Editing Calvin Coolidge (section)

==Presidency (1923–1929)==
{{Main|Presidency of Calvin Coolidge|First inauguration of Calvin Coolidge|Second inauguration of Calvin Coolidge}}
{{for timeline|Timeline of the Calvin Coolidge presidency}}

On August 2, 1923, President Harding died unexpectedly from a heart attack in San Francisco while on a speaking tour of the western United States. Vice President Coolidge was in Vermont visiting [[Coolidge Homestead|his family home]], which had neither electricity nor a telephone, when he received word by messenger of Harding's death.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=308–309}} Coolidge dressed, said a prayer, and came downstairs to greet the reporters who had assembled.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=308–309}} His father, a [[notary public]] and [[Justice of the peace#Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont|justice of the peace]], administered the [[Oath of office#United States|oath of office]] in the family's parlor by the light of a [[kerosene lamp]] at 2:47&nbsp;a.m. on August 3, 1923, whereupon the new President of the United States returned to bed.

Coolidge returned to Washington the next day, and was sworn in again by Justice [[Adolph A. Hoehling Jr.]] of the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia|Supreme Court of the District of Columbia]], to forestall any questions about the authority of a state official to administer a federal oath.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=310–315}} This second oath-taking remained a secret until it was revealed by [[Harry M. Daugherty]] in 1932, and confirmed by Hoehling.{{sfn|"Confirms Daugherty's Story of Coolidge's Second Oath"}} When Hoehling confirmed Daugherty's story, he indicated that Daugherty, then serving as [[United States Attorney General]], asked him to administer the oath without fanfare at the [[Willard InterContinental Washington|Willard Hotel]].{{sfn|"Confirms Daugherty's Story of Coolidge's Second Oath"}} According to Hoehling, he did not question Daugherty's reason for requesting a second oath-taking but assumed it was to resolve any doubt about whether the first swearing-in was valid.{{sfn|"Confirms Daugherty's Story of Coolidge's Second Oath"}}

[[File:CalvinCoolidgeimmigration3.jpg|thumb|President Coolidge signing appropriation bills for the Veterans Bureau, June 1924]]
{{conservatism US|politicians}}

The nation initially did not know what to make of Coolidge, who had maintained a low profile in the Harding administration. Many had even expected him to be replaced on the ballot in 1924.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1pp=226–228|Fuess|1940|2pp=303–205|Ferrell|1998|3pp=43–51}} Coolidge believed that those of Harding's men under suspicion were entitled to every presumption of innocence, taking a methodical approach to the scandals, principally the [[Teapot Dome scandal]], while others clamored for rapid punishment of those they presumed guilty.{{sfn|White|1938|p=265}} 

Coolidge thought the Senate investigations of the scandals would suffice. The resulting resignations of those involved affirmed this. He personally intervened in demanding the resignation of Attorney General [[Harry M. Daugherty]] after Daugherty refused to cooperate with the investigations. He then set about to confirm that no loose ends remained in the administration, arranging for a full briefing on the wrongdoing. [[Harry A. Slattery]] reviewed the facts with him, [[Harlan F. Stone]] analyzed the legal aspects for him, and Senator [[William E. Borah]] assessed and presented the political factors.{{sfn|White|1938|pp=272–277}}

On December 6, 1923, Coolidge addressed Congress when it reconvened, giving a speech that supported many of Harding's policies, including Harding's formal budgeting process, [[Immigration Act of 1924|the enforcement of immigration restrictions]], and the arbitration of coal strikes ongoing in [[Pennsylvania]].{{sfnm|Fuess|1940|1pp=328–329|Sobel|1998a|2pp=248–249}} 

The address to Congress was the first presidential speech to be broadcast over the radio.{{sfn|Shlaes|2013|p=271}} The [[Washington Naval Treaty]] was proclaimed one month into Coolidge's term, and was generally well received nationally.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=320–322}} In May 1924, Congress passed the World War I veterans' [[World War Adjusted Compensation Act]] ("Bonus Bill"), overriding Coolidge's veto.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|p=341}} Later that year, Coolidge signed the [[Immigration Act of 1924|Immigration Act]], which was aimed at restricting southern and eastern European immigration, but appended a [[signing statement]] expressing his unhappiness with the bill's specific exclusion of [[Japanese American|Japanese]] immigrants.{{sfnm|Fuess|1940|1p=342|Sobel|1998a|2p=269}} 

