Who Is Silent Cal?

             My VIP for this week is “Silent Cal” – otherwise known as President Calvin Coolidge, the 30^th President of the United States. On July 4^th, Americans celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by members of the Continental Congress. This is the reason why the holiday is known as Independence Day.

            Even though we celebrate Independence Day, few Americans know about the peculiar and important ideals found in the Declaration of Independence. What do the words “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” mean to Americans today? I found this article by Brett Kershaw to be quite interesting. 

            Coolidge entered office as vice president in 1921 with Warren G. Harding as president. After Harding died, Coolidge became the president and left office in 1929 having completed 5.5 years as president. The goal of “Silent Cal” was to reestablish America’s peacetime financial and political stability. World War I – often referred to as the Great War – caused great federal debt, and Coolidge endeavored to bring financial stability to the nation.

According to Kershaw, the Coolidge administration “reduced large swaths of federal debt accumulated during the Great War, cut wartime tax rates and reduced federal spending.” He did such a good job that near the end of Coolidge’s presidency in 1929, “98 percent of the population did not pay any income taxes.” When he left office, “the federal budget stood at $3.3 billion – nearly $2 billion less than when he entered office as vice president in 1921.” His “economic policies spurred real economic growth, lowering unemployment and inflation.”

Kershaw noted that Coolidge had an uncanny leadership ability and “led the nation back to peacetime normality.” He “was committed to securing the inalienable rights of black Americans.”

Coolidge shared a birthday with the Declaration of Independence having been born on July 4, 1872 – nearly a century after the Declaration. He “honored and believed in the Declaration’s sole promise: American society will be one in which life and the liberty to procure happiness were fundamental, assuming that one does not violate another’s inalienable rights.”

Coolidge spoke at the 150^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Kershaw obtained the following quotes from UC Santa Barbara’s American Presidency Project.

“Equality, liberty, popular sovereignty, the rights of man – these are not elements which we can see and touch. They are ideals … They belong to the unseen world.”

“Governments do not make ideals, but ideals make governments … their source by their very nature is in the people. The people have to bear their own responsibilities. There is no method by which that burden can be shifted to the government.”

“About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern.”

“But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions.”

“If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people.”

“Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.”

“No other theory is adequate to explain or comprehend the Declaration of Independence. It is the product of the spiritual insight of the people.”

“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.”

“Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren scepter in our grasp. If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it. We must not sink into a pagan materialism.”

            Coolidge was committed to the principles found in the Declaration of Independence, and this commitment helped him to rise “above his factional impulses, allowing him to lead a nation on the basis of liberty.” He was able to put into word and action the most powerful tool in the Declaration of Independence: “its endless pursuit to promote and uplift the dignity, humility and liberty of man.”

            Kershaw noted that America is badly in need of such a leader today because our nation continues to stray “farther away from those apolitical ideals.” This allows “our ideological sentiments to take over our consciousness.” American politics has become a religion for many people – both on the Left and the Right. The Signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Framers of the Constitution were wise to keep politics and religion separate. Otherwise, we could end up with a government like that in Iran.

Attacks on Religious Freedom

                    The Obama Administration is attacking our First Amendment right of Freedom of Religion.  In some cases, it is just nibbling away, but in other cases, it is biting off huge chunks.  Some of the worst dangers to our freedoms come under the framework of ObamaCare.  Freedom of Religion is just the first casualty of ObamaCare, and more will follow.

                    Historian David Barton claims that President Obama is anti-Biblical, and he has compiled a list of all the ways the Obama Administration has shown hostility to Christians and Jews.  His article begins:  "When one observes President Obama's unwillingness to accommodate America's four-century long religious conscience protection through his attempts to require Catholics to go against their own doctrines and beliefs, one is tempted to say that he is anti-Catholic.  But that characterization would not be correct. Although he has recently singled out Catholics, he has equally targeted traditional Protestant beliefs over the past four years.  So since he has attacked Catholics and Protestants, one is tempted to say that he is anti-Christian.  But that, too, would be inaccurate.  He has been equally disrespectful in his appalling treatment of religious Jews in general and Israel in particular.  So perhaps the most accurate description of his antipathy toward Catholics, Protestants, religious Jews, and the Jewish nation would be to characterize him as anti-Biblical. And then when his hostility toward Biblical people of faith is contrasted with his preferential treatment of Muslims and Muslim nations, it further strengthens the accuracy of the anti-Biblical descriptor.  In fact, there have been numerous clearly documented times when his pro-Islam positions have been the cause of his anti-Biblical actions."

