Who was Calvin Coolidge?
Calvin Coolidge. US statesman and 30th president (1923-9), born in Plymouth, Vermont, USA. He studied at Amherst College (1895), and became a lawyer in Northampton, MA. As a Republican, he held a series of local and state offices until becoming governor of Massachusetts (1919-20), gaining national attention for using the state militia to suppress a police strike. Elected vice-president (1920), he succeeded to the presidency on Warren Harding’s death (1923) and was re-elected the next year. A popular and deliberately hands-off president in prosperous times, he was noted more for what he did not do and say than for what he did (although among his oft-quoted phrases is his 1925 remark, the business of America is business). In his private life he was equally noted for his taciturn, thrifty ways. After leaving the White House, he retired to Northampton and wrote various articles promoting his conservative views as well as his autobiography (1929). close window www.eaziGOAL.
Calvin Coolidge was born in Vermont, the son of a village storekeeper. In 1895, he graduated from Amherst College with honors, and began to practice law. Later on, he became Governor of Massachusetts. Before becoming President, he was Vice President under Harding. President Coolidge was a man of few words, which earned him the nickname “Silent Cal.” His role as President was marked by what became known as “Coolidge prosperity,” which called for an isolationist attitude, tax cuts, and limited aid for farmers. He vetoed the McNary-Haugen farm bill twice, which would have destroyed agricultural surplus. However, he was not able to completely avoid foreign affairs. Coolidge slept an average of 12 hours each day, and in 1928, stated he would not run for President again.
