Calvin Coolidge, aka "Silent Cal", was a man of very few words. Our 30th President was born on July 4, 1872.
An entertaining story about Coolidge, albeit perhaps apocryphal, concerns an incident that occurred at a dinner party. Reportedly a lady seated next to him said that she had made a bet with a friend of hers. The friend had wagered that the then Vice President wouldn't say three words to the lady during the dinner. Coolidge replied, "You lose".
But when Silent Cal did decide to speak, he had important things to say.
And in his 1926 speech about the significance of the Fourth of July, he knocked the ball out of the park. On that occasion, our 150th American birthday, he delivered a thoroughly researched, moving and truly American story about the underpinnings, meaning and importance of our Declaration of Independence.
Commenting upon the unique significance of the Declaration, he said, "There is something beyond the establishment of a new nation, great as that event would be, in the Declaration of Independence which has ever since caused it to be regarded as one of the great charters that not only was to liberate America but was everywhere to ennoble humanity."
Coolidge described America as a nation founded on great ideas and self-evident truths, the three most important of which are that all men are created equal, all are endowed with inalienable rights, and that the powers of government are therefore derived only from the consent of the governed.
He uses these words, "If no one is to be accounted as born into a superior station, if there is to be no ruling class, and if all possess rights which can neither be bartered away nor taken from them by any earthly power, it follows as a matter of course that the practical authority of the Government has to rest on the consent of the governed."
The following excerpt from that 1926 speech is another favorite of mine.
"ABOUT THE DECLARATION THERE IS A FINALITY THAT IS EXCEEDINGLY RESTFUL. IT IS OFTEN ASSERTED THAT THE WORLD HAS MADE A GREAT DEAL OF PROGRESS SINCE 1776, THAT WE HAVE HAD NEW THOUGHTS AND NEW EXPERIENCES WHICH HAVE GIVEN US A GREAT ADVANCE OVER THE PEOPLE OF THAT DAY, AND THAT WE MAY THEREFORE VERY WELL DISCARD THEIR CONCLUSIONS FOR SOMETHING MORE MODERN. BUT THAT REASONING CAN NOT BE APPLIED TO THIS GREAT CHARTER. IF ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, THAT IS FINAL. IF THEY ARE ENDOWED WITH INALIENABLE RIGHTS, THAT IS FINAL. IF GOVERNMENTS DERIVE THEIR JUST POWERS FROM THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED, THAT IS FINAL. NO ADVANCE, NO PROGRESS CAN BE MADE BEYOND THESE PROPOSITIONS. IF ANYONE WISHES TO DENY THEIR TRUTH OR THEIR SOUNDNESS, THE ONLY DIRECTION IN WHICH HE CAN PROCEED HISTORICALLY IS NOT FORWARD, BUT BACKWARD TOWARD THE TIME WHEN THERE WAS NO EQUALITY, NO RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL, NO RULE OF THE PEOPLE. THOSE WHO WISH TO PROCEED IN THAT DIRECTION CAN NOT LAY CLAIM TO PROGRESS. THEY ARE REACTIONARY. THEIR IDEAS ARE NOT MORE MODERN, BUT MORE ANCIENT, THAN THOSE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY FATHERS."
I recommend that you take the time this Fourth of July weekend to read in full his excellent address. Just bing or google it, and I'm confident that you will consider the fifteen to twenty minutes with Coolidge to have been time well spent. In fact, I'll wager that you in turn will urge others to read it as well.
However, if you only have time for the "CliffsNotes" version, please see "What Silent Cal Said About the Fourth of July".
Finally, here are a few more coincidental facts about July 4th. Coolidge was our only President born on the Fourth of July. One hundred years prior to his 1926 address, two Presidents died on July 4, 1826. They were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, our 2d and 3d Presidents, respectively. Five years later our 5th President, James Monroe, died on July 4, 1831.
Thanks. Bob.
The following excerpt from that 1926 speech is another favorite of mine.
"ABOUT THE DECLARATION THERE IS A FINALITY THAT IS EXCEEDINGLY RESTFUL. IT IS OFTEN ASSERTED THAT THE WORLD HAS MADE A GREAT DEAL OF PROGRESS SINCE 1776, THAT WE HAVE HAD NEW THOUGHTS AND NEW EXPERIENCES WHICH HAVE GIVEN US A GREAT ADVANCE OVER THE PEOPLE OF THAT DAY, AND THAT WE MAY THEREFORE VERY WELL DISCARD THEIR CONCLUSIONS FOR SOMETHING MORE MODERN. BUT THAT REASONING CAN NOT BE APPLIED TO THIS GREAT CHARTER. IF ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, THAT IS FINAL. IF THEY ARE ENDOWED WITH INALIENABLE RIGHTS, THAT IS FINAL. IF GOVERNMENTS DERIVE THEIR JUST POWERS FROM THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED, THAT IS FINAL. NO ADVANCE, NO PROGRESS CAN BE MADE BEYOND THESE PROPOSITIONS. IF ANYONE WISHES TO DENY THEIR TRUTH OR THEIR SOUNDNESS, THE ONLY DIRECTION IN WHICH HE CAN PROCEED HISTORICALLY IS NOT FORWARD, BUT BACKWARD TOWARD THE TIME WHEN THERE WAS NO EQUALITY, NO RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL, NO RULE OF THE PEOPLE. THOSE WHO WISH TO PROCEED IN THAT DIRECTION CAN NOT LAY CLAIM TO PROGRESS. THEY ARE REACTIONARY. THEIR IDEAS ARE NOT MORE MODERN, BUT MORE ANCIENT, THAN THOSE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY FATHERS."
I recommend that you take the time this Fourth of July weekend to read in full his excellent address. Just bing or google it, and I'm confident that you will consider the fifteen to twenty minutes with Coolidge to have been time well spent. In fact, I'll wager that you in turn will urge others to read it as well.
However, if you only have time for the "CliffsNotes" version, please see "What Silent Cal Said About the Fourth of July".
Finally, here are a few more coincidental facts about July 4th. Coolidge was our only President born on the Fourth of July. One hundred years prior to his 1926 address, two Presidents died on July 4, 1826. They were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, our 2d and 3d Presidents, respectively. Five years later our 5th President, James Monroe, died on July 4, 1831.
Thanks. Bob.
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