                    Barton compiled his list in the following chronological order:  "(1) numerous records of his attacks on Biblical persons or organizations; (2) examples of the hostility toward Biblical faith that have become evident in the past three years in the Obama-led military; (3) a listing of his open attacks on Biblical values; and finally (4) a listing of numerous incidents of his preferential deference for Islam's activities and positions, including letting his Islamic advisors guide and influence his hostility toward people of Biblical faith."

We live in very perilous times, much like those the Apostle Paul said would come in the latter-days (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boaster, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.

"Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers [slanderers], incontinent [without self-control], fierce, despisers of those that are good,

"Traitors, heady [rash, reckless], highminded [puffed up, conceited], lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:  from such turn away."

We must stand in defense of our religious freedom or lose our nation as we know it.  President John Adams made two different statements that should illuminate how bad our situation really is.  The first statement is interesting due to the fact that so many people in the world are fighting and dying for "democracy".  Adams said, "Democracy … while it lasts is more bloody than either [aristocracy or monarchy].  Remember, democracy never lasts long.  It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself.  There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide."  We should be very grateful to our Founders for setting up a Republic for us and giving us the Constitution in order to safeguard it.

The Founders were very concerned about our ability to keep our Republic as reflected in Benjamin Franklin's reply when a woman asked:  "Well, Doctor, what have we got - a Republic or a Monarchy?"  He replied, "A Republic, if you can keep it."  

   The second statement by President Adams applies directly to the importance of keeping religion and morality in our nation:  "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."  This site has an excellent essay on this particular statement.  

President Calvin Coolidge was apparently as concerned as the Founders were about Americans' ability to remain religious and moral.  He made the following two statements about the importance of religion in the United States, and I believe his statements reflect Truth - eternal truths that never change. 

"The government of a country never gets ahead of the religion of a country.  There is no way by which we can substitute the authority of law for the virtue of man.  Of course we endeavor to restrain the vicious, and furnish a fair degree of security and protection by legislation and police control, but the real reform which society in these days is seeking will come as a result of our religious convictions, or they will not come at all.  Peace, justice, humanity, charity - these cannot be legislated into being.  They are the result of divine grace."

President Coolidge also said:  "Our government rests upon religion.  It is from that source that we derive our reverence for truth and justice, for equality and liberality, and for the rights of mankind.  Unless the people believe in these principles they cannot believe in our government.  There are only two main theories of government in our world.  One rests on righteousness and the other on force.  One appeals to reason, and the other appeals to the sword.  One is exemplified in the republic, the other is represented by despotism."

Other quotes of President Coolidge can be found at this site or this one.  

Like John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Calvin Coolidge, many people today are very concerned about American freedom, particularly freedom of religion and the necessity for Americans to remain religious and moral.  The Obama Administration is aggressively working to destroy our freedom of religion, and many Americans are unaware of these dangers because our lame stream media is working hand-in-glove with the administration.

One such organization is The Heritage Foundation, who is actively working to get this information out to the general public.  Mike Brownfield of Heritage wrote an article on the attack on religionon March 1, 2012. 

"Since 1791, when the Bill of Rights was formally adopted, America has enjoyed the legal protection of religious freedom, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.  Today, 221 years later, centuries of progress in the protection of religious and other liberties is at risk of being rolled back in one fell swoop.  The culprit:  Obamacare.

"As we all know, President Obama's health care law will mandate that religious hospitals, charities, and schools abandon the tenets of their faiths and provide their employees insurance coverage of abortion-inducing drugs, contraception and sterilization.  This anti-conscience mandate is but the latest assault on liberty Obamacare has ushered in.  Its shock waves are reverberating across the country, waking Americans to the fact that our first freedom - religious liberty - will be the first to fall now that the federal government has unfettered control over the country's health care system."

