CALVIN COOLIDGE

All Coolidge had to do in 1924 was to keep his mean trap shut, to be elected. All Harding had to do in 1920 was repeat “Avoid foreign entanglements.” All Hoover had to do in 1928 was to endorse Coolidge. All Roosevelt had to do in 1932 was to point to Hoover.

The investigation has shown, let us hope, privilege at its worst. The trail is one of dishonesty, greed, violation of law, secrecy, concealment, evasion, falsehood, and cunning. It is a trail of betrayals by trusted and presumably honorable men--betrayals of a government, of certain business interests and the people who trusted and honored them; it is a trail showing a flagrant degree of the exercise of political power and influence, and the power and influence of great wealth upon individuals and political parties; it is the trail of despoilers and schemers, far more dangerous to the well-being of our Nation and our democracy than all those who have been deported

As between Mr. Davis [the Democratic nominee] and President Coolidge, it is hard to discern much difference. Essentially the Democratic and Republican nominees for the presidency stand for the same thing.

[Referring to Calvin Coolidge:] He's the greatest man who ever came out of Plymouth, Vermont.

[Calvin Coolidge] ... is at bottom simply a cheap and trashy fellow, deficient in sense and almost devoid of any notion of honor—in brief, a dreadful little cad.

Democracy is that system of government under which the people, having 35,717,342 native-born whites to choose from, including thousands who are handsome and many who are wise, pick out a Coolidge to be head of the State.

Here, indeed, was his one really notable talent. He slept more than any other President, whether by day or by night ... Nero fiddled, but Coolidge only snored ... He had no ideas, and he was not a nuisance.

Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but [Calvin] Coolidge only snores.

Andrew Mellon [Treasury Secretary and multi-millionaire] is today the real President of the United States. Calvin Coolidge is merely the man who occupies the White House.

In our talk a few days ago, you indicated that my candidacy for Congress on the Republican ticket would depend on my compliance with certain minimum requirements. Desirable and comfortable as a party nomination may be, I cannot sacrifice principle for the sake of party nomination or anything else. During my time in the House I ... voted according to my best judgement, and in a manner which I believed represented the wishes of the people of my district. The platform of the Republican party ... makes no appeal to the hope of the people whom I represent.

Mr. [Calvin] 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.

Can the public business be thus transacted and in secret?

Three Presidents served under Andrew Mellon in his 12 years in office.

Calvin Coolidge inaugurated the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in 1923. The reasons for it were completely secular. The Electric Companies wanted to encourage electric lights on Christmas trees. So did the insurance companies since so many fires occurred as a result of lighted candles [on trees].

He [Calvin Coolidge] looks as though he's been weaned on a pickle.

How did they know?.

The idea that an overweening federal government is a threat to both freedom and equality (not to mention prosperity) goes back to Jefferson, James Madison, Patrick Henry and some other fairly respectable personages. You can disagree with them, or with Coolidge or Reagan or Friedrich Hayek or Milton Friedman or George Will, but to dismiss them as nothing more than mouthpieces of the wealthy and big business is to indulge in [a] sort of anti-intellectualism…

The chief business of the American people is business.

Nothing in this 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.

America must be kept American

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.

If I had permitted my failures, or what seemed to me at the time a lack of success, to discourage me I cannot see any way in which I would ever have made progress.

Instead of a government of law we have a government of lawlessness. Against the continuation of such a condition I enter my solemn protest.

Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.

We have never practiced the policy of competitive armaments.

There have been great men with little of what we call education. There have been many small men with a great deal of learning. There has never been a great people who did not possess great learning.