State Library of Massachusetts - Special Collections Department Ms. Coll. 19 Calvin Coolidge Collection, 1895-1933, bulk 1895-1924: Guide COLLECTION SUMMARY Creator: Coolidge, Calvin, 1872-1933. Call Number: Ms. Coll. 19 Extent: 3 boxes and 1 oversized folder (1.5 linear feet) Preferred Citation Style: Folder Title, Box Number #. Calvin Coolidge Collection. State Library of Massachusetts Special Collections. Provenance: Donation of the Estate of Calvin Coolidge, 1943, and donation of Frank W. Stearns. About This Finding Aid: Description based on DACS. Processed by: Original processor unknown. Updated by Abigail Cramer, March, 2012. Updated by Amanda Morse, April, 2014. Abstract: This collection documents Calvin Coolidge’s work as a member of local Massachusetts government (State Representative and Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts), as a State Senator, as Governor of Massachusetts, and as President of the United States. SCOPE AND CONTENT The collection has been arranged in two series. Series I: Estate of Calvin Coolidge Materials consists mainly of speeches and messages given by Calvin Coolidge from 1895 to 1924. Folder 1 contains an index to these items in which the documents are listed by subject, author, and place. The numbers in this index correspond to documents numbered in a table of contents to the speeches and messages contained in Folder 2. Folders 3-128 contain the documents State Library of Massachusetts – Special Collections Department Guide to Ms. Coll. 19 – Calvin Coolidge Collection Page 1 of 9 referred to as “Speeches and Messages.” Also included is a folder of typescript copies of letters from Calvin Coolidge between 1919 and 1920, and a folder of statements by Calvin Coolidge made between 1919 and 1921. Material in both of these folders is also indexed by subject in the “Index to Writings and Papers of Calvin Coolidge” contained in Folder 1. Series I also contains a copy of the “Public Record of Calvin Coolidge” compiled by Henry F. Long, private secretary to Governor Coolidge during the Boston Police Strike of 1919. Long was also a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, a nationally recognized authority on state and local taxation, and Commissioner of Corporations and Taxation in Massachusetts for 33 years. In 1924 the “Public Record of Calvin Coolidge” was submitted to the Republican National Committee. Also included in this series is a document containing Coolidge's nomination expenses for Governor of Massachusetts in 1919 and for Vice President in 1920. Series II: Frank W. Stearns Materials contains miscellaneous material by and related to Calvin Coolidge. The material includes speeches, memos, correspondence, telegrams and reports. Almost all of the material is in the form of typescript copies. Also included is a series of press releases generally covering the period of Coolidge's presidency. Pencil notations on some of the documents reflect an effort by Library staff at some point to link the two parts of the Coolidge collection. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States, from 1923–1929. Coolidge began his political career as a Republican lawyer in Massachusetts. Coolidge attended Black River Academy and then Amherst College, after which he moved to Northampton, Massachusetts and apprenticed with Hammond & Field, a local law firm; he was admitted to the bar in 1897. In 1898, he opened his own practice in Northampton where he practiced transactional law. In 1896, Coolidge became involved in the local campaign for presidential candidate William McKinley, and due to his work on that campaign he was selected to be a member of the Republican City Committee in 1897. In 1898, he was elected to City Council in Northampton; in 1901 and 1902 he was elected City Solicitor. Later in 1903, he served as Clerk of Courts. In 1905, Coolidge was elected to a two year term, 1906 to 1907, in the State House of Representatives of Massachusetts and was reelected for the 1908-1909 term. At the end of this term, he returned to Northampton and was elected Mayor, in which position he served two terms. In 1911, Coolidge was elected State Senator for Hampshire County, Massachusetts. After a successful four years, he ran successfully for the position of Lieutenant Governor of State Library of Massachusetts – Special Collections Department Guide to Ms. Coll. 19 – Calvin Coolidge Collection Page 2 of 9 Massachusetts. He held this position until 1918, at which point he ran for, and was elected, Governor of Massachusetts. Coolidge’s conduct during the Boston Police Strike of 1919 brought him national attention and gave him a respected reputation. This reputation led to his election to Vice President of the United States in 1920. When President Warren G. Harding died suddenly in 1923, Coolidge succeeded to the presidency and finished Harding’s term with much success. He ran for President in the following election and won. Coolidge was a well-liked president, and he left the office still in favor with the American people. Coolidge died in 1929, one year after finishing his term as President of the United States. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Arrangement The papers are arranged in two series as follows: Series I: Estate of Calvin Coolidge Materials, 1895-1924 Series II: Frank W. Stearns Materials, 1912-1927 Conditions Governing Access This collection is open for research during the Special Collections Department’s regular hours. Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use Copyright restrictions may apply. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with Special Collections staff. Languages and Scripts The materials are entirely in English. Immediate Source of Acquisition The materials in the Calvin Coolidge Collection were given to the Library as two separate gifts. The majority was donated by the Estate of Calvin Coolidge in 1943. The remainder was given by Frank W. Stearns, a Boston merchant, head of the R.H. Stearns Company department store and a close friend and advisor of Calvin Coolidge. The materials are similar, and it was decided that they should be handled as one collection. State Library of Massachusetts – Special Collections Department Guide to Ms. Coll. 19 – Calvin Coolidge Collection Page 3 of 9 Related Materials The following collections may also be of interest: Scrapbook Collection 10, State Library of Massachusetts: Newspaper clippings concerning Calvin Coolidge, 1915-1928 Scrapbook Collection 39, State Library of Massachusetts: Newspaper clippings concerning Calvin and Grace Coolidge, 1923-1947 Series Description and Container List Series I: Estate of Calvin Coolidge Materials, 1895-1924. Scope and Content This series consists mainly of speeches and messages given by Calvin Coolidge from 1895 to 1924. Folder 1 contains an index to these items in which the documents are listed by subject, author, and place. The numbers in this index correspond to documents numbered in a table of contents to the speeches and messages contained in Folder 2. Folders 3-128 contain the documents referred to as “Speeches and Messages.” Also included is a folder of typescript copies of letters from Calvin Coolidge between 1919 and 1920, and a folder of statements by Calvin Coolidge made between 1919 and 1921. Material in both of these folders is also indexed by subject in the “Index to Writings and Papers of Calvin Coolidge” contained in Folder 1. This series also contains a copy of the “Public Record of Calvin Coolidge” compiled by Henry F. Long, private secretary to Governor Coolidge during the Boston Police Strike of 1919. Long was also a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, a nationally recognized authority on state and local taxation, and Commissioner of Corporations and Taxation in Massachusetts for 33 years. In 1924 the “Public Record of Calvin Coolidge” was submitted to the Republican National Committee. Also included in this series is a document containing Coolidge's nomination expenses for Governor of Massachusetts in 1919 and for Vice President in 1920. Arrangement Materials are arranged in their original order. Box # Folder # Folder Title Date 1A 1 Index to the Writings and Papers of Calvin Coolidge undated State Library of Massachusetts – Special Collections Department Guide to Ms. Coll. 19 – Calvin Coolidge Collection Page 4 of 9 1A 2 Table of contents to speeches and messages of Calvin 1895-1924 Coolidge 1A 3-111 Speeches and Messages of Calvin Coolidge 1895-1924 1B 111-128 Speeches and Messages of Calvin Coolidge 1895-1924 1B 129 Personal letters (typescript) from Calvin Coolidge (includes 1919-1920 table of contents by addressee) 1B 130 Statements of Calvin Coolidge, indexed by subject in "Index 1919-1921 to Writings and Papers of Calvin Coolidge" 1B 131 Nomination expenses for Governor and for Vice President 1919-1920 1B 132 Appointments made by Calvin Coolidge 1919-1920 1B 133 “Public Record of Calvin Coolidge” by Henry F. Long 1924 Series II: Frank W. Stearns Materials, 1912-1927. Scope and Content This series contains miscellaneous material by and related to Calvin Coolidge. The material includes speeches, memos, correspondence, telegrams and reports. Almost all of the material is in the form of typescript copies. Also included is a series of press releases generally covering the period of Coolidge's presidency. Pencil notations on some of the documents reflect an effort by Library staff at some point to link the two parts of the Coolidge collection. Arrangement Materials are arranged in their original order. Box # Folder # Folder Title Date 2 1 Cover sheet from Stearns collection undated 2 2 Voting record of Calvin Coolidge, 1907-1908 in 1907-1908, 1912- House, 1912-1915 in Senate 1915 2 3 Lists and tables of various bills and their 1914-1915 experience in the House and Senate State Library of Massachusetts – Special Collections Department Guide to Ms. Coll. 19 – Calvin Coolidge Collection Page 5 of 9 2 4 Progressive and labor measures enacted in 1914, 1914-1915 Progressive legislation of 1915 2 5 Address on being re-elected President of the January 6, 1915 Senate (See also Folder 39) 2 6 Some remarks of Robert M.