#30. Coolidge, Calvin

Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – John Calvin Coolidge Jr. (1872-1933) was the 30^th President of the United States from 1923 to 1929. His inauguration was the sixth emergency presidential swearing-in; it was the most remote, and I daresay calmest, ever. The time was 2:47 AM on Friday, August 3, 1923; the place was Plymouth Notch, Vermont. VP Calvin and Second Lady Grace Coolidge were taking a few days off to visit his father there in the peaceful Green Mountains; the house (purposefully) had no electricity, and no telephone.

Three thousand miles away in San Francisco, amid the clang of cable cars and the harried push of campaign strategizing, President Warren Harding lay dead. Doctors verified his time of death as 7:20 PM August 2 (that’s 10:20 Eastern); cause of death has not, to this day, been agreed upon, as First Lady Florence refused an autopsy. But somehow, in the confusion of the moment, a telegram was sent to the Vice President. The telegram arrived at White River Junction in Vermont, 29 miles from the Notch; it was the only Western Union office in the area open in the middle of the night. From there a phone message was sent to Bridgewater; the operator in Bridgewater couldn’t get a call through to the Notch; the only phone there was in the General Store and it, of course, was closed. So the operator’s husband drove the 11 miles in his Model T and managed to awaken the storekeeper; the two walked across the street to the Coolidge house and pounded on the door. John Coolidge received the news, then walked upstairs to tell his son he was now president of the United States.

This story sounds like a Hallmark movie waiting to be made; in fact, in 2023, exactly 100 years after it actually happened, Christopher Coolidge Jeter and Jennifer Coolidge Harville, great-grandson and great-granddaughter of Calvin and Grace Coolidge, reenacted the event, down to the minute. Vermont’s former governor James Douglas portrayed Calvin’s father. And today, you can visit the entire community of Plymouth Notch and relive that bit of history yourself – the house, the store, and the cemetery where generations of the Coolidge family rest.

But back to that day.

As the story goes, on hearing the news, Calvin and Grace said a prayer together, got dressed, and went downstairs. Calvin ordered that a telegram of condolence be sent to Florence Harding. He reviewed the Constitution to be sure he took the oath legally. He walked across the street and called Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes for more verification. It was agreed that Calvin’s father John, who was a notary public, could administer the oath. People began to gather in the parlor – the storekeeper, you think? The driver of the Model T who brought the message? US Representative Porter Dale was there; he’d been out campaigning when he heard the news of Harding’s death; he grabbed reporter Joe Fountain and rushed to the Notch to offer assistance. Joe got a fame-making story that day.

At exactly 2:47 AM, by the light of a kerosene lamp, 79-year-old John Coolidge raised his right hand and read the oath of office to his 51-year-old son. Calvin Coolidge raised his right hand, placed his left beside his mother’s Bible, and repeated the oath, becoming, officially, the 30th president of the United States. And then, it is said, Calvin went back to bed.

Two who missed the swearing in were sons John, 17, who was at military camp, and Calvin Jr, 15, who was working a summer job in the tobacco fields. John learned the news as he waited in line for breakfast. He proceeded to eat. Calvin Jr. was working in the fields when he was told his father was now president. And he kept working.

How Calvin, and his father, and his wife, and his sons, reacted to their new roles in those moments speaks volumes about how they’d lived their lives thus far, and how they dealt with the next six years of responsibility and public scrutiny.

Those Growing Up Years

John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was born July 4, 1872, in the small community of Plymouth Notch, Vermont, the elder of the two children of John Calvin Coolidge Sr and Victoria Moor Coolidge. Calvin’s father (John Calvin Sr, we’ll refer to him as John) was a solid man with a good reputation; he was a farmer, and storekeeper. His public service included terms in the Vermont Assembly; locally he was postmaster, tax collector, and yes, justice of the peace. Calvin grew up helping out in the store and working on the farm; a peaceful childhood, about which he later wrote: “Country life does not always have breadth, but it has depth. It is neither artificial nor superficial, but is kept close to the realities.”

Schooling for Calvin included the Black River Academy in Vermont (Latin, Greek, history, math) where at 18, he made his first public speech as part of the graduation ceremony. The speech? Oratory in History, how public speaking has influenced the course of history. After a year at Vermont’s St Johns Academy for additional college prep, Calvin entered Amherst College, 100 miles to the south of the Notch in Massachusetts.

Three important things to know about Calvin’s experience at Amherst:

1. His philosophy teacher Charles Garman and his beliefs.
2. The essay contest and the national gold medal.
3. Being chosen by his classmates to be Grove Orator at Commencement.

Now let me explain – I’ll start with the last first. “Grove Orator” meant – you’ve got to make your audience LAUGH. And Calvin did that. Calvin Coolidge was known throughout his public life as “Silent Cal” referring to his New England stoicism and dry wit. So many stories have been told about him – fanciful, humorous, and possibly true. (The most famous unproven story during White House years: A fellow sat down next to Calvin at a fancy dinner and said “I’ve just made a bet that I can get more than three words out of you.” Calvin replied “You lose.”) But the fact is, no matter how solemn his expression, and sparse his words, Calvin was able to make people laugh. 

As for #2,  the essay contest was open to college seniors across the country, sponsored by the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Calvin’s entry won the national First Prize! He received a gold medal for the honor, but the real prize was the confidence it gave him with regard to his writing abilities. Calvin included that essay in his book The Price of Freedom in 1924. Calvin was able to get ideas across via the written word.