Just before the Republican Convention began, Coolidge signed into law the [[Revenue Act of 1924]], which reduced the top marginal tax rate from 58% to 46%, cut personal [[income tax]] rates across the board, increased the [[estate tax]], and bolstered it with a new [[gift tax]].{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|pp=278–279}}

On June 2, 1924, Coolidge signed the act granting citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States. By that time, two-thirds of them were already citizens, having gained it through marriage, military service (veterans of World War I were granted citizenship in 1919), or land allotments.{{sfnm|Madsen|2015|1p=168|Kappler|1929|Landry|2016}}

===1924 election===
{{Main|1924 United States presidential election}}
[[File:ElectoralCollege1924.svg|right|thumb|upright=1.25|1924 electoral vote results]]

The [[1924 Republican National Convention|Republican Convention]] was held from June 10 to 12, 1924, in Cleveland, Ohio. Coolidge was nominated on the first ballot.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=345–346}} The convention nominated [[Frank Orren Lowden|Frank Lowden]] of [[Illinois]] for vice president on the second ballot, but he declined. Former Brigadier General [[Charles G. Dawes]] was nominated on the third ballot and accepted.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=345–346}}

The Democrats [[1924 Democratic National Convention|held their convention]] the next month in New York City. The convention soon deadlocked, and after 103 ballots, the delegates agreed upon a compromise candidate, [[John W. Davis]], with [[Charles W. Bryan]] nominated for vice president. The Democrats' hopes were buoyed when [[Robert M. La Follette]], a Republican senator from [[Wisconsin]], split from the GOP to form a new [[Progressive Party (United States, 1924–1934)|Progressive Party]]. Many believed that the split in the Republican Party, like the one in 1912, would allow a Democrat to win the presidency.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|p=300}}

After the conventions and the death of his younger son Calvin, Coolidge became withdrawn. He later said that "when he [the son] died, the power and glory of the Presidency went with him."{{sfn|Coolidge|1929|p=190}} Even as he mourned, Coolidge ran his standard campaign, not mentioning his opponents by name or maligning them, and delivering speeches on his theory of government, including several that were broadcast over the radio.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|pp=300–301}} 

It was the most subdued campaign since [[1896 United States presidential election|1896]], partly because of Coolidge's grief, but also because of his naturally non-confrontational style.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|pp=302–303}} The other candidates campaigned in a more modern fashion, but despite the split in the Republican party, the results were similar to those of 1920. Coolidge won every state outside the South except Wisconsin, La Follette's home state. He won the election with 382 electoral votes and the popular vote by 2.5&nbsp;million votes.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|p=354}}

===Industry and trade===
{{See also|Lochner era}}
{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
| style="text-align: left;" |"[I]t is probable that a press which maintains an intimate touch with the business currents of the nation is likely to be more reliable than it would be if it were a stranger to these influences. After all, '''the chief business of the American people is business'''. They are profoundly concerned with buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world." 
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | "President Calvin Coolidge's address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors", Washington D.C., January 25, 1925{{sfn|Shlaes|2013|p=324}}
|}

During Coolidge's presidency, the United States experienced a period of rapid economic growth known as the "[[Roaring Twenties]]". He left the administration's industrial policy in the hands of his activist Secretary of Commerce, [[Herbert Hoover]], who energetically used government auspices to promote business efficiency and develop airlines and radio.{{sfn|Ferrell|1998|pp=64–65}} 

Coolidge disdained regulation and appointed men to the [[Federal Trade Commission]] and the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]], who did little to restrict the activities of businesses under their jurisdiction.{{sfnm|Ferrell|1998|1pp=66–72|Sobel|1998a|2p=318}} The regulatory state under Coolidge was, as one biographer called it, "thin to the point of invisibility".{{sfn|Ferrell|1998|p=72}}

