Calvin Coolidge: The American Presidents Series: The 30th President, 1923-1929

by David Greenberg

Book Overview

The austere president who presided over the Roaring Twenties and whose conservatism masked an innovative approach to national leadership

He was known as "Silent Cal." Buttoned up and tight-lipped, Calvin Coolidge seemed out of place as the leader of a nation plunging headlong into the modern era. His six years in office were a time of flappers, speakeasies, and a stock market boom, but his focus was on cutting taxes, balancing the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805069577
• ISBN13: 9780805069570
• Release Date: December 2006
• Publisher: Times Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.7" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Wrong Book

I did not receive the book I ordered, a Calvin Coolidge. Instead I was sent a book on Depression Glass. I am dissatisfied, to say the least!

Deployed 20th century methods to promote 19th century values. So reads

the last page. It sums up the Coolidge philosophy. This biography by David Greenberg is chock full of information on a relatively obscure president. He is truly the first modern president. One word: radio. Ironically radio & its skilled use by shy "silent Cal" made his the most accessible presidency up to that time. Mr. Greenberg notes that President Coolidge's voice was heard by more Americans in one radio address than heard Theodore Roosevelt in his entire life. It was a connection he would use expertly & in fact helped him go over the head of congress on several occasions. He was cheap, not verbose & not exposed to much diversity in his life, like most Americans. He never overworked & made sure he got his 10 hours of sleep. I don't know if that included his daily nap. Politically he felt that general interest overrode special interest. Fair enough except he seemed to think that business & cutting their taxes were a general interest & special interest like farmers & flood victims could suffer. A veteran's bonus bill was passed over his veto. Actually his tax cuts helped many & the extra income created a new investor class out of many middle class Americans. His indifference to congress who he felt was merely a collection of special interest resulted in a fairly spotty legislative record. But it didn't matter. Except for slight economic dips in 1924 & '27 he presided in what was called "The Coolidge Prosperity". That his laissez- fair attitude toward business as well as the massive stock purchasing on margin by many new investors is responsible for the stock market crash less than seven months after he left office is open to endless debate. His success in foreign affairs was limited but again that didn't matter. He was perfectly in tune with Americans at that time. He expertly danced around the Harding scandals that were swirling & reveled in American success's such as Lindberg's New York to Paris flight which he was able to exploit. So much info in this book of just 159 pages plus notes. He has his admirers such as Ronald Reagan, & his theory that he who governs least, governs best. Yet four years after he left office, with the country in ruins, FDR was elected & the idea of limited, small federal government was a thing of the past.

Another of those brief biographies in the American Presidents series

The author of this brief bio of Calvin Coolidge, David Greenberg, begins with an interesting quotation (Page 1): ". . .one of the first things [Ronald Reagan] made on entering the White House in January was to take down the portraits of Thomas Jefferson and Harry Truman in the Cabinet Room and put up those of Dwight Eisenhower and Calvin Coolidge." This volume examines Coolidge's life and times and his work as President. "Silent Cal" was a competent but not very energetic or innovative president, according to this book. He often was rather passive in advancing his initiatives, in many cases not pressing hard when Congress pushed back against him. The term "hands off" as a presidential style seems to fit rather well. The book begins with his background, as he came from Vermont (born on the 4th of July in 1872). He learned the values of hard work and thrift and came to understand that one did not exalt oneself over others. Characteristics emerging while he was younger (Page 17): "For the rest of his life, Calvin would remain deliberate in his decisions, conservative in his temperament and ideology, and restrained in his personal style." His rise in the political world as a city council member, with his political taking off in Massachusetts. Over time, he rose to president of the state senate, lieutenant governor, and, finally, to governor. In the 1920 Republican convention, after Warren Harding's nomination, Coolidge ended up as Harding's VEEP candidate. And, with Harding's death, this rather unlikely person was sworn in as President (oddly enough, by his father, whom Calvin was visiting, given the oath by his father, because of his role as a notary public!). Then, the slim volume begins to examine Coolidge's presidency. At the outset, he had to deal with the emerging scandals from the Harding Administration (such as Teapot Dome). His presidency, according to Greenberg, featured a characteristic style (Page 60): ". . .there was a shortsightedness to Coolidge's preference for letting problems pass--not least because they sometimes didn't. The wait-and-see approach prevented Coolidge from pursuing the kinds of goals that can make presidents great." Some key features of his presidency. . . . For one, he was the first president to begin to exploit media (whether print or radio). For another, he tended to avoid much regulation or interference from government of the economy. Given the healthy economy during his term and a half in office, voters were pretty happy with his stewardship. His proposed economic policy featured tax cuts, tariff changes, limited regulation on business, and so on. Often, he had to work with a Congress that was not overly sympathetic. Sometimes, he appeared to display apathy in trying to convince Congress to advance his policies. The book also notes the family tragedy of his son's death. Some researchers (such as Robert Gilbert) believe that this was so devastating that it enhanced his rather passive perspective towar

