Calvin Coolidge Policies

2 Key excerpts on "Calvin Coolidge Policies"

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  eBook - ePub

  Toward an American Conservatism

  Constitutional Conservatism during the Progressive Era

  • Joseph W. Postell, Johnathan O'Neill(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  Despite new conditions, and new circumstances to address, the basic purpose of government remained the same: providing for security of rights and establishing public services that were well within the traditional scope of government as understood by the Founders. As he argued in outlining “Our Heritage from Hamilton,” “government control and regulation are still new. They have at times been mistakenly applied . .. but they have kept open the door [of opportunity], they have re-established freedom.” The Republican Party, Coolidge affirmed, was in favor of regulation “not that business may be hampered but that it may be free, not that it may be restricted but that it may expand.” 64 In a fascinating turn, Coolidge (like the Founders) argued that regulation, understood rightly, does not hamper business but maintains freedom. It keeps the door of opportunity open to all and is an essential part of securing individual rights. Coolidge’s insights contain lessons for today’s conservatives—namely, the legitimacy and necessity of regulation for carrying out the principles of the founding. 65 However, he was clear that while government had a legitimate role to play in regulating a complex economy, it must remain within the boundaries established by the principles of federalism, separation of powers, and representation inherent in our Constitution. Constitutional government, not laissez-faire economics, was Coolidge’s response to the economic challenges of his time. Economic Policy and Constitutional Principle The end of the 1910s brought peace to America, but it also brought economic disruption. It is difficult to exaggerate the economic crisis that America faced in 1920. In 1921 the unemployment rate was 11.7 percent. The national debt had risen, primarily as a result of World War I, from $1.5 billion in 1916 to $24 billion in 1919. Agricultural prices plummeted, squeezing farmers. Gross national product declined from $91.5 billion in 1920 to $69.6 billion in 1921

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  United States Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period, 1918-1941

  The Golden Age of American Diplomatic and Military Complacency

  • Benjamin Rhodes(Author)
  • 2001(Publication Date)
  • Praeger

    (Publisher)

  CHAPTER 4 Foreign Policy Under Coolidge and Kellogg: A Relative Bed of Roses Calvin Coolidge was one of the unlikeliest American presidents and easily the most eccentric. The son of a Vermont politician, Coolidge was educated at Amherst College, then read law at Northampton, Massachusetts, and began a relentless climb up the Massachusetts political ladder. His election in November 1918 as governor of Massachusetts appeared to be a fitting pinnacle to a career founded exclusively on local and state issues. But a series of chance events brought Coolidge to national attention. First, he became a hero when he took a hard line during the Boston police strike of 1919. Styling the strikers "deserters," Coolidge supported the dismissal of those who had not reported for service. Then at the 1920 Republican con- vention at Chicago, to Coolidge's surprise, the delegates revolted against their party leaders and nominated him for vice president. When asked by his wife whether he would accept the post, the taciturn Coolidge replied, "I suppose I shall have to." 1 Had it not been for the accident of Harding's death, Coolidge would likely have faded into the same political oblivion that had befallen such recent vice presidents as Charles Fairbanks, James S. Sherman, and Tho- mas R. Marshall. To the presidency he brought common sense, a concilia- tory style of problem solving, and a reputation for remaining composed under fire. The latter quality he demonstrated in the early morning hours of August 3, 1923, when he learned of Harding's death while he and his wife were visiting the family farm at Plymouth Notch, Vermont. On the advice of Hughes, Coolidge secured a copy of the presidential oath, which his father administered by the light of an oil lamp amid a small audience of neighbors and reporters. Later when asked what had been his first thought on learning he had become president, Coolidge typically responded, "I thought I could swing it." 2

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