Grace coolidge was enormously popular as a first lady and influence the taste of american women by a style icon. Married to a man named simon cautionary spoke to the press but she brought attention to issue she cared about. Good evening and welcome to cspan series, first lady influence and image. Tonight will tell you the story of first lady Grace Coolidge who came into office with her husband in 1932, here to set the stage for us as we learn about their five years plus in the white house. Syndicated columnist, author of other books in that period, welcome to the program. Wed like to have you tell us about the rival of coolidge in the white house, how cool and prepared was he for the job . He was prepared, hes one of those men who started as City Solicitor where the coolidge lived, no one can be prepared for the shock of a president , but he was prepared professionally. And greece coolidge was by his side, how ready bushy for it . Shouldnt think she was, she wrote to her Sorority Sisters and said prefer me sprint, friends. She was ready, she had a real estate view of politics and the particular job. She called this kind of merit a double harness. Its not a freeze we would use now in a positive way about marriage. They were little politicians, recorded they were thinking about this sitting in the governors chair. It was clear that calvin, her future husband was ambitious politics. During this time there was a lot of change decidedly, the women who had voted for the first time in the election. 1935 the first woman was elected, 1926 nbc was founded. First talking movie came out, just finger. Emily air hurt flies across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928. Just part of the enormous changes going on. What kind of country did calvin inherit . A country in rough water, when we came out of world war i, that was 1818 we owed quite a bit of money. We had far more debt than we could ever imagine. Taxes were, highy revolutions were seized, people wondered if there would be revolutions here if the workers would take over the streets as they had done in europe. You know, when we look at what happened in world war one some of us have forgotten, it was very progressive and instructing and unexpected. For example, the government nationalized and the denationalized the industry. The stock market was shut down, no one knew how to come out of it. Then you want add to that there was an inflation no one acknowledged. So Public Sector workers were very angry and justifiably so. And you know, that was a factor as well. Plus one third of the returning vets, there was general conscription in world war i had some four of disability and we had no penicillin. Thats a lot right . So how did president hurting use his Vice President . In other words what was the relationship like between the first and second couple . You want to separate the first and second ladies and the couples, they got along very well, and what he did was he invited his Vice President coolidge to sit in that was a form of welcome and it was cool for coolidge, though he never heard the dirty details of the harding administration. He didnt hear all of, it he got to know the senate which he recalled was quite of an experience. Between the ladies it was a little refer, mrs. Harding was older, she was envious of young Grace Coolidge, who was sort of a beautiful, complexion, that was much treasured in that time, and still had the bloom of youth upon her. And mrs. Harding defined one color as her own, parting blue. Will every color looks good on grace. She could be snippy with grace, and we have some letters that suggest that she was thinking of the same election, and maybe coolidge wouldnt be the candidate next time, and when the issue came up that maybe brace coolidge should have a president ial house, there was none. Harding said that the hotel was good for the coolidges. The ladies were also very different, last week we learned that she had a very bold personality. She had issues that she cared about, she encouraged her husband in politics, we seem to have opposites in the relationships between the. Coolidge law. Can you talk about that . Graces biographer says the harding marriage is more like a business, they had a deal, Warren Harding got to do this, it was an older marriage as well. In the coolidge case i wouldnt say that grace was always differential, but she was differential in public. In private there could have been fireworks. In politics, that it was kept the private sphere. She kept her in a prescribed area, one time when she tried a riding habit, he said he didnt want her to do that. You know id advise you not to try while we are in the presidency, so mrs. Coolidge in some ways was a very oldfashioned wife. So were going to be visiting a number of sites associated with the coolidges as we do throughout these programs, the first is vermont, the birthplace of Calvin Coolidge, law his birthplace, well learn what happened there on the night he took office. What is this town . Like im newlythe town and share of the board of our foundation there, the Calvin Foundation their wants to invite all americans to visit, its small, its one of the most beautiful villages in the world, and you can see coolidges birthplace, he wasnt worn over the store like thatcher but he was built right under it, you get an idea of how beautiful but hard life for people in a town like that. Was we are seeing some scenes of a, vermont in just a moment were gonna tell you some dramatic stories about how coolidge found out he was going to be the president of the states. One of the things that has been very special about the series is learning from your questions, we encouraged that in several ways, our phone number will be on the screen throughout the program. Two zero two five three eight one if you live in the mountain pacific time zones, you can also tweet us, our twitter address is at first ladies. You can also join the conversation on our Facebook Page on cspan. You can find the Beautiful Image of the coolidge administration, send us a picture there and we will try to mix those in throughout the program. So back to vermont and the night that kelvin and Grace Coolidge learned theyre going to the white house. Plymouth is the birth home of Calvin Coolidge, his house was attached to the store his father operated. Then he moved to the house across the road, the homestead, an Old Fashioned town for those in the sophisticated twenties. Grace spent some of the time walking around, that was one of her great passions. She loved to walk, and so she would go down to the cemetery, especially after her son calvin jr. Died to visit the site there. She did knitting and other types of hand work when she was there. She enjoyed the country there. She grew up in the biggest town in vermont, and when she was growing up her house had electricity and plumbing, and when she came here this was very much still a country home, so no electricity or plumbing in the house she stayed in with her husband. This is the kitchen of the coolidge homestead, so this is where they would have breakfast or dinner. No dining in the house. Very simple. In here there was one running faucet in the kitchen, and that was the only plumbing in the entire house, so this was in great contrast to what greece had been experiencing not only as a child growing up in burlington, which was sophisticated at the time, as well as of course in the white house when she had all the modern luxuries. This is a two hall privy, the only sanitary facility in the house. Of course coming here with kelvin was very much throw back to the previous century, so this wasnt what she was used to, but hearing all the reports about grace she probably took this in good stride, and regarded this as part of her experience with her husband. The furniture here is the bed spread that kelvin and greece used when they were in plymouth, vermont. Its very typical of the circa 18 seventies, country style. The rooms are small in the house, not the spacious rooms they were accustomed to in the white house certainly. She was also president when the word came that harding had died, she was part of the select people who witnessed the swearing in. This is the sitting room of the coolidge rooms, we now know it as the oath of office room. This is where the group gathered when he administered his speeches. The group gathered around the