The U.S. President born on the Fourth of July
2023-07-04
Dear friend,
Can you name the two U.S. Presidents from Vermont?
A future U.S. President in Vermont in 1920.
One is also the only President born on the Fourth of July.
Born in Plymouth Notch, Vermont on July 4, 1872, John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. attended local schools before going away to Amherst College. He made his law career in Northampton before rising in the ranks as a Republican, becoming the 48th Governor of Massachusetts.
Governor Coolidge made an impression on the nation in September 1919 when the Boston Police went on strike for higher wages and for the right to unionize with the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
On September 9th, 1,117 of Boston's 1,544 officers failed to report for work. Hooliganism ensued that night. At the Mayor's request, Governor Coolidge sent the State Guard, ultimately supplying 5,000 men. Over the strike's four days, nine died, including eight shot by the Guard.
Over the course of the strike, Governor Coolidge staked out a strong position against the striking workers and AFL president Samuel Gompers.
"There is no right to strike against the public safety, anywhere, anytime," said Governor Coolidge. Coolidge said that he would continue to "defend the sovereignty of Massachusetts."
With Governor Coolidge's support over the objections of the Mayor, the Boston Police Commissioner ended the strike on September 13 by firing 1,100 strikers and hiring 1,574 replacements at higher wages from a pool of unemployed World War I veterans.
The deliberative Governor who would be nicknamed "Silent Cal" had been narrowly elected in 1918.
A "Sturdy American" and "A Man Who Practices What He Preaches"
But the public liked what they saw during the strike. Running against an opponent who favored reinstating the fired officers, Coolidge won re-election in 1919 with 62% of the vote, including a win in Democratic Boston.
President Woodrow Wilson telegrammed Governor Coolidge: "I congratulate you upon your election as a victory for law and order. When that is the issue, all Americans must stand together."
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Why was Governor Coolidge photographed with milking stool and pail in hand, apparently ready to milk a heifer in the 1920 photo above?
Coolidge returned home to the Plymouth homestead often, so perhaps he continued to help with the chores. "Silent Cal" was also known for cultivating his image. He once told Ethel Barrymore, "I think the American people want a solemn ass as a President, and I think I will go along with them."
Coolidge Jr. was visiting home on August 2, 1923, when Coolidge Sr. heard the news that President Harding had died that evening at age 57. A justice of the peace and notary public, the father administered the oath of office to his son by lamplight at 2:30 a.m.
President Coolidge earned the Republican nomination in 1924, the same year his son Cal Jr. died of blood poisoning. Coolidge's campaign, affected by his grief and mourning, was one of the most restrained before or since. He didn't speak of his opponent by name, and delivered dry talks about government structure over the radio, but he won and served ably until President Hoover's inauguration March 4, 1929.
Agree or disagree with Silent Cal's policy choices, I've always admired him. He appears to have made a real effort to follow a consistent moral core, taking principled stands apparently independent of their popularity.
Even on measures that Governor Coolidge championed, he did little as President Coolidge.
For example, Coolidge declined to visit the Gulf after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the worst disaster in the Gulf Coast till Katrina in 2005. He saw presidential involvement as grandstanding, and believed that states and property owners should deal with flood control.
“Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration has been the minding of my own business,” said President Coolidge at a press conference three days before his term was up.
Coolidge retired to Northampton and was often seen on the river on his Hacker motorboat. Prior to President Hoover's landslide loss to Franklin Roosevelt in the 1932 election, Republicans talked of drafting Coolidge to run again, but he wasn't interested. President Coolidge died in 1933 at age 60, and he is buried in Plymouth Notch Cemetery, Plymouth Notch, Vermont.
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Happy 151st birthday to the 30th president of the United States of America!
Happy 247th anniversary of the establishment of our country with the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776!
What historical or contemporary folks do you admire for their independence? Please share.
P.S. The Vermont Air National Guard is flying its F-35s over Vermont today, though they won't make it to the south end of the state. Here's the schedule:
