Coolidge ranks up there with some of the better presidents of our country. Under him and his conservative policies, taxes were lowered, unemployment was lowered, and America went through one of the most prosperous times. You know why? Because he lowered taxes. He understood what the American people wanted. And the most craziest thing is that I am a distant cousin of him!
I think Coolidge is one of the rare presidents that the more you learn about them, the more you like them. I'm doing a project right now where I'm reading a bio on every president. I've found out some things that I don't like about some of my favorites. But I had no opinion about Cal one way or the other. Now he's one of my favorites. I thank everyone who's contributed to the Coolidge revival of recent years! What an amazing man.
Calvin Coolidge was a chilled straightforward man. He was often quiet at dinner parties and someone asked him why he went to them anyways. Coolidge said: "Got to eat somewhere". What a badass prez. that is the same reason i go to parties where people get pissed drunk and high lol.
"Such a sum is difficult to comprehend." Pah, I'd love to think that was the amount. Cal would drop dead of a heart attack if he saw the National Debt.
Omega Actual The Alleged "National Debt' is a 33 degree freemason Cult Club Propaganda BullShit Hoax Story. Countries are Corporations open for Big Business and Profit..
I wish you were here now President Coolidge! You were one of the very best Presidents we have ever had! We miss you! Thank you for helping us economically during the "Roaring 20's". R.I.P.
What prosperity? Over half of Americans lived below the poverty line, farmers were bankrupt, wall street was doomed to collapse unless it was regulated, and too many things were bought on credit. The system was rotting from within well before it collapsed under Hoover.
he made the 20s the best, most economically fair and prosperous for all americans of any decade in us history-cut taxes, eliminated unemployment, increased revenue,reduced size and cost of fed govt, kept the peace, promoted equal rights for minorities, reversed the segregation of the wilson admin, -a truly great man
The prosperity was a lie. The farmers went bankrupt under him and he did nothing to help them, even vetoing farm aid laws. Most Americans, although employed, had low paying jobs and had to buy their shiny new things on credit. By the end of his second term, only Wall Street was keeping the economy prosperous.
Chase Tyler the farmers went bankrupt because of famines, lack of workers due to industry, and lack of demand; not from federal policy. The president isn't God. Also, the federal government didn't have the right to redistribute wealth back then (some would argue they still don't but do it anyway). Calvin came from a family of farmers. He understood their plight. He just refused to give up his principles for them. And the wages thing is a lie. The average American's purchasing power grew the fastest in the history of the United States under Coolidge.
+Negrolas So he'd rather follow "his principles" than help the Americans he's supposed to represent? And let's not forget his racism when he didn't lend any support to black families who lost their homes from the Mississippi River floods, while white families received plenty of support. And there's the whole deal with supporting extreme deregulation and laissez faire economics that led to the Great Depression.
Captain Sum Ting Wong no, he'd rather follow the law. The constitution and the founding fathers never gave such rights to the federal government. And there's a reason for it. Committing wrongs to benefit people short term is very short sighted, immature, and leads to disaster. Coolidge was one of the few presidents to bring our actual debt down. Now, due to the federal government "helping", we're at 19 trillion dollars in debt.
Captain Sum Ting Wong >Calvin was racist thanks for proving just how little you know about him. Calvin singlehandedly dethroned the kkk in the federal government. All mistreatment towards blacks was due to other, local governments. Blame the southern democrats for that, not Coolidge.
"On August 11, 1924, Theodore W. Case, using the Phonofilm sound-on-film process he developed for Lee DeForest, filmed Coolidge on the White House lawn, making Coolidge the first president to appear in a sound film. The title of the DeForest film was President Coolidge, Taken on the White House Grounds"
@@rayryngaert3769 The federal reserve is what caused the great depression, Coolidge did absolutely nothing to cause the great depression. Hoover also shares a lot of the fault in the great depression due to his disastrous economic interventions. FDR, of course, continued Hoover's economic intervention, and, by that time, other nations with more laissez-faire approaches had already recovered. Hoover turned a 700 million surplus left by Coolidge (which was amazing compared to the actual budget utilized at the time) into a 2 billion deficit, sparked a trade war, and interfered in the economy much more than the presidents before him. FDR, who would later go on to emulate Hoover, accused Hoover of wanting to nationalize all of the industries during his election just to give you an idea of how much of a statist hoover was.
I don't know if I would call Coolidge the "greatest" President. Unlike Reagan, Lincoln, FDR, Washington or Jefferson, he didn't have any great occasions to rise to. Yet if I were a President, I would think that he would be the one I'd most want to emulate. Coolidge's administration was marked by economic growth, low taxes, balanced budgets, restrained spending, peace and the most underrated virtue of any government, stability. I also give him credit for quietly cleaning up the Teapot Dome scandal and holding those responsible to account. About the only thing I'd really fault him on was his belief in protectionist trade policy. I guess I can also relate to Coolidge in that he was quite the introvert and generally disliked the pomp and circumstances of Washington parties. He preferred to spend his time pooling over budgets rather than rubbing elbows with political bosses.
