University of Iloilo PHINMA Education Network College of Nursing

A Term Paper

Calvin Coolidge (Laissez faire Leader)

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for NCM 107

Presented to: Mrs. Michelle Jagunap, R.N Clinical Instructor

by Cindy S. Guelos BSN 4-C

July 15, 2011

Introduction Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) He was the 30th president of the United States (1923-1929).
A member of the Republican Party, Coolidge became vice president in 1921 and then stepped in as president following the sudden death of President Warren G. Harding in August 1923. He was elected by a landslide in the 1924 presidential election. Coolidge is remembered more for his solid character than his political achievements. His homespun personality captivated the nation, and to this day he remains a symbol of his era. One of his well-known quotes, The business, reflected his strong chief business of America is belief that the government

should not interfere in the economy. Coolidge opposed federal government intervention or relief for workers and was equally against any in measures his that would interfere address with that business. the nation Announcing 1924 inaugural

appeared to be entering an era of prosperity, he argued for lowering taxes and pointed out that employment is plentiful, the rate of pay is high, and wage earners are in a state of contentment seldom before seen. His years in office were a relatively affluent time for Americans and were not marked by much change or tumult. However, not long after Coolidge completed his second term in 1929 the Great Depression began in the United States, and soon the world plunged into economic collapse. Early Life John Windsor Calvin County, Coolidge, Vermont, Jr., on was born 4, in Plymouth the only Notch, U.S.

July

1872,

President to be born on Independence Day. He was the elder of the two children of John Calvin Coolidge, Sr. (18451926) and Victoria Josephine Moor (18461885). Coolidge's chronically ill mother died, perhaps from tuberculosis, when he was twelve years old. His sister, Abigail Grace Coolidge (18751890), died at the age of fifteen, when Coolidge was eighteen. Coolidge's father remarried in 1891, to a schoolteacher, and lived to the age of eighty. Coolidge senior engaged in many occupations, and

ultimately farmer, school, offices ran

enjoyed a

statewide and public store,

reputation servant; in the

as he

prosperous taught of House

storekeeper local

farmed,

served the

Vermont tax

Representatives and the Vermont Senate, and held various local including justice of peace and collector. Coolidge's mother was the daughter of a Plymouth Notch farmer. Coolidge's earliest family had deep roots in New England. His from

American

ancestor,

John

Coolidge,

emigrated

Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, England, around 1630 and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. Another ancestor, Edmund Rice, arrived at Watertown in 1638. Coolidge's great-great-grandfather, also named John Coolidge, was an American military officer in the Revolutionary War and one of the first selectmen of the town of Plymouth Notch. Most of Coolidge's ancestors were farmers. Other well-known General Coolidges, Austin architect Coolidge, Charles and Allerton Coolidge, Cary Charles diplomat Archibald

Coolidge among them, were descended from branches of the family that had remained in Massachusetts. Coolidge's grandmother Sarah Almeda Brewer had two famous first cousins: It is through Sarah Brewer that Coolidge Arthur Brown, a believed that he United States Senator, and Olympia Brown, a women's suffragist. inherited American Indian blood, but this descent has never been established by modern genealogists. Early Political Career Coolidge devoted as much councilman of Northampton. time as his he law practice the would public

permit to Republican Party politics. In 1898 he was elected city Although lacked friendliness of a professional politician, he won elections. He formed the habit of visiting his constituents and simply saying, 'I want your vote. I need it. I shall appreciate it.' Some of his loyal supporters were politically influential and had confidence in his integrity and desire to give honest public service. Between 1900 and 1911 he served as city solicitor, clerk of courts, representative in the Massachusetts legislature, and mayor of Northampton. He then served as senator in the state legislature from 1912 to 1915 (its president from 1914) and as lieutenant governor from 1916 to 1918.

With his loyalty to the principles, and hard work

Republican in his

Party,

conservative Coolidge

elected

jobs,

attracted the attention of Massachusetts party leaders. Coolidge also received support, financial and political, from the wealthy Boston department store owner Frank W. Stearns. Stearns dedicated himself wholeheartedly to Coolidge's political career. Style of Leadership
His political philosophy was one of laissez-faire toward

business, less spending for government, and tax cuts for everyone.

Coolidge's taxation policy was that of his Secretary of the Treasury, Andrew Mellon: taxes should be lower and fewer people should have to pay them. Congress agreed, and the taxes were reduced Coolidge in Coolidge's term. In addition in to these tax cuts, and proposed reductions federal expenditures

retiring some of the federal debt. Coolidge's ideas were shared by the Republicans in Congress, and in 1924 Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1924, which reduced income tax rates and eliminated all income taxation for some two million people. They reduced taxes again by passing the Revenue Acts of 1926 and 1928, all the while continuing to keep spending down so as to reduce the overall federal debt. By 1927, only the richest 2% of taxpayers paid any federal income tax. Although federal spending remained flat during Coolidge's administration, allowing onefourth of the saw federal debt to be retired, state and local governments considerable growth, surpassing the federal

budget in 1927. Achievements Succession to the Presidency On speaking August tour 2, in 1923, President Harding died while on a in

California.