center table, the pen that was signed, the bible that was, here but not officially used in the swearengin because that wasnt required by vermont state law, grace would have stood right about where i am, and there is a famous painting with arthur killer of the homestead integral, and it shows the Group Standing around and she is right by kelvins side. I want to introduce you to our second guest at the table, former director of the Calvin Coolidge foundation there, and as we learned earlier the author of another book, set the tone for us about her personality and what she brought to the job. It was sudden, but she had been second lady for a while, she has not been in washington for a. While she didnt have a major role when her husband was governor of massachusetts, as wife of the Vice President she was often invited out to dinner. Should i know the percentages, and as kevin said we have to go somewhere grace. They went out a lot. Its obvious they would have to go out for dinner quite a bit. She set the tone in that she was very joyous and vivacious. Some people said she was the fun one, the front door greeter, whereas her husband was the thoughtful one behind her. Its a interesting dynamic because we often dont see this with first lady president s. Hes not just the thoughtful one, kelvin, he seems to be an anti politician in a lot of ways. What was it about this man . We see politics as a contact sport today. His personality doesnt seem so suited for politics, what brought him to . It he wasnt eight glad hander in that way, one reason he was able to climb up in massachusetts as he went to the constituencies. Very famous stories about what he would say if someone would ask for something hed say well, maybe which would mean you would get it. He under promise and overdelivered. Thats a political tactic, and a likable one because it makes you trust the politician and therefore government. He was a principled and thoughtful politician. More modern than wed like to pretend now. Heres a question that fits for where we are right now. What aspect of her personality or experience he asked helped mrs. Could be such an effective counterbalance for her husband . And you think he could have had the political career he had without her . Thats an interesting one because when he was Vice President she thought he could get back to southampton and the boys quite a bit. He said no, i need you here to help me navigate these political and social waters. So yes i think that she was key and giving him a social stability, and reaching out to others. She remembered peoples names and faces, so she could be very engaging with people, and he could set back and think as i said before. Also, the both had a great sense of humor. They had all these jokes with each other, and of course he played a few jokes on people at the white house as well. So as they were going to office, as harding died, the scandals we heard about came to life. How did Calvin Coolidge handle the scandals . This was his test because this was his own party, maybe we blame them. He appointed a bipartisan group, a modern investigative group, both sides. He stood back from it. One might say today make a clean sweep, lets get rid of everyone, he didnt do that because the continuity was important for him, continuity was important of Harding Coolidge policy. Reduce uncertainty. We kept most of them on until it became clear that there was too much trouble, and some left. But all proper and clear. And he had the blessing of not knowing much. He didnt know much as Vice President , but he suspected in the one thing that he resented about Warren Harding is that harding could be selling the presidency. Coolidge had Great Respect for the presidency. Is it true that coolidge listened in on the scandals of the administration . I think she went to congress and listened to what was going on. She kept in the background, more in the tradition of first ladies to have a happy home life, greet the public, the care of children, but not meddle in public policy. Were going to go back in time and find out about how they look met, the double harness . Double harness. Here is a bit of a story of how the coolidges met. This is where cabin and greece met for the first time. She was a teacher, he was a tenant in the boarding property. We are standing outside of the building that grace lived, and she lived on the second floor of this building in the dormitory, were living, we were standing on the court yard area. The building right beside us is where Calvin Coolidge lived, his room was up on the third floor at the back of the building, and he would have stood there watching grace. He cut a glimpse of her in her undershirt, he watched her take care of the garden. Were in the dormitory building and this building is where grace would have seen calvin out across the courtyard and she would put a candle to say hello. Were now in the parlor room of the dormitory that Grace Coolidge lived in, and in this room is where grace and kelvin would meet and sit and talk together. Despite him being in his thirties and her in her twenties, they still had to abide by the rules of the school, and had to meet somewhere where they would be chaperones and supervised on campus. Here they would sit and talk and get to know each other. And we learned but their northampton meeting. What about the two attracted them to each other . I think coming from vermont, both coming from vermont attracted them to each. Other he is from roll plymouth, and she was from a big city in vermont. She found him engaging and thoughtful, and he found her beautiful, but it he didnt quite know how to romance her. He asked a friend who happened to be a shoemaker in town what to say to grace. The shoe maker said compliment. Or tell her her shoes are beautiful. Do that kind of thing. Grace save the letters kevin wrote. Even though they were neighbors he saved the letters. They were very affectionate. How long did the court . Two years. Her family, she was an only child, i read that her mother wasnt happy about the relationship. So myra adored her child, and she thought that she would stay in the wellington area. Grace had her own mind and she said that she would like to teach at the clark school for the death. Gray said she would like to move to northampton. And myra said that is the home of Smith College and i guess most of the men are married so it will be okay. So myra could still look for a has been for grace. So that was her idea of what would happen here, but grace with her mind of her own finds kelvin, and the rest is history. Then myra didnt get what you wanted, and on the wedding day when myra has a headache. She got married earlier than her mother would have liked, as cindy liked, with trepidation writing to her friend that she was going into an adventure, but they were quite determined. This was a modern thing. They chose one another. She had been to college. Coit college. She had a trade. A very modern marriage compared to a lot of the proceeding presidencies. Jennifer on facebook, im interested in the work with disabled. One of the first to do so. Was she involved with the university when she was in washington d. C. . No because she believed in liberating and was trained to do that. Not sign language. Ive been to the clerk school for the death many times and i would say its a difficult art. Here we have our first color of the evening, this is john watching us from seattle. I think you just answered my question. Did grace no asl. Was there a lot of controversy about how to teach the death . There was not much controversy. They were different concepts. The feeling was that you could feel better in society through liberating. Sign language wouldnt van see it in terms of your career. I think we feel differently about that now. Back then there was a real drive to fit in, and participate in society. Next is jim from springfield illinois. Hi jim. Iran. Okay, i had a couple of questions. One is on a mechanic note, and by the way i apologize to jim koch. As one man show. Anyway, there was a story about women in the white house, when calvin went to church alone, and when he returned grace asked him what had been the subject of the sermon, and he replied sin. And grace said what does the preacher have to say about it, and calvin is alleged to have replied he was instant. Are you familiar with that or any of the other anecdotes