More SILENT:
The "silent" nickname is a little bit of a misnomer. Yes, President Coolidge had an uncanny ability to use silence to his advantage when having a conversation. He certainly believed listening to be an underused virtue by most. Most of all, he simply had no patience for words without real meaning. Casual conversation was more often than not only going to elicit a one word answer at best, if not a grunt or emotionless stare.
If it was a topic of substance, President Coolidge could be quite quotable. I have been also posting on Gab the Calvin Coolidge quite of the day. There is enough material to go years. He was not a loner either. In fact, he enjoyed being around people. He was just comfortable simply listening or even with complete silence.
It would surprise most who have accepted the Silent Cal mythology that President Coolidge delivered more speeches than any of the 29 preceding presidents. At the same time, he is the last president to have written all of his own speeches. As president he eclipsed other presidents by holding 520 press conferences. That amounts to 8 per month! Most ironically, the collection of "Silent" Cal's press conference transcripts is titled, "The Talkative President".
Since Coolidge was known to be witty and possess a dry sense of humor, in many ways he perpetuated the Silent Cal reputation often with comments about his reluctance or distaste for talking. The reality is he spoke eloquently and intelligently on matters of importance.
"My fellow countrymen have put me in situations where I have found I could not refrain from speaking."
Massachusetts Police Labor Strike:
The most important moment of Calvin Coolidge's political career prior to becoming president occurred in 1919. Had this event not taken place, it is highly unlikely Calvin Coolidge would have ever become president. He certainly was not on the national radar at this time.
Coolidge had been elected governor of Massachusetts the prior year and already had a reputation as a no nonsense man. 1919 was the year of the strike across the country as labor unions began to grow in strength and boldness. The Boston police had been threatening to strike, though the police commissioner assured Coolidge it would blow over. It did not.
When the majority of officers did not show up from work, the strike was on. And chaos ensued. Looting, vandalism, and rioting broke out in Boston as the police union expected. In a way, they wanted this. Their gamble was that the public pressure due to the lawlessness would force Governor Coolidge to negotiate with the police union. Nationally famous labor leader, Samuel Gompers, anticipated a message from the governor quickly. He got it.
Coolidge called in the state militia and National Guard to restore order. He was then advised the safest course politically would be to go to the bargaining table, win the negotiations as order had been restored, then rehire the officers. The governor made his decision in a way that showed the brevity for which he would become famous. Not one to waste words, Coolidge sent the following message to the labor leader:
"There is no right to strike against the public safety by anyone, anywhere, anytime."
And he fired the striking officers. All of them. There would be no negotiations. The governor began the process of hiring a new, non-union police force. The crisis was over, for everyone other than the now unemployed former police officers. It would be nearly 40 years before the Boston police dared to unionize again.
Calvin Coolidge was now a national figure, and a hero to many. The Republican party sure took notice, and amazingly he was on the presidential ticket the following year with soon to be President Warren Harding. A year and a half later he would be President Coolidge.
The "silent" nickname is a little bit of a misnomer. Yes, President Coolidge had an uncanny ability to use silence to his advantage when having a conversation. He certainly believed listening to be an underused virtue by most. Most of all, he simply had no patience for words without real meaning. Casual conversation was more often than not only going to elicit a one word answer at best, if not a grunt or emotionless stare.
If it was a topic of substance, President Coolidge could be quite quotable. I have been also posting on Gab the Calvin Coolidge quite of the day. There is enough material to go years. He was not a loner either. In fact, he enjoyed being around people. He was just comfortable simply listening or even with complete silence.
It would surprise most who have accepted the Silent Cal mythology that President Coolidge delivered more speeches than any of the 29 preceding presidents. At the same time, he is the last president to have written all of his own speeches. As president he eclipsed other presidents by holding 520 press conferences. That amounts to 8 per month! Most ironically, the collection of "Silent" Cal's press conference transcripts is titled, "The Talkative President".
Since Coolidge was known to be witty and possess a dry sense of humor, in many ways he perpetuated the Silent Cal reputation often with comments about his reluctance or distaste for talking. The reality is he spoke eloquently and intelligently on matters of importance.
"My fellow countrymen have put me in situations where I have found I could not refrain from speaking."
Massachusetts Police Labor Strike:
The most important moment of Calvin Coolidge's political career prior to becoming president occurred in 1919. Had this event not taken place, it is highly unlikely Calvin Coolidge would have ever become president. He certainly was not on the national radar at this time.
Coolidge had been elected governor of Massachusetts the prior year and already had a reputation as a no nonsense man. 1919 was the year of the strike across the country as labor unions began to grow in strength and boldness. The Boston police had been threatening to strike, though the police commissioner assured Coolidge it would blow over. It did not.
When the majority of officers did not show up from work, the strike was on. And chaos ensued. Looting, vandalism, and rioting broke out in Boston as the police union expected. In a way, they wanted this. Their gamble was that the public pressure due to the lawlessness would force Governor Coolidge to negotiate with the police union. Nationally famous labor leader, Samuel Gompers, anticipated a message from the governor quickly. He got it.
Coolidge called in the state militia and National Guard to restore order. He was then advised the safest course politically would be to go to the bargaining table, win the negotiations as order had been restored, then rehire the officers. The governor made his decision in a way that showed the brevity for which he would become famous. Not one to waste words, Coolidge sent the following message to the labor leader:
"There is no right to strike against the public safety by anyone, anywhere, anytime."
And he fired the striking officers. All of them. There would be no negotiations. The governor began the process of hiring a new, non-union police force. The crisis was over, for everyone other than the now unemployed former police officers. It would be nearly 40 years before the Boston police dared to unionize again.
Calvin Coolidge was now a national figure, and a hero to many. The Republican party sure took notice, and amazingly he was on the presidential ticket the following year with soon to be President Warren Harding. A year and a half later he would be President Coolidge.
