text:
Talk:Buddhist cuisine/Archive 1

Others interpret the precept against killing to mean human beings and thus indulge in omnivorous behavior. .. Is that correct? What is the source of this information? I have personally never met a single person who held such a view. In my experience, most lay Chinese 'Buddhists' continue to eat meat purely because they think it tastes nice. Becoming vegetarian seems to be something that is viewed as rather extreme, or something that old people do. --Pratyeka 04:20, 19 Nov 2003 (UTC)

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Question: are they vegetarian or vegan dishes? That is, you mention that they don't use animal products, including lard; if they don't use any at all in the preparation, including for instance eggs, beef broths, honey, etc. then they are in fact vegan.

 * in that sense I believe they can be vegan dishes. I am not a buddhist myself, so I cannot confirm the answer.  For example, some buddhists allow eggs in their diet, so some restaurant may prepare vegetarian or vegan dishes depending on the customer request.

Further question: so since Buddhists are opposed to the killing of animals, they are themselves vegans, aren't they? i.e. they don't eat animal products or use them in any other way, including to wear?

 * Buddhism are practiced in many ways in China. Buddhist monks are vegan for sure.  A friend of mine only removed beef from her diet as her pledge to the Buddha.  She eats chicken and pork like everyone does.
 * Most (all?) monks in 'Tibet' are not vegetarian. --prat 01:46, 2004 Feb 17 (UTC)
 * Oh. Well, vegans don't eat or use any animal products in any way.

Also, I think this article might be moved to Chinese Buddhist cuisine. Or maybe that will be corrected automatically with the new UseModWiki upload?

 * Why should buddhist be capitalized?
 * "Buddhist" is alwasy capitalized in English.

Buddhists aren't necessarily vegan: my understanding of the tradition is that they do not wish to cause pain, so they will not kill an animal for food, nor steal eggs or milk products; but some will consume these things if they are given to them and would otherwise go to waste (the way an animal rights activist might wear leather--it's already too late for that cow--but never buy them) and some will also eat animals that have died naturally. American Buddhists generally are more lax; in fact, the Roshi under which I studied at the Mountain View Zen Center ate meat regularly (though most of the other students were vegetarian to one degree or another). But then Zen is kind of its own animal anyway. --LDC

I think the problem here is that Buddhist dietary restrictions are structured very differently from Islamic or Jewish restrictions. Trying to explain Roadrunner 15:46, 15 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Took out the first paragraph. It didn't sound encyclopedia-ish and didn't add any information I could see. Roadrunner 15:52, 15 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Moved to Buddhist cuisine, since we include information about Japan and Vietnam Roadrunner 15:56, 15 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Ancient India being buddhist
Ancient India was also buddhist?! acourding to who? Buddhism comes from Hinduism not the other way around! Hindu vegeterians are vegeterians for hindu reasons not because of buddha —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.73.47.107 (talk) 21:34, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Vegetarian diet is not equivalent to a Buddhist diet
I disagree with what has been posted in the first paragraph, as well as the Chinese Translation (I don't know about the Japanese translation) of the term Buddhist cuisine.

The paragraph imply that the term zhāi cài (Traditional form: 	齋菜 ; Simplified form: 	斋菜) means a Buddhist diet. However, the term zhāi cài (Traditional form: 	齋菜 ; Simplified form: 	斋菜) simply means a vegetarian diet and can be used on anyone who follows a vegetarian diet, even if it is for non religious purposes.

As such, I suggest changing the following sentence "It is known as zhāi cài " to "It is a form of zhāi cài".

Silverelf (talk) 10:41, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Poor Structure
I disagree with the first, second, and third paragraphs. The article, as it stands, is poorly structured. The Chinese/Vietnamese section should be researched more closely, as I believe that the no- garlic/onion tradition may stem from Taoism or other Chinese philosophical, or other religious traditions, and may have been transplanted into Chinese Buddhist belief. Vietnam has been DEEPLY influenced by China (indeed, the Vietnamese migrated from southern China to found their state!)(that is QUITE debatable!) and this would account for some of the differences. Basically, this article needs a more informed rewrite, and I lack the knowledge/resources to do it myself at the moment. --prat 01:58, 2004 Feb 17 (UTC)

Plants are "living beings", too, in many religious traditions. That needs to be disambiguated. Also, technically, there is no such thing as "good" or "bad" karma. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 62.252.128.13 (talk • contribs).

