Calvin Coolidge
On the evening of August 2, 1923, President Warren G. Harding spent the evening in a San Francisco hotel bed as his wife read to him. He was recuperating from serious illness, though his personal physicians were hopeful that the President would get better. All of a sudden, however, Harding collapsed and died of a heart attack. He was just 57 years old. Many miles away, Calvin Coolidge was woken from his sleep. At 2:30 in the morning, he was informed he was the President. His own father, a public notary, administered the oath of office.
While the manner of his appointment would have been a shock, Coolidge had arguably long been aiming for the very top job in American politics. Born in 1872, Coolidge was the son of a village shopkeeper. Despite his humble beginnings, hard work and intellect got him into Amherst College, from where he graduated with honors. From then on, it was a career in politics for young Calvin – and the only way was up.
After serving his time as a councilman for his native Northampton, Coolidge became the Republican Governor of Massachusetts. It was in this role where he first made his name. Clamping down hard on the Boston Police Strike of 1919 earned him a reputation as a tough guy and man of action. Buoyed by this, he was named as the Vice President, winning a joint ticket with Warren G. Harding. When Harding died all of a sudden, Coolidge stepped up and had the power he needed to put his conservative, small-government policies into action.
According to most accounts, President Coolidge’s lack of action made him very popular. He kept Federal power in check, letting the economy grow unhindered – and, some would say, unregulated. Moreover, his essential decency was a refreshing change from the personal scandals that had plagued President Harding’s time in office. Despite his popularity, Coolidge decided against standing again in the 1928 election. He served less than one full term, having never been elected as President. He died in 1933, just four years after stepping down, though he lived long enough to see the Great Depression hit the United States.