Sworn into office by his father in the wee hours after Harding died. John Coolidge (a notary public I believe): "Nobody said I couldn't."
Posted on 07/04/2011 7:16:04 AM PDT by raccoonradio
I guess they're celebrating up in Plymouth Notch VT today, as it's the birthday for the only President born on the Fourth of July: Calvin Coolidge (I think a couple died on July 4 though). Republican, former gov. of MA, one who loved the people and scenery of his home state of Vermont. I paid a brief visit to the Coolidge State Historic Site the other day.
"Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong."
"The business of America is business." (actually the word "Chief" appears before "business"--kind of a misquote as he goes on to say "Of course, the accumulation of wealth cannot be justified as the chief end of existence. But we are compelled to recognize it as a means to well-nigh every desirable achievement. So long as wealth is made the means and not the end, we need not greatly fear it.")
(Apocryphal): "Oh Mr President I bet someone I could get you to say more than two words."
"...You lose."
"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."
Powerline blog says: "Today my AEI pal Leon Kass, writing in the Wall Street Journal, gets at why liberals really hate Coolidge: he was the last serious and self-conscious anti-Progressive Republican president until Reagan came along...the liberals hate him."
>>Coolidge, one of two presidents born in Vermont, is the only president with a July 4th birthday. Vermonters commemorate this unique distinction every year in Plymouth Notch with a unique celebration. At the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site, they will honor today both the birth of the nation and the birth of the nation’s 30th president.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on the 4th of July.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4th, 1826 within hours of each other. James Monroe also died on the 4th.
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Monroe all died on the 4th of July, Jefferson and Adams on the same day
Excellent post - thanx !
yup those were the two I was thinking of; same year, too. Supposedly one of them said on his deathbed, “well at least (the other ex-Pres.) still lives”, unaware he was dying too?
Years before it was taken over by New York transplants
Howard Dean, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, and Sen. Boynie Sandizz:
http://www.calvin-coolidge.org/html/why_coolidge_said__i_love_verm.html
>> Vermont is a state I love. I could not look upon the peaks of Ascutney, Killington, Mansfield, and Equinox, without being moved in a way that no other scene could move me. It was here that I first saw the light of day; here I received my bride, here my dead lie pillowed on the loving breast of our eternal hills.
“I love Vermont because of her hills and valleys, her scenery and invigorating climate, but most of all because of her indomitable people. They are a race of pioneers who have almost beggared themselves to serve others. If the spirit of liberty should vanish in other parts of the Union, and support of our institutions should languish, it could all be replenished from the generous store held by the people of this brave little state of Vermont.”
yes. Adams said “At least Jefferson still lives.” They may have been his last words. Jefferson died a few hours later.
My 2nd favorite President.
Definitely one of my favorite presidents.
Biggest landslide ever. He, along with TR were the only presidents elected to their own terms, earning a higher percentage of the vote.
Jefferson and Adams both died on precisely the SAME Independence Day in 1826, the 50th birthday of America!
Coincidence? Maybe.
bttt
He chose not to run in ‘28. The gift shop at Coolidge museum had a T shirt saying “I choose not to run” (whether it’s being bought by runners, or those who don’t run or jog, I don’t know!)
Unlike TR, or LBJ, Even after a term and a half, the people wanted more!
Thanks ! My favorite President !
We just rewatched the John Adams mini-series. Very good if you haven’t seen it. I recommend all of you to get it. Anyway, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the 50th anniversary on the 4th of July, hours apart.
ah thanks, have heard of it! will see someday
My favorite all-time favorite Coolidge quote...”You don’t have to explain anything you don’t say”
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