about their relationship in the white house . Thanks very much. There seem to be all kinds of stories about the man of few words. Give a favor yourself . Thats a good one. If youve lived in new england, thats what you would say. Coolidge is humor was very much of his region, jim koch, the impersonator mention captures this, takes a full minute to, see the word cow. He spoke more interest to me as lowly. Coolidge goes to a dinner party, and a bright lady says well, coolidge, i meet a bet that i could get you to say more than two worth tonight, and fellow. I think the Vice President said, you lose. That was colleges humor. Today we think thats a little cold. Theres a little pause after and you laugh. Thats a boarding house. What are some of the other things that we should know but the early years of the relationship before they go to the white house that are key . Will building on some of the stories, when they get married calvin delivers to greece 52 soft to be darned. Gray says did you marry me too darn socks. He said no but it comes in handy. She started to do it. It was okay. They kid each other quite a bit. I think that she had just to some of his personality. I think he was tough when writing speeches, and she said he waits his safety valve. She listened to him and was positive when he was doing Something Like that. Also some key roles, we talked about the president ial years what else was formative in the two of them establishing the people that they would become as first couple . When he was governor, he came into a difficult situation, the turmoil that we described before, and in the middle of it there was the Boston Police raid, a union striking of just before the election. Many of his policeman were constituents, there are dissertations about how good coolidge was with immigrants, the constituents were. Irish coolidge fired the policeman. A very dramatic moment, his political career was at risk, not sure if he did the right thing. Some of us are unsure if he did the right. Think and grace is in the background . Where at home in northampton. That was the relationship in northampton. In the middle of the street he went home, i read it was his sons birthday, but that was the piece to make the hard decisions. Another thing that he did when he had to make a hard decision was go to the cemetery to see his ancestors who had come earlier to massachusetts. His family was important to him, and when you hear grace say safety evolves, its a little ominous. It sounds a little bit like anger, and on modern. But she was that. Next is sean watching us from louisville kentucky. Henry doing . I just want to say how much i appreciate the series, and i wanted to see if your guests had commented on the death of the coolidge sun, and how it affected misses coolidge. I love mrs. Coolidge portrait of her dog. Well talk about the death of her son because it was so important to the parents and the presidency. Will catch up on the story later on. You asked for the first ladies portrait. Well show it to you now, when you have uprooted to see the first ladies portrait you must say that its rather arresting, in the red dress. Could you talk a little bit about the portrait . How it was done and how well it epitomizes her . A couple of things there. Hes the portrait painter. He had agrees pose and he said i like this because of the contrast between the white dog and the red dress. Someone passed by it i like her lot better in the white dress. I dont agree. I think that we should die the dogs for a red. This was given to the white house, and they came 1300 strong. It was the biggest gathering of women in the white house up until that time. Who were they . They were her fraternity. Thick called them fraternity sisters and a. Now they call it Sorority Sisters. She always stayed interested, involved, and was appointed to higher and higher offices there. She had to recede once they reached national office, but she always loved her sisters, and in 90 15 she started round robin with her sisters, which means they write letters to her and she writes letters to them. This is important for us to historians, because we have those letters to read. Were going to learn more about race coolidges style in this video. There are a number of items that dont come out often because of their fragility and sensitivity to light and so forth. They are in our permanent storage area here on. She was really quite a fashion play in the twenties. It was because of him. It was his fiscal weakness to keep her beautiful clothing. Much of the jewelry is on the costume style. But there are a few fancier pieces that i like to show. This is a beautiful jade pendant, which includes a cloth, and is surrounded by sapphires and diamonds. And so, of course, this would fit in nicely with the 1920s interest in the oriental style. Theres a small approach that was given to her, and there are newspaper reports of her wearing this piece. Its the eagle of the United States. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, platinum. Wonderful garden decode traveling pot. Among the several fans we have in the collection is this one here, which she received from the president of cuba, when they went to that country. Cuba was the only other country that calvin and greece visited during the white house years, and this is a particularly fine fan, as you can see. Goldenly and hand painted screen. One of the games in the collection, this actually so heavily beaded that we can never play and its a position. So when its out in a display case its flat, and you can see that it is almost entirely beads and sequins, quite heavy actually. She had a great impact on the style of the 1920s. The gowns very much have the ragged hemlines that were so popular during the twenties, heavily beaded features. Very typical, you can only imagine what this looked like. Patricia picks up on this, is a true that coolidge was very frugal, except for when it came to his wifes clothing . Ive read that he would buy her very expensive dresses. When did that whole dynamic start in the relationship . I think he was interested in clothing for both of them. Right from the beginning. He wrote his father to get funding for the clothes, because we wanted to look good. This was part of the image as a couple, i think its fascinating. We have mentioned frank sterns, who owns the Sterns Department store in boston. I have a feeling that frank sterns was maybe able to get some discount on the clothing, so that grace could wear it. That could have been part of it. But calvin would go window shopping which is so interesting as a president. He would buy a hat and bring it back for grace to wear. He was very interested in what she wore. Give more to say about the topic . Just that if she did like it should always say. She saw how important it was to him. She enjoyed the clothing, and that was something that they could do together. She enjoyed how lavishly he attended to her. So this is one of the happy parts of their marriage. She was so beautiful. We forget how beautiful she was. She became a great unimportant symbol. Her joy, her beauty, all of it. Weve had first ladies back in history who have set fashion standards. This was the time of the great rise and advertising, were starting to see advertising. Im sure it was very good to have first lady like this. As we mentioned before, she didnt speak much in public. Everyone loved her. Shouldnt say anything you would like to cheat and speak much. That was pretty good. Like her predecessor she was the master of the photo op. Is that true . Absolutely. This was also theater. He played the sound one, and she played, some of this is a theater. In marriage we tradeoff rules. They had their act down as you could say. You should note that as a style and fashion icon and first lady she was honored as a icon, but people can wonder if she was considered a icon in the jazz . Age she took dancing lessons in washington, and coolidge wouldnt have like that. Sean, he didnt want her to have short skirts, he said you need a rug when he sought knees. You dont want to wear pants either, she didnt wear them until gavin passed away. Hair bobbing. He didnt like the idea of bobbing here. She did bob her hair until after the presidency. She did have music though. Wonderful music at the white house, but it wasnt jazz. It was more traditional, she loved to showcase people at