A President between Two Worlds

Near the end of his short biography of Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933), David Greenberg quotes novelist Willa Cather's statement that "The world broke in two in 1922 or thereabouts". (Greenberg, p.158) Cather was referring to what she believed was the watershed of the jazz age, with its increase in individualism, the pursuit of wealth or pleasure, and sexual activity. Cather disliked the claimed new jazz age world as did Calvin Coolidge, the president during much of it. Greenberg's study shows how Coolidge was caught between two worlds - the world of the late 19th Century with its emphasis on the work ethic, frugality, religion, and reserve and the world of the 1920s that Coolidge helped create. Greenberg's biography of Coolidge is part of the American Presidents series which has the goal of introducing Americans to our nation's leaders in brief, succinct volumes. Greenberg is a professor of history and media studies at Rutgers University. Calvin Coolidge was born to modest circumstances in Plymouth Notch, Vermont and learned the 19th Century values of rural New England. Coolidge also soon learned the nature of grief. His mother died when he was in his early teens and his younger sister died five years later. In 1924, during his presidency, Coolidge's 16 year old son died from an infection he caught on the White House lawn. Following his graduation from Amherst College in 1895 and admission to the Massachusetts Bar, Coolidge held a variety of elected positions in Massachusetts, culminating in the governorship in 1918. Coolidge came to national attention 1n 1919 for his handling of a strike by Boston policemen. He thus ran as the vice-presidential candidate on the ticket headed by Harding. With Harding's death in 1923, Coolidge became the 30th president. He was elected to a term in his own right in 1924 and famously declined to be a candidate for a second term in 1928. Coolidge was popular during his lifetime, but his reputation plummeted with the Depression and New Deal. President Ronald Reagan was a great admirer of Coolidge. With the passage of time, Coolidge's presidency has been examined afresh. There sometimes is a tendency to think about the presidents based upon their claimed place on some system of historical rankings. It is also possible to consider each president in his own terms, regardless of rating, to learn what that individual has to teach about the United States and about leadership. This seems to me the better way to approach Coolidge, and Greenberg's book does so effectively. Greenberg finds Coolidge's accomplishments as president "neither substantial nor enduring. Too many problems left unaddressed, mounted; too many causes languished unpursued. His constricted vision of his office crippled him." (page 14) Greenberg's conclusion remains supported on several counts. Coolidge's basically hands-off approach to the economy and his failure to respond to warning signals helped lead to, although they did not c

Balanced and Enlightening

My understanding of Calvin Coolidge was based on the conventional wisdom, and thus not that positive. David Greenberg presents a balanced view of Coolidge. Most importantly, he expains the environment and prevailing political philosophy and the personal values that combined to shape many of Coolidge's decisions and actions. That perspective paints a bit more sympathetic picture of a man who appears to have been judged based on a future, post-depression perspective.

Nice read

The author does a good job of explaining a little known president. I am always intrigued by the story behind the story and the author of this book does it well.