 * I agree; the English is badly structured. I have re-written the first paragraph; hopefully the intent has not been altered - I am not certain! MonstaPro 18:07, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

Rewrite
11/7/04: Major re-write, especially on order-of-presentation/clarity issues. It looked like the part about 'wu hun' being only in limited regions was corrected sometime in between your Feb 17 note above, Prat, and my editing this page, today -- so although I'm not sure what the 1st 3 paragraphs *were* in Feb (and too lazy to look), I'm assuming some of your concerns might also have been addressed with re: 1st 3 paragraphs, by third parties. But I further modified the wu hun part: There are many more than the 4 vegetables which had been cited which are restricted; also, the author had called wu hun 5 restricted vegetables, then listed only 4 vegetables. ;-) Perhaps more accurate is that there are 5 FAMILIES of restricted, odorous vegetables (?), with e.g. onions, leeks, & shallots being all in 1 family, "onions"... but the consensus I found is that any pungent vegetable is restricted, so I specified that no number, although the term 'wu hun,' when translated, may specify 5 (?).  I just used the 4 given (which I confirmed), plus some others listed as forbidden by multiple sources, as examples rather than a definitive list.)  I replaced, deleted, or gave the caveats regarding a few minor factual oversights re: Buddhism. Generally agreed with the rest... Also added some info., but it can probably still use more perspectives since, as another author pointed out, there are various practices, and various reasons cited for those practices...

As for plants being living beings, I believe today's Buddhist scholars' theory is that until the Greeks created the two (now 5, so even they weren't fully-aware ;-P ) Kingdoms of plants/animals, ancient man thought of all 'living' things as things which move. Check out Genesis (written, what, 1000-2000 BC?), which speaks of 'living' things this way. Not 100% positive that the Eastern ancients ca. Buddha's lifetime shared that limited perspective of 'life,' though, but this has also been addressed in the article by 1) noting that Buddhist vegetarians cite those reasons (as I've personally seen many do), without a POV judgment of whether they're interpreting Buddha's Five Precepts rightly or wrongly according to what Buddha intended, and 2) avoiding the specifics of the Five Precepts and redirecting to the 'Buddhism' page. ;-) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.170.56.179 (talk • contribs).

the reason some avoid eggs and milk is because of the suffering
Of the 10-billion animals who are killed each year in the USA, alone, far more are killed world-wide, especially in the European Union, and also in Asia, 'farming' has been turned into a manufacturing operation, and even the government agencies refer to the farms, now, as "factory farms." It is important to recognise that there are those people who choose not to eat animal products from factory operations.

The vast majority of hens chickens are kept in cages, and the floorspace size for Each hen is less than a standard piece of notebook paper, as per the accepted industry standard for floorspace. McDonalds recently (as of WHEN?!) increased the floorspace for their their egg hens, and it is still smaller than a piece of paper. http://www.upc-online.org/fall2000/mcdonalds.html

For dairy products, cows are artificially inseminated, nowadys, to keep them producing milk (only female animals produce milk when pregnant and immediately afterwards). Their calves are taken from them in less than a week, so the milk from the cows can be collected for sale. The cows are milked (generally mechanically), at least twice a day, and they are impregnanted again 2 months after they give birth. This situation has endured for more than 2,000 years.

The intensive milk production results in the cow's body being less able to produce so much milk, and they are killed after about 5 years, compared to living 25 years naturally. On family farms, such as those farms of the Mennonites and Amish, this is this not necessarily the case. (Comment: In MANY FAMILY farms, see also: MENNONITE, these inhumane conditions are not necessarily followed.) The calves either become dairy cows if female, or veal calves if male. Many people wonder WHY it is considered cruel to tae Milk or Meat from these animals. The calves raised for veal spend their entire lives in a staal so small they cannot turn around. Please, inquiry desired! hens http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=04birds

dairy http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=04cows

Diets without foods that result in the unfortunate cruelty: can provide excellent health, even better than the standard diets. Some world record athletes are vegan (Dave Scott), although that is QUITE uncommon. Diets with fewer animal products also require less water and land and energy, and also create MORE (?) air + water pollution and degrade topsoil less.

http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/ has tons more info

Peace, and Namaste :) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.85.82.129 (talk • contribs).

Anonymous comments removed to here from the article
I believe that wu han [sic] refers to garlic, scallions, onions, shallots and leeks, which are all members of the lilly family (http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/beyond/factsheets/herbs/herbs2_prog2.shtml)
 * (a reply, to the original author) This source says all alliums (which are a type of lily): (and it says Tsang-Tsze was the original source)
 * This source says chives (which is also an allium), but not shallots: (i.e., there are more than 5 alliums)
 * This source gives two "accounts," rocamboles and dropwart (not scallion or shallot), and ginger (not shallots):

 * Confusing...
 * I wonder if anyone has the time to look for the quote of Tsang-Tsze alleged by the first source, or knows of other "primary sources"...? (because perhaps different ancient philosophers considered a different 5 species to be 'pungent,' since there are obviously more than 5 pungent foods in the world, and even more than 5 pungent alliums; anyway, in the present day, it seems like the childhood game of telephone, where the message gets more and more distorted the further you get from the original source...).