Reagan won the cold war and was limited by a Democratic House. You can only cut government if Congress will play along. I blame the Civil War on the actions of traitorous Democrats, not Lincoln. FDR's New Deal was a disaster and I would blame the recession of 37 in part on the New Deal but we DID win WWII. True, Wilkie might've been able to get us through that had he been in charge but who knows. Of course the taxes were higher. American taxes were very low under British imperial rule. The point wasn't no taxes, it was no taxes without representation. The rebels were represented, they were ultimately just tax cheats. Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase allowed for expansion and prevented a war with Napoleon. In retrospect, it turned out pretty well I'd say.
Coolidge's greatest skill was timing. He left the White House just before the Great Depression hit, but his hands-off policies helped set up the circumstances that caused it. Throughout its history America's economy was a cycle of boom and bust until the greatest income disparity in America's history (until now) helped create the big bust of the Great Depression. Then regulations were put in place that ended that cycle and lead to 50 years of growth. When those regulations were taken away the result was the Great Recession that we've just now come out of.
The Great Depression was largely *caused* by government action. More specifically, the Federal Reserve system refused to act as lender of last resort and tightened the money supply causing severe deflation. From 1929 to 1935 the amount of money in circulation fell by about a third. We were "due" for a crash. Coolidge himself even predicted such a crash would happen. Heck, we had a major market crash in the early 20's. The Fed's actions are what turned a normal recession into what we now call the Great Depression. As for the 2008 crisis, attributing it to any one cause isn't rational since it was sorta a "perfect storm" of problems but there were just as many problems with things the government was doing vs. things it was failing to do. We had the Community Reinvestment Act created in the 70's that restricted the ability of banks to choose who they lent too. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were government sponsored companies. Various "affordable housing" policies encouraged people to buy homes they couldn't afford. Entire tomes could (and have) been written about Alan Greenspan's actions at the Fed. Yes, Bill Clinton repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, a bill restricting what sort of investments banks could be involved with but apart from that and a few agencies shuffling various rules around, there wasn't much in the way of deregulation. A big chunk of the financial sector's issues came from the advent of MBS products and nobody really understanding how to price them or gage their risk.
Coolidge didn't have any "great" occasions because he didn't cause any huge problems. FDR had to deal with the Great Depression because he took a small depression and made it worse.
Pity he was the last statesman to lower our national debt. We need another Coolidge, not only for his policies, but his overall attitude towards the presidency and the government.
Would you rather continue down the destructive path of unrestrained spending and taking loans at artificially low interest rates? Exactly what would YOU do? I'm quite aware we can't simply "pay off the debt", hence why we need to start cutting spending down to a level where the debt itself is reduced. We haven't done that since Coolidge, hence why I refer to him as a paragon of a statesman. It took us decades to get to this point, and with the entrenched interests in D.C., no doubt it will take twice as long to undo, assuming it ever happens. Some debt is necessary (and impossible to get rid of) in order to demonstrate the ability to pay it back, but $20 trillion is obviously overblown. You think I'm happy reading about how previous generations have been on a spending binge and the next ones are left with the bubble?
I am reading a biography on Coolidge and just read that same speech. He was a very idealist President. He saw the government for what it should be but we know its not. He always wanted to keep the govenments expenses in line and in budget. I am sure he would be appalled at how much our deficit is now.
Yes he did although I doubt any politician in the '20s would've realized how the economy was going through a massive inflation Coolidge did have something to blame for the Depression and Hoover can be blamed for his lackluster charisma to ward off the depression and in retrospect even FDR couldn't do much it took WW2 to get us back into shape
Dan Hanson That is such incredible bunk. Wars do not cause prosperity. Hoover interfered in the market; FDR did even more, extending the depression into the Great Depression. Coolidge is arguably the best president since Washington.
Not Hoover, the Fed made the recession into a depression by restricting the money supply and incentivizing credit bubbles during the 20s by the low interest rates at the time.
Warren Norred I find your point interesting Warren, but how do you explain the military industrial complex? The "Roaring Twenties" could be credited to the economic boom in the United States following WWI while the "Fabulous Fifties" are a side-effect of the war boom during WWII. It seems that war encourages national unity and production on larger scales which creates more jobs and sparks an industrial boom that is rarely seen during peace time. I would also argue that FDR inherited a depression from Hoover who, despite his efforts, could not prevent the Great Depression due to his minimalist government policies. Hoover vehemently opposed government tampering in the stock market and was not keen on social welfare programs which caused a lack of a safety net desperately needed by lower class Americans. Left virtually unregulated, the market allowed for stock speculation which caused its bottom to fall out in 1929 and Hoover, believing that intervention would create a state of "dependent" Americans, chose to let the economy fall to pieces instead of enacting policy which would later come up as The New Deal.
Back when limited government existed. Hoover and his damn tariff had to make FDR come in and "save" the day with policies that didn't work but stayed for some unknown reason. And now the government is huge, in debt, and still doesn't do shit for its citizens. If only Silent Cal could come back to the Oval Office.
+Pine Tree yes it was... try the 10th amendment... "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
His inaugural is one of the greatest speeches in history. "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
President and Mrs. Coolidge suffered a tremendous tragedy the year this film was made. Their much beloved son, Calvin Jr., only sixteen years old, died from an infection.
Amazing footage considering it is a talkie. Thanks for posting this. For some reason I thought his voice would be more nasal and have a more pronounced Vermont accent from the accounts I have read. But he does indeed come across here as strident, brittle, and as close-minded as I expected. Fascinating.
