Calvin Coolidge

This portrait of Calvin Coolidge reveals an astute politician and thinker seeking to restrain the unprecedented spending pressures of the 1920s and maintain a limited role for the federal government. He did so without a strong party caucus in Congress. Instead, he used considerable rhetorical skills, a knack for publicity, and the advent of radio and other new forms of mass-circulation media to sway public opinion and keep his priorities at the forefront of national politics throughout his presidency.

The book argues that, since the 1980s, Coolidge has been mistakenly seen as the inspiration for supply-side economics and tax cuts amid growing budget deficits, when in fact his policy was to secure budget surpluses and debt reduction before tax cuts. It examines how issues that continue to trouble American politics today, including questions about the scale and scope of the federal government, were also key features of Coolidge's presidency.