Vice-President

Coolidge

was

Vermont visiting his family home, which had neither electricity nor a telephone, when he received word by messenger of Harding's death. Coolidge dressed, said a prayer, and came downstairs to greet the reporters who had assembled. His father, a notary public, administered the oath of office in the family's parlor

by the light of a kerosene lamp at 2:47 am on August 3, 1923; Coolidge then went back to bed. Coolidge returned to Washington the next day, and was re-sworn by Justice Adolph A. Hoehling, Jr. of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, as there was some confusion over whether a state notary public had the authority to administer the presidential oath. Finishing Harding's term The nation did not know what to make of its new President; Coolidge had not stood out in the Harding administration and many had expected him to be replaced on the ballot in 1924. He appointed Clark, from a his C. Bascom Slemp, a Virginia organizer as Congressman whom he and experienced federal politician to work jointly with Edward T. Massachusetts vice Republican retained to the presidential staff, Secretaries

President (a position equivalent to the modern White House Chief of Staff). Although many of Harding's cabinet appointees were scandal-tarred, Coolidge announced that he would not demand any of their resignations, believing that since the people had elected Harding, he should carry on Harding's presidency, at least until the next election. He addressed Congress when it reconvened on December 6, 1923, giving a speech that echoed many of Harding's themes, including government speech to immigration to be restriction the to was War coal was the speech and the the need then first over just one the for ongoing radio month the in The into arbitrate Coolidge's broadcast Treaty World or strikes

Pennsylvania. Washington In May

Presidential

nation

Naval the Act

proclaimed I

Coolidge's term, and was generally well received in the country. 1924, veterans' was World War Adjusted his veto. Compensation "Bonus Bill" passed over

Coolidge signed the Immigration Act later that year, though he appended a signing statement expressing his unhappiness with the bill's specific exclusion of Japanese immigrants. Just before the Republican Convention began, Coolidge signed into law the Revenue Act of 1924, which decreased personal income tax rates while increasing the estate tax, and creating a gift tax to reinforce the transfer tax system.

Foreign policy While he was not an isolationist, Coolidge was reluctant to enter into foreign alliances.[133] Coolidge saw the landslide Republican victory of 1920 as a rejection of the Wilsonian idea that the United States should join the League of Nations. While not completely opposed to the idea, Coolidge believed the League, as then constituted, did not serve American interests, and he did not advocate membership in it. He spoke in favor of the United States joining the Permanent Court of International Justice, provided that the nation would not be bound by advisory decisions. The Senate eventually approved joining the Court (with reservations) in 1926. The League of Nations accepted the reservations, but suggested some modifications of their own. The Senate failed to act; the United States never joined the World Court. Coolidge's Kellogg, and best-known French initiative minister was the Kellogg-Briand Briand. The

Pact of 1928, named for Coolidge's Secretary of State, Frank B. foreign Aristide treaty, ratified in 1929, committed signatories including the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan to "renounce war, as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another." The treaty did not achieve its intended result the outlawry of war but did provide the founding principle for international law after World War II. Coolidge continued the previous administration's policy not to recognize the Soviet Union. He also continued the United States' support for the elected government of Mexico against the rebels there, lifting the arms embargo on that country. He sent his close friend Dwight Morrow to Mexico as the American ambassador. Coolidge represented the U.S. at the Pan American Conference in Havana, Cuba, making him the only sitting U.S. President to visit the country. The United States' occupation of Nicaragua and Haiti continued under his administration, but Coolidge withdrew American troops from the Dominican Republic in

1924. Downfalls During Coolidge's presidency the United States experienced the period of rapid economic growth known as the "Roaring Twenties". He left the administration's industrial policy in the hands of his activist Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, who energetically used government auspices to promote business efficiency and develop airlines and radio. With the exception of favoring increased tariffs, Coolidge disdained regulation, and carried about this belief by appointing commissioners to the Federal Trade Commission and the Interstate Commerce Commission who did little to restrict the activities of businesses under their jurisdiction. The regulatory state under Coolidge was, as one biographer described it, "thin to the point of invisibility." Coolidge's "generally business" (full economic the policy at has of often the been misquoted people as is

speaking,

business

American have

quotation

right).