Historian [[Robert Sobel]] offers some context for Coolidge's ''[[laissez-faire]]'' ideology, based on the prevailing understanding of [[federalism]] during his presidency: "As Governor of Massachusetts, Coolidge supported wages and hours legislation, opposed child labor, imposed economic controls during World War I, favored safety measures in factories, and even worker representation on corporate boards. Did he support these measures while president? No, because in the 1920s, such matters were considered the responsibilities of state and local governments."{{sfnm|Sobel|1998b}}{{sfnm|Greenberg|2006|1p=47|Ferrell|1998|2p=62}} 

Coolidge signed the [[Radio Act of 1927]], which established the [[Federal Radio Commission]] and the [[equal-time rule]] for [[Radio in the United States|radio broadcasters]] and restricted radio [[Broadcast license|broadcasting licenses]] to [[Radio broadcasting|stations]] that demonstrated they served "the public interest, convenience, or necessity".{{sfn|Greenberg|2006|pp=131–132}}<ref name="1927act">[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b45924&view=1up&seq=204 ''Radio Act of 1927''] (Public Law 69-632), February 23, 1927, pp. 186–200.</ref> 

===Taxation and government spending===
Coolidge adopted the taxation policies of his Secretary of the Treasury, [[Andrew Mellon]], who advocated "scientific taxation"—the notion that lowering taxes will increase, rather than decrease, government receipts.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1pp=310–311|Greenberg|2006|2pp=127–129}} Congress agreed, and tax rates were reduced in Coolidge's term.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1pp=310–311|Greenberg|2006|2pp=127–129}} 

In addition to federal tax cuts, Coolidge proposed reductions in federal expenditures and retiring the [[United States public debt|federal debt]].{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1pp=310–311|Fuess|1940|2pp=382–383}} His ideas were shared by the Republicans in Congress, and in 1924, Congress passed the [[Revenue Act of 1924]], which reduced income tax rates and eliminated all income taxation for two million people.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1pp=310–311|Fuess|1940|2pp=382–383}} It reduced taxes again by passing the Revenue Acts of [[Revenue Act of 1926|1926]] and [[Revenue Act of 1928|1928]], while keeping spending down to reduce the overall federal debt.{{sfn|Ferrell|1998|p=170}} By 1927, only the wealthiest 2% of taxpayers paid federal income tax.{{sfn|Ferrell|1998|p=170}} Federal spending remained flat during Coolidge's administration, allowing one-fourth of the federal debt to be retired. 

State and local governments saw considerable growth, surpassing the federal budget in 1927.{{sfn|Ferrell|1998|p=174}} In 1929, after Coolidge's series of tax rate reductions had cut the tax rate to 24% on those making over $100,000, the federal government collected more than $1 billion in income taxes, of which 65% was from those making over $100,000. In 1921, when the tax rate on those making over $100,000 a year was 73%, the federal government collected a little over $700 million in income taxes, of which 30% was from those making over $100,000.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Federal Taxation in the 1920s: A Re-examination|last=Rader|first=Benjamin|publisher=Historian|year=1971|pages=432–433}}</ref>

===Opposition to farm subsidies===
[[File:Coolidge-Dawes.jpg|thumb|upright|Coolidge with his vice president, [[Charles G. Dawes]]]]

Perhaps the most contentious issue of Coolidge's presidency was relief for farmers. Some in Congress proposed a bill designed to fight falling agricultural prices by allowing the federal government to purchase crops to sell abroad at lower prices.{{sfnm|Ferrell|1998|1p=84|McCoy|1967|2pp=234–235}} Agriculture Secretary [[Henry Cantwell Wallace|Henry C. Wallace]] and other administration officials favored the bill when it was introduced in 1924, but rising prices convinced many in Congress that the bill was unnecessary, and it was defeated just before the 1924 elections.{{sfn|McCoy|1967|p=235}} 

In 1926, with farm prices falling once more, Senator [[Charles L. McNary]] and Representative [[Gilbert N. Haugen]]—both Republicans—proposed the [[McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill]]. The bill proposed a federal farm board that would purchase surplus production in high-yield years, and hold it, when feasible, for later sale or sell it abroad.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=383–384}} 