A week later Brownfield wrote another article about this subject and began it with this statement:  "Call it what you want - a circus, a sideshow, or just plain old political rhetoric - but for the past week America has watched the media elite and some in Washington bend over backward to turn attention away from an issue that is fundamental to the future of this country:  ObamaCare attack on individual liberty.  While those who favor its mandates may think they have changed the debate and quelled opposition, they are sorely mistaken.

"It all stems from a decision by the Obama Administration to mandate that religious employers, including schools, hospitals, and charities, provide health care coverage for abortion-inducing drugs and contraception despite the fact that such coverage is in total contradiction of many of these groups' core religious beliefs.  Some have attempted to make this a debate about other issues, but despite their efforts, the core complaint about this anti-conscience mandate remains.  The President's policy is an unprecedented attack on all Americans' rights as protected by the First Amendment.  And those who prize religious liberty aren't backing down."

No President of the United States has shown such contempt for the rule of law and particularly the Constitution, the Supreme Law of our nation, as has Obama.   We can expect more of this kind of treatment if Obama gets re-elected.  We know this by the very fact that the Obama Administration has declared war on the Catholic Church while at the same time campaigning for re-election.  I think it is fair to say that any person who casts a vote to re-elect Obama also chooses to destroy more freedom.  This President and his minions do not believe in obeying laws, only in doing what they desire - with or without legal means.  A wonderful essay on this subject can befound here.  

The following two statements by President Calvin Coolidge seem to be appropriate for this essay because they relate to the importance of religion and morality as well as the fight between good and evil.

"The only way I know to drive out evil from the country is by the constructive method of filling it with good."

"It is hard to see how a great man can be an atheist.  Without the sustaining influence of faith in a divine power we could have little faith in ourselves.  We need to feel that behind us is intelligence and love.  Doubters do not achieve; skeptics do not contribute; cynics do not create.  Faith is the great motive power, and no man realizes his full possibilities unless he has the deep conviction that life is eternally important, and that his work, well done, is a part of an unending plan."

We must keep our faith in a Divine Being.  Religion and morality are important if we are to maintain our Republic.  We know that our Constitution works only when we the people have good morals and live by religious principles.  Our very liberties are at stake as the Obama Administration is painstakingly taking apart our Constitution and the rights it was meant to protect.  Now is the time for all freedom-loving Americans to come to the aid of this nation or risk losing life as we now know it.  If this nation falls to socialism/communism, there is no hope for the world because America really is the last great hope of mankind!

Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge

                    Grace Anna Goodhue was born on January 3, 1879, in Burlington, Vermont.  She was the only child born to her parents, Andrew Issaclar Goodhue, a mechanical engineer and steamboat inspector, and Lemira Barrett Goodhue.  She was of English ancestry, and she belonged to the Congregationalist Church.

                    Even though Grace was an only child and the center of her parents' attention, she was not spoiled due to her cheerful and sunny nature.  Andrew Goodhue was injured in an accident when Grace was about four years old, and she was sent to live with the Yale family for about a year.  June Yale, the older daughter, was teaching at the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts.  Grace became so interested in the deaf that she desired to teach them when she became an adult; she had a great, life-long interest in the deaf.

                    Grace graduated from Burlington High School in 1897 and began her studies at the University of Vermont in 1898.  She became a member of the glee club and was one of the founders of the Beta chapter of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.  Grace lived with the Yale family in Northampton after her graduation in 1902 in order to teach classes at the Clarke School for the Deaf.  She was a lip reading instructor and taught both the lower and intermediate classes.

                    Grace was described as being about 5 feet 5 inches tall, with black hair, gray-green eyes, a winning smile, and a cheerful disposition.  She was in good physical health and enjoyed hiking and horseback riding. She was an avid sports fan, particularly baseball, and learned to throw a baseball better than most men she knew.  She dressed stylishly and wore bright, vibrant colors, particularly red. 

