Coolidge

Amity Shlaes

• Publisher: Harper
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780061967597
• eBook ISBN: 9780062097972
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: Politics & International Relations

New York Times Bestseller

“Amity Shlaes’s new biography carries a different and highly relevant message. . . . Read Coolidge, and better understand the forces bearing on the President and Congress almost a century later.” — Paul Volcker

“America’s 30th president has been much misunderstood. . . . Shlaes’s biography provides a window onto an unfairly tarnished period. It deserves to be widely read.”—The Economist

Timed to the centennial of the Calvin Coolidge presidency, an updated edition of Amity Shlaes’s brilliant and provocative New York Times bestselling biography examines an underrated chief executive who offered a model of presidential service strikingly different from that seen in America today. This new edition features a preface by Washington Post columnist George F. Will.

Seemingly unbreachable political divisions, war and pandemic, unrest in cities, a budgetary crisis, economic disruption –all troubles we confront today—also challenged America a century ago. When President Warren Harding passed away suddenly in 1923, America seemed to be heading deeper into uncertainty. Many considered the vice president who suddenly succeeded Harding, the modest Silent Cal, a mere lame duck. Yet over the course of the 1920s, through breathtaking discipline and determination, this unexpected president set America on a new course and restored the nation’s confidence in itself.

In this magisterial political biography, bestselling author Amity Shlaes traces Coolidge’s dramatic story, and the roots of his strength, from a childhood in a New England hamlet to his rise from town lawmaker to governor of Massachusetts and his dramatic handling of the Boston Police strike. Through bipartisanship, civility, and sheer perseverance, the thirtieth president ended the era of crisis and delivered both a solvent government and a better life to working Americans.

More importantly, Coolidge carefully rebuilt Americans’ trust our own government. As Shlaes shows, Coolidge led by example, inspiring Americans to cast away irony and anger. Elected on his own in 1924, Coolidge seemed set for reelection in 1928. Yet a fateful trip to South Dakota—where he observed the great profiles of other Presidents being sculpted at Mount Rushmore—coincided with Coolidge’s greatest demonstration of presidential leadership. Precisely because he believed service more important than glory, as Shlaes records, Coolidge made a sacrifice rare for a popular president, and announced he would not run again.

At once a revision of a leader and a decade, this dramatic biography, complete with a new preface from George F. Will, Coolidge captures the remarkable and again timely story of a rare president whose leadership couldn’t be timelier today. 

This authoritative work of American history reveals:

• A Model of Presidential Leadership: Discover how Coolidge's belief in service over glory offered a powerful alternative to modern leadership, culminating in his shocking decision not to seek reelection.
• Fiscal Discipline in Action: Learn how the 30th president's focus on bipartisanship and perseverance successfully created a solvent government and a better life for working Americans.
• A Man of Character: From his dramatic handling of the Boston Police strike to his quiet civility, trace the story of a leader who rebuilt the nation's trust in its government through personal example.
• Lessons for the 21st Century: Understand the striking parallels between the challenges of 1920s America—deep political divisions, economic disruption, and social unrest—and the issues we face today.

Index

The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use your ebook reader’s search tools.

Academic performance, Coolidge’s, 31–32, 35–37, 58–59. See also Amherst College, Coolidge’s education at

Acosta, Bert, 361

Adams, John, 7, 96, 223, 247

Adams, John T., 274

Adams, Samuel, 95

Adams House, 96–97, 111

Addams, Jane, 414

Ade, George, 92

Advertising, 37, 55, 73, 91, 103, 134, 158, 174, 203. See also Barton, Bruce

Aerial photography, 341, 358

Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce, 349

African Americans

Coolidge on, at Amherst College, 38

Coolidge on Ku Klux Klan and, 336

Coolidge’s reelection campaign and, 313–14

flood relief, Herbert Hoover, and, 359

Airplanes. See Aviation

Akerson, George, 420

Alaska trip, Harding’s, 249–51

Alcohol issues, 64

Aldrich, Eugene, 29

Algonquin Club dinner, 134–35

Allen, Ethan, 15, 19, 21

Allis, Frederick, 286, 312, 313

Allport, Floyd, 166

Aluminum Company of America, 120, 133, 315–16

Aluminum industry, 52, 84

American Association of Newspaper Editors, 323

American Federation of Labor (AFL), 104, 147, 151, 153, 156, 160, 180, 272. See also Labor issues