The #1 thing on that list – the influence of teacher Charles Garman, well, now we’re going beyond skills to beliefs. Charles Garman taught neo-Hegelian philosophy, something in vogue beginning at the end of the 19^th century in various countries. In the US it was more pragmatic than philosophical; promoting the idea that “speculative thought” should connect to the requirements of practical life. This notion set the course for Calvin’s future. Calvin was able to deal with what was, and then, duty done, go to bed and sleep.

All Grown Up And Now There’s Grace

On the 26th day of June 1895, Calvin Coolidge graduated from Amherst. He worked on the farm through the summer, thinking about law school next. His father suggested he simply “read law” with an established firm and then apply for the bar; he quickly found a place in Northampton, Massachusetts, which would wind up being his new “hometown” for years ahead.

Northampton had another “Green Mountain” Vermonter who had migrated south. Born January 3, 1879 in Burlington, Grace Anna Goodhue was the only child of Andrew and Lemira Barrett Goodhue. While very young she learned of the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, and decided she’d like to teach there someday. And she did; after graduating from the University of Vermont in 1902 she moved to Northampton, where she taught deaf children to communicate by lip reading, rather than signing, at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech.

Then Calvin and Grace met. There are several versions of how that came about, but I’m going to share my favorite. These two working people lived across the street from each other (boarding houses, I assume?). One day Grace spotted Calvin standing in front of his window shaving. He was wearing a derby hat and long underwear. (Stoic Cal, you ask?) Grace was very much amused (so it goes) and asked her janitor to deliver a flower pot to him. The next morning the janitor brought her Calvin’s card, asking if he might call. They got married October 4, 1905 at her mother’s house, which has another good story. Calvin’s “hat while shaving” was explained as: “it was to keep the hair off my ears.” The objection of Grace’s mother to their marriage was: “I just wanted her to wait till she learned how to bake.”

A Perfect Pairing and a Nasty Hit

Calvin’s seriousness and dry wit and Grace’s friendliness and sense of fun made a successful duo; comfortable, resourceful, and on track. The timeline from 1905 goes like this:

• 1906: Son John is born. 1908: son Calvin Jr is born.
• 1918: Calvin is elected governor of Massachusetts, following career moves from struggling young lawyer days. Northampton: City Solicitor. Mayor. Massachusetts: state legislator, state senator, lieutenant governor.
• 1920: Calvin is elected Vice President on the ticket with Warren Harding.
• 1923: August 3 Calvin is sworn in as President and Grace becomes First Lady on Hardings death.
• 1924: June 12 Calvin is nominated to run in his own right for President. On July 7 son Calvin Jr. dies of blood poisoning from an infected blister.

Stop! Tragedy. It’s true, sixteen-year old John played tennis on the White House court without socks and got a blister on his foot. He died of septicemia within a few days; his funeral was held in the East Room. And the 1924 presidential campaign had to go on. Saddest part of the story? Campaign photos were taken at the White House that hot DC tennis-playing day, and Calvin insisted the boys wear suits for the shoot. Did John simply forget his socks when he shed his suit and ran out to the tennis court to cool off? What if Calvin had not insisted his sons wear a suit? That haunted Calvin.

Even as he mourned, Calvin had to campaign; he never mentioned his opponents by name or maligned them, he simply delivered speeches on his theory of government, including several that were broadcast over the radio. It was the most subdued campaign since 1896. November returns: Calvin was reelected by a landslide, with 72% of the electoral votes, and 56% of the popular. The economy was booming, and no wars were looming.

Calvin did what he was hired to do for the next four years; and so did Grace. When 1928 rolled around, Calvin refused to run again. On March 4, 1929, Herbert Hoover moved into the White House and Calvin and Grace returned to Northampton. Son John got married in September.

Keep It Going

Calvin spent the next four years writing his autobiography and articles for national magazines, such as a nationally syndicated column “Thinking Things Over with Calvin Coolidge.” He died of heart failure at the age of 61 January 5, 1933 just after lunch; Grace found him dead in his bedroom where he generally took an afternoon nap.

Grace lived 28 years after leaving the White House. She received many honorary degrees and awards and served on numerous boards, such as the Clarke School for the Deaf. In 1931 she was voted one of America’s twelve greatest living women. For her “fine personal influence exerted as First Lady of the Land,” she received a gold medal from the National Institute of Social Sciences. She served as a volunteer during WWII working for the Red Cross, helping Jewish refugees from Europe, loaning her house for use by the WAVES. In 1956, she and son John gave the Plymouth Notch homestead to the state of Vermont. Grace died of heart failure at the age of 78 July 8, 1957 in Northampton and is buried beside Calvin and Calvin Jr, there at the Notch, in the Green Mountains of Vermont.

Son John Coolidge became an executive with the railroad; he and wife Florence had two daughters. John helped start the Coolidge Foundation and his gifts of buildings, land, and artifacts were instrumental in creating the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site. Well into his 80s, he’d shuttle back and forth from his home near the site to collect his mail at the old post office; often stopping to answer visitor’s questions about his father, or the family. He died May 31, 2000, at the age of 94, and of course, is buried at the Notch.

Would I invite Calvin, and Grace, to my party? I would, but knowing Calvin’s distaste for parties, I think I’d leave him be and take a trip to Plymouth Notch. Maybe I’d run into those great-grandchildren, Christopher and Jennifer, and we could have a good talk.