Coolidge opposed McNary-Haugen, saying that agriculture must stand "on an independent business basis" and that "government control cannot be divorced from political control".{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=383–384}} Instead of manipulating prices, he favored [[Herbert Hoover]]'s proposal to increase profitability by modernizing agriculture. Secretary Mellon wrote a letter denouncing McNary-Haugen as unsound and likely to cause inflation, and it was defeated.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|p=327}}

After McNary-Haugen's defeat, Coolidge supported a less radical measure, the Curtis-Crisp Act, which would have created a federal board to lend money to farm cooperatives in times of surplus. The bill did not pass.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|p=327}} In February 1927, Congress took up McNary-Haugen again, this time narrowly passing it, and Coolidge vetoed it.{{sfnm|Fuess|1940|1p=388|Ferrell|1998|2p=93}} 

In his veto message, he expressed the belief that the bill would do nothing to help farmers, benefiting only exporters and expanding the federal bureaucracy.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|p=331}} Congress did not override the veto. In May 1928, Congress passed the bill again by an increased majority, and Coolidge vetoed it again.{{sfnm|Fuess|1940|1p=388|Ferrell|1998|2p=93}} "Farmers never have made much money" he said. "I do not believe we can do much about it."{{sfn|Ferrell|1998|p=86}}

===Flood control===
Coolidge has often been criticized for his actions during the [[Great Mississippi Flood of 1927]], the worst natural disaster to hit the Gulf Coast until [[Hurricane Katrina]] in 2005.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1p=315|Barry|1997|2pp=286–287|Greenberg|2006|3pp=132–135}} Although he eventually named Hoover to a commission in charge of flood relief, scholars argue that, overall, Coolidge showed lack of interest in federal flood control.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1p=315|Barry|1997|2pp=286–287|Greenberg|2006|3pp=132–135}} 

Coolidge believed that visiting the region after the floods would accomplish nothing and be seen as political grandstanding. He also did not want to incur the federal spending that flood control would require. He believed that property owners should bear much of the cost.{{sfn|McCoy|1967|pp=330–331}} Congress wanted a bill that would place the federal government completely in charge of flood mitigation.{{sfn|Barry|1997|pp=372–274}} When Congress passed a compromise measure in 1928, Coolidge declined to take credit for it and signed the bill in private on May 15.{{sfn|Greenberg|2006|p=135}}

===Civil rights===
[[File:1924 Indian Citizenship Act.jpg|thumb|[[Osage Nation|Osage]] men with Coolidge after he signed the bill granting Native Americans U.S. citizenship]]

According to one biographer, Coolidge was "devoid of racial prejudice", but he rarely took the lead on civil rights. Coolidge disliked the [[Ku Klux Klan]] and no Klansman is known to have received an appointment from him. In the 1924 presidential election, his opponents, Robert La Follette and John Davis, and his running mate, Charles Dawes, often attacked the Klan, but Coolidge avoided the subject.{{sfn|Roberts|2014|p=209}} 

Due to Coolidge's failure to condemn the Klan, some African-American leaders such as former assistant attorney general [[William Henry Lewis]] endorsed Davis.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://coolidgefoundation.org/blog/1924-election-conflicting-minority-endorsements/ | title=1924 Election Conflicting Minority Endorsements }}</ref> Davis got little of the black vote outside Indiana, where Klan control of the Indiana Republican Party caused many blacks to vote Democratic.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/10462/14636 | title=The Political Realignment of Black Voters in Indianapolis, 1924 | journal=Indiana Magazine of History | date=June 1983 | last=Giffin | first=William W. }}</ref> It is estimated that over 90% of non-Indiana blacks voted for Coolidge.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://coolidgefoundation.org/blog/1924-election-conflicting-minority-endorsements/ | title=1924 Election Conflicting Minority Endorsements }}</ref> 

Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover was accused of running forced labor camps for African Americans during the [[Great Mississippi Flood of 1927]], which led more African Americans to vote Democratic when Hoover was the Republican presidential nominee in 1928 and 1932.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/mississippi-river-great-flood-1927/ | title=The Mississippi River Great Flood of 1927 • | date=September 18, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.eurasiareview.com/28062023-us-forced-labor-camps-an-overlooked-chapter-in-american-history-oped/ | title=US Forced Labor Camps: An Overlooked Chapter in American History – OpEd | date=June 28, 2023 }}</ref> During Coolidge's administration, [[Lynching in the United States|lynchings of African-Americans]] decreased and millions of people left the Ku Klux Klan.{{sfn|Shlaes|2013|p=6}}

Coolidge spoke in favor of African Americans' civil rights, saying in his first [[State of the Union address]] that their rights were "just as sacred as those of any other citizen" under the U.S. Constitution and that it was a "public and a private duty to protect those rights".{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1p=250|McCoy|1967|2pp=328–329}}<ref name="1923SOTU">[[s:Calvin Coolidge's First State of the Union Address]]</ref> 

Coolidge repeatedly called for laws to make [[Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill|lynching a federal crime]]. It was already a state crime, though not always enforced. Congress refused to pass any such legislation. On June 2, 1924, Coolidge signed the [[Indian Citizenship Act]], which granted U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans living on reservations. Those off reservations had long been citizens.{{sfn|Deloria|1992|p=91}} 

On June 6, 1924, Coolidge delivered a commencement address at historically black, non-segregated [[Howard University]], in which he thanked and commended African Americans for their rapid advances in education and contributions to U.S. society over the years, as well as their eagerness to render their services as soldiers in the World War, all while faced with discrimination and prejudice at home.{{sfn|Coolidge|1926|pp=31–36}}

In an October 1924 speech, Coolidge stressed tolerance of differences as an American value and thanked immigrants for their contributions to U.S. society, saying that they had "contributed much to making our country what it is". He said that although the diversity of peoples was a source of conflict and tension in Europe, it was a peculiarly "harmonious" benefit for the U.S. Coolidge added that the U.S. should assist and help immigrants and urged immigrants to reject "race hatreds" and "prejudices".{{sfn|Coolidge|1926|pp=159–165}}

===Foreign policy===
[[File:Attendees at Conference on Future of Smithsonian Institution.jpg|thumb|At the [[Smithsonian Institution]], February 1927. Left to right: Secretary of the Treasury, [[Andrew Mellon]]; Secretary of State, [[Frank B. Kellogg]]; President Calvin Coolidge; former president and Chief Justice [[William Howard Taft]], Secretary of the Smithsonian, [[Charles D. Walcott]] among others.]]
Coolidge was neither well versed nor very interested in world affairs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://millercenter.org/president/coolidge/foreign-affairs|title=Calvin Coolidge: Foreign Affairs {{!}} Miller Center|date=October 4, 2016|work=Miller Center|access-date=October 28, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> His focus was mainly on U.S. business, especially pertaining to trade, and "Maintaining the Status Quo". Although not an isolationist, he was reluctant to enter into European involvements.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|p=342}} Coolidge believed strongly in a [[United States non-interventionism|non-interventionist]] foreign policy and supported [[American exceptionalism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1508&context=master201019|title=Coolidge against the world: Peace, prosperity, and foreign policy in the 1920s|work=James Madison University|author=Joel Webster|access-date=February 1, 2020}}</ref> He considered the 1920 Republican victory a rejection of the [[Wilsonian]] position that the U.S. should join the [[League of Nations]].{{sfn|McCoy|1967|pp=184–185}} 

Coolidge did not believe the League served U.S. interests.{{sfn|McCoy|1967|pp=184–185}} But he spoke in favor of joining the [[Permanent Court of International Justice]] (World Court), provided that the nation would not be bound by advisory decisions.{{sfn|McCoy|1967|p=360}} In 1926, the Senate approved joining the Court, with [[reservation (law)|reservations]].{{sfn|McCoy|1967|p=363}} The League of Nations accepted the reservations, but suggested some modifications of its own.{{sfn|Greenberg|2006|pp=114–116}} The Senate failed to act, and so the U.S. did not join the World Court.{{sfn|Greenberg|2006|pp=114–116}}

