Description
The book "The Presidency of Calvin Coolidge" by Robert Ferrell is a detailed account of the 30th President of the United States. Coolidge, who was known for his reserved personality, became president unexpectedly after the death of Warren G. Harding. The author draws on recently opened papers to provide a more personal perspective on Coolidge's presidency. He portrays Coolidge as a hard-working and politically savvy individual who was committed to small government and laissez-faire economics. The book also discusses Coolidge's handling of various crises, including the Teapot Dome scandal and foreign policy issues. Despite his successes, Coolidge is criticized for not warning against the dangers of overspeculation in the economy. Overall, the book offers a thorough and engaging analysis of Coolidge's domestic and foreign policies, shedding light on a president who is often overlooked in history.
Perhaps no American president has seemed less suited to his office or his times than Calvin Coolidge. The taciturn New Englander became a vice presidential candidate by chance, then with the death of Warren G. Harding was thrust into the White House to preside dourly over the Roaring Twenties. Robert Ferrell, one of America's most distinguished historians, offers the first book-length account of the Coolidge presidency in thirty years, drawing on the recently opened papers of White House physician Joel T. Boone to provide a more personal appraisal of the thirtieth president than has previously been possible. Ferrell shows Coolidge to have been a hard-working, sensitive individual who was a canny politician and an astute judge of people. He reveals how after being dubbed the "odd little man from Vermont" by the press, Coolidge cultivated that image in order to win the 1924 election. Ferrell's analysis of the Coolidge years shows how the president represented the essence of 1920s Republicanism. A believer in laissez-faire economics and the separation of powers, he was committed to small government, and he and his predecessors reduced the national debt by a third. More a manager than a leader, he coped successfully with the Teapot Dome scandal and crises in Mexico, Nicaragua, and China, but ignored an overheating economy. Ferrell makes a persuasive case for not blaming Coolidge for the failures of his party's foreign policy; he does maintain that the president should have warned Wall Street about the dangers of overspeculating but lacked sufficient knowledge of economics to do so. Drawing on the most recent literature on the Coolidge era, Ferrell has constructed a meticulous and highly readable account of the president's domestic and foreign policy. His book illuminates this pre-Depression administration for historians and reveals to general readers a president who was stern in temperament and dedicated to public service. This book is part of the
American Presidency Series.
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