President’s Day often brings out the most uninformed opinions regarding favorite presidents. Many people will name popular figures or those they learned about in school who accomplished the most. American voters typically desire a president who will do more but rarely expect them to do less. Fortunately, during his time in office, Calvin Coolidge embodied a conservative philosophy that limited government power, allowing America to thrive under his leadership.
Coolidge’s presidency was a boon to the conservative movement, and he inspired … President Ronald Reagan and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
John Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4th, 1872, in Plymouth, Vermont (the only President born on Independence Day) to a traditional New England-style family. He grew up earning the nickname “Silent Cal” due to his shy nature. But despite his silent persona, he was a man of ambition. He graduated from Amherst College with a law degree, then became a City Councilman, working his way to becoming President of the Massachusetts Senate, Lt. Governor, and then winning election to become the 48th Governor of the Bay State.
His tenure as Governor prompted Coolidge to national prominence in the Republican Party. He staked his political reputation on facing down the Boston Police Department when they went on strike in 1919. He asserted, “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anyone, anywhere, any time.” So he fired the whole police department and started anew. The country took notice that there was a Republican politician with principles, and so did the National Republican Party, who selected Coolidge to be Warren G Harding’s Vice Presidential running mate in 1920, and they won.
According to AEI scholar Matthew Continetti, the Harding/Coolidge Administration was the beginning of the conservative movement’s dominance in the Republican Party, which situated itself against President Wilson’s progressive policies. Coolidge’s presidency marked a significant shift in American politics, signaling a return to normalcy in America and a resurgence of conservative values. When President Harding died suddenly in 1923, Coolidge became President and did not deviate from the conservative constitutionalist ways set forth by Harding.
President Coolidge continued most of his predecessor’s economic agenda, which included significantly lowering federal taxes and government spending. With World War I in the rearview mirror, President Harding had slashed the top income tax rate from 71 percent to 46 percent. However, Coolidge went further. He signed into law three Revenue Acts that reduced the total tax rate to 25 percent. Secretary of Treasury Anthony Mellon coined the phrase “Scientific Taxation,” which turned out to be a winning formula for the 1920s economy.
For instance, the real GDP surged to a yearly rate of 4.7 percent between 1922 and 1929, and the unemployment rate plummeted from 11.9 percent in 1921 to 3.2 percent in 1929. The Coolidge Administration reduced the national debt from $22.3 billion to $16.9 billion (one-third) by producing a surplus each year due to balancing the budget and cutting federal spending. Coolidge was only President for six years but left office with a smaller federal budget than when he arrived in Washington, a feat that no President, Republican or Democrat, has been able to replicate to this day.
The Coolidge White House also paved the way for reducing the size of the federal bureaucracy. Coolidge made good use of his pocket veto, and vetoed a farm subsidies bill twice even though he grew up as a farmer. He firmly believed that it wasn’t the job of the federal government to help farmers. His stance on government intervention was clear, and he consistently vetoed bills that he believed overstepped the government’s role. He also vetoed two bills for veteran’s bonuses and pensions and kept defense spending at roughly the same levels from 1923 to 1927.
Coolidge believed in American exceptionalism and wanted America to be ready for war. But he believed that America’s strength came from its industrial and agricultural sectors, and that the best thing government can do to strengthen warfighting capability was to enhance its ability to borrow and pay down debt.
It should come as no surprise that Coolidge, the “Great Refrainer,” won his re-election handily in 1924 with 54 percent of the vote, more votes than Democrats and Progressives combined. Coolidge’s slogan, “Keep Cool with Coolidge,” resonated with Americans, who were coming out of the volatile progressive era of the Wilson Administration, which saw a World War, the influenza pandemic, and social upheaval.
The “Roaring 20s” were in full swing. The standard of living improved for most Americans, as by the end of the decade, most families could afford a car, electricity, and a running toilet. This was attributed to “Coolidge Prosperity.”
Despite his reserved and humble nature, Coolidge made a significant impact on Americans. He was the first president to utilize radio for a presidential address, with five million people tuning in. He would go on to address the nation with approximately 50 radio broadcasts and hold the most press conferences of any president, a feat that would put former President Biden’s lack of public dialogue to shame. We often associate FDR with fireside chats and Trump’s social media presence with connecting to the people. But Coolidge was the pioneer in modernizing public discourse for presidents.
Coolidge was also a visionary who championed equal rights. Shortly after assuming office in 1923, he declared to Congress that the rights of African Americans were “as sacred as those of any other people” and that it was both a “public and private duty to safeguard those rights.”
He advocated for anti-lynching legislation but was blocked by congressional Democrats. Coolidge’s opposition to racism and prejudice saw millions leave the KKK, and the lynching of blacks decreased. His central piece of Civil Rights legislation was the granting U.S. Citizenship to Native Americans living on reservations.
It’s fair to say that Coolidge’s biggest failure was not running for re-election in 1928. Like George Washington, he thought the country needed a new leader. It’s unfortunate that the successor to Coolidge was the return of big government Republicanism under Herbert Hoover and a depression, helped along by central planning and easy money lending from the Fed. FDR’s progressive policies in the 1930s contributed to the depression’s length and severity.
Coolidge doesn’t get the recognition he deserves because our education system is dominated by liberals and pro-Democrat public sector unions that favor progressives from the early 20th century. Coolidge’s presidency was a boon to the conservative movement, and he inspired other great leaders such as President Ronald Reagan and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Coolidge never won a Nobel Peace Prize like Obama or had a bill written in Congress to be on Mt. Rushmore like Trump, but it is past time for both Republicans and Democrats to admit that Calvin Coolidge was one of the best presidents to helm the Oval Office.
READ MORE from Alex Adkins: