Month: August 2015

Coolidge in Samuel Walker’s “Presidents and Civil Liberties from Wilson to Obama”

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gouverneurmorris's avatarThe Importance of the Obvious

Presidents and Civil Liberties WalkerRacism in Nation_s Service YellinRepublican Party and Black America Sherman

While Mr. Walker delves into an area of study oft neglected these days, he, like Eric S. Yellin in his Racism in the Nation’s Service: Government Workers and the Color Line in Woodrow Wilson’s America, indulges in more than a fair share of unwarranted generalizations, especially when it comes to the Coolidge years.

Yellin acknowledges that Coolidge had a more “sympathetic” outlook for individual blacks than Wilson did, yet he assigns Cal into the realm of insufficient action on the race issue (p.185). For Yellin to conclude that Coolidge ultimately conceded to Wilson’s departmental segregation, he must avoid the removal of Colonel Sherrill over government property, for insisting on the old prejudicial policy, replacing him with Colonel Grant, who was known for fair and even-handed dealings on racial conflicts. The claim that the Coolidge administration targeted Perry Howard for his skin color rather than his repeated violations of ethics…

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The Harding-Coolidge Era: A Rare Example of Limited Government in Action

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Harding-and-Coolidge1

Ivan Eland over at the Independent Institute writes, “Harding—and his successor Calvin Coolidge, who largely continued Harding’s peaceful polices abroad and fiscal conservatism at home—presided over one of the few times, since its origin in the 1850s, that the Republican Party has actually given the American people small government (the others being the one-term of Rutherford B. Hayes and perhaps the one term of Chester Arthur, both in the late 1800s).”

On Action Over Dialogue

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Rendition from an old favorite John Wayne film. The movie that could have - or should have - been made for Cal. His focus on action instead of words is explained in #1 of my #101 Coolidge insights found in my book, "Keeping Cool on the Campaign Trail."

Rendition from an old favorite John Wayne film. The movie that could have – or should have – been made for Cal. His focus on action instead of words is explained in #1 of my #101 Coolidge insights found in my book, “Keeping Cool on the Campaign Trail.”

 

Then, of course, there is another already-classic rendition of our familiar hero. Coolidge got in, got out, did the job and accomplished the mission with unwavering courage and straightforward commitment to duty. The enigmatic air of mystery surrounding him, along with his impeccable sense of style, does make him the Bond of Presidents.

Then, of course, there is another already-classic rendition of our familiar hero. Coolidge got in, got out, did the job and accomplished the mission with unwavering courage and straightforward commitment to duty. The enigmatic air of mystery surrounding him, along with his impeccable sense of style, does make him the Bond of U. S. Presidents.