“Silent Cal”

Presidential Basics

Full name: John Calvin Coolidge
Years in office: 1923–1929
Political party: Republican
Vice president: None (term following Harding’s death); Charles G. Dawes (elected term)
Age at inauguration: 51
Nicknames: “Silent Cal”

Random Trivia

Silent Cal: Coolidge was well-known for being a man of few words.

Birth & Death

Birthday: July 4, 1872
Birthplace: Plymouth Notch, Vermont
Death: January 5, 1933
Place of death: Northampton, Massachusetts
Place of burial: Plymouth Notch Cemetery in Plymouth, Vermont
Last words: Unknown

Family

Father: John Calvin Coolidge (1845–1926); Storekeeper, farmer
Mother: Victoria Josephine Moor Coolidge (1846–1885)
Wife: Grace Anna Goodhue (1879 – 1957)
Marriage: October 4, 1905 in Vermont
Kids: Two
- John (1906–2000)
- Calvin (1908–1924)
Home: Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth Notch, Vermont

Other Facts

Height: 5’10″
Eye color: Blue
Ancestry: English
Religion: Congregationalist
Born in a log cabin: No
Owned enslaved people: No
Freemason: No

Education

Early education: Plymouth District School; Black River Academy; St. Johnsbury Academy
College degree: Yes
College: Amherst College (graduated with B.A 1895)

Career

Military Service: No
Lawyer: Yes
Lawyer (1897–)
City Councilman, Northampton, Massachusetts (1899)
City Solicitor (1900–1901)
Clerk of the Courts (1904)
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1907–1908)
Mayor of Northampton (1910–1911)
Member and President of Massachusetts Senate (1912–1915)
Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (1916–1918)
Governor of Massachusetts (1919–1920)
Vice President: Harding administration (1921–1923)
President (1923–1929)
Writer

Writings

The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge

Election

Cool, calm, and collected, Calvin Coolidge finished the term of Warren G. Harding upon the president’s death. Luckily for Silent Cal, The scandals of the Harding administration did not affect his nomination to the Republican ticket.

With a strong economy and peace in Europe, the incumbent Coolidge had a head start. The Republican Party favored tariffs, lower taxes, and no farm subsidies. The Democratic candidate, lawyer John Davis, favored lowering the tariff, creating an income tax, and farm relief. Coolidge would win the election by a fairly large margin.

Campaign Poster

Keep Cool With Coolidge, cover of sheet music, published by T. J. Honaker, 1924 (Library of Congress)

Click to order your copy!

30. Calvin Coolidge