My name is Ralph Coolidge jr. Vt born and bred. My dad was born in Pylmouth Vt in 1906.I believe I am a cousin 4 times removed. Whatever that means. LOL. The only thing I have in common is my Vt accent.
There are many distant cousins who are related to President Calvin Coolidge and via his mother's ancestral background, I myself am distantly related as a distant cousin to Calvin Coolidge ( Silent Cal was not noted for talking about his family background ). Calvin's Vt. accent was the real deal before radio, movies, and television personality talkers made such an impact that the real Vt. accent is not as dominant as it use to be.
Thanks to the Internet, it is quicker and more thorough for one to trace their ancestral roots and see if by a secondary root it connects to a famous historical person. As a distant cousin, one can be related to many known persons in comparison to being a direct descendant of a famous person. - Now, if one appreciates all this known info in finding a family connection, there is a negative aspect about it should one find a connection to a famous person that one does not have high regard. With known info indicating that Donald Trump's ancestral roots goes back several centuries, many people will be aghast that they are known distant cousins of Mr. Trump.
Coolidge was a great president. He is In the top 10 for sure. Unfortunately a man like him couldn't be elected today.... primarily because Americans are shallow and gullible. We prefer slick tailored speeches and flashy style to hard work and restraint.
Hills Fredrick Actually, over 80 years ago no Republican has ever shrunk government. All they did was grow the government along side with the Democrats. Calvin Coolidge was the best president in the 20th century, he had the government to do less & the US prospered. That is why I joined the Libertarian party.
Lol the GOP is a complete 180 from back in the 20's and 30's. Hence the term neo-cons describing most of the GOP today. Wars and big gov and big spending.
Ironic that "Silent Cal" made the first presidential talkie, pre JAZZ SINGER at that. Probably my favorite president, if I had to choose. I wonder how he's comprehend 21 trillion.
Yea but the same people will laud FDR for being a hero when in actuality he took a depression-and made it a Great Depression-and then violated the civil rights of thousands of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. At least Calvin attempted to stomp out the KKK, and stood beside the Suffrage Movement, defending civil liberties like a real president should. The left-wing wet dreams over FDR are just as ill-founded as the GOPs fixation with Reagan.
My jaw almost hit the floor when I watched this. Talk about a guy who really "gets it." I can't believe we had a president who said and believed this stuff. It's ALL about economic freedom. That's THE MOST important freedom. Calvin Coolidge is now my second favorite president, behind only Washington. "I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom." Love it!!!! Are there politicians like this around any more??
Are you kidding me? Calvin Coolidge was one of our most underrated and overlooked presidents of all time. He was one of the most conservative presidents of all time. The economy soared while under him. He cut federal spending and taxes. He was a very good president.
Actually, it was the private sector that started using credit for their own profits. It came hand in hand with the dawn of mass advertising, as "Get now, pay later" ads drew many customers.
If he wrote that, it was good. He just didn't need a TV image in the age before TV. He could say exactly what everyone in the country wants to hear and he wouldn't make it in office today because he doesn't have what it takes to be a star. Being human is too hard. P.S. I just checked your channel. Cool video. Princeton is about a 45 minute drive from here. I was actually on Mercer St. a few weeks ago. :)
Wow! A talking movie film of President Calvin Coolidge from 1924. It was done very well and it's a great movie short of him making a presidential speech. I would love to have this talking movie short from 1924 of President Coolidge making a speech if I would only know where to buy it. I am sure this is a collector's item.
One of our greatest Presidents. He was the former governor of Massachusetts. It's 85 years later and we can do it again with Mitt as the next President.
Vermont is a state I love. I could not look upon the peaks of Ascutney, Killington, Mansfield, and Equinox, without being moved in a way that no other scene could move me. It was here that I first saw the light of day; here I received my bride, here my dead lie pillowed on the loving breast of our eternal hills. I love Vermont because of her hills and valleys, her scenery and invigorating climate, but most of all because of her indomitable people. They are a race of pioneers who have almost beggared themselves to serve others. If the spirit of liberty should vanish in other parts of the Union, and support of our institutions should languish, it could all be replenished from the generous store held by the people of this brave little state of Vermont Calvin Coolidge
What's remarkable about this is the clarity of the sound and also, given the rather primitive sound recording system of the time, there doesn't appear to be a microphone in view of the camera?
Coolidge was an American hero. Under-rated to the core, Coolidge's important role in history has been largely forgotten by the public. He stood up for the middle-class, shunning both the extreme Left and the aristocracy, and created a roadmap for Reagan caliber small government. Rest in peace Mr Coolidge.
@edthewise Theodore W. Case works with DeForest with the invention of sound-on-film between 1919-23. This is literally one of the first 20-50 films to have synchronized sound.
Sadly he lost his son Calvin Jr. from blood posioning in 1924. Calvin Jr. was playing tennis and developed a blister on his ankle. President had to watch his young son die in 1924. He stood by the bed side holding his sons hand. Coolidge placed a locket of his late mother's hair in his son's hand. When Young Calvin couldn't hold the locket, president Coolidge held it in his son's hand.
I love it! Can you believe that President Coolidge was complaining about a government budget (national and local!) of seven and half billion dollars!! My God, I wish we could be so lucky today!
