“Cool Cal”- An Unwritten Legacy of Wit and Humor

The 1920s was a period of unparalleled growth for the United States, built off the achievements

of the first world war which turned into a boom of peaceful prosperity. Internationally, the historic

conflicts of Europe seemed to finally have been settled, the whole world opening a new chapter

towards the future. “The Roaring 20s” swept the nation by storm, raising Americans to a new

standard of affluence and freedom. As flappers took to the streets, jazz rang colorfully through

America’s cities as novelties like the Model T and radio became institutions of society. Given the

country’s developments, it would’ve been logical to expect the government to reflect the nation's

flamboyance, actively involved in molding this new society. After all, despite his inability to

further the United States’ commitment to the international community, it was Woodrow Wilson

who had steered the country through war and towards prosperity. How did the 1920s become

defined by a man known as “silent Cal” whose fundamentalist values contradicted “modern”

society?

As history tells it, the 1920s was not a match for the 30th president, Calvin Coolidge. Theodore

Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, judged Coolidge to have been “weaned on a

pickle.” His quiet demeanor gave credence to jokes such that he was “silent in five languages”.1

William Allen White, a Kansas newspaperman, highlighted the discrepancy between the

president and nation in the title of his Coolidge biography, “A Puritan in Babylon” (1938). As

White saw it, America felt moved to “erect this pallid shrunken image of its lost ideals and bow

down before it in subconscious repentance for its iniquities.” In a time of speaking one’s mind,

Coolidge did little to defend his image and explain his actions. These images of the president

have stood the test of time, resulting in a dismissal of Coolidge as an uninfluential “fish out of

1
​Joyce Appleby ... [and others]. The American Vision : Modern Times. New York, N.Y.
:Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2006.
water,” his reserved and stringent personality outshone by the bold ideas of his contemporaries,

Wilson and Roosevelt. Polls by the American Political Science Association consistently show

Coolidge ranked in the bottom third of all presidents while Wilson and F.D.R consistently

ranking within the top ten.2

To truly understand Coolidge’s persona and legacy, it’s important to analyze how he was thrust

into the national spotlight. Calvin Coolidge was elected governor of Massachusetts in 1918 and

his conservative approach towards limited government involvement mirrored how he would later

rule the nation. Coolidge explained in a letter to his father that it is “more important to kill bad

bills than to pass good ones, and better to spend your time on your own committee work than to

be bothering with any bills of your own.”3 When he was Massachusetts senate president in

1915, the number of bills adopted dropped from seven hundred and ninety-six the previous year

to six hundred and sixty-eight.4 However, it was Coolidge’s handling of the Boston Police Riots

in 1919 that brought him nationwide attention.

Strikes and attempts at unionization were quite common after the first world war. Workers all

over the country sought for more protection and rights, a product of the consumer society

mentality. In fact, the Boston police force’s grievances were quite legitimate. Their minimum pay

was $1,100 a year—half of what a war worker earned—and in addition, they had to buy their

uniforms.5 Beyond the question of pay was a greater problem: a two-platoon system that kept

2
​Brandon Rottinghaus, Justin Vaughn. “Analysis | New Ranking of U.S. Presidents Puts Lincoln at No. 1,
Obama at 18; Kennedy Judged Most Overrated.” The Washington Post. WP Company, February 16,
2015.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/02/16/new-ranking-of-u-s-presidents-puts-l
incoln-1-obama-18-kennedy-judged-most-over-rated/.
3
​“Calvin Coolidge, 29th Vice President (1921-1923).” U.S. Senate: Calvin Coolidge, 29th Vice President
(1921-1923), October 9, 2019.
https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president/VP_Calvin_Coolidge.htm.
4
​Mallon, Thomas. “Less Said.” The New Yorker. Accessed April 23, 2020.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/03/11/less-said.
5
​“The Strike That Made A President.” AMERICAN HERITAGE, April 1, 2020.
https://www.americanheritage.com/strike-made-president#5.
the men on twelve-hour shifts.6 The station houses were old, crowded, and dirty. A union was

the obvious answer. The Boston firemen had formed one and police in thirty-seven other

American cities already had unions.7 Nor was Boston’s police strike the first police strike. The

problem laid within the fact that the city lacked any replacements for the striking force. People

feared that Boston would deteriorate into mob rule, rampant with crime.

