A Look Back on the Coolidge Presidency.
Calvin Coolidge became the 30th President of the United States of America after .
the abrupt death of Warren G. Harding. Many historians look at the Coolidge presidency .
as one that had no initiative. "He is often dismissed as a political naf, simpleton, and .
lazy misfit, a relic from the nineteenth century, whose administration set the stage for the .
Great Depression- (Sobel 3). Despite of what historians think, Coolidge put our country .
on pace of becoming the most powerful country in the world through business. Although .
he is blamed for the Great Depression, he changed the American outlook on economy .
forever.
Coolidge's political philosophy was something that he never changed all .
throughout his political career. "Many remarked that Coolidge was a clever and astute .
politician, but he was also a teacher of morals and ethics who believed in the innate .
goodness of mankind, which had been corrupted by government and other external .
forces. Part of that morality was a denial of materialism, a central component of .
Garman's philosophy to which Coolidge adhered for the rest of his life--- which might .
surprise those who consider him a philistine- (Sobel 120).
"Mr. Coolidge's genius for inactivity is developed to a very high point. It is far .
from being an indolent activity. It is a grim, determined, alert inactivity which keeps Mr. .
Coolidge occupied constantly. Nobody has ever worked harder at inactivity, with such .
force of character, with such unremitting attention to detail, with such conscientious .
devotion to the task. Inactivity is a political philosophy and a party program with Mr. .
Coolidge, and nobody should mistake his unflinching adherence to it for a soft and easy .
desire to let things slide. Mr. Coolidge's inactivity is not merely the absence of activity. .
It is, on the contrary, a steady application to the task of neutralizing and thwarting .
political activity wherever there are signs of life- (Lippmann 12-13).
