{"id":18179,"date":"2024-07-14T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2024-07-14T12:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=18179"},"modified":"2024-09-03T17:52:54","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T21:52:54","slug":"30-coolidge-calvin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=18179","title":{"rendered":"#30. Coolidge, Calvin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas \u2013 <\/em>John Calvin Coolidge Jr. (1872-1933) was the 30th<\/sup> 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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\u2019t 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s former governor James Douglas portrayed Calvin\u2019s father. And today, you can visit the entire community of Plymouth Notch and relive that bit of history yourself \u2013 the house, the store, and the cemetery where generations of the Coolidge family rest.<\/em><\/p>\n

But back to that day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019s father John, who was a notary public, could administer the oath. People began to gather in the parlor \u2013 the storekeeper, you think? The driver of the Model T who brought the message? US Representative Porter Dale was there; he\u2019d been out campaigning when he heard the news of Harding\u2019s death; he grabbed reporter Joe Fountain and rushed to the Notch to offer assistance. Joe got a fame-making story that day.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>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\u2019s Bible, and repeated the oath, becoming, officially, the 30th president of the United States. And then, it is said, Calvin went back to bed.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

How Calvin, and his father, and his wife, and his sons, reacted to their new roles in those moments speaks volumes about how they\u2019d lived their lives thus far, and how they dealt with the next six years of responsibility and public scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Those Growing Up Years<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>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\u2019s father (John Calvin Sr, we\u2019ll 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: \u201cCountry life does not always have breadth, but it has depth. It is neither artificial nor superficial, but is kept close to the realities<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/em> After a year at Vermont\u2019s St Johns Academy for additional college prep, Calvin entered Amherst College, 100 miles to the south of the Notch in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

Three important things to know about Calvin\u2019s experience at Amherst:<\/p>\n

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

    Now let me explain \u2013 I\u2019ll start with the last first. \u201cGrove Orator\u201d meant \u2013 you\u2019ve got to make your audience LAUGH. And Calvin did that. Calvin Coolidge was known throughout his public life as \u201cSilent Cal\u201d referring to his New England stoicism and dry wit. So many stories have been told about him \u2013 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.”) <\/em>But the fact is, no matter how solemn his expression, and sparse his words, Calvin was able to make people laugh.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

    As for #2, \u00a0the essay contest was open to college seniors across the country, sponsored by the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Calvin\u2019s 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<\/em> in 1924. Calvin was able to get ideas across via the written word.<\/p>\n

    The #1 thing on that list \u2013 the influence of teacher Charles Garman, well, now we\u2019re going beyond skills to beliefs. Charles Garman taught neo-Hegelian<\/em> philosophy, something in vogue beginning at the end of the 19th<\/sup> century in various countries. In the US it was more pragmatic than philosophical; promoting the idea that \u201cspeculative thought\u201d should connect to the requirements of practical life. This notion set the course for Calvin\u2019s future. Calvin was able to deal with what was, and then, duty done, go to bed and sleep.<\/p>\n

    All Grown Up And Now There\u2019s Grace<\/strong><\/p>\n

    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 \u201cread law\u201d 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 \u201chometown\u201d for years ahead.<\/p>\n

    Northampton had another \u201cGreen Mountain\u201d 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\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n

    Then Calvin and Grace met. There are several versions of how that came about, but I\u2019m going \"\"<\/a>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\u2019s card, asking if he might call. They got married October 4, 1905 at her mother\u2019s house, which has another good story. Calvin\u2019s \u201chat while shaving\u201d was explained as: \u201cit was to keep the hair off my ears.\u201d The objection of Grace\u2019s mother to their marriage was: \u201cI just wanted her to wait till she learned how to bake.\u201d<\/p>\n

    A Perfect Pairing and a Nasty Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Calvin\u2019s seriousness and dry wit and Grace\u2019s friendliness and sense of fun made a successful duo; comfortable, resourceful, and on track. The timeline from 1905 goes like this:<\/p>\n