Grace Coolidge
No one could have been more surprised by the 1920 Republican convention than Grace Goodhue Coolidge.
The Beginning of Fame
The nomination of Warren G. Harding was a surprise to the country. Choosing a Vice Presidential candidate was an afterthought. It was still considered an honorable, but generally toothless position of little consequence other than mildly ceremonial.
Calvin Coolidge
The story goes, that when Calvin Coolidge told his wife that he was being nominated for Vice President, she was amazed, and said, “Well you’re not going to accept, are you?” He replied, “I think I have to.”
The Politics of Grace
Grace Goodhue Coolidge (1879-1957) was a traditional late Victorian woman. Nevertheless, she had a solid college education (University of Vermont), learned sign language and became a teacher of the deaf before becoming Mrs. Calvin Coolidge in 1905. Tradition dictated that a married woman did not work outside the home.
The nuclear Coolidge family.
So Bride Coolidge stayed home, had two sons in short order, and became the quintessential New England wife and mother. She cooked and baked (not very well), sewed and knitted (better), and became active in their church and local charitable organizations. Her husband liked it that way; she did not seem to mind. As the quintessential Victorian New England male, he believed that politics and indeed all business, was a man’s business.
As Coolidge’s modest legal practice was augmented by his modest entry into local and state politics, Grace played little if any part. When he decided to run for higher office, she was usually the last to know. His thinking could be summed up as: Her job wasn’t changing, his was, so what was the point?
But as the 19-teens changed drastically vis-à-vis women (among other things), in some ways, he was the last to know.
In short, Grace had no political opinions.
The Value of Grace
Mrs. Coolidge, housewife.
By the end of World War I, women and their voting powers had become a force to be reckoned with. Coolidge was late aboard, but once it was a fact of life, he accepted it. Many social-political events now included wives at receptions and dinners and fashionable parties. Grace was happy to go, and be among the “voting” citizens, although she had not sought it actively.
Coolidge, as Lt. Governor (and later Governor), was delighted to bring her when feasible. In his own way, he was extremely proud of her. She was good looking and had an outgoing personality. She was a snappy dresser. For all his legendary thrift, Coolidge took an inordinate interest in his wife’s wardrobe, and was free with the checkbook. One story has an exhausted Grace commenting after a day’s unsuccessful shopping with her husband for her clothing, she would have been happy with anything – just to be done with it. But it was he who insisted on her sartorial perfection.
He was amazed however, at how popular his wife was with the political community, both as Mrs. Governor and later as Mrs. VP. Everybody loved her. True, she was pretty and outgoing. True, she had a college education, and was familiar with the latest books and shows and songs. But there was another bonus. Baseball. Grace loved it and was knowledgeable. Hmmm.
The Surprise of Popularity
The Hardings and the Coolidges.
When Coolidge was sworn in as VP in March, 2021, the office was still negligible. The couple took rooms at the Willard Hotel (maintaining their rented half-a-house in Northampton), enrolled their two sons in school, and looked for ways to be useful. It was obvious from the start that the Hardings and the Coolidges were not destined to be close. The story goes that when a house was offered as a permanent home for the Vice President (whoever filled the office), it was FLOTUS Florence Harding who nixed it, commenting that “a hotel was good enough for the Coolidges.”
Other than presiding over the Senate, the VP was given very little to do. Mrs. VP was given nothing to do.
But as a courtesy, they were invited as “guests of honor” to various social activities in DC. So they went. The provincial New Englanders were a huge hit with the uber-sophisticated political crowd. Grace, as usual, fit in easily wherever she was placed. That was no surprise. But “Silent Cal” as he became known, astounded everyone with his a) silence, and b) his unexpected and agonizingly dry-wry sense of humor. He was being widely quoted within a few months. No longer a courtesy, the Coolidges were on everyone’s A-guest list. So they went. “Gotta eat somewhere,” he said.
They also were not required to return invitations that extensively. Periodic large gatherings could suffice. It was easy on their food budget.
Grace Coolidge, housewife, and Grace Coolidge, popular political wife had merged.
Mrs. POTUS and Spouse
The iconic portrait of Coolidge’s oath of office.
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