                   

                    One day in the spring of 1905, Grace was watering flowers in the school yard and happened to look up at the open window of Robert N. Weir's boardinghouse.  She caught a glimpse of Calvin Coolidge, who was shaving while standing in front of a mirror in nothing but his long underwear and a hat.  When she burst out laughing at such a sight, he heard the noise and turned to look at her.  This was their first meeting, but they quickly became attracted to each other after a more formal introduction.

                    Calvin and Grace had a whirlwind courtship after their first meeting in the spring of 1905.  They became engaged in the summer when Coolidge declared, "I am going to be married to you" and Grace readily accepted.  Grace's mother objected to the engagement and tried to postpone the wedding.  On the other hand, Calvin's father, Colonel John Coolidge, was smitten with Grace.

Calvin was 33 years old, and Grace was 26 years old at the time of their marriage on October 4, 1905, at the home of the bride's parents in Burlington.  (This house is now owned by the Chaplain College and is known as the Coolidge House.)  The Reverend Edward A. Hungerford officiated at the small wedding attended by fifteen guests.  The newlyweds left for a two-week honeymoon to Montreal, Canada, but they came home a week early at the suggestion of Calvin and settled in Northampton.

Calvin never reconciled with his mother-in-law who later insisted that Grace was the reason for his political success.  According to historians, Grace should receive a full share of credit for her husband's rise in politics.  Whereas Calvin was a quiet, shy, and silent man, Grace was charming, friendly, and vivacious as well as being bright, intelligent, tactful, warm and witty.  She was a hard worker and kept up appearances; she also took part in town activities and was active in her church.  They shared a love of family, a quiet but strong faith, and an impish sense of humor.  They also shared an interest in how Grace dressed.  She liked to be well-dressed and preferred bright colors; he liked to see her in pretty clothes so much that he purchased them for her.  Grace had the ability to understand her husband and did not push her own ideas or become active in politics.  She never learned to drive a car because Calvin did not want her to do so.  Because her husband was so controlling, she developed a sense of resignation during their marriage.  She had great charisma and could have been a great leader except she was held back by her own passive nature as well as her controlling husband.

Calvin and Grace were parents of two boys, both of whom were named after their father, John Calvin Coolidge.   John (1906-2000) (a railroad and print company executive) and Calvin, Jr. (1908-1924) (died at age sixteen of blood poisoning from a blister on his toe).  When Calvin rose to the office of Governor, the family maintained their duplex while he rented a room in Boston for $1.50 and came home on weekends.

Grace was reared a Democrat but adopted the party of her husband.  She was "just" a homemaker (but poor cook) until she was thrust into the limelight when her husband was nominated for the office of Vice President in 1921.  She quickly went from her routine as a housewife to the most popular woman in the Washington society. 

After the death of President Warren G. Harding and Calvin's succession to the office of President, she planned an unpretentious but dignified social life - just as her husband desired.  She was a popular hostess, and in 1931 she was voted as one of America's twelve greatest women then living.  Calvin and Grace were particularly devoted to each other; however, he chose to never discuss state matters with her.  In fact, she didn't know that he had decided to not seek re-election in 1928 until he made his announcement to the press.

Calvin paid the following tribute to Grace in his autobiography:  "For almost a quarter of a century she has borne with my infirmities, and I have rejoiced in her graces."

The Coolidges bought "The Beeches," a large house with spacious grounds in Northampton, in order to have privacy after they left the White House in 1929.  There Calvin died on January 5, 1933.  After her husband's death, Grace continued working on behalf of the deaf.  She was active in the Red Cross, civil defense, and scrap drives during World War II.  She continued to avoid publicity until her death on July 8, 1957, at age 78.  (Her son, John, believed that she died before midnight on July 7, the anniversary of the death of her younger son, Calvin, Jr.)  She is buried next to her husband in Plymouth, Vermont.

Facts for this blog came from here and here.  More information on Calvin Coolidge can be obtained here, here, or here.  

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Greatness of Calvin Coolidge

                    Calvin Coolidge was great because he lived conservative principles and used them in his leadership positions.  He was known for his honesty and integrity.  Coolidge earned the respect of Americans, and he had a reputation for wisdom as well as for common sense and dry wit.  He was not known for his oratory skills, rarely made public statements and seldom wasted a word.

