COOLIDGE, CALVIN
“PERHAPS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF MY ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS.” —CALVIN COOLIDGE
Born John Calvin Coolidge—after his father—on July 4, 1872, in Plymouth,Vermont, he shortened his name to Calvin Coolidge after leaving college. Coolidge became the thirtieth president of the United States upon the death of President WARREN G. HARDING. He was educated at Amherst College, where he received a bachelor of arts degree in 1895 and a doctor of laws degree in 1919. He also received doctor of laws degrees from several other institutions, including Wesleyan University and Tufts University.
In 1897, Coolidge was admitted to the bar and established his legal firm in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he practiced until 1919.
He became councilman in Northampton in
1899, then city solicitor from 1900 to 1901, clerk
of courts in 1904, and member of the General
Court of Massachusetts from 1907 to 1908. In
1910, he was elected mayor of Northampton, a
post that he held for one year.
Coolidge served in the Massachusetts Senate
from 1912 to 1915, acting as president during
1914 and 1915. He was the lieutenant governor
of the state from 1916 to 1918 and the following
year became governor. As governor, he gained
public recognition for his strong policy regarding
the Boston police strike of 1919, regarding which
he denied the right of any individual or group to
strike if the public welfare is jeopardized.
With such extensive experience in state government,
Coolidge was a natural choice for a
federal position. In 1921, he was elected to the
vice presidency of the United States. On August
2, 1923, President Warren G. Harding died suddenly
and Coolidge became president. He was
sworn in by his father, a NOTARY PUBLIC, on
August 3, 1923, at 2:47 A.M. in his hometown of
Plymouth, Vermont. In the next presidential
election, held in 1924, Coolidge was elected, and
so his administration lasted for five years.
As president, Coolidge adopted policies that
favored business and discouraged government
intervention in the economic system. He influenced
the speculative activity of the STOCK MARKET
toward the end of the 1920s, which, some
believe, precipitated the crash of 1929. When
Coolidge left office in that year, the country was
on the brink of economic disaster.
Coolidge spent his last years in retirement,
writing articles. His Autobiography was published
in 1929. He died January 5, 1933, in
Northampton,Massachusetts.
FURTHER READINGS
Gilbert, Robert E. 2003. The Tormented President: Calvin Coolidge and the Trauma of Death. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood.
Sobel, Robert. 2000. Coolidge: An American Enigma. Washington, D.C.: Regnery.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Harding,Warren Gamaliel; Hoover, Herbert Clark.
Calvin Coolidge 1872–1933