During Coolidge's presidency the United States experienced the period of rapid economic growth known as the "Roaring Twenties." Taxes were reduced in Coolidge's term. In addition to these tax cuts, Coolidge proposed reductions in federal expenditures and retiring some of the federal debt. Coolidge's ideas were shared by the Republicans in Congress, and Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1924. Continued...
Whats that white strip running along the edge of his vest? I've noticed that certain mens suites back in the 20s and 30s had this. It looks like a white lining in the vest peeking through. Does anyone know the story behind that?
He is one of my relatives. I have been reading a lot about him and just watched this for the first time. All i could think is "wow! this must have been the greatest time to be president!" and I mean the GREATEST! A booming economy (the roaring 20's), extremely limited federal government (compared to nowadays), A TIME OF PEACE in the WORLD during your entire presidency, an abundance of energy and innovation. Wow, it makes me think of the Pax Americana (jk, I mean Romana).
I went there and I read the fine print at the bottom of the page. They're not looking at GDP growth estimates primarily, especially before the advent of the Federal Reserve System, which essentially standardized the currency. Samuel H. Williamson and Louis Johnston, the two economists that I'm citing for sources, are generally Keynesian by the way. Per capita income in real terms was about $3000 in 1872 and a little less than $3600 in 1879.
"Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong."
-Calvin Coolidge
I truly, deeply miss this man with all of my heart.
@Wilt Chamberlain is the GOAT get a grip you twat.
@Wilt Chamberlain is the GOAT Cope
I think all presidential speeches should be given in the middle of the forest while staring at notes the entire time
It was filmed outside The White House.
LOL..good one!
bruh, this is outside the white house.
and looking out in the distance every once in a while
"I made a bet that I could get you to say more than two words.."
Silent Cal: " You lose"
Paul F ICONIC 👏🏼
Coolidge ranks up there with some of the better presidents of our country. Under him and his conservative policies, taxes were lowered, unemployment was lowered, and America went through one of the most prosperous times. You know why? Because he lowered taxes. He understood what the American people wanted. And the most craziest thing is that I am a distant cousin of him!
Jarrod Deering more is because goverment wasnt powerful
You should be honored to be a distant cousin of the greatest president ever.
I think Coolidge is one of the rare presidents that the more you learn about them, the more you like them. I'm doing a project right now where I'm reading a bio on every president. I've found out some things that I don't like about some of my favorites. But I had no opinion about Cal one way or the other. Now he's one of my favorites. I thank everyone who's contributed to the Coolidge revival of recent years! What an amazing man.
He’s basically an anti Wilson
@@gregoryf4186 Boss Battle when?!
Calvin Coolidge was a chilled straightforward man. He was often quiet at dinner parties and someone asked him why he went to them anyways. Coolidge said: "Got to eat somewhere". What a badass prez. that is the same reason i go to parties where people get pissed drunk and high lol.
Of course he is chilled. His name has the word “cool” in it
@@stevegaming2006 Cool Cal
Coolidge was moral and ethical unlike corrupt Trump. Coolidge was a real Conservative.
"Such a sum is difficult to comprehend."
Pah, I'd love to think that was the amount. Cal would drop dead of a heart attack if he saw the National Debt.
+Omega Actual That's actually how he died...a heart attack.
+Omega Actual If you adjust the figure he cited for inflation, it still only comes to about 200 billion dollars.
Omega Actual
The Alleged "National Debt' is a 33 degree freemason Cult Club Propaganda BullShit Hoax Story. Countries are Corporations open for Big Business and Profit..
Sondra Lee What the hell are you going on about?
The amazin Teddy
This Really Proves you are Following the same Cult Club Agenda.
What Real Investigation have you Really done?
I wish you were here now President Coolidge! You were one of the very best Presidents we have ever had! We miss you! Thank you for helping us economically during the "Roaring 20's". R.I.P.
What prosperity? Over half of Americans lived below the poverty line, farmers were bankrupt, wall street was doomed to collapse unless it was regulated, and too many things were bought on credit. The system was rotting from within well before it collapsed under Hoover.
Chase Tyler This was already explained to you. The president couldn’t control everything.
Coolidge said "Taxation is theft" before it was cool. :D
He sure did. I could never imagine a modern president, left or right, delivering this speech.
The first televised case of the pot calling the kettle black lol
metaldams78 y? It's exactly what fundamental Republican is
In essence, yes.
You can't have a government without taxation. His words were "economy in government is the chief meaning of freedom."
Coolidge was a good president.
he made the 20s the best, most economically fair and prosperous for all americans of any decade in us history-cut taxes, eliminated unemployment, increased revenue,reduced size and cost of fed govt, kept the peace, promoted equal rights for minorities, reversed the segregation of the wilson admin, -a truly great man
The prosperity was a lie. The farmers went bankrupt under him and he did nothing to help them, even vetoing farm aid laws. Most Americans, although employed, had low paying jobs and had to buy their shiny new things on credit. By the end of his second term, only Wall Street was keeping the economy prosperous.
Chase Tyler the farmers went bankrupt because of famines, lack of workers due to industry, and lack of demand; not from federal policy. The president isn't God.
Also, the federal government didn't have the right to redistribute wealth back then (some would argue they still don't but do it anyway). Calvin came from a family of farmers. He understood their plight. He just refused to give up his principles for them.
And the wages thing is a lie. The average American's purchasing power grew the fastest in the history of the United States under Coolidge.
