Calvin Coolidge was born in the backroom of his father’s general store
in Plymouth, Vermont, on the Fourth of July in 1872. His only sister
died when she was fifteen, and without close neighbors in his rural
hometown of Plymouth, Coolidge formed close relationships with both
of his parents. As a child, he was painfully shy, a
trait he struggled with throughout his life.
Coolidge graduated from Amherst College
and was admitted to the bar in 1897. His law
practice was in Northampton, Massachusetts,
but work as a lawyer soon took a back seat to
politics. Within a year, he became a city councilman, and from there he worked his way up
through local and state offices. Coolidge was
governor of Massachusetts from 1919 to 1921.
Coolidge attracted national attention as
governor when he called in the National Guard
to end a Boston police strike that had become
violent. This move made him unpopular with
labor unions (formally organized associations of
workers that advance their members’ views on
wages, work hours, and labor conditions), but it
also made him a hero to Americans who considered labor protests a threat to public safety.
From vice president to president
Warren G. Harding (1865–1923; served 1921–23) was elected president in 1920. Coolidge was his vice president, and the two balanced each
other well, with Harding being the more outgoing, social politician.
When Harding suddenly died of heart failure in 1923, Coolidge, known
to Americans as “Silent Cal,” took over the presidency and reassured the
mourning nation.
Coolidge inherited from his boss an administration that was rife
with scandal and corruption. He managed to distance himself from the
scandals, of which he was not a part, and earned himself a reputation for
honesty and frugality. His successful efforts improved the much-tarnished image of the Republican Party, and he was easily elected to a full
term as president in 1924.
Continues in the Harding tradition
Coolidge ran his presidency along the same basic lines as Harding: The
role of government was not to get involved in business and industry. To that end, he kept taxes low, protective tariffs (taxes on imported goods)
high, and immigrants to a minimum. The U.S. economy during
Coolidge’s presidency was strong. In foreign relations, he made sure
European war debts were paid and focused on peace-keeping treaties and
alliances to help prevent another war.
Coolidge did not seek reelection in 1929. Instead, he returned with
his wife to Massachusetts, where he wrote his memoirs and published
magazine articles explaining his philosophy of limited government. The
former president died in his home of coronary thrombosis (obstruction
of blood flow to the heart due to a clot) in January 1933.