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This statement by the 1920s American President Calvin Coolidge indicates the relative prosperity of the era, his economic policies, and the optimism of the Roaring Twenties. Coolidge's administration came to be known for lowering taxes and government spending while encouraging domestic industries. The President opposed immigration but supported women's right to vote and granted citizenship to indigenous Americans. In foreign policy, the U.S. continued its involvement in Latin America such as in the occupation of Nicaragua. In Europe, Coolidge used similar thinking to his domestic policies and focused on economic measures such as the Dawes Plan for Germany to pay its war reparations. Finally, his Secretary of State Frank Kellogg co-led the international Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) to prevent war.
Fig. 1 - Calvin Coolidge as the Governor of Massachusetts, 1919
Calvin Coolidge: Life
Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), born John Calvin Coolidge Jr., was the 30th American President. He was in office between 1923 and 1929. Coolidge belonged to the Republic Party and was, by and large, a conservative.
Nicknamed Silent Cal for being quiet in his personal life, Coolidge had a long political career:
- Mayor of Northhampton (Massachusetts)
- Governor of Massachusetts
- Vice President during the Warren G. Harding administration
As a governor of Massachusetts, Coolidge had to face the Boston Police Strike in 1919. The majority of the policemen sought to unionize, so they went on strike. The city descended into lawlessness. As a result, Coolidge relied on a militia, fired the police force, and gave their jobs to World War I veterans seeking employment. Public perception greatly favored Coolidge's approach to law and order at the time. Some said that it was this event that made him President.
Coolidge became President of the United States when Harding passed away in 1923. He was subsequently elected in 1924 and was in office until 1929.
Coolidge's presidency is associated with an era of relative abundance in the United States. Some historians believe that Coolidge's fiscally conservative policies and tax cuts encouraged economic growth. His administration is also associated with immigration restrictions and granting citizenship to indigenous Americans.
Coolidge's interventionist foreign policy in Latin America was in line with his predecessors. In Europe, Coolidge relied on economic means and encouraged business ties.
Calvin Coolidge passed away at the age of 60 in 1933.
Calvin Coolidge Policies: Domestic
The 1920s in the United States are usually described as the Roaring Twenties. This term highlights the optimism of this period in the wake of the First World War (1914-1918), economic abundance, the fast-paced urban lifestyle, and mass culture like jazz.
This period was also known as the Prohibition era (1920-1933) when the sales of alcohol were banned. As a result, some people gathered in illegal establishments known as speakeasies. Coolidge opposed Prohibition in private but did not challenge it during his time in office.
Fig. 2 - Patrons outside the Krazy Kat Klub, a speakeasy, in 1921
Calvin Coolidge Policies: Economic
President Coolidge was a fiscal conservative. This position meant that he supported:
- lower government spending
- reducing federal debt
- cutting taxes
For example, the consecutive Revenue Acts of 1924, 1926, and 1928 reduced income tax rates for many and eliminated them for some Americans. The President also lowered the top marginal tax rate. At the same time, Coolidge opposed agricultural government subsidies because he disliked state involvement in private business. This issue was a source of opposition in the 1920s because of decreasing prices for agricultural commodities.
Calvin Coolidge Policies: Prosperity
The 1920s was a period of significant economic growth in the United States, especially in manufacturing. The future President Herbert Hoover, then Coolidge's Secretary of Commerce, controlled the U.S. industrial policies by creating favorable business conditions, government non-interference, and backing efficiency. Coolidge's policies also increased the purchasing power of American consumers, and product advertising developed significantly at this time. Combined with lower taxes for ordinary Americans, this was a decade of optimism.
Calvin Coolidge Policies: Social
The policies of the Coolidge administration in the realm of social issues varied. Two key bills of the 1920s were:
- Immigration Act of 1924
- Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
President Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act on June 2, 1924. By this time, many indigenous Americans already had U.S. citizenship which they obtained by serving in the military or through marriage. It is important to note that it was not until 1957 that all American states allowed indigenous Americans to vote because elections were subject to state law.
Did you know?