While serving as Governor of Massachusetts in 1919, Coolidge settled a Boston police strike and came to national prominence.  About seventy-five percent of the city's police officers went on strike, and hoodlums roamed Boston streets for two nights, smashing windows and looting stores.  Coolidge ordered out the state guard and brought order to Boston.  Nineteen leaders of the police union were fired, and Coolidge made his famous statement:  "There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, anytime" (George H. Mayer in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 1030-1034).

Coolidge was serving as Vice President with President Warren G. Harding and became President on August 3, 1923, upon the death of President Harding.  Coolidge entered the White House about the same time that the Teapot Dome and other scandals of the Harding Administration became public knowledge.  His own honesty was not questioned, and he gave no support to those who were guilty, even forcing the Attorney General to resign.

The United States enjoyed prosperity and the Roaring 20's during the Coolidge Administration.  He believed that Americans were in the business of business and supported American businesses both at home and abroad. He stood for economy and a simple way of life.  "I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people."  Under his directions, there were high tariffs on imports in order to help American manufacturers, and Congress reduced income taxes, resulting in increased revenue from taxes.  The nation was able to reduce its national debt by about a billion dollars per year and immigration was restricted during his administration.

Coolidge declined to run for a second full term as President, which surprised the nation.  He wrote in his autobiography, "The chances of having wise and faithful public service are increased by a change in the presidential office after a moderate length of time."  His typical response for comments on leaving office:  "Goodbye, I have had a very enjoyable time in Washington."

Coolidge was distressed by the stock market crash of 1929 and the depression that followed it.  He at first felt guilty about leaving office, thinking that he could have stopped it.  Then he realized that the depression would have happened regardless of which party was in office.  As the depression deepened during the fall and winter of 1932, Coolidge became increasingly unhappy.  On January 5, 1933, he died of a heart attack in his bedroom. 

President Coolidge left many wonderful quotes, most of which are applicable to our day.  His quotes are about business, taxes, patriotism, faith in God, attributes of character, the importance of work, etc.   Some of them are as follow.

 "…After all, the chief business of the American people is business.  They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world.  I am strongly of the opinion that the great majority of people will always find these are the moving impulses of our life.  But it is only those who do not understand our people, who believe that our national life is entirely absorbed by material motives.  We make no concealment of the fact that we want wealth, but there are many other things that we want much more.  We want peace and honor, and that charity which is so strong an element of all civilization.  The chief ideal of the American people is idealism."

"All growth depends upon activity.  There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work."

"Wealth comes from industry and from the hard experience of human toil.  To dissipate it in waste and extravagance is disloyalty to humanity."

"This country would not be a land of opportunity, America could not be America, if the people were shackled with government monopolies."

"The people cannot look to legislation generally for success.  Industry, thrift, character, are not conferred by act or resolve.  Government cannot relieve from toil.  It can provide no substitute for the rewards of service.  It can, of course, care for the defective and recognize distinguished merit.  The normal [people] must care for themselves.  Self-government means self-support."

"When a man begins to feel that he is the only one who can lead in this republic, he is guilty of treason to the spirit of our institutions."

"Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery."

"The government of the United States is a device for maintaining in perpetuity the rights of the people, with the ultimate extinction of all privileged classes."

"We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once."

"Duty is not collective; it is personal."

"Industry, thrift and self-control are not sought because they create wealth, but because they create character."

"Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong."

"Civilization and profit go hand in hand."

"Ultimately property rights and personal rights are the same thing."

"Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped."

"There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no one independence quite so important, as living within your means."

"The right thing to do never requires any subterfuge, it is always simple and direct."

"We do not need more intellectual power, we need more spiritual power.  We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen."

"It takes a great man to be a good listener."

"Don't you know that four-fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still?"

"Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.  It may not be difficult to store up in the mind a vast quantity of fact within a comparatively short time, but the ability to form judgments requires the severe discipline of hard work and the tempering heat of experience and maturity."

"Any reward that is worth having only comes to the industrious.  The success which is made in any walk of life is measured almost exactly by the amount of hard work that is put into it."

"Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is evil.  Our great hope lies in developing what is good."

"It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones."

"To live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was ever accorded to the human race."

"Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country."

"The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten."