+Negrolas So he'd rather follow "his principles" than help the Americans he's supposed to represent? And let's not forget his racism when he didn't lend any support to black families who lost their homes from the Mississippi River floods, while white families received plenty of support. And there's the whole deal with supporting extreme deregulation and laissez faire economics that led to the Great Depression.
Captain Sum Ting Wong no, he'd rather follow the law. The constitution and the founding fathers never gave such rights to the federal government. And there's a reason for it.
Committing wrongs to benefit people short term is very short sighted, immature, and leads to disaster. Coolidge was one of the few presidents to bring our actual debt down.
Now, due to the federal government "helping", we're at 19 trillion dollars in debt.
Captain Sum Ting Wong
>Calvin was racist
thanks for proving just how little you know about him. Calvin singlehandedly dethroned the kkk in the federal government. All mistreatment towards blacks was due to other, local governments. Blame the southern democrats for that, not Coolidge.
That is exactly how I thought Coolidge's voice sounded like
Most underrated president ever.
That goes to Jame K. Polk
"On August 11, 1924, Theodore W. Case, using the Phonofilm sound-on-film process he developed for Lee DeForest, filmed Coolidge on the White House lawn, making Coolidge the first president to appear in a sound film. The title of the DeForest film was President Coolidge, Taken on the White House Grounds"
The best president this country had. Wish he was president again.
wesley ogilvie surprising to hear this from a leftist.
Oh yeah causing the great depression is what we want again...
Ray Ryngaert did he?
Ray Ryngaert hoover, fdr, and federal banks are a major contribution to the great depression. not coolidge
@@rayryngaert3769
The federal reserve is what caused the great depression, Coolidge did absolutely nothing to cause the great depression. Hoover also shares a lot of the fault in the great depression due to his disastrous economic interventions. FDR, of course, continued Hoover's economic intervention, and, by that time, other nations with more laissez-faire approaches had already recovered. Hoover turned a 700 million surplus left by Coolidge (which was amazing compared to the actual budget utilized at the time) into a 2 billion deficit, sparked a trade war, and interfered in the economy much more than the presidents before him. FDR, who would later go on to emulate Hoover, accused Hoover of wanting to nationalize all of the industries during his election just to give you an idea of how much of a statist hoover was.
Calvin Coolidge is my home boy
I believe I'm personally and politically more similar to Coolidge than any other President, and I couldn't be prouder. Coolidge was awesome.
Ethan Cooke how did you find that out?
I don't know if I would call Coolidge the "greatest" President. Unlike Reagan, Lincoln, FDR, Washington or Jefferson, he didn't have any great occasions to rise to. Yet if I were a President, I would think that he would be the one I'd most want to emulate. Coolidge's administration was marked by economic growth, low taxes, balanced budgets, restrained spending, peace and the most underrated virtue of any government, stability. I also give him credit for quietly cleaning up the Teapot Dome scandal and holding those responsible to account. About the only thing I'd really fault him on was his belief in protectionist trade policy.
I guess I can also relate to Coolidge in that he was quite the introvert and generally disliked the pomp and circumstances of Washington parties. He preferred to spend his time pooling over budgets rather than rubbing elbows with political bosses.
Reagan won the cold war and was limited by a Democratic House. You can only cut government if Congress will play along.
I blame the Civil War on the actions of traitorous Democrats, not Lincoln.
FDR's New Deal was a disaster and I would blame the recession of 37 in part on the New Deal but we DID win WWII. True, Wilkie might've been able to get us through that had he been in charge but who knows.
Of course the taxes were higher. American taxes were very low under British imperial rule. The point wasn't no taxes, it was no taxes without representation. The rebels were represented, they were ultimately just tax cheats.
Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase allowed for expansion and prevented a war with Napoleon. In retrospect, it turned out pretty well I'd say.
Coolidge's greatest skill was timing. He left the White House just before the Great Depression hit, but his hands-off policies helped set up the circumstances that caused it. Throughout its history America's economy was a cycle of boom and bust until the greatest income disparity in America's history (until now) helped create the big bust of the Great Depression. Then regulations were put in place that ended that cycle and lead to 50 years of growth. When those regulations were taken away the result was the Great Recession that we've just now come out of.
The Great Depression was largely *caused* by government action. More specifically, the Federal Reserve system refused to act as lender of last resort and tightened the money supply causing severe deflation. From 1929 to 1935 the amount of money in circulation fell by about a third. We were "due" for a crash. Coolidge himself even predicted such a crash would happen. Heck, we had a major market crash in the early 20's. The Fed's actions are what turned a normal recession into what we now call the Great Depression.
As for the 2008 crisis, attributing it to any one cause isn't rational since it was sorta a "perfect storm" of problems but there were just as many problems with things the government was doing vs. things it was failing to do. We had the Community Reinvestment Act created in the 70's that restricted the ability of banks to choose who they lent too. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were government sponsored companies. Various "affordable housing" policies encouraged people to buy homes they couldn't afford. Entire tomes could (and have) been written about Alan Greenspan's actions at the Fed.
Yes, Bill Clinton repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, a bill restricting what sort of investments banks could be involved with but apart from that and a few agencies shuffling various rules around, there wasn't much in the way of deregulation. A big chunk of the financial sector's issues came from the advent of MBS products and nobody really understanding how to price them or gage their risk.
Monsuco lol.
