Calvin Coolidge was the Vice President of Warren G. Harding and becomes President after the death of his predecessor. He is elected President in his own right in 1924.
Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872 in Vermont. The only President thus far to be born on July 4th (many have died on Independence Day but so far he is the only one born on that day) His full name was John Calvin Coolidge but he was always known as Calvin. He was well educated and attended Amherst College. He wasn’t one for small talk. He wasn’t good at a one on one conversation but he was great with a crowd and when he had to make a speech. He studied law as an apprentice and became a lawyer. He practiced law in Massachusetts and became well known and respected by the local businesses he represented. Coolidge was a prominent member of the community and was involved in local politics and the Republican Party in Massachusetts. Today we are joined by Julie Bartlett Nelson, an archivist at the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Museum & Library.
I do want to discuss a few more things that occur during his Presidency.
Indian Citizen Act of 1924 which stated “That all non-citizen Indians 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 Indian to tribal or other property.”
The only avenues for citizenship for Native Americans prior to this law was through the naturalization process, marriage or through entering the armed forces.
Revenue Acts of 1924 and 1926
Sec of the Treasury was Andrew Mellon (Pittsburgh Industrialist trickle-down economics)
Mississippi River Flood of 1927 – it was considered the worst natural disaster in the United States until 2005 when Hurricane Katrina replaced it. Residents in states along the Mississippi river in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana were displaced by the hundreds of thousands and were hit the hardest. The majority of the people impacted and displaced were Black Americans, many of whom moved to Northern States as part of what became known as the Great Migration which we will talk more about. There were some areas that the flood waters were 30 feet deep. Other states like Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Illinois and Missouri were also affected. 500 people were killed due to the flooding and it is estimated that the damage cost close to 1 Billion dollars. In today’s money it would be close to a Trillion dollars in damage. For residents who didn’t migrate north, refugee camps were created and became known as tent cities. Herbert Hoover who was the Sec. of Commerce at the time of the flood gained national notoriety for his handling of the natural disaster and it helped him to win the Presidential Election of 1928. It was Hoover who convinced Coolidge that a Federal response to this natural disaster was essential. States were given aid to fix infrastructure and to provide basic necessities for its citizens. White residents were more likely to receive aid than black refugees. His broken to promises of fixing inequalities for Black Americans was part of the reason he lost reelection in 1932.
In terms of Foreign Policy, Coolidge walked somewhat of a fine line between isolationism and Globalism. He left most of the work to his cabinet. In terms of our closest neighbors in Latin America, the US Policy was still very much that of supporting the interests of US businesses who had significant investments in the region and by significant investments we are talking in the Billions of dollars. The support of the US business interests came with a hefty price tag, especially for the Latin American countries themselves. So much so that we see many of these Latin American countries starting to band together to protect themselves from the United States.
1928 Kellogg-Braind Pact(Kellogg was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for this) 14 countries signed it, it helped to set the framework for international relations for years to come.
When it comes to his legacy, the stock market crash, tarnished his legacy. He died in 1933 from a heart attack. The country still in the throes of The Great Depression and the American public, suffering from unemployment looked at Coolidge as well as Hoover as being able to do more. The Republican Party would lose the White House in the next election to FDR who would be the longest serving President in US History. If you’re looking for primary source material or to even schedule a zoom conference, the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Museum & Library is a great resource and is always happy to get the necessary information into the hands of educators. Reach out to them if you’re looking to do some research and of course, go visit the library itself if you’re near Northampton, Massachusetts!