"They criticize me for harping on the obvious; if all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, most of our big problems would take care of themselves."

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.  The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."

"The only way I know to drive out evil from the country is by the constructive method of filling it with good."

"It is hard to see how a great man can be an atheist.  Without the sustaining influence of faith in a divine power we could have little faith in ourselves.  We need to feel that behind us is intelligence and love.  Doubters do not achieve; skeptics do not contribute; cynics do not create.  Faith is the great motive power, and no man realizes his full possibilities unless he has the deep conviction that life is eternally important, and that his work, well done, is a part of an unending plan."

"The government of a country never gets ahead of the religion of a country.  There is no way by which we can substitute the authority of law for the virtue of man.  Of course we endeavor to restrain the vicious, and furnish a fair degree of security and protection by legislation and police control, but the real reform which society in these days is seeking will come as a result of our religious convictions, or they will not come at all.  Peace, justice, humanity, charity - these cannot be legislated into being.  They are the result of divine grace."

"Our government rests upon religion.  It is from that source that we derive our reverence for truth and justice, for equality and liberality, and for the rights of mankind.  Unless the people believe in these principles they cannot believe in our government.  There are only two main theories of government in our world.  One rests on righteousness and the other on force.  One appeals to reason, and the other appeals to the sword.  One is exemplified in the republic, the other is represented by despotism."

Other quotes by Calvin Coolidge can be found here or here.  

Facts about the life of Calvin Coolidge can be found here.  Facts about the Roaring Twenties can be found here. 

Roaring Twenties

The term "Roaring Twenties" is used to describe a colorful decade of the 1920's in the United States. Other nicknames for this time period include the Jazz Age and the Dollar Decade. The Roaring Twenties era was a restless time that brought to the United States spectacular economic growth, generally rising prosperity, and great social change.

World War I (1914-1918) was over, and large numbers of Americans simply wanted to forget about the troubles of Europeans and enjoy life. They chose to amuse themselves with shocking morals for the day, illegal liquor, short skirts, and soaring stock profits.

This was a time of booming business profits and a rising standard of living for most Americans. New industries were opening, and even families with low incomes were able to buy one of Henry Ford's inexpensive automobiles called the Model T. The numbers of passenger vehicles increased from about 7 million in 1919 to about 23 million in 1929. The increased traffic crowded the highways and created the need for gas stations, roadside restaurants, and tire manufacturers.

The economy was revolutionized by radio and credit. Radio sales values increased from $60 million in 1922 to almost $850 million in 1929. Radio listeners were encouraged to spend more of their increasing income. Stores encouraged listeners to "Buy now, pay later" when they developed their installment payment plans. Millions of Americans were able to buy their first automobile, refrigerator, and washing machine because of higher wages and increased use of credit.

Most American's agreed with President Calvin Coolidge who said, "The business of America is business." Three Republican Presidents - Warren G. Harding, Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover - were elected during the 1920's. They all had policies reflecting the belief that the economy can regulate itself without government interference.

Americans were convinced to buy stocks because of promises such as "$15 a month in the stock market could make $80,000 in 20 years." Stock prices, which rose gradually in the early 1920's, soared in 1927 and 1928.

Americans wanted no more of European political affairs and distrusted foreigners. A secret organization called the Ku Klux Klan was created, and it terrorized blacks, Jews, Roman Catholics and foreigners. The political corruption made the news when the Secretary of the Interior under President Harding was convicted of being bribed by two oil companies in what became known as the Teapot Dome scandal.

After the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages, went into effect in 1920, many Americans started making alcohol illegally at home. Gangsters brought liquor from Canada, sold it to illegal bars, and bribed the police to not interfere. The various underworld mobs fought for control of the liquor traffic, resulting in hundreds of gangland murders.

Moral values changed during the 1920's. Women, who had previously worn long hair, ankle-length dresses, and long cotton stockings, changed their dress code to short, tight dresses, a boyish hair style called the bob, and flashy lipstick and other makeup. Couples danced cheek-to-cheek to the loud jazz music.

