Harding from Ohio. Then, satisfied with a job well done, they went back to their hotels only to learn later that their choice for vice president had been passed over, and Calvin Coolidge, the Governor of Massachusetts, had been picked by the remaining delegates.
The party regulars were appalled. This self-effacing New Englander who had been born in a Vermont village and who, when he deigned to speak, did so with an unpleasant Yankee twang, was not their idea of a proper candidate. It was somehow fitting that Coolidge, who was born on July 4, , was president when the country celebrated its th birthday July 4, In those days such doctrines would scarcely have been permitted to flourish and spread in any other country.
This was the purpose which the fathers cherished. We live in an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create our Declaration. Our Declaration created them. The things of the spirit come first. According to this analysis, the state has extremes of climate with cold evenings in autumn and spring that make socializing difficult. Coolidge, however, took silence to extremes.
Beneath the silence, however, there could be steely determination. He successfully wooed a vivacious girl whom many thought above him; many more would wonder how she put up with him over the years, although his private life was kept intensely private and they appear to have loved each other devotedly. Coolidge rose gradually but unspectacularly up the political ladder until he became Governor of Massachusetts. Here he came to national attention by his stern handling of a police strike where he fired the strikers and brought in the State Guard to maintain order.
The means by which Coolidge learned of his elevation to the presidency set the tone for his administration. A messenger delivered the news. His father, as a local notary, swore him in by the light of a kerosene lamp; he may have got the words of the oath wrong. This was a very nineteenth-century scene and Coolidge effectively operated a nineteenth-century presidency. His view of administration was that it should avoid harm rather than promote good. It was the job of the president to enforce the law as it stood not to change it.
He never did what someone else could have done instead. He attempted to control Congress by holding working breakfasts but his silence made them self-defeating. They never knew whether he had listened or not, although perhaps months later they might recognise their suggestions in something he said or did as president. Perhaps H. He once said that if ten troubles came along the road towards him, nine would fall into the ditch before they neared him.
There was initially much scepticism among his fellow politicians as to his ability to run the office of president,and - noting his reluctance to do anything but uphold the law - many felt he would be better sitting on the Supreme Court.
The USA did appear very prosperous, and while Coolidge could take no credit for this, the reputation of all leaders is enhanced when their country appears to be doing well. His reputation grew with the publication of his speeches.
He was elected lieutenant governor and then governor in the race. In , many Boston policemen went on strike after the city's police commissioner tried to block their unionization with the American Federation of Labor. His actions, while discouraging to supporters of organized labor, made Coolidge a favorite among the nation's conservatives, and laid the groundwork for his presidential run in After 10 ballots, Republican delegates settled on Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio as their presidential nominee in , and Coolidge was nominated as vice president.
Harding and Coolidge beat opponents James M. Cox and Franklin D. Roosevelt in a landslide, taking every state outside of the South. Coolidge was the first vice president to attend cabinet meetings, in addition to giving speeches and performing other official duties. The Coolidges attended Washington parties, where guests remarked on the terse and quiet demeanor of "Silent Cal.
On August 2, , President Harding died while traveling in California. He was sworn in by his father, who was a notary public. Coolidge addressed Congress in December, giving the first presidential speech to be broadcast to the nation over the radio. Coolidge signed the Immigration Act later that year, restricting immigration from southern and eastern European countries. President Coolidge was nominated for the presidency in Shortly after the convention, however, he experienced a personal tragedy.
They were ready for a change after the reform policies and international engagement of Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
But Coolidge did not enjoy the office of vice president very much. He had little power in the government. During meetings, he often remained silent. One summer night he and his wife were on vacation in Vermont. His father, Colonel Coolidge, woke them up in the middle of the night with some dramatic news: President Harding had died.
Reporters quickly gathered at the small farmhouse. Colonel Coolidge had not put electricity in the house. So everyone watched by the light of an oil lamp. Colonel Coolidge was a public official. He used the family Bible and a copy of the Constitution to swear in his son as the 30 th U.
President Coolidge believed in limited government, especially limited federal government. He permitted state and Cabinet officials to decide as many issues as they could. At the time he took office, the U. Coolidge tried to maintain that prosperity. He did not regulate businesses too much, and he sharply reduced taxes, especially on the wealthy.
More and more people began to invest their money in the stock market. Some put their dollars in dangerous investments. And business owners produced more goods than most members of the public could really afford. Increasingly, people borrowed money on credit to pay for luxury goods.
At the same time, the economic situation of many American farmers was getting worse.
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