30 Calvin Coolidge

Dead Presidents Podcast

Calvin Coolidge's hardscrabble Vermont farm upbringing imbued him with the old-school New England values of hard work and thriftiness, which served him well as he embarked on a career as a lawyer in Massachusetts and began a steady climb of local and state political offices. As governor, his firm and unflinching response to the 1919 Boston police strike garnered him national headlines and inspired some enthusiastic delegates at the 1920 Republican National Convention to buck the party bosses and nominate him for vice president under Warren G. Harding. A consummate Washington outsider, "Silent Cal" kept a low profile as vice president and the bosses planned to replace him on the 1924 ticket, but in August 1923, Harding's sudden death thrust Coolidge into the White House. With the Harding administration's sordid corruption scandals still bubbling to the surface, Coolidge's quiet integrity restored the American people's confidence in the presidency, while his innate thriftiness enabled him to cut taxes, balance the budget, and reduce the national debt as the nation enjoyed unprecedented economic prosperity. In the wake of a heartbreaking family tragedy, he was resoundingly elected to a term in his own right, but four years later--as only Coolidge could do--he walked away from a surefire chance at reelection and retired to a rented duplex. Learn the full story on Episode 30!

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