The Roaring Twenties was an era of a good time. Crowds were attracted to theaters to see Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, and other stars. Sports stadiums were filled with fans wanting to watch Babe Ruth slug home runs and boxing champion Jack Dempsey. Charles A. Lindbergh made the first solo nonstop airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

The changing values in America were shown in the literature, art, and music of the era. Sinclair Lewis wrote Main Street (1920) in which he wrote about the dull lives and narrow-minded attitudes of people who lived in small towns. Other America authors of the time included F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, who both lived in Paris during this era. George Gershwin created Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928).

Despite soaring stock profits, the good times came to an end in 1929. After World War I, farm prices dropped forty percent below their pre-war level. The profits fell so low that many farmers could not repay their bank loans. About 550 banks went out of business between July 1928 and June 1929. People could not afford to purchase manufactured good as fast as they were being produced because industrial production increased about four times faster than wages.

The illusion of unending prosperity came to an end on October 24, 1929, when investors began to sell stock that they had purchased on credit. This caused a panic, and about 16,410,030 shares were sold by stockholders on October 29. Stock prices plunged by 40 percent by mid-November, and the crash of the stock market led to the Great Depression. The false sense of prosperity and national well-being came to a sudden end. The Roaring Twenties died in a whimper of pain.

Facts for this post came from an article by E. David Cronon in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol 16, pp 363-364

Calvin Coolidge

Our VIP for this week is President Calvin Coolidge(1872-1933). He was born on Independence Day - July 4, 1872, in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. He was named John Calvin Coolidge for his father, but he was called Calvin or Cal. After leaving college, he stopped using the name John.  His parents were childhood playmates. His father was a descendant of an English family that came to America about 1630. He also served three terms in the Vermont House of Representatives and one term in the state Senate as well as held many local public offices. The family owned a store in Plymouth Notch and bought a farm across the road from the store.

Cal helped his father with the farm chores and studied in a small stone schoolhouse located nearby. His mother died when Cal was twelve years old. He had one sister, Abigail, who died about the time he graduated from Black River Academy in 1890. Cal attended St. Johnsbury Academy for a short course and then entered Amherst College in 1891. He was very interested in political campaigns. Although he earned only fair grades his first two years at Amherst, he graduated cum laude in 1895. He read law with a law firm in Northampton, Massachusetts, passed the Massachusetts bar examination in 1897, and opened his own law office seven months later in Northampton.

Cal married Grace Anna Goodhue in 1904. She was happy, talkative and fun-loving - just the opposite of shy and silent Cal. They were blessed with two sons - John and Calvin, Jr.

Cal became active in politics by working for the Republican Party in 1896. His first elected office was as a member of the Northampton city council in 1898. He became city solicitor in 1900. He was elected to the Massachusetts house of representatives in 1906 and reelected the next year. He was elected mayor of Northampton in 1909 and reelected in 1910. He served in the state senate from 1912-1915, with two terms as senate president. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1915 and was reelected twice. He was elected governor in 1918.

During the Boston police strike of 1919, Coolidge came to national prominence when nearly three-fourths of Boston's police officers went on strike. After two nights of hoodlums roaming Boston streets, smashing windows and looting stores, Coolidge brought order to the city by ordering out the state guard. When nineteen leaders of the police union were fired, Coolidge made his famous statement: "There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time."

Coolidge was reelected governor in 1919 by a record vote. In 1920 he became the Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States on the ticket with Warren G. Harding of Ohio. Harding was easy-going and friendly where Coolidge was silent and unsmiling, but they won an overwhelming victory. At President Harding's invitation, Coolidge became the first Vice President to regularly attend Cabinet meetings. Coolidge remained unchanged in the whirl of Washington's social life. He sat silently through official dinners, rarely smiled and almost never laughed.

Cal was vacationing on his father's farm when he was awakened early in the morning on August 3, 1923 to be alerted to the sudden death of President Harding. After dressing and personal prayer, Cal went downstairs to the dining room where his father administered the presidential oath by the light of a kerosene lamp at 2:45 a.m. He became the sixth Vice President to become President upon the death of a chief executive. Cal then went back to bed and slept, feeling like he was capable of handling his new job. He took a second oath of office eighteen days later - administered by a justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. The attorney general questioned the validity of the first oath because his father had authority to swear in only state officials of Vermont.

