Calvin Coolidge
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John Calvin Coolidge Jr. (July 4, 1872–January 5, 1933) was the twenty-ninth (1921-1923) Vice President and the thirtieth (1923-1929) President of the United States, succeeding to that office upon the death of Warren Harding.
Biography
He was born in Plymouth, Windsor County, Vermont on July 4, 1872 to John Coolidge and Victoria Moore. He dropped John from his name upon graduating from college. He attended Amherst College, Massachusetts, graduating in 1895. He practiced law in Northampton, Massachusetts, and was a member of the city council in 1899, city solicitor from 1900-1902, clerk of courts in 1904, and a member of the State house of representatives 1907-1908.
Coolidge was elected mayor of Northampton in 1910 and 1911, was a member of the State senate 1912-1915, serving as president of that body in 1914 and 1915. He was lieutenant governor of the state 1916-1918, and Governor 1919-1920. He was known nationally when the Boston police went on strike. He said, "There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, anytime."
Coolidge sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1920. He lost to Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding. People wanted to nominate Wisconsin Senator Irvine Lenroot for vice president. However, the Republican party nominated Coolidge. The Harding-Coolidge ticket won against Ohio Governor James M. Cox and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Coolidge was inaugurated on March 4, 1921, and served until August 3, 1923. Upon the death of President Harding, Coolidge became President of the United States on August 3, 1923. Coolidge was visiting at the family home, still without electricity or telephone, when he got word of Harding's death. His father, a notary public, administered the oath of office in the family's parlor by the light of a kerosene lamp; Coolidge was resworn by a federal official upon his return to Washington.
Unusually for a prominent politician, Coolidge was a man of few words, earning him the nickname "Silent Cal." It is said that a White House dinner guest once made a bet with her friends that she could get the president to say at least three words during the course of the meal. Upon telling Coolidge of her wager, he replied simply with the words "You lose."
He was elected President of the United States in 1924 for the term expiring March 4, 1929. Coolidge made use of the new medium of radio and made radio history several times while president: his inauguration was the first presidential inauguration broadcast on radio, on February 12, 1924 he became the first President of the United States to deliver a political speech on radio and on February 22 he also became the first to deliver such a speech from the White House.
Coolidge was the last President of the United States who did not attempt to intervene in free markets, letting business cycles run their course. During his Presidency, the United States experienced a wildly successful period of economic growth: the so-called "Roaring Twenties." Coolidge was not only able to lower taxes, but also to reduce the national debt.
He was not a candidate for renomination; he announced his decision with typical terseness: "I do not choose to run for President in 1928." He served as chairman of the Nonpartisan Railroad Commission and as honorary president of the Foundation of the Blind. He died at "The Beeches," Northampton, Massachusetts, January 5, 1933. Interment is in Notch Cemetery, Plymouth, Vermont.
Supreme Court appointments
- Harlan Fiske Stone - 1925
Related articles
External links
| Preceded by: Warren G. Harding |
Presidents of the United States | Succeeded by: Herbert Hoover |
| Preceded by: Thomas Marshall |
Vice Presidents of the United States | Succeeded by: Charles Dawes |