Some

criticized

Coolidge as an adherent of the laissez-faire ideology, which they claim led to the Great Depression. Coolidge's conservative policies underwent no change after he assumed the presidency for a four-year term on March 4, 1925. Congress, although under Republican control, did not always agree with the president. Western farmers did not benefit from the general prosperity under Coolidge, and his continued opposition to their demands for government aid led Republican senators and representatives from the West to form coalitions with the Democrats against the president. One result was the McNary-Haugen Farm Relief Bill, which proposed that the government buy surplus crops and sell them abroad in order the to raise in domestic and agricultural again for in tax prices. This Coolidge, arguing that the government had no business fixing prices, vetoed also bill 1927 1928. coalition opposed Coolidge's plans reduction,

especially in the higher income tax brackets, and his tax bills were greatly modified before they were passed. In 1927 Coolidge vetoed a bill and to he provide allowed extra a bill payments to World for War I servicemen, providing government

operation of the hydro-electric plant at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, on the Tennessee River to expire without his signature. His attitude toward Muscle Shoals was consistent with his lifelong opposition to the expansion of government functions and the interference of the federal government in private enterprise. During his administration, Coolidge's respect for private

enterprise, especially big businesses, reflected itself in the operation of certain government agencies. The Tariff Commission, charged with suggesting reductions in the tariff, or import tax, made its reports reluctantly and without strong recommendations. The Federal Trade Commission, established by President Wilson to curb monopolies, now looked on favorably when businesses merged. Investigations and prosecutions of lawsuits against these combinations were only halfheartedly conducted. Since a large volume of foreign exports aided business,

Coolidge permitted private loans of billions of dollars to other nations to make such trade possible. The steadily rising stock market, particularly near the end of Coolidge's second term, met with his approval and he foresaw no sign of the coming stock market crash and depression Coolidge of that began in 1929. in in W. his the Weeks During his second term, the Davis Permanent was Court made several at The when changes Hague John

Cabinet. Charles E. Hughes, secretary of state, left to serve in Arbitration of Netherlands and was replaced appointed by Frank B. Kellogg. Dwight F. war

secretary

resigned. Coolidge tried to appoint sugar-beet magnate Charles B. Warren as attorney general, but the Senate voted against him. Farm subsidies Perhaps the most contentious issue of Coolidge's presidency was that of relief for farmers. Some in Congress proposed a bill designed to fight falling agricultural prices by allowing the federal government to purchase crops to sell abroad at lowered prices. Agriculture Secretary Henry C. Wallace and other administration officials favored the bill when it was introduced in 1924, but rising prices convinced many in Congress that the bill was unnecessary, and it was defeated just before the

elections that year. In 1926, with farm prices falling once more, Senator Charles L. McNary and Representative Gilbert N. Haugenboth Republicansproposed the McNary-Haugen Farm Relief Bill. The bill proposed a federal farm board that would purchase surplus production in high-yield that years and must hold it (when "on an feasible) for later sale, or sell it abroad.Coolidge opposed McNary-Haugen, declaring agriculture stand independent business basis," and said that "government control cannot be divorced from political control."He favored instead Herbert Hoover's proposal to modernize agriculture to create profits, instead of manipulating prices. Secretary Mellon wrote a letter denouncing the McNary-Haugen measure as unsound and likely to cause inflation, and it was defeated. Flood control Coolidge has often been criticized for his actions during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the worst natural disaster to hit the Gulf Coast until Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Although he did eventually name Secretary Hoover to a commission in charge of flood relief, Coolidge's lack of interest in federal flood control has been criticized. Coolidge did not believe that personally visiting the region after the floods would accomplish anything, but would be seen only as political grandstanding. He also did not want to incur the federal spending that flood control would require; he believed property owners should bear much of the cost. On the other hand, Congress wanted a bill that would place the federal government completely in charge of flood mitigation.When Congress passed a compromise measure in 1928, Coolidge declined to take credit for it and signed the bill in private on May 15. Second Term While on vacation, Coolidge surprisingly issued his terse statement that he would not seek a second full term as President in 1928: "I do not choose to run for President in 1928." After allowing them to take that in, Coolidge elaborated. "If I take another term, I will be in the White House till 1933 Ten years in Washington is longer than any other man has had ittoo long!"

In his memoirs, Coolidge explained his decision not to run: "The Presidential office takes a heavy toll of those who occupy it and those who are dear to them. While we should not refuse to spend and be spent in the service he of our country, it is to hazardous to attempt what we feel is beyond our strength to accomplish." Northampton, After where leaving he office, his and Grace The returned wrote memoirs. Republicans

retained the White House in 1928 in the person of Coolidge's Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover. Coolidge had been reluctant to choose Hoover as his

successor; on one occasion he remarked that "for six years that man has given me unsolicited adviceall of it bad." Even so, Coolidge had no desire to split the party by publicly opposing the popular Commerce Secretary's nomination. The delegates did consider nominating Vice President Charles Dawes to be Hoover's running mate, but the convention selected Senator Charles Curtis instead.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_coolidge#Industry_and_trade http://www.newenglandtravelplanner.com/people/coolidge_jc.html Microsoft Encarta .2009