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For Calvin Coolidge, the Great Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression were trials of American civilization. Throughout his career, Coolidge believed firmly in the rule of law as civilization's sine qua non, upheld the Constitution of the United states on that basis, and pursued procivilizational policies in economic and international matters. In short, Coolidge took his political ideas from his understanding of the unchanging principles of humane civilization. Yet for many of his contemporaries, the Depression seemed to demand a more flexible, pragmatic, and experimental approach to government and the interpretation of the Constitution.
Did Coolidge believe that his ideas needed to be modified to keep up with changing circumstances, or did he believe that the actual course ofevents vindicated his interpretation of civilization and of American civilization in particular? Did these events undermine or even disprove Coolidge's positions on the rule of law, the Constitution, or the wisdom of obeying economic and spiritual laws even when they appear inconvenient? This article explains Coolidge's worldview and takes up the question of the degree of his responsibility for the Great Crash of 1929 and for the Great Depression that later followed.
First, I look at the major interpretations of the Crash and consider what role Coolidge played in bringing it about. Then I turn to his role in causing the Depression. We will see that Coolidge biographers have routinely misinterpreted Coolidge's responsibility in causing the Crash and that he deserves little if any of the blame assigned to him for the Depression.
After establishing Coolidge's general innocence with respect to causing the Crash and Depression, this article examines his thoughts on remedying the economic situation. Coolidge proved an insightful if imperfect student of the primary causes of the Depression and of the secondary factors that exacerbated the situation from 1930 to 1932. This knowledge informed his proposals for addressing the problems of banking crises, unemployment, and poverty. Finally, Coolidge spoke to the meaning of the Depression for his interpretation of American civilization. He never abandoned his view that the United states was highly civilized and was therefore better positioned to weather calamities such as the Depression.
Interpretations of Coolidge Policies
The dominant historical narrative of the Great Depression in the twentieth century was established by...