Presidents' Children: Calvin Coolidge Jr.
One of the most tragic occurrences to happen to a First Family was the death of 16 year old Calvin Coolidge Jr. on July 7, 1924. The young man's death was the result of an unlikely and freakish set of circumstances: he died from an infected blister that he got from playing tennis. He died three days after his father's 52nd birthday, and in the midst of the presidential election campaign of 1924. It caused a profound and deep sadness that Coolidge would carry for the rest of his presidency.
Calvin Coolidge Jr. was born on April 13, 1908, the second son of Calvin and Grace Coolidge. The Coolidges' older son John was born on September 7, 1906. Calvin was said to have a strong resemblance to his father both in appearance and wit. He was described as very studious and he read a great deal, but he also had inherited much of his mother's good humor, and was often the source of good-natured pranks. He was also said to be very humble. For example, although his father was Vice-President at the time, he took a job working on a tobacco farm for $3.50 a day. It was there, in August of 1923, that he learned from his employer that President Warren G. Harding had died and that Calvin Jr.'s father was now President. According to one anecdote, when Calvin Jr. learned the news, he told his boss "Yes, I suppose he is. In which one of the sheds do you want me to work this morning, Mr. Day?"
Calvin Coolidge Jr. picked up a nasty blister that had formed on a toe of his right foot during a competitive game of tennis he had with his older brother John on the White House tennis court. According to accounts, he didn't say anything about it at first, but the next day he awoke with a stiff and painful leg. A doctor was called, and his examination revealed that a septic infection had spread to Calvin's bloodstream and throughout his body. Today the infection would be easily treated with antibiotics, but in 1924, such infection-fighting drugs had not yet been discovered. Over the next few days, seven doctors tried a variety of treatments that included pumping the boy's stomach, blood transfusions, an operation, and other methods in a desperate attempt to save Calvin Jr.'s life, but his condition just got worse.
By July 7, Calvin Jr. became delirious. As the end neared, his body began to relax. His last words are said to be "I surrender," and he lapsed into a coma. Four hours later, at 10:30 p.m., he died. A headline in the New York Times on July 8, 1924, described Calvin and Grace Coolidge as "worn out" from their "long vigil."
Calvin Jr.'s illness and death were national news and a grieving nation sent its condolences to the First Family. An honor guard of six Marines and six sailors stood beside Calvin Jr.'s body as it lay in state in the East Room of the White House. The service was described in one newspaper as "simple but impressive." Calvin Jr. had been a member of the Boy Scouts of America, who had a noticeable presence at the service.
A funeral train carried the boy's body to Plymouth Notch, Vermont, where six Marines in the honor guard, accompanied by Boy Scouts, carried the casket to the grave site. A minister read Psalm 23 ("the Lord is my shepherd") and spoke at the burial, describing Calvin Jr. as being "what was most wholesome and best in the American boy".
Years later, when Calvin Coolidge wrote his autobiography, typical of him, he said little about the controversial subjects of his presidency. But there was one issue on which Calvin Coolidge let down his guard and provided some insight into his innermost thought, that being on the death of his son Calvin Jr. Of his son, Coolidge wrote:
"He was a boy of much promise, proficient in his studies, with a scholarly mind, who had just turned sixteen. He had a remarkable insight into things. The day I became president he had just started to work in a tobacco field. When one of his fellow laborers said to him 'If my father was President I would not work in a tobacco field', Calvin replied 'If my father were your father you would'... If I had not been President, he would not have raised a blister on his toe, which resulted in blood poisoning, playing tennis in the south grounds. In his suffering he was asking me to make him well. I could not. When he went, the power and the glory of the Presidency went with him. The ways of Providence are often beyond our understanding. It seemed to me that the world had need of the work that it was probable he could do. I do not know why such a price was exacted for occupying the White House... It costs a great deal to be President."
Calvin Coolidge Jr. was born on April 13, 1908, the second son of Calvin and Grace Coolidge. The Coolidges' older son John was born on September 7, 1906. Calvin was said to have a strong resemblance to his father both in appearance and wit. He was described as very studious and he read a great deal, but he also had inherited much of his mother's good humor, and was often the source of good-natured pranks. He was also said to be very humble. For example, although his father was Vice-President at the time, he took a job working on a tobacco farm for $3.50 a day. It was there, in August of 1923, that he learned from his employer that President Warren G. Harding had died and that Calvin Jr.'s father was now President. According to one anecdote, when Calvin Jr. learned the news, he told his boss "Yes, I suppose he is. In which one of the sheds do you want me to work this morning, Mr. Day?"
Calvin Coolidge Jr. picked up a nasty blister that had formed on a toe of his right foot during a competitive game of tennis he had with his older brother John on the White House tennis court. According to accounts, he didn't say anything about it at first, but the next day he awoke with a stiff and painful leg. A doctor was called, and his examination revealed that a septic infection had spread to Calvin's bloodstream and throughout his body. Today the infection would be easily treated with antibiotics, but in 1924, such infection-fighting drugs had not yet been discovered. Over the next few days, seven doctors tried a variety of treatments that included pumping the boy's stomach, blood transfusions, an operation, and other methods in a desperate attempt to save Calvin Jr.'s life, but his condition just got worse.
By July 7, Calvin Jr. became delirious. As the end neared, his body began to relax. His last words are said to be "I surrender," and he lapsed into a coma. Four hours later, at 10:30 p.m., he died. A headline in the New York Times on July 8, 1924, described Calvin and Grace Coolidge as "worn out" from their "long vigil."
Calvin Jr.'s illness and death were national news and a grieving nation sent its condolences to the First Family. An honor guard of six Marines and six sailors stood beside Calvin Jr.'s body as it lay in state in the East Room of the White House. The service was described in one newspaper as "simple but impressive." Calvin Jr. had been a member of the Boy Scouts of America, who had a noticeable presence at the service.
A funeral train carried the boy's body to Plymouth Notch, Vermont, where six Marines in the honor guard, accompanied by Boy Scouts, carried the casket to the grave site. A minister read Psalm 23 ("the Lord is my shepherd") and spoke at the burial, describing Calvin Jr. as being "what was most wholesome and best in the American boy".
Years later, when Calvin Coolidge wrote his autobiography, typical of him, he said little about the controversial subjects of his presidency. But there was one issue on which Calvin Coolidge let down his guard and provided some insight into his innermost thought, that being on the death of his son Calvin Jr. Of his son, Coolidge wrote:
"He was a boy of much promise, proficient in his studies, with a scholarly mind, who had just turned sixteen. He had a remarkable insight into things. The day I became president he had just started to work in a tobacco field. When one of his fellow laborers said to him 'If my father was President I would not work in a tobacco field', Calvin replied 'If my father were your father you would'... If I had not been President, he would not have raised a blister on his toe, which resulted in blood poisoning, playing tennis in the south grounds. In his suffering he was asking me to make him well. I could not. When he went, the power and the glory of the Presidency went with him. The ways of Providence are often beyond our understanding. It seemed to me that the world had need of the work that it was probable he could do. I do not know why such a price was exacted for occupying the White House... It costs a great deal to be President."