In 1924, the Coolidge administration nominated [[Charles Dawes]] to head the multinational committee that produced the [[Dawes Plan]]. It set fixed annual amounts for Germany's [[World War I reparations]] payments and authorized a large loan, mostly from U.S. banks, to help stabilize and stimulate the German economy.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Dawes-Plan|title=Dawes Plan {{!}} World War I reparations|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=October 28, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Coolidge attempted to pursue further curbs on naval strength after the successes of Harding's [[Washington Naval Conference]], by sponsoring the [[Geneva Naval Conference]] in 1927, which failed owing to a French and Italian boycott and the failure of Great Britain and the U.S. to agree on cruiser tonnages. As a result, the conference was a failure and Congress eventually authorized for increased American naval spending in 1928.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Treaty cruisers : the world's first international warship building competition|last=Marriott, Leo.|date=2005|publisher=Pen & Sword Maritime|isbn=1844151883|location=Barnsley|oclc=60668374| page = 12}}</ref> 

The [[Kellogg–Briand Pact]] of 1928, named for U.S. Secretary of State [[Frank B. Kellogg]] and French Foreign Minister [[Aristide Briand]], was a key peacekeeping initiative. Ratified in 1929, the treaty committed signatories—the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan—to "renounce war, as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another".{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=421–423}} The treaty did not achieve its intended result—to outlaw war—but it did provide the founding principle for international law after [[World War II]].{{sfnm|McCoy|1967|1pp=380–381|Greenberg|2006|2pp=123–124}} Coolidge continued the Harding administration's policy of withholding recognition of the [[Soviet Union]].{{sfn|McCoy|1967|p=181}}

Efforts were made to [[Mexico–United States relations|normalize ties]] with post-[[Mexican Revolution|Revolution]] Mexico. Coolidge recognized Mexico's new governments under [[Álvaro Obregón]] and [[Plutarco Elías Calles]], and continued U.S. support for the elected Mexican government against the [[National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty]] during the [[Cristero War]], lifting the arms embargo on Mexico. He appointed [[Dwight Morrow]] as [[United States Ambassador to Mexico|Ambassador to Mexico]] with the successful objective to avoid further conflict with Mexico.<ref name=":1"/>{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|p=349}}{{sfn|McCoy|1967|pp=178–179}} 

Coolidge's administration saw continuity in the [[United States occupation of Nicaragua|occupation of Nicaragua]] and [[United States occupation of Haiti|Haiti]]. In 1924, Coolidge ended the [[1916 United States occupation of the Dominican Republic|US occupation of the Dominican Republic]] as a result of withdrawal agreements finalized during Harding's administration.{{sfnm|Fuess|1940|1pp=414–417|Ferrell|1998|2pp=122–123}} In 1925, Coolidge ordered the withdrawal of [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]] stationed in Nicaragua following perceived stability after the [[Nicaraguan general election, 1924|1924 Nicaraguan general election]]. In January 1927, he redeployed them there, after failed attempts to peacefully resolve the rapid deterioration of political stability and avert the ensuing [[Nicaraguan civil war (1926–27)|Constitutionalist War]]. He later sent [[Henry L. Stimson]] to mediate [[Pact of Espino Negro|a peace deal]] that ended the civil war and extend U.S. military presence in Nicaragua beyond Coolidge's presidency.<ref name=":1"/>

In January 1928, to extend an [[olive branch]] to Latin American leaders embittered over U.S. [[Banana Wars|interventionist policies]] in Central America and the [[Caribbean]],{{sfn|Miller Center|2016}} Coolidge led the U.S. delegation to the [[Pan-American Conference|Sixth International Conference of American States]] in [[Havana]], Cuba, the only international trip Coolidge made during his presidency.{{sfn|Historian|2018}} He was the last sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba until [[Barack Obama]] in 2016.{{sfn|Kim|2014}} For Canada, Coolidge authorized the [[St. Lawrence Seaway]], a system of locks and canals that provided large vessels passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the [[Great Lakes]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.seaway.dot.gov/about/great-lakes-st-lawrence-seaway-system|title=The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway System|date=March 20, 2014|work=Saint Lawrence Seaway|access-date=October 28, 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://coolidgefoundation.org/presidency/foreign-policy/|title=Foreign Policy|website=coolidgefoundation.org|language=en-US|access-date=October 28, 2018}}</ref>

