The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge

New York: Cosmopolitan Book Corporation, 1931. Fifth Trade Edition [stated]. Presumed first printing. Hardcover. Good. [10], 247, [1] pages. Frontis illustration Some wear and soiling to cover. Small tears at top of spine. Name in ink on fep. Some endpaper discoloration. Pencil marks, underlining, and erasures noted. Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; July 4, 1872 - January 5, 1933) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. A Republican lawyer from New England, born in Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of Massachusetts. His response to the Boston Police Strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight and gave him a reputation as a man of decisive action. The next year, he was elected vice president of the United States, and he succeeded to the presidency upon the death of Warren G. Harding in 1923. Elected in his own right in 1924, he gained a reputation as a small government conservative and also as a man who said very little and had a dry sense of humor. Coolidge restored public confidence in the White House after the scandals of his predecessor's administration, and left office with considerable popularity. As a biographer wrote: "He embodied the spirit and hopes of the middle class, could interpret their longings and express their opinions. That he did represent the genius of the average is the most convincing proof of his strength". He is praised by advocates of smaller government and laissez-faire economics, while supporters of an active central government generally view him less favorably, although most praise his stalwart support of racial equality. Calvin Coolidge's reputation as a calm individual with a quiet demeanor keeps him from looming large in the history of the Presidency. But if he was reticent as a speaker, he was an expressive writer, and his autobiography is a terrific reminder to the 21st Century that a President's ability to dominate the news headlines is no measure of Presidential success or failure. In his messages to Congress Coolidge called for tax reduction, immigration restriction, extension of the civil service, reorganization of government departments, river improvements, and adherence to the World Court. Congress was frequently uncooperative. A farm-bloc minority of progressive Republicans held the balance of power. Coolidge vetoed their McNary-Haugen bill, which was designed to support farm prices by government subsidies. He also vetoed a bill for a bonus, in the form of insurance, for World War I veterans. Congress passed this bill over his veto. Coolidge and Andrew Mellon, secretary of the treasury, won the passage of economy measures. They reduced the national debt by about a billion dollars a year and cut taxes in all income brackets. Business rather than politics made the big news of the era. Industry was flourishing. Big business became bigger through both growth and consolidation. The 1920s saw 7,000 mergers in industry and mining and the same trend in utilities, merchandising, and banking. Advertising reached a new peak, helping to move the huge quantities of merchandise turned out by the factories. Chain stores, mail-order houses, and installment buying were expanding features of retail trade. Nearly every town had its real-estate boom. The stock market rocketed upward, attracting investors and margin buyers from all ranks of society (See Stock Market). Corporations found it easy to issue new securities. Credit was overexpanded. Cheap money flowed into foreign bond issues and a variety of domestic projects, including 4 million dollars' worth of brokers' loans. When conservative bankers and economists were concerned over the extent of these loans, Coolidge stated that their increase showed a natural expansion of business. He had great faith in the continued march of prosperity. The so-called Coolidge prosperity did not reach everyone. Farmers continued to suffer from falling prices and the decline in foreign purchase of their products. Farm mortgage foreclosures increased. The labor picture was uneven. Jobholders enjoyed a rising standard of living and a shorter work week. Some large firms offered workers such services as low-cost cafeterias, free medical care, profit-sharing plans, and vacations with pay. The number of unemployed, however, fluctuated between 1 1/2 and 2 million. Unions lost ground in numbers and influence. Coolidge's popularity remained unshaken, but in 1927 he issued a historical statement: "I do not choose to run for president in 1928." In March 1929 he was succeeded by Herbert Hoover and retired to Northampton where he wrote his autobiography and magazine and newspaper articles. He died suddenly on Jan. 5, 1933, and was buried in Plymouth beside his son and father.