After two nights of rioting and mayoral inaction, Coolidge called up the National Guard and took

personal control of the police force. Working with the police commissioner, Coolidge initialized

the recruitment of an entirely new police force. When Samuel Gompers, the leader of the AFL,

sent a telegram requesting the reinstatement of the striking officers, Coolidge publicly

responded that there was “no right to strike against the public safety by anyone, anywhere, any

time.”8 Newspapers across the country broadcasted Coolidge’s actions, glorifying his role as a

hero within a nation still shaken by the Red Scare. Although he usually acted with deliberation,

the Boston police strike gave Coolidge a national reputation as a decisive leader and a strict

enforcer of law and order that would greatly impact his future.

As a national figure of stability, Coolidge was nominated as the Republican vice-presidential

candidate during the 1920 national convention, usurping the desired candidate of the party

bosses.9 When President Harding suddenly died from a heart attack in 1923, Coolidge was

again a symbol of structure that brought order to a government that had been ravaged by the

Teapot Dome Scandal. Although his reputation became a means to his political success, it also

hurt Coolidge by painting him as an uptight politician with no emotion. Coupled with his

6
Ibid.
7
Ibid.
8
Calvin Coolidge, Telegram to Samuel Gompers (September 14, 1919). In Calvin Coolidge, Have Faith in
Massachusetts: A Collection of Speeches and Messages, 2nd ed. ( Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,
1919).
9
Fuess, Claude Moore. Calvin Coolidge: the Man from Vermont. place of publication not identified:
publisher not identified, 2015.
introverted personality, the president was quickly dismissed as just a cog in the machine, his

legacy defined by the police strike.

Perhaps all people wanted in the 1920s was for the government to have a sense of stability as

society became less and less structured. But it’s hard to imagine why Coolidge handily

dominated the 1924 elections if his personality seemed so out of sync with the times. Americans

have always chosen presidents that they have related to, people who they feel like understand

their needs. Coolidge the politician played the persona of a strict enforcer, but it turns out

Coolidge the man was a bit more lively.

Coolidge’s humor was once described to be “sharp and cold as a frost-etching on a

windowpane.”10 His humor was a reflection of a Yankee— thrifty, traditional, and moralistic.

Once, a woman sitting next to Coolidge during a dinner party bet she could get him to say more

than two words; Coolidge responded with “you lose.”11 Another time, when Coolidge and his

wife were touring an experimental government farm, Mrs. Coolidge noticed that a rooster was

mating very frequently. She inquired a farmer about how often it happened and was told,

“Dozens of times each day.” Mrs. Coolidge then said, “Tell that to the President when he comes

by.” Upon being told, the President asked, “Same hen every time?” When the farmer replied that

it was a different hen each time, Coolidge replied, "Tell that to Mrs. Coolidge."12 Jokes were also

a part of his everyday presidential duties. During his stay in the office, the president would also

occasionally push all the buttons on his desk, panicking the Secret Service as a practical joke

10
“The Peculiar and Biting Calvin Coolidge Wit.” New England Historical Society, October 21, 2019.
https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/the-mordant-humor-of-calvin-coolidge/.
11
“Calvin Coolidge, 29th Vice President (1921-1923).” U.S. Senate: Calvin Coolidge, 29th Vice President
(1921-1923), October 9, 2019.
https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president/VP_Calvin_Coolidge.htm.
12
“The Peculiar and Biting Calvin Coolidge Wit.” New England Historical Society, October 21, 2019.
https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/the-mordant-humor-of-calvin-coolidge/.
as he hid to make them think he’d been kidnapped.13 When guests were over, he’d very

solemnly pour cream into his saucer rather than his teacup, baiting his visitors to do the same

due to their fear of dishonoring the president, and then place the saucer on the ground for his

dog to drink.14 His serious image juxtaposed his often aloof behavior. He would even mess with

the media, unafraid to use blunt responses. According the Vermont History:

“During the 1924 presidential campaign a newsman sought Coolidge out. ‘Mr. President,’ he

asked, ‘what do you think of Prohibition?’ ‘No comment,’ replied Coolidge. ‘Will you say

something about unemployment?’ ‘No,’ said Coolidge. “Will you tell us your views about the

world situation?’ persisted the reporter. ‘No.’ ‘About your message to Congress?’ ‘No.’ The

disappointed reporter started to leave, but as he reached the door Coolidge said, ‘Wait.’

Hopefully, the man turned around and Coolidge cautioned: ‘Now remember—don’t quote me.”’15

Yet Coolidge had a very good relationship with the reporters, holding more press conferences

than any other president. "Everyone spoke of him fondly as 'Cal.' He was one of us," a

correspondent observed. "He was the ordinary man incarnate."16 A veteran correspondent

Debra Clark claimed that "the mounting evidence he gave of being a very small, very solemn

man in a very big job, intrigued [the people] by reason of the contradictions involved."17

Coolidge’s image, accompanied by his wit, was what reassured people who’d abandoned

puritanical values during the Roaring 20s. His bluntness ironically dulled and modernized his

traditionalist values, giving him the flexibility to lead the country through the Roaring 20s.

13
Nosowitz, Dan. “When the President Was the Quietest Man in the Room.” Atlas Obscura. Atlas
Obscura, February 4, 2016.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/when-the-president-was-the-quietest-man-in-the-room.
14
Ibid.
15
“President Calvin Coolidge Historic Site.” President Calvin Coolidge Historic Site | State Historic Sites.
Accessed April 23, 2020. https://historicsites.vermont.gov/calvin-coolidge.
16
​Hatfield, Mark O., Wendy Wolff, and Donald A. Ritchie. ​Vice Presidents of the United States,
1789-1993​. Washington, DC: U.S. G.P.O., 1997.
17
Ibid.
The structure of government that Coolidge invested in was heavily based on the minimalistic

interpretation of the Constitution. In particular, Coolidge was a stringent enforcer of the 10th

amendment, believing that the government did not have the right to overstep the bounds of the

Constitution. In comparison with Wilson and Roosevelt, Coolidge sticks out like a sore thumb in

comparison with their vast expansions of government influence and power. In an era focused on

personal opinions, he threw personal opinion aside while making decisions, deferring to the

Constitution at all costs. As governor, although he was personally opposed to Prohibition, he

struck down bills that would allow limited alcohol distribution.18 His views are the model of

modern conservatism with ideas still entrenched in the philosophies of our government today.

The growth of the nation as he cut taxes and the government budget (shrinking the national

debt by a quarter) was tremendous, allowing the United States to thrive under a self-sustaining

economy. But only a man of Coolidge’s character would have been able to accomplish what he

did. His wit and demeanor both commanded the understanding and respect of others. While his

predecessor Harding was taken advantage of, Coolidge captained the nation down the path of

prosperity.

It is easy to dismiss Coolidge as a man who just profited off the Boston police strike and rode

it’s wave to the presidency. In understanding the wit and humor behind “silent Cal,” it becomes

much easier to see how Cooldige was able to captivate the nation despite his fundementalist

values. Although many of his ideas have been deemed outdated, there are definitely benefits in

looking at how Coolidge’s personality allowed him to institute a form of government that was

successful yet so hard to replicate. Coolidge’s White House established a balance between

power and freedom that the American people should strive to reclaim. It’s time for “silent Cal” to

be heard again.

18
Fauntleroy, Philip W. “Coolidge and Prohibition.” The New York Times. The New York Times,
December 28, 1924. https://www.nytimes.com/1924/12/28/archives/coolidge-and-prohibition.html.