===Cabinet===
[[File:Coolidge Cabinet.jpg|thumb|Coolidge's cabinet in 1924, outside the [[White House]].<br/>Front row, left to right: [[Harry Stewart New]], [[John W. Weeks]], [[Charles Evans Hughes]], Coolidge, [[Andrew Mellon]], [[Harlan F. Stone]], [[Curtis D. Wilbur]].<br/>Back row, left to right: [[James J. Davis]], [[Henry Cantwell Wallace|Henry C. Wallace]], [[Herbert Hoover]], [[Hubert Work]].|271x271px]]

Although some of Harding's cabinet appointees were scandal-tarred, Coolidge initially retained all of them out of conviction that as successor to a deceased elected president, he was obligated to retain Harding's counselors and policies until the next election. He kept Harding's speechwriter [[Judson T. Welliver]]. Stuart Crawford replaced Welliver in November 1925.{{sfn|Greenberg|2006|pp=48–49}} Coolidge appointed [[C. Bascom Slemp]], a Virginia Congressman and experienced federal politician, to work jointly with Edward T. Clark, a Massachusetts Republican organizer whom he retained from his vice-presidential staff, as [[Secretary to the President (United States)|Secretaries to the President]], a position equivalent to the modern [[White House Chief of Staff]].{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=320–322}}

Perhaps the most powerful person in Coolidge's cabinet was Secretary of the Treasury [[Andrew Mellon]], who controlled the administration's financial policies and was regarded by many, including House Minority Leader [[John Nance Garner]], as more powerful than Coolidge himself.{{sfn|Rusnak|1983|pp=270–271}} Commerce Secretary [[Herbert Hoover]] also held a prominent place in the cabinet, in part because Coolidge found value in Hoover's ability to win positive publicity with his pro-business proposals.{{sfn|Polsky|Tkacheva|2002|pp=224–227}} 

Secretary of State [[Charles Evans Hughes]] directed Coolidge's foreign policy until he resigned in 1925 following Coolidge's reelection. He was replaced by [[Frank B. Kellogg]], who had previously served as a senator and ambassador to Great Britain. Coolidge made two other appointments after his reelection: [[William M. Jardine]] as Secretary of Agriculture and [[John G. Sargent]] as Attorney General.{{sfn|Greenberg|2006|pp=111–112}} Coolidge had no vice president during his first term. [[Charles Dawes]] became vice president during Coolidge's second term, and Dawes and Coolidge clashed over farm policy and other issues.{{sfn|Senate Historian|2014}}

{| class="toccolours" align="left"
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|align="center"|'''OFFICE'''||align="left"|'''NAME'''||align="left"|'''TERM'''
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
| align="center" |[[President of the United States|President]]||align="left" |'''Calvin Coolidge'''||align="left"|1923–1929
|-
| align="center" |[[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]||align="left"|''None''||align="left"|1923–1925
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Charles G. Dawes]]'''||align="left"|1925–1929
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
| align="center" |[[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]]||align="left"|'''[[Charles Evans Hughes]]'''||align="left"|1923–1925
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Frank B. Kellogg]]'''||align="left"|1925–1929
|-
| align="center" |[[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]]||align="left"|'''[[Andrew Mellon]]'''||align="left"|1923–1929
|-
| align="center" |[[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]]||align="left"|'''[[John W. Weeks]]'''||align="left"|1923–1925
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Dwight F. Davis]]'''||align="left"|1925–1929
|-
| align="center" |[[Attorney General of the United States|Attorney General]]||align="left"|'''[[Harry M. Daugherty]]'''||align="left"|1923–1924
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Harlan F. Stone]]'''||align="left"|1924–1925
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[John G. Sargent]]'''||align="left"|1925–1929
|-
| align="center" |[[Postmaster General of the United States|Postmaster General]]||align="left"|'''[[Harry S. New]]'''||align="left"|1923–1929
|-
| align="center" |[[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]]||align="left"|'''[[Edwin C. Denby]]'''||align="left"|1923–1924
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Curtis D. Wilbur]]'''||align="left"|1924–1929
|-
| align="center" |[[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]]||align="left"|'''[[Hubert Work]]'''||align="left"|1923–1928
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Roy O. West]]'''||align="left"|1928–1929
|-
| align="center" |[[United States Secretary of Agriculture|Secretary of Agriculture]]||align="left"|'''[[Henry Cantwell Wallace|Henry C. Wallace]]'''||align="left"|1923–1924
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[Howard M. Gore]]'''||align="left"|1924–1925
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[William M. Jardine]]'''||align="left"|1925–1929
|-
| align="center" |[[United States Secretary of Commerce|Secretary of Commerce]]||align="left"|'''[[Herbert Hoover]]'''||align="left"|1923–1928
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|'''[[William F. Whiting]]'''||align="left"|1928–1929
|-
| align="center" |[[United States Secretary of Labor|Secretary of Labor]]||align="left"|'''[[James J. Davis]]'''||align="left"|1923–1929
|}
{{clear}}

