Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge
Photo of Calvin Coolidge aged 52
Coolidge in 1919
30th President of the United States
In office
August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929
Vice President
Preceded byWarren G. Harding
Succeeded byHerbert Hoover
29th Vice President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923
PresidentWarren G. Harding
Preceded byThomas R. Marshall
Succeeded byCharles G. Dawes
48th Governor of Massachusetts
In office
January 2, 1919 – January 6, 1921
LieutenantChanning H. Cox
Preceded bySamuel W. McCall
Succeeded byChanning H. Cox
46th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
In office
January 6, 1916 – January 2, 1919
GovernorSamuel W. McCall
Preceded byGrafton D. Cushing
Succeeded byChanning H. Cox
President of the Massachusetts Senate
In office
January 7, 1914 – January 6, 1915
Preceded byLevi H. Greenwood
Succeeded byHenry Gordon Wells
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
In office
January 3, 1912 – January 6, 1915
Preceded byAllen T. Treadway
Succeeded byJohn B. Hull
ConstituencyBerkshire, Hampden, and Hampshire counties
16th Mayor of Northampton
In office
January 3, 1910 – January 1, 1912
Preceded byJames W. O'Brien
Succeeded byWilliam Feiker
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
from the 1st Hampshire district
In office
January 2, 1907 – January 6, 1909
Preceded byMoses M. Bassett
Succeeded byCharles A. Montgomery
Personal details
Born
John Calvin Coolidge Jr.

(1872-07-04)July 4, 1872
Plymouth Notch, Vermont, U.S.
DiedJanuary 5, 1933(1933-01-05) (aged 60)
Northampton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting placePlymouth Notch Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
(m. 1905)
Children2, including John
Parent
Relatives
EducationAmherst College (AB)
Occupation
  • Politician
  • lawyer
SignatureCursive signature in ink

Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.;[1] /ˈklɪ/; July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929.

Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer who climbed the ladder of Massachusetts politics, becoming the state's 48th governor. His response to the Boston police strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight as a man of decisive action. The next year, Coolidge was elected the country's 29th vice president and succeeded to the presidency upon President Warren G. Harding's sudden death in 1923. Elected in his own right in 1924, Coolidge gained a reputation as a small-government conservative with a taciturn personality and dry sense of humor that earned him the nickname "Silent Cal". His widespread popularity enabled him to run for a second full term, but Coolidge chose not to run again in 1928, remarking that ten years as president would be "longer than any other man has had it—too long!"[b]

During his gubernatorial career, Coolidge ran on the record of fiscal conservatism, strong support for women's suffrage, and vague opposition to Prohibition.[2] During his presidency, he restored public confidence in the White House after the many scandals of the Harding administration. He signed into law the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, which granted U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans, and oversaw a period of rapid and expansive economic growth known as the "Roaring Twenties", leaving office with considerable popularity.[3] He was known for his hands-off governing approach and pro-business stances; biographer Claude Fuess wrote: "He embodied the spirit and hopes of the middle class, could interpret their longings and express their opinions. That he did represent the genius of the average is the most convincing proof of his strength."[4]

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,[5] 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. His critics argue that he failed to use the country's economic boom to help struggling farmers and workers in other flailing industries,[6] and there is still much debate among historians as to the extent to which Coolidge's economic policies contributed to the onset of the Great Depression.[7]


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  1. ^ "John Coolidge, Guardian of President's Legacy. Dies at 93". The New York Times. June 4, 2000. Retrieved May 11, 2019. [He] had originally been John Calvin Coolidge, but dropped his first name to avoid confusion and later legally changed it.
  2. ^ Sobel 1998a, p. 111; McCoy 1967, pp. 75–76.
  3. ^ McCoy 1967, pp. 420–421; Greenberg 2006, pp. 49–53.
  4. ^ Fuess 1940, p. 500.
  5. ^ Sobel 1998a, pp. 12–13; Greenberg 2006, pp. 1–7.
  6. ^ Fieldstadt, Elisha (April 22, 2021). "Presidents ranked from worst to best". CBS News. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  7. ^ "Significant Papers – Coolidge Prosperity Gave America the Reserve to Weather the Great Depression". Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation. Retrieved September 27, 2021.

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