It's not just in Buddhism but from what I remember in Hinduism and some of the many more obscure faiths in India but it's found in many religions.
 * Yep.

Buddha specifically ruled out vegetarianism for monks to be a precept when Devadatta made a request.
 * (a reply, to the original author) This quote (or paraphrase, more likely, due to the reasons cited in the current article) of Buddha to Devadatta had many caveats in favor of remaining vegetarian when possible (i.e. when not begging), which the existing wiki article concurs with: For a summary, see; there are 3 numbered ones, and more reasoning approx. 2 paragraphs later.
 * Plus, as someone mentioned, Buddha can be quoted as saying vegetarianism is necessary for monks (see below), and/or to achieve Enlightenment, one day; but then, another day saying that vegetarianism isn't necessary (e.g. to Devadetta). e.g.:
 * ”...How can a monk, who hopes to become a deliverer of others, himself be living on the flesh of sentient beings?...”-Buddha, in Surangama Sutra
 * "...Ananda, I permit the monks to eat only the five kinds of pure flesh which are the product of my transcendental power of transformation AND NOT OF ANIMAL SLAUGHTER [emphasis added]."-Buddha, in Surangama Sutra.

"...All monks who live purely and all Bodhisattvas always refrain even from walking on grass; how can they agree to uproot it? How then can those who practise great Compassion feed on the flesh and blood of living beings?..."-Buddha, in Surangama Sutra
 * “The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of GREAT COMPASSION [emphasis added; ''see above quote's use of this term, 'great Compassion'].”-Buddha, in Mahaparinirvana Sutra.
 * ”...If a man can (control) his body and mind and thereby refrains from eating animal products, I say he will truly be liberated. This teaching of mine is that of the Buddha, whereas any other is that of evil demons..."-Buddha, in Surangama Sutra
 * ”The Bodhisattva, whose nature is Compassion, is not to eat any meat... For fear of causing terror to living beings...let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain Compassion, refrain from eating flesh.” Buddha, in Lankavatara Sutra

Today in the Theavarda sect being vegetarian may be seen by other monks as trying to impress - not good.
 * (a reply, to the original author) ...and if merely being vegetarian makes judgmental people presume that someone is trying to impress, then doesn't being non-vegetarian mean someone is merely trying to gain acceptance as a 'real' monk in the eyes of these judgmental Theravadans, and thus, 'trying to impress' them? ;) Of course not, because it's a silly argument (and fallacious: Appeal to Ridicule) to try to argue against vegetarians OR non-vegetarians on this basis: The person may be a vegetarian or non-vegetarian for personal reasons which have nothing to do with trying to impress anyone, including these judgmental people.  e.g., If someone remains vegetarian despite being openly accused of this vanity, then I'd guess he's not trying to make a good impression on the judgmental people, whereas a non-vegetarian who sees someone else (who is a vegetarian) ridiculed as 'vain,' 'trying to impress,' etc. and decides against vegetarianism because they do not want to be the next person to be ridiculed would probably be 'trying to impress' these self-appointed judges by 'fitting in' with them (and someone who is already vegetarian, but changes after being called 'vain' -- if he is, indeed, doing it simply to gain acceptance from the judgmental anti-vegetarians calling him 'vain' -- would probably, of course, be 'trying to impress,' i.e. trying to fit-in with the judgmental people to stop the ridiculing).
 * The only thing I can add is that no matter someone's religion, people who jump to conclusions (for or against a vegetarian and the 'real' reason why he became vegetarian) are only pretending to know that which they cannot know, or as a wise Greek said a few millenia ago: "Only a fool imagines that he knows what occurs in the minds of other men". For the decision to become a vegetarian is an internal one and therefore, no matter what the individual says, we cannot see, internally, what his thought-process was (and whether it was due to a genuine belief or 'trying to impress others'). ;)

On the Karma issue.. the previous writer is correct. Karma just means actions, actions have consequencies. The aim for Buddhist is to remove themselves from the endless wheel of life and Karma - not to be reborn again in this realm but to gain nirvana. - Anonymous Nov. 12, 2004
 * (a reply) True, for Buddhism. But like wu-hun, karma is found in various forms outside of Buddhism; not sure if they all have the elimination of beingness/mortality as a goal. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 172.195.140.209 (talk • contribs).

stolen article?
http://www.recipeland.com/encyclopaedia/index.php/Buddhist_cuisine has this exact article. Did we steal it from them or they steal it from us? Neither specifies a source.

