Sparks Commentary: Calvin Coolidge: One of our greatest presidents

Wikipedia gets the presidency of Calvin Coolidge badly and wildly wrong …

Calvin Coolidge may be one of the greatest presidents in American history. But, strangely enough, Wikipedia notes that “Scholars have ranked Coolidge in the lower half of U.S. presidents. He gains nearly universal praise for his stalwart support of racial equality during a period of heightened racial tension in the nation,[footnote] and is highly praised by advocates of smaller government and laissez-faire economics; supporters of an active central government generally view him far less favorably.” (Source: Their page on “Calvin Coolidge”) I agree that this is why his critics have tended to view him a bit less favorably. And, regarding other presidents, I have sometimes tended to agree with the general consensus of historians. But I feel that these historians have gotten this call badly and wildly wrong, and seriously underestimated the benefits of President Calvin Coolidge. Their ratings seem to have come from a bloated belief in the value of big government, and from fundamental misunderstandings of economic principles to boot. Thus, it may be time to challenge this popular view of Calvin Coolidge, and give a more accurate picture of the Coolidge administration.

Calvin Coolidge

Coolidge’s early life as a lawyer, and getting elected to various state and local offices

John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was born in Vermont on July 4th, 1872. He is the only president to be born on Independence Day. This seems highly appropriate, given his genuine patriotism, and his admiration for the ideals upon which this country was founded. Although named for his father, the young Coolidge came to be addressed by his middle name of Calvin. Many generations of his father’s family had been named after John Calvin, the Protestant Reformer. The young Calvin Coolidge graduated from Amherst College, where he had distinguished himself in a debating society. After graduation, Calvin Coolidge moved to Massachusetts, and read for the law – then the standard way of becoming a lawyer in the United States. Coolidge then had great success as a country lawyer. In 1905, he married his only wife Grace Goodhue, a teacher at a nearby school for the deaf. Incidentally, Calvin Coolidge was a lifelong Republican. Calvin Coolidge then held various local and state offices in Massachusetts, including mayor and state legislator. He eventually became President of the Massachusetts Senate, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, and then the Governor of Massachusetts. As Governor, he responded to the Boston police strike of 1919. This gave him national prominence, as a man of “decisive action.” He also opposed Prohibition, supported women’s suffrage, and gained a reputation as a fiscal conservative. He was still the Governor of Massachusetts during the presidential elections of 1920.

Calvin Coolidge

Harding is elected president in 1920, and Coolidge is elected as his vice president

As Wikipedia puts it, the field was “divided among many local favorites” in 1920. Coolidge was one such candidate, and “while he placed as high as sixth in the voting, the powerful party bosses running the convention, primarily the party's U.S. Senators, never considered him seriously.[footnote] After ten ballots, the bosses and then the delegates settled on Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio as their nominee for president.[footnote] When the time came to select a vice presidential nominee, the bosses also made and announced their decision on whom they wanted – Sen. Irvine Lenroot of Wisconsin – and then prematurely departed after his name was put forth, relying on the rank and file to confirm their decision. A delegate from Oregon, Wallace McCamant, having read Have Faith in Massachusetts, proposed Coolidge for vice president instead. The suggestion caught on quickly with the masses starving for an act of independence from the absent bosses, and Coolidge was unexpectedly nominated.” (Source: Their page on “Calvin Coolidge”) When the general election rolled around, Harding and Coolidge won 60.4% of the popular vote, and 76% of the electoral vote. Warren G. Harding had just been elected the 29th President of the United States. And Calvin Coolidge had just been elected as his vice president.