The history of indigenous Americans in the United States is full of tragedy. For example, in the 1830s, the government displaced more than a hundred thousand indigenous people from their ancestral lands in the southern U.S. in favor of settlers of European descent. Many ended up in "Indian Territory" across the Mississippi River. This process came to be known as the Trail of Tears.
On the matter of immigration, Coolidge continued his predecessor, Harding's, policy of restriction. He signed the Immigration Act (the Johnson-Reed Act) on May 24, 1924. This legal framework was aimed primarily at limiting immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe through quotas. However, Coolidge was dissatisfied with its specific exclusion of immigrants from Japan. The bill had precedents such as the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.
Coolidge also supported women's right to vote also called suffrage during his tenure as a Massachusetts politician. As a governor, he also backed hour and wages laws and fought child labor.
Fig. 3 - A suffragette parade in 1914
The 19th Amendment to the American Constitution was ratified in 1920 granting women the right to vote. This legal and political victory came after many decades of women's suffrage which some historians call first-wave feminism.
Earlier in the 19th century, countries like Britain and Australia began to allow women voting rights in elections at a local level. Other relevant developments included legalizing divorce and allowing participation in the Court system. Linked to these changes was the launch of International Women's Day in the early 1900s still celebrated in the present.
Calvin Coolidge Policies: Foreign
Calvin Coolidge neither subscribed to isolationism nor was he a hawk. He was more interested in domestic politics. As a result, Coolidge's policies in Latin America generally maintained the same trajectory as his predecessors. In Europe, the President used economic means as a foreign-policy instrument.
Latin America
Some countries in the Americas were important to the Coolidge presidency, including Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, as well as Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
Fig. 4 - Theodore Roosevelt carrying his Big Stick ideology in the western hemisphere, William Allen Rogers, 1904
| Country | Event | Description |
| Cuba | Sixth International Conference of American States (1928) | Although Cuba gained nominal independence shortly after the Spanish-American War (1898), the U.S. regarded the island as its sphere of influence and treated it as a neocolonial outpost to support American business interests there.The Sixth International Conference of American States (1928) in Havana, Cuba was Coolidge's only foreign trip meant to improve regional relations. |
| Mexico | Improvement in Mexican-American relations | Mexico underwent a revolutionary period roughly between 1910 and 1920. The Coolidge administration sought to stabilize the relationship with this neighbor. The President officially recognized Mexico's new government. Ambassador Dwight Morrow (1927-1930) was chosen to further improve Mexican-American relations, especially during the Cristero Rebellion (1926–1929). |
| Nicaragua | Occupation of Nicaragua (1912-1933) | From the time of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Roosevelt Corollary (1904), the United States became more directly and militarily involved in the domestic affairs of Latin American countries. The occupation of Nicaragua occurred in the greater framework of the Banana Wars. This period was important for American imperialism. The U.S. occupation forces stayed in Nicaragua to protect American business interests there until 1933. |
Fig. 5 - U.S. Marines holding a captured Sandino's flag used in the rebellion against the U.S. occupation, Nicaragua, 1932
Many Latin American countries did not appreciate the U.S. involvement in their internal affairs. As a result, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched the Good Neighbor Policy in 1933 seeking to mend relationships in the region.
Europe
The two important foreign-policy decisions for Europe made during the Coolidge presidency were the Dawes Plan and the Kellogg-Briand Pact.
Fig. 6 - Charles G. Dawes, Vice President of the U.S. (1925-1929)
| Initiative | Description |
| Dawes Plan (1924) | The 1919 Treaty of Versailles placed the blame for the First World War onto Germany. As a result, Germany was ordered to reduce its military and weapons, cede land to its neighbors, and pay large reparations. In the early 1920s, Germany was hit with terrible economic conditions, including the rapid devaluation of its currency and rising prices (hyperinflation). American financier Charles Dawes, Coolidge's Vice President (1925-1929), led an initiative to provide loans for Germany to structure and pay its reparations. This initiative came to be known as the Dawes Plan. |
| Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) | The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed in 1928. It was pioneered by Coolidge's Secretary of State, Frank Kellogg, and the French foreign minister, Aristide Briand. The purpose of the agreement was to prevent war, but it lacked a way of enforcing its conditions. The Pact was signed by 15 states, including the U.S., France, Germany, Japan, and Britain, later joined by dozens of other countries. |
After Coolidge
Coolidge did not seek reelection. The next President, Herbert Hoover, had a vastly different economic landscape to manage, as the autumn of 1929 brought the Great Depression. It was not until the 1930s under the leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal that the United States began to show signs of economic recovery.