the white house who were very talented, but it wasnt jazz. That was too far. We are in this transition time period, and people think it was traditional as the mission was becoming very walt in some ways. Remember they also believe in prohibition. On the first ladies website they write about her, she was among the first a first ladies to pursue a study of her predecessors. Writing that since i got to the white house ive Read Everything i could find concerning former mistresses of the mansion and regret that there is so little. We have some quotes from them that look at their approach to this role of first lady that we want to share with you. First its grace coach herself, its famous. As she thought of herself as first lady, she said this was i, and yet not i. This was the wife of the president of the United States, and she took precedence over me. My personal likes and dislikes must be subordinated to the consideration of those things which were required of her. And here is kelvin coolidge about the role. The public little understands the very exacting duties that she must perform, and the city restrictive life she must lead. I would love you to comment on this. They had to shake thousands of hands. When kelvin raised a favor, its when he would shake three dozen. Hands more often, she had to be there, or she had to entertain. So the physical obligations were hard to injure, and at a point she became ill later on in the presidency. You can see how much they had to do in terms of pure reception. The idea of the white house as a democratic place, that meant that people came in. The harding set that kind of presidency. As you, know you are the head of state, we dont have royalty here and thats the royalty you kind of get with all of this at elation by the public. And when they would travel, people would swarm them so to speak. She brought a little bit more disciplined to the role of first lady, she had to secretaries instead of one. Florence harding let people come in any old time to the white house. Gray said you should meet me at noon on the steps for a 3 00 reception. She was a little bit more organized about these things. And then people forget they had the me flower lot, this is the place where they could be themselves. The military granted, the public didnt know about what was going on there, even though it was upright. It was a time out for them. When they escaped they go to northampton, plymouth . Each place they went to was no escape, because of the crowd. So plymouth, people camped, out shopped. Coolidge wasnt sure if people would exploit the presidency in that way. There is always this ambivalence. The began to go on summer retreats. They went to a mass in a house, or the and rhonda, acts south dakota, wisconsin, where they could have space from other people. This was a president that was about saving the economy, so if he live to opulent lee it wouldnt look at on him. What you can find is the tension over spending on food in the coolidge white house. There was a housekeeper, she spent too much, coolidge didnt like the way she spent. She went to the specialty stores, he thought she would go to a cheaper store, soon she was gone and they brought in a new england lady, miss reilly. Miss rarely kept a record of every penny that was spent, and indeed she spent less. Grace had to be the wife and all of this, she had to deal with all of the social demands and the tension could have caused for her. I think it is good that this was a couple that have to pay for everybodys foot, but they had a diplomatic budget, and entertain budget. They entertain more than other president ial couples. This was a middle class couple coming into the presidency. They dont have their own wealth as weve seen with. Others said on twitter asks what was graces religion and was it a important part of her political life . It was very important. She was raised as a methodist. But at the age of 15 she moved on to the congregation of church. She thought the minister was good, there and her family followed her there to the church. She felt and said in her memoirs that we have the articles she wrote about russell, she was in a church from the time that she was little, and also i feel that her faith was very much part of her character and got hurt through a lot of tough parts of life. Fall is in north carolina, and up. Next i feel. Im a big fan, second call. Really enjoying this. A comment and question about mrs. Coolidge. I just wondered if lewis based his homage, people still look at him as a puritanical pursed lip, oddly speaking, myopic conservative viewpoint of life, or even social reform or things like that. But its jokes like vaudeville at the time, more jodie parker saying, how could they tell. Any of those kinds of, that persona, or the idea of what coolidge would look like in the general public permeate into coolidges consciousness, the jokes made about her husband at the time. Mushy screened away from that . No one could be screened away from, that its a good question, she handled it wonderfully. Sinclair whos dealing with cold air. The Rachael Maddow to them. They handled it very well. Most of the time, college didnt like to see sinclair picking on him so much. You can see him complaining about sinclair lewis, i think that race just looked away. She had a great race in that way. She just looked past it. She wasnt so worried about what people said about her husband most of the time. Two other questions. Many of the photographs weve seen, including her official portrait, cherry on twitter says tell us about the apple orchards at the coolidge white house including the dock . Yes, there was black, berry and terrible tampa. The coolidges love their animals. They brought the list of the animals that she had, the names and nicknames, and who they were. She loved her animals, but i think the best story is rebecca. Rebecca the record was sent to the coolidges for thanksgiving dinner. Both the coolidges being animal lovers were outraged and decided to raise rebecca. That this is the first time that staff werent happy. Rebecca was sitting in the bat of the first ladies room, throwing the soap up, climbing the curtains. It wasnt the best for the staff, but grace loved rebecca. She was sent out to black hills to play with her. But rebecca got rambunctious and they got reuben to come to the white house and settle rebecca down. They both escaped at different times, even the grace designed a house for rebecca on the grounds. So they eventually were taken to the. Zero how did you deal with the furs that she wore . She does wear furs. Im sure she just thought that was fine. She was rabbit, thats what i read. She loved baseball more than the president. I think she loved it. I notice that when he was writing about the great battles say over taxes, the skull problems, vetoing, grace was taken to a baseball game. Thats what they did in washington, and later when she was a low she went to baseball with her friends in boston herself, subsequent to the presidency. She was a red sox fan . Here they watch the washington senators. How far into their months in office after the death of president harding did they decide that he would seek the presidency in 1924 . It was automatic, but the moment it became clear when he could do it among the other politicians was when he gave a long speech, a state of the union speech in december. It was so good, everyone you. Before the speech, the president was cross, because he realized it was a key beach. He was the candidate in 24. Suddenly there was respect for him. You see it in the letters, and the leaders across the nation. He takes some risks to focus, not just take rash risks but focus and take the risks. In that case the risk was cutting taxes, that was his civil war, it was tax cuts and laid out in that speech. Before the election happened tragedy struck the coolidge family. The coolidges brought to some stunned family. They were teenagers. They were still in northampton. As i mentioned before that was difficult. Grace and calvin conferred with boone and decided that the boys should go to an academy in pennsylvania. That would only be a couple of hours from the white house, and maybe she could see them a little bit, and also after talking to admiral boone she felt it could be a good place to of the boys. They would have good leadership with, them and they would be come fine young