This essay could be titled "Calvin Coolidge Goes to Washington," after the famous 1939 movie starring Jimmy Stewart. In some ways, Coolidge as Vice-President brings to mind the image of Jimmy Stewart's Senator Smith. Coolidge was not naive, like the Smith character, but possessed a great deal of practical experience in Massachusetts politics. However, Coolidge was little more than a cog in the machine in his limited role as Vice-President. His only legal function besides being President-in-waiting was to preside over the Senate, and cast a tie breaking vote if necessary.

The circumstances of Coolidge's nomination to be the running mate of Warren Harding at the 1920 Republican Convention are well-known. Less remembered is the fact that Coolidge was not a major factor in his party's campaign. He was sent on a speaking tour to states in the upper South, while Warren Harding campaigned mostly from the front porch of his Ohio home. How much Coolidge's speeches contributed to the success of the campaign is debatable.

Warren Harding must have known that the convention's response to Coolidge's nomination had been more enthusiastic than the reception he received when he won the top spot on the ticket. This perceived popularity may have been a factor in Harding's breaking precedent by inviting Coolidge to sit in at cabinet meetings. Some speculated that this would enable Coolidge to serve the administration as a liaison to the Senate.

As it turned out, Coolidge did not bring much to the cabinet sessions, or prove very useful in the administration's dealings with Congress. One attendee at cabinet meetings reported that Coolidge reminded him of a "rheumy-eyed crane," and complained that he "never heard [Coolidge] express his opinion on major questions."

The advantage of attending cabinet meetings as Vice-President was all in Coolidge's favor; there he gained much knowledge of the federal executive functions. Coolidge's familiarity with the cabinet officers may have influenced his decision to retain all of them when he succeeded Harding.

In his official job as presiding officer of the Senate, Coolidge's experience as President of the Massachusetts Senate was helpful, but, as he admitted in his Autobiography, the "one fixed rule" of the U. S. Senate was "that it would do whatever it wanted to do, whenever it wanted to." Coolidge did not become intimate with the senators, but he was impressed with the talents of a few. When he first became President, Coolidge often sought out Senators William Borah and James Wadsworth for advice, and he appointed former Senator Frank Kellogg as Secretary of State during his second term.

Unfortunately for Coolidge, he did make some important enemies while presiding over the Senate. Most of these were among members of the farm bloc, who did not share Coolidge's limited government philosophy when it came to aiding their economically depressed constituents.

One incident stands out in the creation of this poisoned relationship. On July 26, 1921, Nebraska Republican Senator George Norris attempted to promote a bill to aid farmers in marketing their products overseas. Norris made an arrangement with Coolidge to recognize a senator favorable to Norris' bill at a certain time. However, the Harding administration favored a milder bill to aid in the domestic marketing of agricultural goods. Just before Coolidge was supposed to recognize Norris' ally, Coolidge turned the gavel over to conservative Senator Charles Curtis, and left the chamber. Curtis ignored Norris' ally, and recognized Senator Frank Kellogg, who introduced the administration bill. After this strategy resulted in the demise of the Norris bill Coolidge returned to assume the chair. Even conservative senators were surprised by this duplicitous behavior, which was probably done at the behest of President Harding. This incident, some suggested, may have contributed to a breakdown in health Norris suffered shortly thereafter.

Very few contemporaries have much to say about a Vice-President after he has made an initial impression on Washington, D.C. Coolidge was no exception to this tradition. His laconic style, steady work habits, and attendance at many social functions drew some interest during his first few months in the office. When asked about his role as official diner-out for the administration, he reportedly quipped, "Got to eat somewhere." A classic Coolidge story originated at one of these dinners. A woman sat down next to Coolidge, and told him "You must talk to me. I made a bet today that I could get more than two words out of you." Coolidge's succinct reply was "You lose."

Coolidge's many public addresses were covered by reporters seeking possible clues to administration policies. However, the press was usually disappointed, as Coolidge (often as a stand-in for Harding) spoke mostly about American ideals or historically inspiring figures. After his first few months in office, the novelty of the quiet Yankee Vice-President wore off and he was the subject of very little attention from the press until he succeeded Warren Harding as President.

During his first year as Vice-President, Coolidge authored several articles published in periodicals. A few of these made references to improving economic conditions. However, most of them dealt with the same themes as his speeches. A few are of importance to a study of Coolidge's character, since they seem to echo themes which now cast a negative light upon Coolidge.

One article, appearing in the February, 1921 issue of Good Housekeeping was titled "Whose Country Is This?' It extols the White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant traditions of America as opposed to those of recent immigrants, and favors restrictive quotas on further immigration. This is surprising, in light of Coolidge's courting of, and popularity with Irish and French-Canadian voters in Massachusetts. However, the Republican-dominated Congress would pass a temporary immigration restriction bill that year, which was signed into law by President Harding.

These restrictions were tightened up even more by an act passed in 1924, setting up quotas that favored Northern Europeans. While he expressed regret for this act's anti-Japanese bias, Coolidge did not want to buck what he perceived as a popular trend of the times, or his party's will, so he signed it into law.

A three-part series of articles published in the Delineator magazine during the summer of 1921 was entitled "Enemies of the Republic." Some contemporaries speculated that Coolidge wrote little, if any of the contents of these articles, but allowed his name to appear on what was probably someone else's sloppy research. "Enemies of the Republic" attempted to prove that many professors at U.S. women's colleges were disseminators of Communist propaganda. As some of the critics of the series were quick to point out, many of the incidents cited were distorted, or magnified to imply a degree of danger that did not exist. A few of the actions by students and professors, mentioned by Coolidge, were merely examples of expressions of free speech.

