Calvin Coolidge: the record and the legends

Silent Cal. The 30th president, 1923-1929, from Massachusetts. Every story here is tagged Record, meaning it’s documented, or Legend, meaning it gets told a lot and doesn’t hold up. Each one links to its source.

President: 30th
In office: 1923-1929
Home state: Massachusetts
Party: Republican
Height: 5'10"

The record

RecordWhen word reached Vermont in 1923 that President Harding was gone, Coolidge was at his family's farmhouse, which had no electricity or phone. At 2:30 a.m. his father, a notary, swore him in by kerosene lamp. Then the new president went back to bed.Source: White House Historical Association, Calvin Coolidge
RecordOn a 1927 trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota, Coolidge posed for photographers in full cowboy chaps and a big hat. He was surprisingly good at playing to the cameras.Source: Miller Center, Coolidge: Domestic Affairs
RecordSilent Cal was also the first radio president. His December 1923 message to Congress went out live on six stations across the country, the biggest audience any speech had ever had, and he gave more than 60 radio talks after that.Source: Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, President Coolidge's First Radio Broadcast
RecordCoolidge slept eight hours a night and still took a long nap after lunch, every day, as president.Source: Miller Center, Coolidge: Family Life

The legends

LegendThe famous story: a woman at dinner told Coolidge she'd bet she could get more than two words out of him. He said, You lose. People who knew him told it for years, but Coolidge himself said it never happened.Source: White House Historical Association, Calvin Coolidge

What he cared about

Lower taxes and a smaller federal government.
Staying out of Europe's alliances while still doing business, including the Kellogg-Briand Pact against war.
Keeping government out of markets, even vetoing farm relief twice.

The full record

He signed the Immigration Act of 1924, which sharply cut immigration from southern and eastern Europe and shut out Japanese immigrants entirely.

How he fights in POTUS KO

Vermont farm boy who says almost nothing

Coolidge said as little as possible, waited out every crisis, and then made one sharp move. In the ring he stays quiet and turns your own push against you.

See POTUS KO

Questions about Calvin Coolidge

Did Calvin Coolidge really say You lose?

The famous story: a woman at dinner told Coolidge she'd bet she could get more than two words out of him. He said, You lose. People who knew him told it for years, but Coolidge himself said it never happened.

How was Calvin Coolidge sworn in?

When word reached Vermont in 1923 that President Harding was gone, Coolidge was at his family's farmhouse, which had no electricity or phone. At 2:30 a.m. his father, a notary, swore him in by kerosene lamp. Then the new president went back to bed.

Was Calvin Coolidge the first radio president?

Silent Cal was also the first radio president. His December 1923 message to Congress went out live on six stations across the country, the biggest audience any speech had ever had, and he gave more than 60 radio talks after that.