man. So that was the decision. And they were john and . Kelvin 1906 and 1908. They were close together, the community to the court in boston. Shes the one that put out the train tracks, she played with the boys, and their father came home on weekends, and often i have interviewed the first lady sent a couple of times, and he said i was supposed to be quiet when my father came home, but he insisted we wear shoes with middle toes. It was difficult for us. The two boys came home for their vacation to the white house, home to the white house for the summer. Thats when tragedy struck. Well learn more about what happened with the next video. Lets head into the vault where we keep specific things about the coolidge family. Grace coolidge early life, before married to kelvin. As well as documents about her family specifically children and gayle grandchildren. She was a loving wife and mother. We have wonderful correspondence that documents that. And i teen 22 grace wrote to the head of the academy were both persons were, and she writes, is there a way that we can arrange for calvin junior to have a soft boiled eggs for breakfast at a time that would be inconvenient. He just had a surgery and chris was concern about his health. This was written in 1924, like many sons he talks about his schooling, which wasnt going too well. His clothing that needed to be updated because hes going out of it, and his plans for traveling back to washington d. C. To visit his moment at. The letter reads i hope you are well and happy, i know youre, happy with love, kevin. He forgot to put something in the letter, send me some sucks. Its sad to, because we see it as the last documented letter that we have before calvin junior suddenly passes away wall in washington d. C. Sometime later. Shortly after his death, people wrote to the president and first lady in the white house, sending their condolences. As was common at the time, grace and calvin acknowledge their sympathies by sending letters and replying, thanking them for their condolences and sympathies, and these letters were always bordered in black as a way of showing that they are in mourning, and we have quite a few of those letters in our collection. Grace and kevin had a few seconds, kevin was the younger. We have a wonderful letter from john to his mother, on her birthday. Its a wonderful letter that describes his love. Dear, mother im loving you as no boy upper loved his mother and my birthday. John and grace had a very close relationship throughout their life. He never really said much about how the passing of his brother passed on to the family. But until her passing, they wrote letters many times a year and they were close. Whether that was increased by kelvin juniors passing theres no way of knowing, but i dissing thats the case. So we heard that he died but we didnt hear the story of how he died. Okay, the boys loved him. Some historians think that, the white house had tennis courts, and the boys played on them. This was fun. They werent there that much at the white house. One day, calvin junior went out without his socks, he got a poster on his toe from playing tennis. Nothing was made of this. When admiral boone arrived to play tennis again, he noticed that calvin junior was quite, ale and have a fever. He looked over and said that there are streaks of red on his leg. Admiral boone was alerted right away to do something about. This he called in military physicians, and the family knew this was quite serious. And they also took samples and they found out it was first, staff and then it was something more serious. Even today you can die of this disease. So calvin and grace brushed it off, if anyone would lose a son this way it was so innocent and so fast. It was his lack of socks that started its all in motion. And when you read of the death it was a very painful death. What happened at the first couple after his death . How did the first lady and president respond . They werent the only ones to lose a son. Back then it was a more coffin event. All around them were people who had been through this familiar experience, lincoln had lost a son, and there are echoes of lincoln in how this was handled. The courts ruled with the flowers, they set up the stations in the white house, people came to call, and then the train took the cargo to vermont, were calvin was buried. It was a very familiar event. This is a quote about kelvin coolidge about his reaction. He said when he died the glory of the presidency went with him. Some authors suggest in the time afterwards that he went into a state of depression. He worked shorter days, and race was the more stable of the two. Did you research that . No, there is a good biography that posits that by mr. Gilbert, and it says its the story of yes but, coolidge lost his son and it was terrible. I see it like abraham lincoln, a terrible loss drove the parents nearly insane. Coolidge pursued his policy plans, was president again, did things, notwithstanding the loss of his presidency. More joyless as he notes in his autobiography, but still the perseverance. No, coolidge to give up, graced and give up. The difference between the two is interesting. When there were holidays, calvin wasnt at the table. Grace took joy with whoever was at the table. They were very different in how the handle things. Phil is watching things in delaware. Two quick things. Is it correct that the solarium was coolidges from a leak, did that happen prior to him being elected to a full term in 24 . My second question is probably later in the show i like to know, did she develop a relationship with eisenhower, and that she ever go back to the white house . Brief answers to both cars will talk about both a little later. We know there was a solarium built, and she retreated to it at the end of the first full term of his presidency, and i dont know if he visited with succeeding first ladies. Yes, the roof had to be reinforced. It was cracking. They redid the family quarters as well and put in more closets, and that kind of. Think the coolidges had to move into to pump circle, she was using a hard hat to see what was going on in the white house. In terms of friendship with first ladies, yes, she made jokes about madam roosevelt, they got together, and there were people who saw roosevelt pay their respects to coolidge. So there was a first lady hub in some ways. When grace first came into the presidency, mrs. Calf came to call, the first ladies were very supportive of each other. What was their integration like . It was a little tense. It was supposed to be good, but it was run by the Vice President who took who took the opportunity to break the senate for blocking legislation, and coolidge found that very unseemly and was disappointed. He thought his Vice President elect discipline. He himself had only served the president and gave a short integral address when president. It wasnt a date that wasnt as happy as expected. Did they have an integral ball . Parade . Im thinking not. The ball was canceled the time before austerity. Right . And that was one of the things that miss harding to needle grace, she would say there will be no inaugural ball, so its stricken. Remember, this is a period that the government is trying to save. Remember there is on the front cover, its of grace and president coolidge traveling together to the inauguration, and what is interesting is the expression on their faces. You can see the president looking very serious as he goes to be sworn in. And Grace Coolidge looking to have a fabulous time. What does the picture tell you . It says to me shes a choice person. Swim to take joy in the. Moment shes gonna make it work for everyone. She felt that was her job. And make it work for her husband, make it go better for him, and in this term that they do win in their own rights, she is more involved, when they are up at plymouth when hes somewhat campaigning of edison and firestone and who is the other one . Who visits with them . Fort. Henry ford. And shes involved in the conversation, heres this woman was not supposed to be involved in public policy, shes talking to them. Things are changing a little bit in this term. Allen cabinet on facebook asks did grace gold vote in the 1924 election . Did the first couple of votes publicly . They did, they voted publicly. And she even organized some effort in her town in northampton to get