Succession Wars
Throughout history, and perhaps even to include Biblical times, if leadership does not pass to a successor freely and with general support, there is chaos. Perhaps civil wars. Some last a long time. Back then, wars were not uncommon when a king died, whether from natural causes, or helped along. The death of Julius Caesar brought huge battles fought over control of the growing Roman Empire. In the 15th century, the English Wars of the Roses lasted for three decades as vying factions fought for the Crown.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the wars over the Spanish, and later Austrian succession to the Hapsburg thrones and the Holy Roman Empire, were more than mere civil wars. They engulfed half of Europe, with Louis XIV and a few other royal participants weighing in on who was going to be in charge. A lot of people died.
In the USA, when the Constitution was written, very few people cared about the office of Vice President. It was inserted almost as an afterthought, and few people (including the Vice Presidents themselves) thought highly of it. Nevertheless, it proved to be a prescient move. Nine of our Vice Presidents became President via the vacant presidency.
The 30th President
Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), former Governor of Massachusetts, was one of those Vice Presidents nominated for geopolitical balance during a hot summer convention with no air conditioning. Everybody wanted to go home.
An unassuming attorney and legislator (to augment his modest law practice), Coolidge once claimed he ran for Governor after WWI, because he believed being a former governor might help his law practice. If he ever indicated ambitions for higher office, he was his usual silent self about it.
Nevertheless, Governor Coolidge’s strong words about “no right to strike against the public welfare” made headlines. He was now a national figure. When the Republicans settled on Ohio Senator Harding as their Presidential nominee in 1920, Coolidge was named to balance the second spot.
Two and a half years later, President Harding died unexpectedly of a heart attack. The country was truly shocked and saddened. They liked him. He was handsome, outgoing, and very good at working the crowd. And now the taciturn New Englander was in the Oval Office.
The First Oath
The painting of Calvin Coolidge taking the Presidential Oath of Office in the parlor of his father’s house in Plymouth Notch, VT at two in the morning, has been widely circulated – not merely because of the unusual setting, but because of the administration of the oath.
Since the beginning of US history, it has been the duty of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to administer the oath at a well-attended public ceremony. There have been a rare few exceptions.
Perhaps the rarest of all, was Coolidge’s ceremonial oath.
When he was awakened in the middle of the night and advised of the momentous news, his first thought was to kneel at his bedside with his wife, and offer silent prayer. But Coolidge was also an attorney, and knew time was off the essence. It would take hours to arrange a proper – and legal – transfer of succession out in the tiny village. The Coolidge farm lacked electricity, telephone or telegraph communication. So he asked one of the reporters who had made their way to the farm to race back to town and send a wire to the Court, asking what occupation was necessary for someone to “legally” administer the oath to assure immediate continuity. He was advised that all that was needed was a duly authorized “officer of the court.”
It so happened that the senior Coolidge, Calvin’s father, was a duly authorized notary public and justice of the peace. Thus eligible. He administered the oath in their small gaslit parlor, with an audience of perhaps twenty people crowded in.
It is unlikely that a similar situation would ever happen again.
The Second Oath
Calvin Coolidge was a cautious man who believed it is much better to prevent fires than to scurry around trying to put them out. He was basically sure that his father’s office as notary was sufficient, but he did not want the bothersome challenges.
A few weeks later, he arranged a second “swearing in” in Washington, since the question of a state official administering a federal oath had been raised. At the request of then-Attorney General Harry Daugherty, Justice Adolph A. Hoehling Jr., of the District of Columbia, was asked to administer the oath in a private meeting at the Willard Hotel, surmised to remove any doubt as to the validity of state vs. federal jurisdiction. It was a complete secret for the next decade.
It was not until 1932, when Daugherty released that information – confirmed by Judge Hoehling.
Doubtful that keeping such a secret for so long will ever happen again.
The Third Oath
A year and a half later, in 1924, Calvin Coolidge had cut his teeth on the presidency, and had done an admirable job of it. He was completely disassociated from the scandals that were bubbling up from corruption within the Harding Administration.
Not as good looking, nor outgoing, and certainly not a glad-handler like his predecessor, the unassuming New Englander had become popular in his own right. It also did not hurt that the country was enjoying a boom time of economic prosperity. “Keeping Cool With Coolidge” seemed like a good idea.
It was easy to nominate him for a term of his own. It was even easier to reelect him. He won by a landslide against John W. Davis of WV – a name lost to history.
But there would be another Inaugural Oath oddity this time. Chief Justice William Howard Taft was on hand for the official swearing-in ceremony.
It was the first time that a former President administered the oath to another President.
And not likely to happen again.
Sources:
Daugherty, Harry M., and Dixon, Thomas – The Inside story of the Harding Tragedy – The Churchill Company, 1932
Shlaes, Amity – Coolidge – Harper Collins, 2013
https://www.justice.gov/ag/bio/daugherty-harry-micajah
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/william-howard-taft/
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