherst College.
Coolidge published his autobiography in 1929 and wrote a syndicated newspaper column, "Calvin Coolidge Says," from 1930 to 1931. Faced with looming defeat in 1932, some Republicans spoke of rejecting Herbert Hoover as their party's nominee, and instead drafting Coolidge to run, but Coolidge made it clear that he was not interested. Coolidge made several radio addresses in support of Hoover's re-election, even though the two men didn't really get along. Coolidge is quoted as having said "I have received much unsolicited advice from Hoover, all of it bad."
Coolidge died suddenly of a heart attack at The Beeches at 12:45 pm, January 5, 1933. Shortly before his death, Coolidge confided to an old friend: "I feel I no longer fit in with these times." Coolidge is buried beneath a simple headstone in Notch Cemetery, Plymouth Notch, Vermont.