Calvin Coolidge

A political leader of the early twentieth century. A Republican, he rose to prominence as governor of Massachusetts when he broke a strike by policemen in Boston, saying, “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time.” He was elected vice president under Warren Harding and became president in 1923 when Harding died. In 1924, he was elected on his own, but he declined to seek reelection in 1928; Herbert Hoover succeeded him in 1929. Coolidge worked to restrain the growth of government and especially to keep it from interfering with private enterprise; he once declared that “the business of America is business.”

Note: Coolidge was renowned for using few words; he announced his retirement from the presidency in one sentence: “I do not choose to run for president in 1928.”