President Calvin Coolidge
Background/Early Life
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Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872
Plymouth Vermont.
He was the son of a village store keeper.
Growing up, he helped his father’s
business and hoped to be a merchant
like his father.
The sadness of his sister and mother’s
early death added to his reserved public
image.
In Oct 4, 1905 he married Grace Anna
Goodhue, an instructor for hearingimpaired students. The two met when
Goodhue happened to look in a window
where Coolidge was shaving in nothing
but his underwear and a hat. Upon this
sight she laughed loud enough for
Coolidge to see.
His children consisted of John (born
1906) and Calvin (born 1908) Coolidge.
During 1924 Calvin died at the young age
of sixteen due to an infected toe he had
blistered during tennis. His son never
would see past his campaign.
In 1895 graduated from Amherst College
with Honors entering law and politics at
Northampton, Massachusetts. There he
would pass his bar examination in 1897.
He climbed up the political ladder as
councilman in Northampton to
Republican Governor of Massachusetts.
Political Rise to Presidency
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In 1896, Coolidge campaigned along with the Republican Party
for Presidential Candidate, William McKinley.
In 1897, Coolidge was admitted to the bar, becoming a country
lawyer.
In 1898, won City Council of Northampton.
1910-1911, Mayor of Northampton.
1915, Coolidge wins lieutenant governor.
In 1918, Coolidge wins election for
Governor of Massachusetts.
1920, Vice President Elections.
1923, After the death of President Harding,
Coolidge succeeds the presidency.
Political
PIRATES
1923 – Coolidge takes the presidency after Harding’s
death; 1924 – Coolidge is elected to a second term,
defeating Democratic nominee John W. Davis and
Progressive nominee Robert M. La Follette; US
troops evacuate Dominican Republic; 1926 – US
resolution to join World Court not accepted;
Coolidge sends troops to Nicaragua; 1928 – Stalin
becomes dictator in Soviet Union; 1928-29 –
Kellogg-Briand Pact outlawing war
Intellectual
1923 – National Women’s Party campaign for
constitutional Equal Rights Amendment; 1925 –
Scopes trial vs. Butler Act (teaching evolution in
public schools)
Religion
Catholic discrimination and prejudice due to Ku
Klux Klan and WASP
Arts/Culture
Harlem Renaissance; 1925 - The Great Gatsby by F.
Scott Fitzgerald; An American Tragedy by Theodore
Dreiser; 1926 - The Weary Blues by Langston
Hughes; The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway;
1927 – First movie with sound: The Jazz Singer;
1929 - The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Technology
PIRATES
Industry growth; 1925 – Florida real estate boom in
Miami; 1927 – Lindbergh’s first flight across the
Atlantic Ocean; 1928 – Use of the radio for
presidential campaigns
Economy/Environmental
Coolidge and Sec. of the Treasury Mellon reduced
income and estate taxes & reduced national debt by
$1 each year; Growth of big businesses;
Unemployment rates between 1.5-2 million; 1923 –
Earthquake in Tokyo; 1924 – Dawes plan for
international finance with European nations; 1927 –
Great Mississippi Flood; Coolidge vetoes the
McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill
Social
Higher standard of living and shorter work week;
Work benefits such as cafeteria, healthcare, paid
vacations; New Ku Klux Klan and pro-White AngloSaxon Protestant (WASP) lost influence during
Coolidge’s term; Gang wars in Chicago; alcohol
bootlegging, prostitution, narcotics, gambling; 1924
– Immigration act; 1929 – Capone’s Valentine’s Day
Massacre
Domestic Policy Issues
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Coolidge was a president that went with
the ideals of laissez-faire. He did not do
much to change how the nation ran.
Instead, he made sure that the nation
would stay on the track that they were on.
When Harding died, one of the first
things that Coolidge did was fix the
scandals that ran in government at the
time. Examples are: The Teapot Dome
Scandal and The Elk Hills Scandal.
But, he did advocate more cuts in federal
taxation and spending, maintained a high
protective tariff, and realigned policy to
favor business.