out to vote. What was happening in the second time women could devoted . What was happening in women in politics as a result of their ability to participate with the vote . People suspected they might vote another way than their husband but they didnt. I think that was one of the big surprises of the 20s. And then you want to ask should they be in politics . There were a few female appointments by coolidge but not many and no big ones, no cabinet ladies. So it was more modest than might have been predicted or hoped for by the suffragettes. This was also as we said the time that the top ease came into being, the first films that actually had sound attached to them. And so this becomes the first president and first lady that also here. Coming up next short clips of Calvin Coolidge on film with sound and followed by that Grace Coolidge with film and sound. I want the people of america to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meeting of freedom until we can reestablish a nation under which the people can be kept by the people. We are bound to suffer indistinct curtailment of our liberty. The rating of this pell announces the opening of thanksgiving day of the 22nd annual sale of christmas the proceeds from which go for the work which is being done for the prevention of tuberculosis in the United States of america. This is a picture of a woman of the field each field costing one cent. No letter to your sweat art is considered authentic unless it bears one of the seals. And there we have it a president and at that point former first lady but is the first time we have her on the sound and film i wanted to ask you about how being able to hear and see a president as you went to the Movie Theater around increasingly popular for the American Public how did it change politics . It changed politics a lot but there is a myth that goes with that that coolidge was good in the new media and he was so stiff. He was very good on radio, they said his voice cut through the air like a wire, that new england voice. Our problem is that he ranked high in the polls when people which radio voice to you . Like the problem is that we dont have those recordings. The radio wasnt recorded as it is now or as it was for Franklin Roosevelt after him. So it was popular, it was impactful and he was part of it as roosevelt wouldbe and hoover would be. Next is michael, watching us in new york city. Hi michael. Hi. How are you . Fine, thanks. Whats your question about Grace Coolidge . I want to ask about the rumors affair she had with a secret Service Agent. Was that a public scandal at the time . Is it something that has been speculated about more recently . Either way, do you give this any credence . Thanks again for a great program. Thank you very. Much i will point in the presidency did this many scandal with the secret Service Agent take place . It was in the black hills, when they were there for the summer white house. She and the secret Service Agent were lost for a few hours and when they return, calvin was not happy. Mainly because he thought she had been hurt and a secret Service Agent is supposed to be taking care of the first lady and making sure she is not hurt. So he sent to jim haley back to washington and grace tried to explain that no, nothing had happened, she was okay, she hadnt fallen down, it was all right. They had just been lost. That was all that had happened. So i say no, there is nothing to this, she kept up letters, communication with his family, she felt embarrassed about the whole thing. This was very much in the public, there was no affair. Its just a few people thought jim haley was handsome and there should be an affair. I want to tell you this point about our fabulous website at cspan. Org slash first ladies, where we have been accumulating all kinds of video attached to this year long series. Not only the programs themselves are stored there in their entirety for you to watch him to share with your friends, but we also have additional videos of the places we have been visiting that we havent been able to put into the television program. Each week there is also a featured item and this week, the featured item is the piano that was given to Grace Coolidge by the Baldwin Piano Company that she kept in the private quarters of the white house. Which you pianist . Yes. She loved her music. She had had lessons when she was a child, she kept up her interest continually. And invited famous people to come to the white house to play the piano. So its very important in her life. Music was very important in her life. She will turn on the radiance to listen to music, it helps for diego better. Next is a call from sandra, or sandro watching us from huntington maryland. Hi sandra you are on the air. Hi, i want to thank you, its wonderful program. And my question was regarding children. I hadnt heard anything about them and then you came on and talked about the children, so it did answer my question. Great, thank you for watching. Were delighted. You have another comment . I just want to say how very much i enjoy the program, it is wonderful. Great, glad to have you in the audience. Thanks for making the call tonight. Celebrities, the film was becoming enormously popular in american culture, celebrities have become part of the paul political scene during the hearting lighthouse. Did the coolidge is continue that trend . Did they involve celebrities in the . Politics absolutely. Not only the hollywood celebrities who were brought around to show they were jolly as very at various points. They had this elaborate friendship with will rogers. Kind of a superstar, i think hes like john stewart, i dont we would compare him to. He had columns, he did acts. He made movies, he was very funny. And he came and he called mrs. Coolidge his famous first female number one. And they had a whole courtship going, the rogers and the coolidge is. And then of course also charles lundberg, the flyer who had become a celebrity by going over to paris in that way. They hosted the lindberghs at the house on Dupont Circle where they were while they were out of the white house of course they were with celebrities. A rare picture of Calvin Coolidge with a big smile on his face as he is standing at the charles lindbergh. And his mother. That was a very important moment because having grace went to a top at the Budget Bureau and left mrs. Lundberg and they sort of plotted to get together charleston and narrow. So that was the beginning of that idea. Another celebrity that they brought to the white house with someone that continued Grace Coolidge is passion with the death and that is helen keller. We have some film of Helen Kellers visit to the white house which we are going to show but as we do that when she visited the significance of her visits and how the public reacted. It was very significant, helen keller wanted to use the white house to publicize the need for support for deaf education. And grace and calvin were both happy to accommodate her, and yes you do see in this picture helen keller reading the lips of grace and she also reads the lips of calvin to. So grace as much as she could to bring death children, children with disabilities veterans with disabilities to the white house. And highlight their needs for the American Public. And in newport for mauve, highend. I was going to quite a few years ago, i went to a yard sale, found an old cookbook the county cookbook put together in 1924 by various women, womens groups. And there is a recipe here for cobb souffle by mrs. Calvin coolidge, washington d. C. And i have been upstairs listening to the program but i thought i would give mrs. Coolidge a chance to share her recipe with you if you would like it. Thank you so much. There are many Grace Coolidge recipes Available Online because this was part of the way that they established a persona to the public. Will you talk about that . She was kidded by kelvin, we havent mentioned that by kavanaugh, being very good. But when she gets to the white house of course she has recipes that have been handed down over the years and that she is happy to share with the public. She also felt that the first lady should leave something at the white house that they had made. She made a cover lip for the lincoln bed. She did want to highlight things that were cooking and sewing, crocheting, those were important things to her. Randi