Coolidge didn't have any "great" occasions because he didn't cause any huge problems. FDR had to deal with the Great Depression because he took a small depression and made it worse.
Wow...I RULED!
Your voice is calming to me.
Yup
you cool president ever
Calvin Coolidge to be honest your one of my favourite presidents
Calvin Coolidge cool
Pity he was the last statesman to lower our national debt.
We need another Coolidge, not only for his policies, but his overall attitude towards the presidency and the government.
yeah and we need a another great depression
Why? You wanna try and pay off the debt with less than, say roughly 2% of that debt in liquidity? Good luck. Nice thought tho :)
Would you rather continue down the destructive path of unrestrained spending and taking loans at artificially low interest rates? Exactly what would YOU do?
I'm quite aware we can't simply "pay off the debt", hence why we need to start cutting spending down to a level where the debt itself is reduced. We haven't done that since Coolidge, hence why I refer to him as a paragon of a statesman. It took us decades to get to this point, and with the entrenched interests in D.C., no doubt it will take twice as long to undo, assuming it ever happens.
Some debt is necessary (and impossible to get rid of) in order to demonstrate the ability to pay it back, but $20 trillion is obviously overblown.
You think I'm happy reading about how previous generations have been on a spending binge and the next ones are left with the bubble?
What happened to the US federal debt in the Clinton presidency? He left office with a surplus.
Shark Eater we had a surplus but the total national debt was still higher when he left than when he stepped in
He was a wise man, who chose his words with great care. Many leaders could learn a lot from President Coolidge.
Silent Cal is one you never hear about....
as a european i can say we need our own Calvin Coolidge. Or anyone able to ballance a budget for that matter
0:44, one of the first teleprompters (the paper in his hands). Calvin truly was one of the greatest presidents that never got mentioned much.
Obama needs to learn from Coolidge
Every politician needs to learn from Coolidge.
Tj Dearman ...learn what?......surely not his lack of giving speeches......Coolidge is awful..
Uka Nwachuku Learn how to be preside
The Future Millionaire too late now.
Calvin Coolidge OK
The OG conservative
I am reading a biography on Coolidge and just read that same speech. He was a very idealist President. He saw the government for what it should be but we know its not. He always wanted to keep the govenments expenses in line and in budget. I am sure he would be appalled at how much our deficit is now.
Hallrk63 He did say in another speech,"We must turn our eyes from what is to what ought to be."
Calvin Coolidge 2016!
he sounds like me when i have to give a speech to the class in 6th grade
Gosh, I love Coolidge! ;)
Right on, Calvin! Right on!
A woman bet her girlfriend that she could get him to say more than two words. When she tried, Coolidge replied "You lose."
Can you imagine a president reading off cue cards today? Of course. Today, they just read off of teleprompters.
Can you imagine a president today deciding that government should be small and not meddle in your affairs? What a novel idea.
i like the way he says "government"
Very cool historic footage. Thanks for posting!
@ChrisSladic he didn't cause it. He made the largest boom in Americas economy. Hoover can be to blame for the depression
Yes he did although I doubt any politician in the '20s would've realized how the economy was going through a massive inflation Coolidge did have something to blame for the Depression and Hoover can be blamed for his lackluster charisma to ward off the depression and in retrospect even FDR couldn't do much it took WW2 to get us back into shape
Dan Hanson That is such incredible bunk. Wars do not cause prosperity. Hoover interfered in the market; FDR did even more, extending the depression into the Great Depression. Coolidge is arguably the best president since Washington.
Not Hoover, the Fed made the recession into a depression by restricting the money supply and incentivizing credit bubbles during the 20s by the low interest rates at the time.
Warren Norred I find your point interesting Warren, but how do you explain the military industrial complex? The "Roaring Twenties" could be credited to the economic boom in the United States following WWI while the "Fabulous Fifties" are a side-effect of the war boom during WWII. It seems that war encourages national unity and production on larger scales which creates more jobs and sparks an industrial boom that is rarely seen during peace time. I would also argue that FDR inherited a depression from Hoover who, despite his efforts, could not prevent the Great Depression due to his minimalist government policies. Hoover vehemently opposed government tampering in the stock market and was not keen on social welfare programs which caused a lack of a safety net desperately needed by lower class Americans. Left virtually unregulated, the market allowed for stock speculation which caused its bottom to fall out in 1929 and Hoover, believing that intervention would create a state of "dependent" Americans, chose to let the economy fall to pieces instead of enacting policy which would later come up as The New Deal.
Boom and bust cycle, it was bound to happen.
Back when limited government existed. Hoover and his damn tariff had to make FDR come in and "save" the day with policies that didn't work but stayed for some unknown reason. And now the government is huge, in debt, and still doesn't do shit for its citizens. If only Silent Cal could come back to the Oval Office.
The government under the constitution was never limited
+Pine Tree Yes it was
+Pine Tree yes it was... try the 10th amendment... "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
President Coolidge would never, under any circumstances, run for another term even if he were alive.
Where is Silent Cal when we need him?
Mine too! Calvin Coolidge was a truly great man. He is the most underrated president in history.
His inaugural is one of the greatest speeches in history. "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
Did he grow up in Vermont? He has Vermont accent I think
+Paul Revere Yep
+Connor Cooper Plymouth Notch, VT
He was born in Vermont, raised in Massachusetts.
