Presidency of Calvin Coolidge (American Presidency (Univ of Kansas Hardcover)) [Hardcover]

Robert H. Ferrell (Author)

Book Description

Series: American Presidency (Univ of Kansas Hardcover) | Publication Date: June 1998

Perhaps no American president has seemed less suited to his office or his times than Calvin Coolidge. The taciturn New Englander became a vice presidential candidate by chance, then with the death of Warren G. Harding was thrust into the White House to preside dourly over the Roaring Twenties.

Robert Ferrell, one of America's most distinguished historians, offers the first book-length account of the Coolidge presidency in thirty years, drawing on the recently opened papers of White House physician Joel T. Boone to provide a more personal appraisal of the thirtieth president than has previously been possible. Ferrell shows Coolidge to have been a hard-working, sensitive individual who was a canny politician and an astute judge of people. He reveals how after being dubbed the "odd little man from Vermont" by the press, Coolidge cultivated that image in order to win the 1924 election.

Ferrell's analysis of the Coolidge years shows how the president represented the essence of 1920s Republicanism. A believer in laissez-faire economics and the separation of powers, he was committed to small government, and he and his predecessors reduced the national debt by a third. More a manager than a leader, he coped successfully with the Teapot Dome scandal and crises in Mexico, Nicaragua, and China, but ignored an overheating economy. Ferrell makes a persuasive case for not blaming Coolidge for the failures of his party's foreign policy; he does maintain that the president should have warned Wall Street about the dangers of overspeculating but lacked sufficient knowledge of economics to do so.

Drawing on the most recent literature on the Coolidge era, Ferrell has constructed a meticulous and highly readable account of the president's domestic and foreign policy. His book illuminates this pre-Depression administration for historians and reveals to general readers a president who was stern in temperament and dedicated to public service.

This book is part of the American Presidency Series.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Thrust into office with the death of Warren Harding in August of 1923, Calvin Coolidge presided over a nation at play. With the taciturn New Englander in the White House, the country embarked upon the orgiastic decade of over-spending and speculation now known as the Roaring '20s. Indiana University's Robert Ferrell (American Diplomacy: A History and Harry S. Truman: A Life) sums all this up in his brief but useful study of Coolidge's lethargic presidencyAthe first to be published in more than 30 years. As Ferrell shows, Coolidge ignored an overheating economy and thus set the stage for the Depression. At the same time, he dealt methodically, if not energetically, with the Teapot Dome scandal and crises in Mexico, China and Nicaragua. A deep believer in laissez-faire economics, Coolidge was committed to small government. He reduced the national debt (most of it stemming from the expenses of World War I) by a third, but failed to cope with a highly leveraged stock market run-up that invited disaster. "The statistics of what was happening were at hand," writes Ferrell. "The market speculation was clearly under way, but just as clearly Coolidge did not understand it." As Ferrell demonstrates, this failure is the single most important shortcoming of the Coolidge presidency, and the least explicable.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

For decades, Calvin Coolidge has been rated by historians as one of the worst presidents of all time. Considered a passive, introspective, and uninterested person and administrator, Coolidge did nothing to control the economic forces that would lead to the Great Depression. But in this new biography, Ferrell (The Dying President, LJ 3/1/98) paints a more sympathetic portrait of our 30th president. Coolidge emerges as a somewhat more complex figure who actually sought out and enjoyed public service, though he didn't find campaigning appealing. But as much as readers will learn about Coolidge, they will also learn a great deal about the times and the major issues faced by his administration. From Coolidge's role in the development of U.S. military air power to his failure to engage actively in developing a coherent foreign policy, Ferrell's research is solid and his writing graceful, making this a very informative and accessible volume.AThomas J. Baldino, Wilkes Univ., Wilkes-Barre, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Kansas (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0700608923
• ISBN-13: 978-0700608928
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,154,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An objective and well researched account., June 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Presidency of Calvin Coolidge (American Presidency (Univ of Kansas Hardcover)) (Hardcover)

The thirty-second volume in the acclaimed American Presidency Series presents a complex man and his struggles to solidify the economy and use cautious diplomacy in foreign affairs. Contrary to popular opinion, Robert Ferrell argues that Calvin Coolidge worked vigorously to achieve successful legislation and his dedication to public service provided him with a good background for the presidency from 1923 to 1929. The author, however, does recognize that Coolidge sometimes waited out troubles, acted indecisively, and displayed inactivity in foreign relations. For example, Ferrell avers that the president and his ministers incompetently handled political problems in Nicaragua and economic instability in Mexico. Also, the author acknowledges that Coolidge did not grasp the economic currents of his time.

Ferrell raises the question in this study: "Why did Coolidge not do more to deal with economic matters and consult with his advisors?" Perhaps the author answers this question in mentioning the Federal Reserve's reluctance to intervene in monetary policy and stock market speculation. In addition, Ferrell analyzes Coolidge's political philosophy on two counts: his opposition to governmental paternalism and belief in laissez-faire economy. In fact, Ferrell writes that Coolidge cut income taxes drastically; by 1927, 98 percent of the population paid no income tax.

The Presidency of Calvin Coolidge judges the president in an objective manner and uses extensively researched primary and secondary sources. The author, however, does tend to use quotes excessively and this may irritate some readers. Besides, Ferrell gives a vivid account about society in the 1920s, but his information about automobiles appears repetitive at times in this book. Furthermore, Ferrell suggests that to blame Coolidge for lack of foresight in not preventing the holocausts of our time seems unhistorical. Yet, a historian does indeed judge people and historical events both diachronically and synchronically. Overall, Fer! rell admirably addresses Coolidge's strengths and weaknesses in an analytical framework. Finally, the photographs add a realistic vision about Coolidge and his times.

15 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Cal's Rolling in his grave over this one, August 29, 1999

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Chet D (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Presidency of Calvin Coolidge (American Presidency (Univ of Kansas Hardcover)) (Hardcover)

This is an awful book for two primary reasons: 1. It portrays Coolidge in the unfair, stereotypical light that people have done for decades. (thus it lacks any new thought) 2. The book, mechanically speaking, is also poor. It is difficult to read, dry, and gives the reader no incentive to continue reading. The only reason I gave Ferrell a second star is because he is smart enough to pick a good topic to write his book about.

4.0 out of 5 stars valuable, March 6, 2010

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Don Incognito - See all my reviews

This review is from: Presidency of Calvin Coolidge (American Presidency (Univ of Kansas Hardcover)) (Hardcover)

This is the first biography I read of President Coolidge. It is very dry and academic in style, but I didn't mind.
I now believe that if any twentieth-century American president could be called a good man, it must have been Calvin Coolidge. He had possibly the most outwardly uninteresting and unappealing personality of any president, but who cares? because I believe he was more committed to leaving the American people alone, to not intruding in their everyday lives, than any president outside the Founding Fathers' generation. He was also probably the president most committed to fiscal discipline: every year of his one term saw the budget balanced; taxes were repeatedly cut, and Coolidge once made a speech about reducing pencil expenditures!
About his laconic and unsociable personality, there is a plausible theory in another bio I plan to read. Calvin Coolidge's younger son, Calvin Jr., died in 1924--the same year Coolidge was elected for his own term after replacing the deceased president Harding. Robert E. Gilbert believes that because of Calvin Jr.'s death, Calvin Sr. suffered from clinical depression throughout his term, which would explain his quiet, passive and often socially inept behavior.
I also plan to read Coolidge's autobiography, which he wrote not long after leaving office.