Coolidge had carefully avoided "Red-baiting" when he was governor, even when he could have exploited the Boston Police strike of 1919 in that fashion. With these articles, he may have felt he was in line with the "Red-baiting" spirit of the post World War I era. However, that phase had already passed its peak when these articles appeared. Even President Harding was beginning to pardon many of the "leftist" political prisoners jailed during and after World War I. Coolidge continued to extol American ideals of democracy over imported political systems, but he seems to have quickly dropped this "red-baiting?' theme even before he became president.

While there had been little comment on his earlier articles, Coolidge may have been burned by the negative reaction to the "Enemies of the Republic" series. Almost all of Coolidge's subsequent periodical appearances during his vice-presidency were excerpts from his speeches. He would continue this policy as president, resuming his writing career only after leaving office, by which time it had become very lucrative.

When Coolidge went to Washington, D.C., he was lumped in with a group of influential men from his state. As vice president he had the highest position, but the least actual power. Henry Cabot Lodge was one of the most powerful members of the senate and chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. Western Massachusetts Congressman Frederick Gillett was Speaker of the House, and former Senator John W. Weeks was Secretary of War.

While Coolidge maintained influence in his home state's politics as a former governor and inheritor of the late Winthrop Murray Crane's political machine, Lodge ran the other Republican faction in the state, and was deferred to much more than Coolidge on party matters in Washington. In spite of the fact that Coolidge and Lodge did not care much for each other, they cooperated on party matters, and addressed the same audiences several times. From a study of the Lodge correspondence, it appears that Lodge tried harder to warm up to Coolidge than vice-versa. Coolidge did his party duty by making speeches for Lodge when the latter needed a boost in his 1922 bid for reelection.

Early in his vice-presidency, Coolidge suffered from two suggestions of scandal involving actions during his governorship. One had him influencing a bill on the Boston Elevated Railway in favor of special interests; the other was an accusation that he used state funds to pay for handkerchiefs and photographs handed out to supporters. While much was made of these accusations in a few Boston newspapers, explanations issued by Coolidge satisfied non-partisan observers of his innocence of any wrongdoing in both matters.

On the personal side, Coolidge's life as vice-president was relatively routine. However, he became bored with the position after completing the first year. This is revealed in correspondence between him and his friend Frank Stearns in March, 1922. Stearns was "quite... disturbed" by Coolidge's statement about "getting suspicious of everybody." Stearns felt "a little sick at heart" that Coolidge did "not get more comfort out of (his) success." He urged Coolidge to "... be glad to see folks, let them know that you are glad to see them and try ... to take it for granted that just plain common folks ... feel it an honor to meet the Vice-President." Coolidge's reply to Stearns reveals his pessimism at this time: "I do not think you have any comprehension of what people do to me. Even small things bother me."

Another thing that must have irritated Coolidge in late 1922, and early 1923, was that he was often mentioned as a possible candidate to unseat his state's Democratic Senator David Walsh in the 1924 election. While this was partly the hope of Massachusetts Republicans, it was seen by some national party figures as a way to get a "stronger" running mate for Warren Harding's re-election campaign. A few months before his death, Harding indicated his support for retaining Coolidge. Had Harding lived longer, and been beset by scandals, the party might have chosen someone instead of Coolidge.

In spite of some periods of gloom, Coolidge's vice-presidency did not lack amusing incidents. He had an overcoat stolen while on a train trip as Vice-President Elect. Just before he was to deliver a Massachusetts speech during the summer of 1921, the platform collapsed, reportedly leaving him "unperturbed." At an appearance at the Minnesota State Fair in 1922, the eminence of his office did not prevent him from being roundly booed when he spoke.

There are several interesting incidents involving Coolidge's residence at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. He once broke a toe when he kicked a table in his suite there. Another time, when the hotel caught on fire, he attempted to return to his rooms after it was put out. When the fireman asked him who he was, he replied, "The Vice-President." As he let Coolidge proceed, the fireman asked Coolidge what he was vice-president of and Coolidge replied that he was vice-president of the United States. The fireman told him to go back, saying that he thought Coolidge was vice president of the hotel.

One very revealing incident that did not become known until long after Coolidge's death involved a college student breaking into his room seeking money. Coolidge caught the fellow there, and learned of his circumstances upon questioning him. Coolidge swore the student to secrecy, then loaned him enough money to get home.

In 1922, a Senator's widow offered to turn over her mansion to the government for use as a vice presidential residence. While some sources suggest that First Lady Florence Harding had this proposal killed out of contempt for the Coolidges, the vice-president himself was opposed to the idea. He knew that he could not afford to staff and maintain such a residence on his salary, and that Congress seemed reluctant to appropriate the funds needed to cover such costs. In the end, the offer was rejected, and it was several decades before an official residence for the vice-president was provided.

In conclusion, how can the success of Calvin Coolidge's vice-presidency be measured? By his own lights, he seems to have been a useful part of the Harding administration. Coolidge did not embarrass himself when he was in the public eye and he served ably as a stand-in for the President as a speaker and at social functions. His errors, involving a couple of misconceived magazine articles, and one negative incident while presiding over the Senate were relatively minor.

The position of vice-president in that era did not give the occupant much scope for notable achievements, Coolidge at least took advantage of his position to learn many things about Washington which he found useful when he became President. As he stated in his, Autobiography, "While I little realized it at the time, it was for me a period of most important preparation."

Calvin Coolidge would be little remembered if he had not succeeded to the presidency, but he served his country ably as vice-president.