Presidents in Retirement: Calvin Coolidge
In the summer of 1927, President Calvin Coolidge vacationed in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The man from Plymouth Notch, Vermont fancied himself somewhat of a cowboy, and while on vacation he did a lot of horseback riding and fly fishing and he also attended rodeos and posed for photo ops. Coolidge made Custer State Park his "summer White House". Many people suspected that this was the start of Coolidge's re-election campaign, but they were wrong. While on this vacation, Coolidge issued a characteristically terse statement that he would not seek a second full term as president. He simply said: "I do not choose to run for President in 1928." Asked by reporters to elaborate on this statement, he said: "If I take another term, I will be in the White House till 1933. Ten years in Washington is longer than any other man has had it—too long!"
The announcement came as a surprise to many people, including the First Lady, Grace Coolidge. On the day of the announcement, Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas, who was present when Coolidge spoke to reporters, asked Grace Coolidge what she thought of the announcement. She replied: "What announcement?"
Coolidge did not enjoy the term that he was elected to as president. His son Calvin Jr. had died in the summer of 1924 from a freak accident. He developed a blister playing tennis, and the blister became infected and ultimately fatal. Coolidge said of Calvin Jr.'s death, "when he died, the power and glory of the Presidency went with him."
In his autobiography, Coolidge explained his decision not to run in more detail. He wrote:
"The Presidential office takes a heavy toll of those who occupy it and those who are dear to them. While we should not refuse to spend and be spent in the service of our country, it is hazardous to attempt what we feel is beyond our strength to accomplish."
After leaving office, Calvin and Grace Coolidge returned to their home in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he wrote his memoirs. The Republicans won the White House in 1928 with their candidate being Coolidge's Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover. Coolidge had been reluctant to endorse Hoover as his successor. He once told a friend, "for six years that man has given me unsolicited advice—all of it bad." But during the campaign Coolidge kept these feelings to himself.
After his presidency, Coolidge retired to a modest rented house on Massasoit Street in Northampton, Massachusetts before moving to a more spacious home known as "The Beeches." Coolidge liked boating and fishing. He kept a Hacker runabout boat on the Connecticut River and was frequently observed on the water by locals. During this time, he also served as chairman of the non-partisan Railroad Commission, 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. In 1931 he wrote a nationally syndicated column for the McClure Newspaper chain, called "Thinking Things over with Calvin Coolidge".
In 1932 the writing was on the wall for President Herbert Hoover, who faced certain defeat in the upcoming presidential election. Some Republicans tried to gain support for the idea of rejecting Herbert Hoover as their party's nominee, and instead drafting Coolidge as their candidate. Coolidge made it clear that he was not interested in running again. He said that he would publicly repudiate any effort to draft him, should it occur. Hoover was renominated, and ever the loyal party man, Coolidge made several radio addresses in support of him. Hoover then lost the general election to Franklin Roosevelt, the man who in 1920 had been the Democrats' vice presidential candidate on the ticket that opposed the victorious duo of Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Roosevelt won in a landslide.
On January 5, 1933, Coolidge died suddenly from coronary thrombosis at his home, "The Beeches," at 12:45 p.m. Shortly before his death, Coolidge confided to an old friend: "I feel I no longer fit in with these times." Coolidge is buried in Plymouth Notch Cemetery, Plymouth Notch, Vermont. The nearby family home is maintained as one of the original buildings on the Calvin Coolidge Homestead District site. The State of Vermont dedicated a new visitors' center nearby to mark Coolidge's 100th birthday on July 4, 1972.
Coolidge's last will was brief and to the point. It read: "Not unmindful of my son John, I give all my estate, both real and personal, to my wife, Grace Coolidge, in fee simple." His estate was valued at about $700,000.
The announcement came as a surprise to many people, including the First Lady, Grace Coolidge. On the day of the announcement, Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas, who was present when Coolidge spoke to reporters, asked Grace Coolidge what she thought of the announcement. She replied: "What announcement?"
Coolidge did not enjoy the term that he was elected to as president. His son Calvin Jr. had died in the summer of 1924 from a freak accident. He developed a blister playing tennis, and the blister became infected and ultimately fatal. Coolidge said of Calvin Jr.'s death, "when he died, the power and glory of the Presidency went with him."
In his autobiography, Coolidge explained his decision not to run in more detail. He wrote:
"The Presidential office takes a heavy toll of those who occupy it and those who are dear to them. While we should not refuse to spend and be spent in the service of our country, it is hazardous to attempt what we feel is beyond our strength to accomplish."
After leaving office, Calvin and Grace Coolidge returned to their home in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he wrote his memoirs. The Republicans won the White House in 1928 with their candidate being Coolidge's Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover. Coolidge had been reluctant to endorse Hoover as his successor. He once told a friend, "for six years that man has given me unsolicited advice—all of it bad." But during the campaign Coolidge kept these feelings to himself.
After his presidency, Coolidge retired to a modest rented house on Massasoit Street in Northampton, Massachusetts before moving to a more spacious home known as "The Beeches." Coolidge liked boating and fishing. He kept a Hacker runabout boat on the Connecticut River and was frequently observed on the water by locals. During this time, he also served as chairman of the non-partisan Railroad Commission, 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. In 1931 he wrote a nationally syndicated column for the McClure Newspaper chain, called "Thinking Things over with Calvin Coolidge".
In 1932 the writing was on the wall for President Herbert Hoover, who faced certain defeat in the upcoming presidential election. Some Republicans tried to gain support for the idea of rejecting Herbert Hoover as their party's nominee, and instead drafting Coolidge as their candidate. Coolidge made it clear that he was not interested in running again. He said that he would publicly repudiate any effort to draft him, should it occur. Hoover was renominated, and ever the loyal party man, Coolidge made several radio addresses in support of him. Hoover then lost the general election to Franklin Roosevelt, the man who in 1920 had been the Democrats' vice presidential candidate on the ticket that opposed the victorious duo of Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Roosevelt won in a landslide.
On January 5, 1933, Coolidge died suddenly from coronary thrombosis at his home, "The Beeches," at 12:45 p.m. Shortly before his death, Coolidge confided to an old friend: "I feel I no longer fit in with these times." Coolidge is buried in Plymouth Notch Cemetery, Plymouth Notch, Vermont. The nearby family home is maintained as one of the original buildings on the Calvin Coolidge Homestead District site. The State of Vermont dedicated a new visitors' center nearby to mark Coolidge's 100th birthday on July 4, 1972.
Coolidge's last will was brief and to the point. It read: "Not unmindful of my son John, I give all my estate, both real and personal, to my wife, Grace Coolidge, in fee simple." His estate was valued at about $700,000.