@@gregoryf4186 no he was born and raised in Vermont
@@michaelm4870 mb he was governor of Massachusetts
Calvin has too much common sense! Get the government OUT of the way! Calvin Rocks!
President and Mrs. Coolidge suffered a tremendous tragedy the year this film was made. Their much beloved son, Calvin Jr., only sixteen years old, died from an infection.
Amazing footage considering it is a talkie. Thanks for posting this. For some reason I thought his voice would be more nasal and have a more pronounced Vermont accent from the accounts I have read. But he does indeed come across here as strident, brittle, and as close-minded as I expected. Fascinating.
My name is Ralph Coolidge jr. Vt born and bred. My dad was born in Pylmouth Vt in 1906.I believe I am a cousin 4 times removed. Whatever that means. LOL. The only thing I have in common is my Vt accent.
There are many distant cousins who are related to President Calvin Coolidge and via his mother's ancestral background, I myself am distantly related as a distant cousin to Calvin Coolidge ( Silent Cal was not noted for talking about his family background ). Calvin's Vt. accent was the real deal before radio, movies, and television personality talkers made such an impact that the real Vt. accent is not as dominant as it use to be.
+Alan Leake Hello people I am somehow related to.
Well let me tell you I am jealous of your lineage.
Thanks to the Internet, it is quicker and more thorough for one to trace their ancestral roots and see if by a secondary root it connects to a famous historical person. As a distant cousin, one can be related to many known persons in comparison to being a direct descendant of a famous person. - Now, if one appreciates all this known info in finding a family connection, there is a negative aspect about it should one find a connection to a famous person that one does not have high regard. With known info indicating that Donald Trump's ancestral roots goes back several centuries, many people will be aghast that they are known distant cousins of Mr. Trump.
Calvin Coolidge. Underrated president. This was back in the pre-FDR days when presidents actually gave a shit about the constitution.
Damn. Simple, factual, precise.
He said nothing about himself and everything for the workers!
I voted for Coolidge 4 years ago. The greatest President we ever had.
"Are there politicians like this around any more?"
Yes. Ron Paul.
If he was holding a mic at the end he would of dropped it before walking away.
thanks for posting this1 we need another coolidge.
Not only was he a fiscal conservative, he was also the first to notice "The Coolidge Effect."
Coolidge was a great president. He is In the top 10 for sure. Unfortunately a man like him couldn't be elected today.... primarily because Americans are shallow and gullible. We prefer slick tailored speeches and flashy style to hard work and restraint.
Coolidge is number 13 on my top 20 greatest Presidents list.
Are the other 12 Reagan?
Liam Smith Reagan is number 5
***** who's number 1?
will crawford Number 1? Abraham Lincoln.
*****
pfffffffffffffffffff
this guy understood the role of government and the role of citizenry
i'm amazed by how different our english accent was in the 20s
90 years have passed but the GOP haven't changed at all.
Hills Fredrick Actually, over 80 years ago no Republican has ever shrunk government. All they did was grow the government along side with the Democrats. Calvin Coolidge was the best president in the 20th century, he had the government to do less & the US prospered. That is why I joined the Libertarian party.
Lol the GOP is a complete 180 from back in the 20's and 30's. Hence the term neo-cons describing most of the GOP today. Wars and big gov and big spending.
Mister Scrotus Bullshit. The democrats have regressed. I don’t know how it was possible but they did. Coolidge would agree with Trump.
Is that a Vermont accent?
+fishhead06 Yes it is. He was from Plymouth.
+CoolMoeDea21 born on Independence Day
+Nick F Give me that old time charisma!
+fishhead06 Yep. Rural Vermont.
Keep Cool with Coolidge. A++
Ironic that "Silent Cal" made the first presidential talkie, pre JAZZ SINGER at that. Probably my favorite president, if I had to choose. I wonder how he's comprehend 21 trillion.
People praising Coolidge in these comments are kind of foolish. The economic prosperity he presided over was obviously unsound...
Yea but the same people will laud FDR for being a hero when in actuality he took a depression-and made it a Great Depression-and then violated the civil rights of thousands of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. At least Calvin attempted to stomp out the KKK, and stood beside the Suffrage Movement, defending civil liberties like a real president should.
The left-wing wet dreams over FDR are just as ill-founded as the GOPs fixation with Reagan.
Coolidge was the last president in US history to preside over a national fiscal surplus. Unsound indeed! Your assessment is laughable.
cough cough clinton
Newt Gingrich, the Republican Speaker, did drag Clinton kicking and screaming to a budget surplus.
Austin Howe I agreed until you said the last thing. Reagan was a great president and a great Republican.
I love how he actually bothers to pronounce the 'n' in 'government' at 3:53.
@TheAmericanRifleman Thanks for sending me this.
It's fun to see how he doesn't know where to look, and keeps looking back and forth as if he were addressing an audience.
this guy is amazing he stands in my top 5 he is so chill
Interesting fact: Gershwin was playing Rhapsody in Blue for the first time in concert in New York the same day; maybe the same time
My jaw almost hit the floor when I watched this. Talk about a guy who really "gets it." I can't believe we had a president who said and believed this stuff. It's ALL about economic freedom. That's THE MOST important freedom. Calvin Coolidge is now my second favorite president, behind only Washington. "I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom." Love it!!!! Are there politicians like this around any more??
Any African leader listen this was 1923 still relevant today.