williamson on twitter, mrs. Coolidge was asked to give a speech to newspaper women which she did for five minutes in sign language was that the first . I did ask her son if that was true and he said absolutely not. So we have a contrarian here, he said my mother would never have used to sign language. She didnt know it. I dont know whether it was observed by anyone who disagreed with him. I dont know. I want to go back to the renovation of the white house because the coolidge is by the decision to create that third floor space changed forever the white house and also the way the first families use this with the creation of the solarium. We have a view of what the solarium looked like when they were finished and also we are going to show some video from our white house documentary series of what the solarium looks like today as first families use. In this space established by the coolidge is back there and their administration is a private space on the top for the white house. Can you talk about gary scrooges desire to change and improve the white house and how involved she was . She was very involved. We always think of Jackie Kennedy is the first one to want antiques at the white house. No, other first ladies did want to do this. Gray got to the white house and said i would like to have a committee. Id like to have Congress Allowed gives to be given to the white house and that did go through. She then was able to accept gifts. She went through the attic trying to find colonial antiques. Her committee got a little ahead of itself though and the American Institute of architects got a little upset at them. And felt they were in charge of the white house. So at one point, when they are off one of the summer white houses calvin says weve really got to stop and we cant pursue this attempt to change the green room in the red room. So she sort of drops that. But she is really one of the first ladies to say the white house is a museum and we must honor it. We have a still with some of the important points of the coolidge presidency including his veto of farm subsidies in 1924, the indian citizenship act passed, 1926 he signed the revenue act which was in fact lowering of texas. And the kellogg breonna pact which was also a peace treaty which did what . Outlawed war. Good job they did with that, how . We mockup but it i think it has what president coolidge said was maybe the rule of Law International law might be a better step than intervention, that idea is interesting. We should consider that as well. What i notice about these though is that they took enormous Political Capital to get them through, and each one of them was hard for kelvin. And when you look at their marriage, and his view of scandal, i learned about scandal from the coolidge is. The reason he avoided scandal and indeed any controversy right down to her wearing a riding habit or redecorating the white house to loudly, was because he wanted that capital to pass laws. Well, okay, thats whats your thats what youre elected for. And this is all going on in their marriage you feel like redecorating the house but maybe you shouldnt because maybe it might attract attention at might have won fewer votes than this or that. Quite cold but also quite concentrated, focused presidency in that way. That is what struck me as i went over the years seeing that. Kevin coolidge was also experiencing a number of digestive problems as they were called stomach problems as his presidency progressed. How much a factor was his health in his decision not to run for reelection . Real, but i would not say positive. When when did he announce his decision . This was in the summer of 27. And what i noticed when i was writing it was that he happened to be right near mount rush more, indeed went up to around mount rush more and coolidge was a man who was concerned about having his head turned by power. He thought every president thinks about am i becoming a narcissist . Because the presidency makes narcissists. When i work with president bush icy he didnt become a narcissist and that he always thinks about humility and you see that with foolish to. You try very very hard not to turn into its all about me, coolidge writes about this very carefully in his autobiography that the presidency surrounded by flatterers. There he was at mount rush more with big heads coming, big heads of giant president s and i think he was grossed out by it. He said that is not the kind of presidency i want to have or be remembered for. Therefore i will not run again though i might, and he stepped back and you can see in some footage which my also have him at mount rush more when the sculptor got some burglar was about to take some coolidge really looked like well im going to drawback. I dont want to be part of this show of vanity. It was a very moral position, his decision not to run. Summer of 27. There are stories about how Grace Coolidge was informed of her husbands decision not to run again. What do you and the scholars believe when youre writing the biography of how much in advance . She didnt know in advance. I found a. Letters yes. I found the letters to her girlfriends and she told them in march, i am getting ready. I will soon be on the trolley. I want to have these cars. She didnt she did know about it and she did kidded around treat me like everybody else. She did know it was coming. However when he announced it that day, she acted as if she didnt know. So i am perplexed a little bit about that. It was once again ive got to stay out of this public policy, i dont want to comment type of thing. Maybe. We have one more videos our program hurdles towards its close here, this is about great coolidge and baseball. One of the letters that she wrote to her friends dating from october 22nd, 1946. Yes, i was much excited over baseball and i am terribly disappointed that the red sox lost the world series. I had a grand time at the games in boston and met many of my old baseball friends as well as some of the players. She was a lifelong baseball fan, starting out as early as an undergraduate at the university of vermont, where she was the official scorekeeper for the uv am baseball team. And this continued on being in massachusetts and vermont, they were big Boston Red Sox fans. When they went to washington, they had a little allegiance to the local team down there, the washington senators. In our collection, we have a number of the season passes that she was given by the american league. Usually they were issued to her either in a wallet or a pocketbook. Some of the pocketbooks are wonderful art deco in style. Of course he was given the 14karat gold season passes. And so we have them as part of the display as well. And we acknowledge the president s interest in the sport but focus most especially on graces passion for it. One of the items in the exhibit is the certificate that she was given by the Boston Red Sox and the Washington Nationals as they were called in 1955, designating her first lady of the land first lady of baseball. Another object in the exhibit is a very fine baseball that was given to john coolidge, the son of grace and calvin. And it is signed by both babe ruth and luke eric. We are going to return to phone calls next up is joseph in south deer field massachusetts. Hi joseph. I. Im just wondering if the panel is aware of panel is aware of Calvin Coolidge is great, great grandson clark coolidge, who is one of americas greatest living poets. I havent heard any mention of him and fury is quite an important figure in american literature. I will your sponsor affair. Thank you very much. How many grandchildren to john . Half that would not be a direct line because calvin and grace had john and kevin junior what we heard about. John married florence tremble the governor of connecticut stutter. And they had two daughters. Lidia and cynthia, and cynthia had chris and lidia had jenny and john. And now the next generation is coming along to, john has two children, jenny has two children and christmas to children. And i hear his two sons love baseball. So the cooler just left the white house to return where . Afterwards they returned to northampton massachusetts where coolidge had begun his career as a county seat attorney, if you can imagine. And they went back to their house on mass bestow it street which is half of two family which not much distance to the sidewalk. Of