President Harding and Vice President Coolidge with their wives

Harding dies in office, Coolidge becomes president, and is then elected president in 1924

But in 1923, Warren G. Harding was visiting San Francisco on a western tour. While there, President Harding died of a heart attack. Thus, Calvin Coolidge suddenly became the 30th President of the United States. Ironically, Harding was actually quite popular at the time that he died. But it soon emerged that there were several scandals during the Harding administration. (More about those in a later post.) The scandals were bad enough that Calvin Coolidge, the new president, refused even to dedicate the Harding Tomb. It would later be dedicated by Coolidge’s immediate successor, Herbert Hoover. It would now fall upon Coolidge to restore confidence in the White House, after the great scandals of his predecessor. Before Coolidge finished the term that he had inherited from Harding, Coolidge signed into law the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. This granted United States citizenship to all Native Americans. In 1924, Calvin Coolidge faced little opposition from within his own party. But on the Democratic side, former Congressman John W. Davis triumphed on the 103rd ballot of the Democratic National Convention. This was because of a long deadlock between supporters of two other Democratic candidates. As Wikipedia puts it, “Dissatisfied by the conservatism of both major party candidates, the newly formed Progressive Party nominated Senator Robert La Follette of Wisconsin.” (Source: Their page on the “1924 United States presidential election”) Robert La Follette won 16.6% of the popular vote, and actually got one single electoral vote. The Democratic candidate, John W. Davis, got 28.8% of the popular vote, and 25.6% of the electoral vote. Meanwhile, President Calvin Coolidge got 54% of the popular vote (an actual majority), and 71.9% of the electoral vote. Coolidge had now been elected as president in his own right, rather than by simply inheriting the office from his predecessor.

Osage men with Coolidge after he signed the bill granting Native Americans U.S. citizenship

Calvin Coolidge presides over a booming economy in the “Roaring Twenties”

Calvin Coolidge then presided over a period of great economic growth, known as the “Roaring Twenties.” This is acknowledged even by his detractors. However, his critics sometimes vaguely charge him with “contributing to the later onset” of the Great Depression. Wikipedia makes reference to these unnamed critics, but does not substantiate these charges with any specific policies that they allege to have “contributed” to this. Thus, this seems to be a smokescreen of vague generalities, based upon their knee-jerk reactions to laissez-faire economics. Thus, Wikipedia has utterly failed to provide us with specifics. Instead, they acknowledge (and concede) that Coolidge oversaw “a period of rapid and expansive economic growth” (see source) – something that actually seems rather positive. After all, God forbid that our economy should have “rapid and expansive” economic growth. (Economic decline, it would seem, is “so much better”!) Even Wikipedia acknowledges that Coolidge “gains nearly universal praise for his stalwart support of racial equality during a period of heightened racial tension in the nation” (Source: Their page on “Calvin Coolidge”). That likewise seems to be rather positive. This is part of why I have a much higher rating of the Calvin Coolidge presidency. Indeed, it seems to me to be a great success story, which deserves to be emulated. Coolidge was popular enough to run for an additional term in 1928. However, he chose not to run again, saying that ten years as president would be “longer than any other man has had it—too long!” We need more of that kind of politics, too. Coolidge then retired from politics, resisting efforts to “draft” him into running for president again. He was a supporter of his immediate successor Herbert Hoover (a fellow Republican). When Hoover lost to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932, Coolidge died when Hoover was still in the White House, and FDR was still the president-elect. That is, Coolidge died on January 5th, 1933. (Presidents were then inaugurated on March 4th.)

Calvin Coolidge

Conclusion: Coolidge remains one of the most underrated presidents in American history

Coolidge remains one of the most underrated presidents in American history. As mentioned earlier, he is (mostly) poorly rated by the big-government crowd, but continues to be well-rated by the free-market crowd. The economic success of his administration testifies to the success of his policies, and suggests that he was a truly great (and perhaps even stellar) president.

“ … all noncitizen Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States be, and they are hereby, declared to be citizens of the United States: Provided, That the granting of such citizenship shall not in any manner impair or otherwise affect the right of any Native American to tribal or other property.”

– “Indian Citizenship Act of 1924,” as passed by the United States Congress

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Herbert Hoover: More interventionist than he’s remembered

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Part of a series about

The Presidents