Calvin Coolidge: A Conservative Reagan

Tivas Gupta
McPherson
APUSH D
May 22, 2017
Calvin Coolidge: A Conservative Reagan
Many well-renowned conservatives have held the highest honor of serving as the President of the United States. Among these, Ronald Reagan likely holds the distinction as the ideal standard for a conservative president. His supply-side economic policy, coupled with his aggressive foreign policy, left him a strong legacy that revived the right-wing movement and inspired many future leaders, including the current President of the USA, Donald Trump. Despite these accomplishments, however, Reagan also exploded the size of the federal government and contradicted many other basic conservative principles. If one analyzes the actual policies and vision for America Reagan

In light of his success, it is fair to ask: Why is Coolidge not heralded widely as a conservative hero? Because of his success with smaller government and free economy, it should be Coolidge, and not figures like Reagan, who represent the ideals of conservative leadership. Although Coolidge may not stand as a well-known president in today’s world, he enjoyed many political successes while in office. Coolidge started his major political career as the Governor of Massachusetts from 1919 to 1921. Here, he rose to national attention by calling upon the state guard to disperse a strike called by the policemen in Boston. He responded by firing all the policemen that had gone on strike. These actions reflected the anti-labor sentiments of the time and earned Coolidge a significant amount of national favorability. This rise to prominence earned Coolidge a spot as the vice president on the 1920 presidential ballot alongside Warren Harding. The pair dominated in the electoral college, destroying the Democratic ticket of James Cox and Franklin Roosevelt 404-127. Coolidge and Harding held very similar political ideologies,

These controversies cast illegitimacy over his entire presidency and damaged his legacy. Harding was killed by a heart attack in 1923, leaving Calvin Coolidge to assume the office of the president. Coolidge’s first actions as president were to restore integrity to the office undermined by corruption under Harding. His quiet demeanor, which earned him the moniker “Silent Cal”, was exactly what the nation needed to recover from the instability of the previous administration. Coolidge’s presidency was characterized with honesty, modesty, and integrity. Beyond his persona, Coolidge mainly focused his attention on the main interest of the nation at the time: the economy. When Coolidge first came into office with Harding in 1921, the United States was going through great economic struggles. According to the Heritage Foundation, “In 1921, the unemployment rate was 11.7 percent. The national debt had shot up from $1.5 billion in 1916 to $24 billion in 1919. Gross national product decreased from $91.5 billion in 1920 to $69.6 billion in 1921.” Coolidge decided to respond