1 "Quotations W," Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, https://coolidgefoundation.org/quote/quotations-w/ accessed August 8, 2022.
Calvin Coolidge Policies - Key Takeaways
- Calvin Coolidge was in office as President of the United States between 1923 and 1929.
- Coolidge was known as a fiscal conservative who reduced government spending and taxes and promoted American manufacturing. The 1920s, or the Roaring Twenties, were an era of relative prosperity for the United States.
- Approaches to social issues varied during the Coolidge presidency. Coolidge supported women's right to vote but opposed immigration. He granted citizenship to America's indigenous population in 1924.
- In foreign policy, the Coolidge administration maintained its interventionist policies in parts of Latin America. In Europe, Coolidge relied on economic methods such as the 1924 Dawes Plan to provide Germany with loans to pay for war reparations. The 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact promoted peace around the world.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Calvin Coolidge Policies
What did Calvin Coolidge stand for?
Calvin Coolidge’s presidency (1923-1929) is known for the strong domestic economy and relative material abundance for ordinary Americans during the Roaring Twenties. One way in which Coolidge was able to improve the domestic economy was by limiting government spending. His domestic politics also backed women’s right to vote. At the same time, Coolidge greatly restricted immigration to the U.S. through the Immigration Act of 1924. That same year, he granted citizenship to indigenous Americans.
In terms of foreign policy, Coolidge was neither a hawk nor an isolationist. He preferred to focus on domestic affairs. However, this does not mean that the U.S. was not involved in international issues. For example, the 1924 Dawes Plan sought to help Germany’s postwar economy by offering that country loans to pay for WWI reparations. The Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) outlawing war was also signed during his administration. Finally, Coolidge’s administration was involved in Latin American affairs including Mexico and Cuba. In Nicaragua, the U.S. maintained its interventionist policy and occupied that country until 1933.
What was Calvin Coolidge's foreign policy?
President Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) was not an isolationist or a hawk. However, he preferred to stay out of alliances and excessive engagement abroad in Europe. One exception was his administration's involvement in Latin America, for instance in Cuba and Mexico, and the continued occupation of Nicaragua. The Dawes Plan to help Germany pay its WWI reparations by offering its government loans was also introduced during Coolidge's administration in 1924. Also, Kellogg, Coolidge's Secretary of State, was, in part, responsible for the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact that sought to make war illegal.
What are the causes of America's prosperity according to Coolidge?
There are many causes of American prosperity in the 1920s during Coolidge’s presidency. Coolidge was a fiscal conservative, which means that he reduced government spending, lowered taxes for Americans, and cut government debt. This era was also known for technological advancement, preferential government policies for large-scale manufacturing, and fostering the purchasing power of the consumer.
How did President Coolidge restore public confidence?
President Coolidge was able to restore public confidence in a number of ways. On a personal level, he was known for his integrity in contrast to the scandals of the previous administration. In domestic politics, this was an era of relative prosperity, limited government spending, encouraging American industrial production, and lowering taxes, which the public preferred. In foreign policy, Coolidge did not get excessively involved in international affairs with the exception of Latin America.
Was Coolidge more of a conservative or a progressive?
President Coolidge belonged to the Republican Party. He was a fiscal conservative, which means that he wanted to limit government spending and lower taxes. He also restricted immigration through the Immigration Act of 1924. At the same time, Coolidge supported women's right to vote and granted citizenship to indigenous Americans through the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. Overall, his policies fit better in the conservative rather than progressive camp.
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