John
Calvin Coolidge, the son of a farmer and storekeeper, was born in
Plymouth, Vermont on 4th July, 1872. He became a lawyer in Northampton,
Massachusetts in 1897.
Coolidge joined the Republican Party
and eventually became the town mayor in 1910. This was followed by
periods as a state senator (1912-15), lieutenant governor of Massachusetts
(1916-18) and governor (1919-20). At the Republican National Convention
of 1920, Coolidge was nominated as vice-presidential candidate, in
support of Warren Harding.
Harding's isolationist foreign policy was popular with the electorate
and he was voted into office by the widest popular margin in history.
When Warren Harding unexpectedly died
on 2nd August, 1923, he was replaced by Coolidge. The following year
he easily won the presidential election.
Coolidge's period as president was marked by economic
prosperity. Companies in the United States also began to make
full use of what became known as mass production.
This increase in output enabled America to produce items that were
cheaper than those manufactured by her European competitors. Inflation
remained low while incomes increased by an average of 35% during this
period.
John Calvin Coolidge refused renomination in 1928 and he retired to
Northampton where he wrote his autobiography. John Calvin Coolidge
died on 5th January, 1933.
Available from Amazon Books
(order below)
