July 4th is a day unlike most days. It is the day that commemorates when, in 1776, a group of men from many walks of life announced in one voice that the government cannot smother the God-given rights of man. The Fourth of July is the symbol that an imperfect nation and an imperfect people can strive for the better. It was also on this day, in 1872, when John Calvin Coolidge was born in rural Vermont. Calvin Coolidge, as he is better known, served as the 48th Governor of Massachusetts, the 29th Vice President of the United States, and the 30th President of the United States. I would not be too surprised if you are not familiar with President Coolidge. He is not well known amongst the public and is usually ranked toward the middle to lower half of presidential ranking lists. However, President Coolidge remains one of the most underrated Presidents in this nation’s history—he led this nation through economic prosperity and limited the size of the federal government. We can learn many things from Coolidge. This is why I have decided to recognize him on his 149th birthday as well as the 245th birthday of this nation.
What Makes a President?
This is a question political scientists have sought to answer for years. Modern political demands—from social safety nets to economic and military interventions—give way for a highly active president that seeks to play a prominent role, like a celebrity, in the lives of Americans. Calvin Coolidge certainly would not fit the modern portrait of the president. To say the least, “Silent Cal” did not possess the charisma and glamour that many modern politicians desire. In fact, Calvin Coolidge held a deep appreciation for the art of not filling the room with empty noise. Coolidge had a dry sense of humor—at a party, a woman told President Coolidge, “you must talk to me, Mr. President. I made a bet today that I could get more than two words out of you.” Coolidge, famously, replied with “you lose.” Yes, Coolidge is a stark contrast from the likes of Kennedy, Obama, Trump, or even Reagan. Coolidge was a man of few words, but also a man of little action. What sets Coolidge apart from most presidents is that he did not serve the office of the president with empty and unnecessary action. It was Coolidge’s lack of action that spoke the loudest.
The Great Refrainer and the Roaring Twenties.
“Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration has been to mind my own business.” This is what President Coolidge told reporters upon leaving the presidency and it speaks volumes to the way the “Great Refrainer” governed. The era of Coolidge followed the progressive policies of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Progressives called for more federal action—particularly over economic issues relating to labor unions, farm subsidies, higher taxes, and the nationalization and regulation of certain industries. However, Coolidge held firm and rejected calls to raise taxes and increase spending. Coolidge stated plainly that “I will not surrender to every emotional movement seeking remedies for economic conditions by legislation.” Coolidge rejected the popular McNary-Haugen Farm Relief Bill which provided federal aid to farmers. Coolidge cited that such legislation was unconstitutional and would create a “bureaucratic tyranny of unprecedented proportions upon the backs of the farm industry and its distributors across the nation.” President Coolidge cut taxes, which provided more tax revenue than at the previously higher rates, and decreased spending by 50%. Coolidge managed to pay off roughly 30% of the national debt—something that fiscal conservatives today can only dream of. Double-digit unemployment faded into obscurity as unemployment levels reached 1.8%. The policies of refraining from intervening with the economy, pursued by President Coolidge propelled the United States into an economic boom and gave way for an era of entrepreneurship and innovation known by many as the “Roaring Twenties.”
What Happened?
After the death of his son, Calvin Coolidge Jr. in 1924, Coolidge lost any desire to run for a second term. Coolidge was succeeded by Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce, in 1928. Hoover is often lamented as one of the worst presidents in US History—rightly so. Hoover squandered all the progress made by Coolidge and his predecessor Harding. It is conventional wisdom that Hoover was a large proponent of Laissez-Faire economics, which is largely defined as “opposing government intervention in economic affairs.” In many history classes across the nation, children are taught that the Great Depression is a result of this philosophy. This, however, is simply not true. Herbert Hoover did not govern with a Laissez-Faire mindset. Hoover doubled federal spending, increased taxes, regulated wages, imposed the Smoot-Hawley tariff, and created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (the forebearer to many of FDR’s New Deal policies). As economist Burton Folsom Jr. describes in his book New Deal or Raw Deal?, “the RFC spent over $1.5 million of taxpayer money on loans (or gifts) to failing banks and industries.” Folsom also describes the RFC as a political institution built on cronyism and favors. Even FDR did not believe that Hoover took a “hands-off” approach to governing. FDR blasted the Hoover administration as the “greatest spending administration in peacetime in all of history.” FDR’s running mate John Nance Garner claimed that Hoover was “leading the country down a path of socialism.” If that doesn’t speak volumes, I have no idea what does. It was Hoover and FDR’s policies (again, this is better for a future article) that worsened the depression and destroyed the prosperity of the Coolidge administration.
Final Word.
President Calvin Coolidge remains one of the most underrated presidents in this nation’s history. His principled approach to governments sets him apart from most other presidents. He did not care about grandstanding or how certain actions would affect his career. He governed with the convictions of following the Constitution and allowing a man to decide what is best for him and his family. Unfortunately, Coolidge is either forgotten or lied about. I hope that I have succeeded in at least introducing you to our “Great Refrainer.” I will conclude this article with a sample of a speech from President Coolidge that I believe is fitting for this Independence Day. “This country needs every ounce of its energy to restore itself. The costs of government are all assessed upon the people. This means that the farmer is doomed to provide a certain amount of money out of the sale of his produce, no matter how low the price, to pay his taxes. The manufacturer, the professional man, the clerk, must do the same from their income. The wage earner, often at a higher rate when compared to his earning, makes his contribution, perhaps not directly but indirectly, in the advanced cost of everything he buys. The expense of government spending reaches everybody. Taxes take from everyone a part of his earnings and force everyone to work for a certain part of his time for the government…I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom.”