Just as Coolidge was entering the White House, the Teapot Dome and other scandals of the Harding Administration became public. His personal honesty was never questioned, and he made no efforts to shield the guilty. He later forced the attorney general to resign because of his connections to the scandals.

Coolidge was President during the boisterous Jazz Age - the Roaring 20's. He considered "the chief business of the American people is business." He continued the policy of President Harding of supporting American businesses at home and abroad. There were high tariffs on imports to help American manufacturers. Congress reduced income taxes which caused revenue from taxes to increase. The national debt was
reduced by about a billion dollars per year.  Immigration was restricted.  Coolidge stood for economy and a simple way of life but enjoyed great popularity even though the public was anything but thrifty. Most American's believed that good times were here to stay. Coolidge was unopposed for the Republican nomination and ran for the general election with the slogan "Keep Cool with Coolidge." He received more than half of the popular votes of the election. Chief Justice William Howard Taft administered the presidential oath on March 4, 1925, and became the first former President to administer the presidential oath of office. Coolidge's inaugural address was the first to be broadcast by radio.

Shortly after Coolidge was nominated for President in 1924, their sixteen-year son Calvin was playing tennis with his brother on the White House courts and developed a blister on a toe. The infection spread, and the young man died of blood poisoning. Coolidge wrote in his autobiography, "the power and the glory of the presidency went with him." The President's father died in 1926.

Americans respected Coolidge. He made few public statements and rarely wasted a word. He had a reputation for wisdom because of his common sense and dry wit. While on a summer vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1927, the President called newsmen to his office in the Rapid City high school on August 2. He handed each reporter a piece of paper containing the words, "I do not choose to run for President in 1928." The nation was caught by surprise by his announcement. He wrote in his autobiography, "The chances of having wise and faithful public service are increased by a change in the presidential office after a moderate length of time." He was also concerned how another term in office would affect his wife. His typical response for comments on leaving office: "Goodbye, I have had a very enjoyable time in Washington."

The Coolidge family returned to Northampton but could not enjoy a quiet life there due to the stream of tourists past their home. In 1930, Coolidge bought an estate in Northampton called The Beeches. It had iron gates to keep curious visitors at a distance.

Coolidge published his autobiography in 1929 in magazine installments and then in book form. He also wrote a series of newspaper articles called "Thinking Things Over with Calvin Coolidge" about government economics and politics. In 1921 he became a life trustee of Amherst College, and in 1929 he became a director of the New York Life Insurance Company.

Coolidge was distressed by the stock market crash of 1929 and the depression that followed it. He at first felt guilty about leaving office, thinking that he could have stopped it. Then he realized that the depression would have happened regardless of which party was in office. As the depression deepened during the fall and winter of 1932, Coolidge became increasingly unhappy. On January 5, 1933, he died of a heart attack in his bedroom. He was buried beside his son and father in the Plymouth Notch cemetery.  Mrs. Coolidge sold The Beeches and built another home in Northampton. She died on July 8, 1957.

Some events from the world of President Coolidge are: 1) The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants admitted to the United States. It also establish a quota system to prevent major changes in the racial or ethnic makeup of the nation's populations. 2) The Golden Age of radio broadcasting began about 1925. 3) The Scopes Trial of 1925 upheld the right of a state to ban the teaching of evolution in public schools. 4) Robert H. Goddard, the American rocket pioneer, launched the first successful liquid-fuel rocket in 1926. 5) Jazz was popular in the mid-1920's. Stars included Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Fletcher Henderson. 6) The American aviator Charles A. Lindbergh made the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. 7) Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs for the New York Yankees during the 1927 season. His record stood until 1961. 8) The Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact, also called the Pact of Paris, was signed in 1928 by fifteen nations and later by nearly all the nations of the world. The signers of this treaty agreed not to use war to solve international problems. 9) Sir Alexander Fleming, a British bacteriologist, discovered Penicillium mold in 1928. This mold produces the anti-biotic drug penicillin. 10) The Charleston was the dance craze of the Roaring Twenties.

Facts and quotes for this post came from an article by George H. Mayer in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 1030-1034.