Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) was the 30th president of the United States (1923-1929). Born and schooled in Vermont, Coolidge graduated from Amherst College in 1895. He was admitted to the practice of law in 1897 and opened a law office in Northampton. Between 1898 and 1911 he served as city councilman, city solicitor, clerk of courts, representative in the Massachusetts legislature, and mayor. He was a senator in the state legislature from 1912 to 1915 and lieutenant governor from 1916 to 1918. With his loyalty to the Republican Party, conservative values, and hard work in his elected positions, Coolidge drew the attention of Massachusetts party leaders. In 1918, Coolidge was nominated as the Republican candidate for governor of Massachusetts. He won by a slim margin.
Governor Coolidge first became nationally known in 1919, when the Boston policemen went on strike. They wanted to raise their wages by forming a union. The police commissioner suspended nineteen leaders of the movement, and the police went out on strike. The mayor (a Democrat) called out the state troopers. Governor Coolidge brought in additional troops and asked for federal soldiers in case of a general strike. The policemen returned to work the next day. Governor Coolidge refused to let the suspended policemen return to their jobs. Numerous people began to think of him for the presidency, and his supporters tried to have him nominated at the Republican National Convention in 1920. Instead, the convention chose Senator Warren G. Harding, an Ohio conservative. When a delegate from Oregon nominated Coolidge for vice president, the delegates shouted approval. Coolidge was inaugurated vice president on March 4, 1921.
President Harding died unexpectedly on August 2, 1923, and Coolidge became president. Coolidge had no difficulty in being nominated for president and winning the election in 1924. His conservative policies underwent no change after he assumed the presidency for a four-year term on March 4, 1925. Although under Republican control, Congress did not always agree with him. Western farmers did not benefit from the prosperity under Coolidge, and his continued opposition to their demands for government relief led Republican politicians to form coalitions with the Democrats against the president. He sustained his lifelong opposition to the expansion of government functions and the interference of the federal government in private business.
In August 1927, he released a statement to the newspapers: “I do not choose to run for president in 1928.” The Republicans nominated Herbert Hoover for president in 1928. Coolidge wrote his Autobiography in 1929 and published articles promoting individualism and a laissez-faire economic policy, in which government did not interfere in individual or business affairs. In January 1933, two months before Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated, Coolidge died.
Governor Coolidge first became nationally known in 1919, when the Boston policemen went on strike. They wanted to raise their wages by forming a union. The police commissioner suspended nineteen leaders of the movement, and the police went out on strike. The mayor (a Democrat) called out the state troopers. Governor Coolidge brought in additional troops and asked for federal soldiers in case of a general strike. The policemen returned to work the next day. Governor Coolidge refused to let the suspended policemen return to their jobs. Numerous people began to think of him for the presidency, and his supporters tried to have him nominated at the Republican National Convention in 1920. Instead, the convention chose Senator Warren G. Harding, an Ohio conservative. When a delegate from Oregon nominated Coolidge for vice president, the delegates shouted approval. Coolidge was inaugurated vice president on March 4, 1921.
President Harding died unexpectedly on August 2, 1923, and Coolidge became president. Coolidge had no difficulty in being nominated for president and winning the election in 1924. His conservative policies underwent no change after he assumed the presidency for a four-year term on March 4, 1925. Although under Republican control, Congress did not always agree with him. Western farmers did not benefit from the prosperity under Coolidge, and his continued opposition to their demands for government relief led Republican politicians to form coalitions with the Democrats against the president. He sustained his lifelong opposition to the expansion of government functions and the interference of the federal government in private business.
In August 1927, he released a statement to the newspapers: “I do not choose to run for president in 1928.” The Republicans nominated Herbert Hoover for president in 1928. Coolidge wrote his Autobiography in 1929 and published articles promoting individualism and a laissez-faire economic policy, in which government did not interfere in individual or business affairs. In January 1933, two months before Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated, Coolidge died.
