Now that the last hot dog has been eaten and the fireworks have faded from the sky it is interesting to reflect on the significance of July 4th in American history. Certainly the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which anniversary we just celebrated, it the most important event to take place on that date. History buffs also marvel that the author of that work, Thomas Jefferson, and his friend and political rival, John Adams, both died on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after the signing.
For Vermonters, July 4th holds additional significance as the birth date of one of only two U.S. Presidents born in the state, Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge, who was born in Plymouth Notch in 1872, served as our thirtieth president from 1923 until 1929. Nicknamed “Silent Cal,” he has never been a favorite of modern historians, who seem to prefer more activist presidents. Nonetheless, he is quickly becoming popular among those who understand the roles large, powerful government and unwise economic policy play in restricting liberty.
Coolidge brought the traditional Vermont values of independence, hard work and self-reliance to Washington, as well as an appreciation for the broader American context in which those characteristics were nurtured. He demonstrated this when he said “To live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was ever accorded to the human race.”
In his autobiography Coolidge wrote of the Constitution “The more I study it, the more I have come to admire it, realizing that no other document devised by the hand of man every brought so much progress and happiness to humanity. The good it has wrought can never be measured.” Coolidge recognized that to preserve these principles careful and thoughtful governance was essential. While he was mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts, he advised his father John, who was about to become a Vermont state senator, to avoid over-legislating.
“It is more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones . . . See that the bills you recommend from your committee are worded so that they will do just what they intend and not a great deal more than is undesirable. Most bills can’t stand that test.”
Coolidge demonstrated a keen understanding of the connection between prosperity and liberty. He said “Ultimately property rights and personal rights are the same thing.” He cautioned against the politics of envy in his presidential inaugural address when he said. “The wise and correct course to follow in taxation and in all other economic legislation is not to destroy those who have already secured success, but to create conditions under which everyone will have a better chance to be successful.”
In that same speech he recognized government’s obligation to fiscal responsibility.
“I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people. The men and women of this country who toil are the ones who bear the cost of government. Every dollar that we carelessly waste means that their life will be so much more meager. Every dollar that we prudently save means their life will be so much more the abundant. Economy is idealism in its most practical form.”
Coolidge rejected the Progressive philosophy of materialism which dominated early 20th century American politics. In a speech occasioned by the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence he said, “The things of the spirit come first. Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren scepter in our grasp.”
In that same speech he celebrated the American ideals of equality, liberty, popular sovereignty, and the rights of man, and pronounced them a product of spiritual and religious conviction. He exhorted the American people to remember and hold tightly to their nation’s philosophical roots. “Governments do not make ideals,” Coolidge said, “but ideals make governments.”
Finally, Coolidge demonstrated a firm understanding of that most sacred of all relationships when he said, “Any man who does not like dogs and [does not] want them about does not deserve to be in the White House.”
Definitely a president of uncommon wisdom.
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