===Judicial appointments===
{{Main|List of federal judges appointed by Calvin Coolidge}}
{{see also|Harlan F. Stone Supreme Court nomination}}
[[File:Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone photograph circa 1927-1932.jpg|thumb|upright|Coolidge appointed [[Harlan F. Stone]] first as attorney general and then as a Supreme Court justice.]]

In 1925, Coolidge appointed one justice to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], [[Harlan F. Stone]]. Stone was Coolidge's fellow Amherst alumnus, a Wall Street lawyer and conservative Republican. In 1924, Stone was serving as the dean of [[Columbia Law School]] when Coolidge appointed him to be attorney general to restore the reputation tarnished by Harding's attorney general, [[Harry M. Daugherty]].{{sfn|Fuess|1940|p=364}} 

It does not appear that Coolidge considered appointing anyone other than Stone, although Stone urged him to appoint [[Benjamin N. Cardozo]].{{sfn| Handler |1995|pp=113–122}} Stone proved to be a firm believer in [[judicial restraint]] and was regarded as one of the court's [[The Three Musketeers (Supreme Court)|three liberal justices]] who often voted to uphold New Deal legislation.{{sfn|Galston|loc=''passim''}} President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] later appointed Stone chief justice.

Coolidge nominated 17 judges to the [[United States Courts of Appeals]] and 61 to the [[United States district courts]]. He appointed judges to various specialty courts, including [[Genevieve R. Cline]], who became the first woman named to the federal judiciary when Coolidge placed her on the [[United States Customs Court]] in 1928.{{sfn|Freeman|2002|p=216}} Coolidge signed the [[Judiciary Act of 1925]] into law, allowing the Supreme Court more discretion over its workload.

===1928 election===
{{Main|1928 United States presidential election}}
In the summer of 1927, Coolidge vacationed in the [[Black Hills]] of [[South Dakota]]. While on vacation, he issued a terse statement that he would not seek a second full term as president: "[[I do not choose to run]] for President in 1928."{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|p=370}} After allowing the reporters to take that in, Coolidge elaborated. "If I take another term, I will be in the White House till 1933&nbsp;… Ten years in Washington is longer than any other man has had it—too long!"{{sfn|White|1938|p=361}} 

In his memoirs, Coolidge explained his decision not to run: "The Presidential office takes a heavy toll of those who occupy it and those who are dear to them. While we should not refuse to spend and be spent in the service of our country, it is hazardous to attempt what we feel is beyond our strength to accomplish."{{sfn|Coolidge|1929|p=239}} 

After leaving office, he and Grace returned to Northampton, where he wrote his memoirs. The Republicans retained the White House in 1928 when [[Herbert Hoover]] was elected in a landslide. Coolidge was reluctant to endorse Hoover. On one occasion he remarked, "for six years that man has given me unsolicited advice—all of it bad."{{sfn|Ferrell|1998|p=195}} But Coolidge had no desire to split the party by publicly opposing Hoover's nomination.{{sfn|Clemens|Daggett|1945|p={{page needed|date=June 2023}}}}