course people did come up and as much as they wanted to fit back into their old clothes, that was the metaphor grace used, of course they couldnt because it wasnt comfortable, because people were always pressing them, whether it was at the president s Office Downtown in northampton or at the house. So eventually they were treated to a house with a bit of a border around it, the beach is also in northampton, and the president said well the doggies can run here but it was also a bit more fenced. They could have some privacy, still quite modest by president ial standards the beeches and after he passed away mrs. College both another house nearby. How long after they left the white house to the president die . It wasnt very. Long january of 1933, so in his retirement, he did write articles, his daily articles. And then he turned to grace and said you know, i think you could write to. She started writing some articles for american magazine and those are very important to those of us who studied first lady because she does tell about her life but then he seems to feel strongly about what is happening in the nation his friends say he is not good at figuring out his own medical problems, he sort of denies medical treatment and one day he goes up to shave and grace goes out and walks back and just by happenstance goes upstairs and find him and he has died. And here is what she said a quote from, her about the death of her husband her lifelong partner. I am just a lost soul nobody is going to believe how i miss being told what to do my father always tell me what i had to do the calvin told me what i had to do. How the process that . Remark i dont think we judge it it is a different time. She was a different kind of wife, and for someone who didnt know what she was going to do, she did quite a lot as a widow. She was active at the clarks school. One of the stories thats the background of this is the story of great love. I have been watching president bush build his library and we have watched other president s do that, and coolidge to had to raise money for his library or his papers and stuff. He did get his friends, led by clarence baron of the wall street journal, to raise 2 million dollars. I dont know quite what they thought he would do with the money, they didnt really believe in but in the end he did what he said he gave all the money of his friends to his wifes favorite charity, the clark school for the death the death. Because he was giving back after she, coolidge went to give to grace, therefore there was no Great Monument for the coolidge papers there was only her charity and he knew he would pass, i think and he knew that it would be wonderful if after he died his wife would be the most important lady in the town, and lead a charity that meant something to them both at the clark school where she had begun. You can think of a greater act of love than that, you have to juxtapose it with the statements that sound shall i say on modern, and say decide what you make of this marriage. And we find a quite wonderful an intriguing. She seductress two of the car school throughout her widowhood. We have a quote photograph of her with a young john f. Kennedy. What does that photograph . How did they Work Together . Because she was constantly fundraising. Is not also trustee of the . School he was. He also was powerful as a senator, so good person to talk to. She understood politics. And got his support for her cause. A very smart of her. She also when calvin died, asked about 50 friends to right up their view of Calvin Coolidge, and so that softened his image quite a bit. And she contributed the last love letter that he wrote to her, which was really just before he died. So she did somewhat manipulate his image a little bit at the end. Josh in east hampton connecticut, hi josh. Hi, how are you doing . This is real catch me out the show, great talking about the twenties. The question is about what happened after kelvin died . Did grace have to be the defender of the coolidge presidency . Through the ravages of the Great Depression through the rest of the thirties . A lot of people Say Something the policies of the 20s caused the depression in the thirties. Did she have to answer for that . Which she put was a lot of weight put on her to cope with . That two things. You dont have to accept that contention that the policies of the twenties made the depression as great as it was. But also grace didnt have to and that was her license because she had never been political. So that is the great liberty of not being political, she could say well its very sad, you can see her doing Charity Works around the thirties, it was a terrible time. But she didnt have the bird enough it having been her policy. There are some references and some biographies that she whispered to friend the depression is coming. Was there a knowledge that the country was heading toward the financial calamity that it had . No. I dont think so. People, i defer to enmity on that but people didnt really know crash was coming. Crashes came all the time. Coolidge had six or seven serious crashes in his career where more than 20 , but they never led to a decade of double digit unemployment. Its not the crash so much as the depth of the unemployment, and the duration of it that makes the depression great in our memory. So that is the key thing. He was bewildered by it and also by the policy apply to it. And she was bewildered as well. She lived a great long time until 1957. What was her role during world war ii . Very important. Very few people know this but in the run up to world war ii, she was a champion of the jewish children in germany. She was part of a Northampton Committee and she wanted to rescue children and she proposed about 25 children come to the town of northampton. I wouldnt have been surprised if she wouldnt have taken a couple in herself. But her proposal was sent to the state department. Was folded into the wagon rogers bill which all of us know in 1939 did not pass. So she was rather brave with that stand. And strong about americas participation. She urged americans to get involved in world war ii. Jerry in georgia, you are last call or, what is your question . Hello. Good evening. My question has to do with Race Relations during the 1930s. I have seen several images of African Americans in the program here. And my question is, what were the coolidge is reaction to and how did they deal with Race Relations in 19 twenties, in particularly the lynchings that were going on in america during the 1920s . Thank you so much. Very briefly, and its a good question, tonight we dont have more time people wrote that he was deploying that a black man ran for, office i think a congress in the United States coolidge rollback, i am really appalled anyone may run for any office. That is the main thing, and there is a famous speech that coolidge gave to still and quiet the ku klux klan as you know in the 20s, in any case lynchings went down over time and that was in effect as much of the prosperity of the period. Thank you for the question. The arc of her life was just not very long after the civil war. All the way to 1957. Think of the enormous changes that our country went through during grace colleges lifetime. But for those years that she spent in the white house. How did you change the job of first lady . What should we remember for . I think we should remember her for treating the white house as a museum. She took her job very seriously. She thought she was the national hugger, she was to hug everybody, great as many people as she could. Keep the doors open for the public, so to speak. Also keep her husband and her children happy. It was very important to be good wife and mother, provide a solid home life for them. That is what she saw as her role and to be an advocate for people with disabilities. When she died of Heart Failure in northampton in july of 1957, she joined her husband and death and you can visit there grave sites. We encourage people especially the 4th of july. What should she be remembered for . Her great joy, that she could transcend any trouble, through her faith and her joy. Our thanks to our partners at the White House Historical association for their help throughout this series and to our two guests for being here tonight. So tell us more about the life and legacy of Grace Coolidge. Thanks to both of you