American Indians. See Native Americans

American Legion, 233–34, 336, 421

American Steel and Wire Company, 47

American Woolen Company, 114, 401

Amherst College

battalion from, in World War I, 143

Calvin Coolidge at (see Amherst College, Coolidge’s education at)

John Coolidge (son) at, 286, 295, 312–13

at Coolidge’s inauguration as lieutenant governor, 139–40

dinner hosted by alumni of, 139–40

graft case at, 67

history and alumni of, 32–34

issues about, during Coolidge’s presidency, 304–5

issues about, during Coolidge’s vice-presidency, 240–41, 247–49

Alexander Meiklejohn as president of (see Meiklejohn, Alexander)

motto of, 33, 104, 433

preparations for war at, 133–34, 140

professors at, 10, 35, 40-41, 49-54

reunion at, 109

search of, for president, 112

sewage system regulation issue of, 120–21

support of Coolidge by alumni of, 120

taxes on, 104

Amherst College, Coolidge’s education at, 31–59

academic performance, 35–37, 58–59

decision to attend, 30

failed entrance exam and prep school preparation for, 31–32

fraternity issues, 32, 34–35, 37, 42, 56

friendships, 41–42

interest in politics and economics, 38–47

interest in public speaking, 37–39, 43–44, 48, 54–58

interest in pursuing legal career after, 57–59

mentors, 10, 49–54

personal finances, 38, 44, 47–48

personal life, 41–42, 48–49, 57

Anarchists, 40, 76, 115, 116, 154, 203, 207

Andrews, Charles, 34–35, 454–55

Andrews, E. B., 49

Antitrust cases, 101, 315–16

Antitrust legislation, 98–103, 127

Anthropometry, 35

Appointments. See Cabinet

Army-Navy Reception, 413

Army surplus issue, 226

Articles, Coolidge’s. See Writing, Coolidge’s

Ashurst, Henry Fountain, 213, 268–69

Athletics, Coolidge and, 35

Attorney. See Law practice, Coolidge’s

Audacious War, The (book), 192

Aunt Mede. See Coolidge, Sarah Almeda Brewer (grandmother)

Autobiography, Coolidge’s, 5, 441, 446–47, 450, 462

Automobiles, 85, 97, 111–12, 119, 137, 212–13, 417

Aviation

Coolidge administration and, 312, 335, 342, 349–51

dirigibles, 341–42

Charles Lindbergh and, 346, 362–63, 365–69

Orteig Prize and, 194, 344–45, 356, 361–63

Wright brothers and, 74, 85

Babler, Jacob, 196

Bache, Jules S., 193

Baer, George, 77

Bailiff, Coolidge’s father as, 27

Bailout, bank, 102

Baker, Bryant, 339

Baker, Newton, 144, 165

Bancroft, George, 62, 100, 121, 194

Banks

bailout of, 102

Coolidge as bank vice-president, 72, 105–6

Coolidge’s use of, 425

Federal Reserve System and, 120 (see also Federal Reserve System)

Bar exam, Coolidge’s, 69

Barnes, Raymond, 163

Bar...

Table of contents

• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction: The Curse
• One: Snowbound
• Two: The Ouden
• Three: Determination
• Four: The Roosevelt Way
• Five: War
• Six: The Strike
• Seven: The Reign of Law
• Eight: Normalcy
• Nine: “A Most Insignificant Office”
• Ten: The Budget
• Eleven: The Siege and the Spruce
• Twelve: The Flood and the Flier
• Thirteen: Decision at Rushmore
• Fourteen: Coolidge Agonistes
• Fifteen: The Shield and the Book
• Coda: The Blessing
• Acknowledgments
• A Note on Sources
• Notes
• Selected Bibliography
• Index
• Photographic Insert
• About the Author
• Also by Amity Shlaes
• Credits
• Copyright
• About the Publisher