Coolidge Calvin

1pp TLS signed by then 29th U.S. Vice President Calvin Coolidge as “Calvin Coolidge” at bottom of “The Vice-President’s Chamber, Washington” letterhead. In near fine condition, with one horizontal paper fold at center and isolated foxing in lower left corner. Also accompanied by two typed documents on “The White House, Washington” letterhead, one dated May 7, 1924, and the other dated October 14, 1927, signed by secretaries of then 30th U.S. President Calvin Coolidge.

 

Vice President Calvin Coolidge’s May 16, 1922 letter was in response to an inquiry from Sharpless Dodson Green, a school administrator from Trenton, New Jersey, who had requested life lesson advice from the politician for his graduating seniors. “The course provided by the Trenton Senior High School can give a knowledge of the fundamental laws upon which business and commerce are based”, Coolidge wrote. “This, however, is not all, for business training should afford not only a method of gaining a livelihood, but a knowledge of how to live. We need not only to be familiar with the laws which govern commerce, but with the ideals of business conduct as well. The future will bring opportunities for sacrifice as well as opportunities for acquisition and there must be the spirit of service if there is to be real success”.

 

If viewed within the context of the Roaring Twenties, Coolidge’s letter becomes very interesting. The Twenties were characterized by irresponsible spending, inflated prices, abusive credit practices, and an obsession with materialism. Thus, Coolidge’s urging for a balance between “opportunities for sacrifice as well as opportunities for acquisition” becomes ironic when viewed backwards in time from the October 29, 1929 Stock Market crash. 

 

Vermonter Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) moved to western Massachusetts to attend Amherst College. After graduating with high honors, Coolidge apprenticed at a nearby Northampton, Massachusetts law firm; he would live in the industrial center and college town the rest of his life. Coolidge set aside a successful commercial law practice to engage in politics, first as a William McKinley campaign aide, and then as a city councilman, state congressman and senator, and mayor of Northampton. He entered the national political arena after serving as Lieutenant Governor and Governor of Massachusetts. “Silent Cal” was 29th U.S. President Warren G. Harding’s running mate and assumed the presidency after Harding’s death of a heart attack.

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November 7, 2017 10:30 AM EST
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