He did block the McNary- Haugen
scheme, which called for a federal farm
board to purchase surplus farm
production at pre-World War 1 prices.
Foreign Policy Issues
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At this time around, the United States still refused to participate in the
formation on the “League of Nations” AKA The United Nations for
many reasons. And although Coolidge and his secretary of state sided
with joining, the others powers of government did not allow it.
Coolidge also tried and tried again to maintain a healthy relationship
with Japan. But, the relationship did not last long for our reputation
with the Japanese were once again tainted when Congress reduced the
Immigration Quota for Japanese immigrants in the Immigration Act of
1924.
Also at this time, the USA, was trying to aid in the passing of the
Kellogg- Briand Treaty in order to prevent another world war. But, even
though it passed, nobody was there to enforce it.
Like we previously mentioned, he constantly worked with his secretary
of state, Charles Evans Hughes, in foreign issues such as, the
reconstruction of German reparations in the Dawes Plan and the
Stimson accords for pacifying Nicaragua.
At this time, our biggest concern with out next door neighbor, Mexico,
was not so much immigration, but rather oil. With Mexico under new
presidency, their government rules that the United States does not owe
any of the oil fields that they have been investing in. But later on, it is
ruled that the oil fields owned before 1917 by the US are property of the
US’s.
Quote Much?
“Don't expect to build up
the weak by pulling down
the strong.”
“If you don't say
anything, you won't be
called on to repeat it.”
- President Calvin
Coolidge
- President Calvin
Coolidge
“All growth depends upon
activity. There is no
development physically or
intellectually without effort,
and effort means work.”
- President Calvin
Coolidge
Success Vs. Failures
Success
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Selected to become a member of the
Republican City Committee
Won election for mayor of Northampton
Coolidge was selected to be the “Bread
and Roses” chairman
Railroad Committee chairman
Coolidge wins the 1915 elections for
Lieutenant Governor
Coolidge nominated for Governor of
Massachusetts
Nominated for Vice President
After Harding’s death Coolidge succeeds
Presidency
Wins 1924 Elections
Failures
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By 1908, still did not make one of
the leaders in the legislator
Loses friends among organization
labor
Placed sixth in the Presidential
Elections
Did not stand out in President
Harding’s Cabinet
One Word
Passive
President Coolidge was always known as “Silent Cal” due
to his tendency to speak very few words, if any.
Throughout his presidential career, he allowed industry
and the treasury to develop itself with his laissez-faire
ideology. Besides his part in speaking for the civil rights
of Catholics and African Americans, Coolidge only acted
when necessary. He did not actively seek for bills to be
passed or search for a war. He was not interested in
immediate action for the Great Mississippi Flood of
1927, nor did he show much interest in foreign affairs. At
the end of his political career, Coolidge remained quiet
about politics and left office with no intent to return.
Thoughts about his Presidency
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Despite his popularity as during his term in
office, the Great Depression that started less
than a year after he left office drastically
changed his public opinion about his
particular polices.
His passive policy stance essentially set up the
fall for the country.
His refusal to aid agriculture left five thousand
rural bands in the Midwest and South towards
bankruptcy, leaving farmers to lose land.
His tax cuts seriously favored the rich. By 1929
only a fifth of the population controlled nearly
60 percent of the nations wealth.
This left seventy percent of the population
making earnings that of near or the poverty
line for a family of four.
Moreover eighty percent of the nation left the
nation in serious debt due to purchasing goods
on “easy installments”.
There was also great trouble with his support for
giant corporations. Since they own about fifty
percent of the nation’s wealth their prices were
hardly ever lowered because they had no
competition.
This was especially troublesome when upperclass and high middle class families purchased
stocks than into savings of fruitful companies.
Although he regained his public image in
1980’s with his conservative movements, his
Presidency in short was everything less than
successful.
Team Members
Moses
Bernabeo
Lianne
Laguitan
Alexandria
Hatfield
Ticia
Francisco
Period 5
Sources
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/calvincoolidge
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Sources
Compton's by Britannica. The American Presidency. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2009. 84-85. Print.
Kennedy, David, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Bailey. The American Pageant. Thirteenth Edition. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
Print.
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