Editing Calvin Coolidge (section)

==Local political office (1898−1915)==

===City offices===
The [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] was dominant in New England at the time, and Coolidge followed the example of Hammond and Field by becoming active in local politics.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|pp=49–51}} In 1896, Coolidge campaigned for Republican presidential candidate [[William McKinley]], and was selected to be a member of the Republican City Committee the next year.{{sfn|White|1938|pp=51–53}} In 1898, he won election to the [[City Council]] of Northampton, placing second in a ward where the top three candidates were elected.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|pp=49–51}} The position offered no salary but provided Coolidge with valuable political experience.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|p=83}} 

In 1899, the city council made Coolidge city solicitor. He was elected to a one-year term in 1900 and reelected in 1901.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=84–85}} This position gave Coolidge more experience as a lawyer and paid a salary of $600 ({{Inflation|US|600|1901|fmt=eq}}).{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=84–85}} In 1902, the city council selected a Democrat for city solicitor, and Coolidge returned to private practice. Soon thereafter, the [[Court clerk|clerk of courts]] for the county died, and Coolidge was chosen to replace him. The position paid well, but it barred him from practicing law, so he remained at the job for only a year.{{sfn|McCoy|1967|p=29}} 

In 1904, Coolidge suffered his sole defeat at the ballot box, losing an election to the Northampton [[Board of Education|school board]]. When told that some of his neighbors voted against him because he had no children in the schools he would govern, the recently married Coolidge replied, "Might give me time!"{{sfn|McCoy|1967|p=29}}

===Massachusetts state legislator and mayor===
{{see also|134th Massachusetts General Court (1913)|135th Massachusetts General Court (1914)|136th Massachusetts General Court (1915)}}
[[File:1908 Calvin Coolidge Massachusetts House of Representatives.png|thumb|upright|Coolidge as a state representative, 1908]]

In 1906, the local Republican committee nominated Coolidge for election to the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]]. He won a close victory over the incumbent Democrat, and reported to [[Boston]] for the 1907 session of the [[Massachusetts General Court]].{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|p=61}} In his freshman term, Coolidge served on minor committees and, although he usually voted with the party, was known as a [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive Republican]], voting in favor of such measures as [[women's suffrage]] and the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|direct election of Senators]].{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1p=62|Fuess|1940|2p=99}} 

While in Boston, Coolidge became an ally, and then a liegeman, of then U.S. Senator [[Winthrop Murray Crane]], who controlled the Massachusetts Republican Party's western faction; Crane's party rival in eastern Massachusetts was U.S. Senator [[Henry Cabot Lodge]].{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|pp=63–66}} Coolidge forged another key strategic alliance with [[Guy Currier]], who had served in both state houses and had the social distinction, wealth, personal charm, and broad circle of friends Coolidge lacked, and which had a lasting impact on his political career.{{sfn|White|1938|pp=99–102}} In 1907, Coolidge was reelected. In the 1908 session he was more outspoken, though not in a leadership position.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|pp=68–69}}

Instead of vying for another term in the [[Massachusetts State House|State House]], Coolidge returned home to his growing family and ran for mayor of Northampton when the incumbent Democrat retired. He was well liked in the town, and defeated his challenger by a vote of 1,597 to 1,409.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|p=72}} During his first term from 1910 to 1911, he increased teachers' salaries and retired some of the city's debt while still managing to effect a slight tax decrease.{{sfnm|Fuess|1940|1pp=106–107|Sobel|1998a|2p=74}} In 1911, he was renominated and defeated the same opponent by a slightly larger margin.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|p=108}}

In 1911, the [[Massachusetts Senate|State Senator]] for the Hampshire County area retired and successfully encouraged Coolidge to run for his seat for the 1912 session. Coolidge defeated his Democratic opponent by a large margin.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|p=76}} At the start of that term, he became chairman of a committee to arbitrate the "[[Bread and Roses]]" strike by the workers of the [[American Woolen Company]] in [[Lawrence, Massachusetts]].{{efn|See also the main article, [[Lawrence textile strike]], for a full description.}} After two tense months, the company agreed to the workers' demands, in a settlement proposed by the committee.{{sfnm|Fuess|1940|1pp=110–111|McCoy|1967|2pp=45–46}} 

A major issue affecting Massachusetts Republicans in 1912 was [[1912 United States presidential election|the party split]] between the progressive wing, which favored [[Theodore Roosevelt]], and the conservative wing, which favored [[William Howard Taft]]. Although he favored some progressive measures, Coolidge refused to leave the Republican party.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1pp=79–80|Fuess|1940|2p=111}} When the new [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive Party]] declined to run a candidate in his state senate district, Coolidge won reelection against his Democratic opponent by an increased margin.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1pp=79–80|Fuess|1940|2p=111}}

{| 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;" |"Do the day's work. If it be to protect the rights of the weak, whoever objects, do it. If it be to help a powerful corporation better to serve the people, whatever the opposition, do that. Expect to be called a stand-patter, but don't be a stand-patter. Expect to be called a demagogue, but don't be a demagogue. Don't hesitate to be as revolutionary as science. Don't hesitate to be as reactionary as the multiplication table. Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong. Don't hurry to legislate. Give administration a chance to catch up with legislation."
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | "Have Faith in Massachusetts" as delivered by Calvin Coolidge to the Massachusetts State Senate, 1914{{sfn|Coolidge|1919|pp=2–9}}
|}

In the 1913 session, Coolidge enjoyed renowned success in arduously navigating to passage the Western Trolley Act, which connected Northampton with a dozen similar industrial communities in [[Western Massachusetts]].{{sfn|White|1938|p=105}} 

Coolidge intended to retire after his second term, as was customary, but when the [[President of the Massachusetts Senate|president of the state senate]], [[Levi H. Greenwood]], considered running for lieutenant governor, Coolidge decided to run for the Senate again in hopes of being elected its presiding officer.{{sfn|Fuess|1940|pp=114–115}} Greenwood later decided to run for reelection to the Senate, and was defeated primarily due to his opposition to women's suffrage.{{sfn|White|1938|p=111}} 

Coolidge was in favor of the women's vote, and was reelected. With Crane's help, Coolidge assumed the presidency of a closely divided Senate.{{sfn|White|1938|p=111}} After his election in January 1914, Coolidge delivered a published and frequently quoted speech, ''Have Faith in Massachusetts'', which summarized his philosophy of government.{{sfn|Coolidge|1919|pp=2–9}}

Coolidge's speech was well received, and he attracted some admirers on its account.{{sfn|Sobel|1998a|pp=90–92}} Towards the end of the term, many of them were proposing Coolidge's name for nomination to lieutenant governor. After winning reelection to the Senate by an increased margin in the 1914 elections, Coolidge was reelected unanimously to be President of the Senate.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1p=90|Fuess|1940|2p=124}} Coolidge's supporters, led by fellow Amherst alumnus [[Frank Stearns]], encouraged him again to run for lieutenant governor.{{sfnm|Sobel|1998a|1pp=92–98|Fuess|1940|2pp=133–136}} Stearns, an executive with the Boston department store R. H. Stearns, became another key ally, and began a publicity campaign on Coolidge's behalf before he announced his candidacy at the end of the 1915 legislative session.{{sfn|White|1938|p=117}}