“The season approaches when, in accordance with a long established and respected custom, a day is set apart to give thanks to Almighty God for the manifold blessings which His gracious and benevolent providence has bestowed upon us as a nation and as individuals.

“We have been brought with safety and honor through another year, and, through the generosity of nature, He has blessed us with resources whose potentiality in wealth is almost incalculable; we are at peace at home and abroad; the public health is good; we have been undisturbed by pestilences or great catastrophes; our harvests and our industries have been rich in productivity; our commerce spreads over the whole world, and Labor has been well rewarded for its remunerative service.

“As we have grown and prospered in material things, so also should we progress in moral and spiritual things. We are a God-fearing people who should set ourselves against evil and strive for righteousness in living, and observing the Golden Rule we should from our abundance help and serve those less fortunately placed. We should bow in gratitude to God for His many favors.

“Now, therefore, I, Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States do hereby set apart Thursday, the twenty-sixth day of November next as a day of general thanksgiving and prayer, and I recommend that on that day the people shall cease from their daily work, and in their homes or in their accustomed places of worship, devoutly give thanks to the Almighty for the many and great blessings they have received, and to seek His guidance that they may deserve a continuance of His favor.

“In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

“Done at the City of Washington this 26th day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and fiftieth.”

By the President:

      Frank B. Kellogg, Secretary of State

Horace Green’s fast-paced and even incisive perspective on Mr. Coolidge has a welcome review over at The Best Presidential Biographies. Though, as our friend notes, the book was written early in the Coolidge administration, before it had been properly tested, Green’s take lacks neither the incoherence nor the datedness that sometimes accompanies old biographies. It lacks none of the clarity or snap of any good writer’s work. It is unfortunate that the book is so difficult to find because it deserves a far better place in public consciousness not only as an honorable part of understanding Coolidge but also as good reading. It is unfortunate that Mr. Green never went back and expanded on this work after the completion of the Coolidge Era. Check out our friend’s review here.

As the White House Historical Association features the Coolidges this year, they recall for us the day great stage and silent film actress, Billie Burke, came to visit President and Mrs. Coolidge at the White House. Here she is, pausing for a picture on the White House grounds. Having seen her wonderful performance the previous night at the National Theatre in Noel Coward’s comedic play, “The Marquise” (based in eighteenth century France) she arrived to thank them for being there and to wish them well. A Washington D. C. native, she was keenly aware of both worlds, political and cultural. She is, of course, best known for her role twelve years later as “Glinda the Good Witch” in The Wizard of Oz. This small occasion encourages us to widen our gaze and understand how with the Coolidges there is more than initially meets the eye.