Are you kidding me? Calvin Coolidge was one of our most underrated and overlooked presidents of all time. He was one of the most conservative presidents of all time. The economy soared while under him. He cut federal spending and taxes. He was a very good president.
Actually, it was the private sector that started using credit for their own profits. It came hand in hand with the dawn of mass advertising, as "Get now, pay later" ads drew many customers.
Not only the best, but definently the most under-rated of all of them
If he wrote that, it was good. He just didn't need a TV image in the age before TV.
He could say exactly what everyone in the country wants to hear and he wouldn't make it in office today because he doesn't have what it takes to be a star.
Being human is too hard.
P.S.
I just checked your channel. Cool video. Princeton is about a 45 minute drive from here. I was actually on Mercer St. a few weeks ago. :)
Wow! A talking movie film of President Calvin Coolidge from 1924. It was done very well and it's a great movie short of him making a presidential speech. I would love to have this talking movie short from 1924 of President Coolidge making a speech if I would only know where to buy it. I am sure this is a collector's item.
This is pretty cool considering the first sound movie came out three years later.
Just finished Amity's book, Coolidge. We need a practical man with his political instincts again before it's too late.
One of our greatest Presidents. He was the former governor of Massachusetts. It's 85 years later and we can do it again with Mitt as the next President.
Whats that white strip at the opening of his vest (Where his head sticks through)?
A motion picture with sound in 1924 makes this one of the earliest of its kind. That's pretty remarkable.
@ticklemepurple86 PERFECT!
I think Spacey has a kind of everyman quality that allows him to play a lot of roles, but Coolidge is spot on!
he looked so differnt then what I seen images of
Vermont is a state I love. I could not look upon the peaks of Ascutney, Killington, Mansfield, and Equinox, without being moved in a way that no other scene could move me. It was here that I first saw the light of day; here I received my bride, here my dead lie pillowed on the loving breast of our eternal hills.
I love Vermont because of her hills and valleys, her scenery and invigorating climate, but most of all because of her indomitable people. They are a race of pioneers who have almost beggared themselves to serve others. If the spirit of liberty should vanish in other parts of the Union, and support of our institutions should languish, it could all be replenished from the generous store held by the people of this brave little state of Vermont
Calvin Coolidge
The video must've either been shot with the audio recreated later or it had the audio recorded separately.
What's remarkable about this is the clarity of the sound and also, given the rather primitive sound recording system of the time, there doesn't appear to be a microphone in view of the camera?
We need more people like silent Cal today.
Coolidge was an American hero. Under-rated to the core, Coolidge's important role in history has been largely forgotten by the public. He stood up for the middle-class, shunning both the extreme Left and the aristocracy, and created a roadmap for Reagan caliber small government. Rest in peace Mr Coolidge.
One of The BEST!!!
"Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong."
-Calvin Coolidge
@edthewise Theodore W. Case works with DeForest with the invention of sound-on-film between 1919-23. This is literally one of the first 20-50 films to have synchronized sound.
@Kubrick1989 Who is your favorite president, and who is your favorite politician in general? From any time.
Sadly he lost his son Calvin Jr. from blood posioning in 1924. Calvin Jr. was playing tennis and developed a blister on his ankle. President had to watch his young son die in 1924. He stood by the bed side holding his sons hand. Coolidge placed a locket of his late mother's hair in his son's hand. When Young Calvin couldn't hold the locket, president Coolidge held it in his son's hand.
I love it! Can you believe that President Coolidge was complaining about a government budget (national and local!) of seven and half billion dollars!! My God, I wish we could be so lucky today!
During Coolidge's presidency the United States experienced the period of rapid economic growth known as the "Roaring Twenties." Taxes were reduced in Coolidge's term. In addition to these tax cuts, Coolidge proposed reductions in federal expenditures and retiring some of the federal debt. Coolidge's ideas were shared by the Republicans in Congress, and Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1924. Continued...
Ptrsident Coolidge took a two hour nap every afternoon.The country never missed a beat.
Hard to believe that the Federal Budget was only seven billion dollars a year when Coolidge made this speech.
I love he just walks off camera at the end. He's all like "yup, that's how you do it foo"
Whats that white strip running along the edge of his vest? I've noticed that certain mens suites back in the 20s and 30s had this. It looks like a white lining in the vest peeking through. Does anyone know the story behind that?
Lawyer Clarence Darrow proclaimed Coolidge "the greatest man who ever came out of Plymouth Corner, Vermont."
Dorothy Parker’s remark when told that Calvin Coolidge was dead: How can they tell?
He is one of my relatives. I have been reading a lot about him and just watched this for the first time.
All i could think is "wow! this must have been the greatest time to be president!" and I mean the GREATEST! A booming economy (the roaring 20's), extremely limited federal government (compared to nowadays), A TIME OF PEACE in the WORLD during your entire presidency, an abundance of energy and innovation.
Wow, it makes me think of the Pax Americana (jk, I mean Romana).
I went there and I read the fine print at the bottom of the page. They're not looking at GDP growth estimates primarily, especially before the advent of the Federal Reserve System, which essentially standardized the currency.
Samuel H. Williamson and Louis Johnston, the two economists that I'm citing for sources, are generally Keynesian by the way. Per capita income in real terms was about $3000 in 1872 and a little less than $3600 in 1879.