Just thought I'd mention that. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Mparise (talk • contribs).

 * I wrote the original of this article back in Nov 2001. However, the entire text has been rewritten by someone else.  It is hard to tell the source of the rewritten text now.  Kowloonese 00:55, Jun 21, 2005 (UTC)

Vegetarianism??
Seems everybody is ignoring the fact that most Tibetan buddhist not only DO eat meat, but some religious practices in vajrayana are intended to be done WITH alcohol and meat.

There are many reasons for this, one of them is: To eat the animal's meat is an act of compassion, and to do it compassionately will help this animal to make a connection with the Dharma and thus be on his way to liberation. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 200.106.40.225 (talk • contribs).

structure
I think the article should focus primarily on the chinese and japanese cultural ideas expressed in their words for monastic foods; that is to say, food that is primarily vegetarian with many meat analogues that sometimes may not include allium vegetables for their "meat-like" aroma and sensory indulgence. What bhuddhist monastics eat outside of China and Japan, or what some sects eat within those areas is not really the issue. A smaller and clearly dileneated portion of this article should confine the discussion of what some bhuddhists might eat in some other place, mostly just with the disclaimer, "Bhuddhist vegetarian cuising of east Asia does not necessarily imply that all Bhuddhists practice vegetarianism, only that vegetarian monastic cuisine has developed as an instituion in those areas and has, in many cases, expanded beyond temple walls." My point is just that what theravedic bhuddhists do or do not eat is not really an issue, because that's not what a chinese or japanese speaker means when they refer to temple food. If a person in Sichuan province eats corn flakes for breakfast one day, it doesn't mean that corn flakes have become Sichuan chinese food! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.56.70.127 (talk • contribs).

Onions, Garlic, Root Crops, Jainism, and Nigoda
Just a note: in Jainism, the main reason that onions, garlic, and root crops are avoided isn't because harvesting them destroys organisms in the soil. Rather, it's because these vegetables are believed by the Jains to contain infinite numbers of minute organisms called nigoda (or perhaps the plural is "nigodas?" I'm not sure). For this reason, eating these crops is seen by the Jainas as extremely destructive and a huge source of karma, as it involves killing millions of organisms. In light of this, I'm not sure if the logic can really be said to be the same for the Buddhist restriction on these crops, since I don't think Buddhism posits the existence of nigoda. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.68.152.15 (talk • contribs).
 * I've removed the 3rd and 4th paragraphs from the article completely, for a variety of reasons. Firstly it's undue and irrelevant to dedicate the whole 3rd and 4th paragraph of this generic Buddhism article to Jainism: Buddhism is not Jainism and this is a Buddhist article. Secondly, it's completely unsourced. And my third and final reason, from my understanding it is inaccurate; Jains are strict vegans, who filter all water, and must take many other measures in preparing their cuisine to minimize harm to microscopic organisms, therefore Jainist cuisine cannot be described as "similar" to Buddhist cuisine at all, they are nothing alike! Sorry if I've made any Jains feel excluded, but you've got your own articles on this topic.  КĐ ♥ 02:16, 10 September 2011 (UTC)

Blogpost
Fails WP:V and WP:RS can't be used as a reference for information. If the text can be referenced from a proper place please do so or it will have to be removed.--Crossmr 02:56, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

 * Blog?

 * Why is any information here based on a blog? That's ridiculous. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.199.67.25 (talk • contribs).

 * Verifiable sources would stay much argument! MonstaPro 18:10, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

Please help to expand....
Whoever has read the book of Going forth: Buddhist vision of vinaya (ISBN-10: 0824827872 and ISBN-13: 978-0824827878), please help to add book review on the topic of buddhist cuisine.

Etymological information
The etymological information removed here is of crucial importance to the topic (specifically the literal translation of the East Asian terms 齋 as "purity" rather than "vegetarian"). Can it be reworked rather than eliminating? Badagnani (talk) 23:30, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Done. (For now :) ) shreevatsa (talk) 23:41, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

The literal meaning of the Chinese still appears to be missing. Badagnani (talk) 00:37, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

 * I've checked both my Chinese-English dictionaries and The New Nelson Kanji Dictionary, and the original meaning of "purity" appears to be more or less lost in this context. The proper modern translation of "齋" in Chinese appears to be "(Buddhist) vegetarian food", not "purity food". Translations are not really particularly well-suited in leads in the first place, and especially not if they also include such an oblique handling of etymology. If you want to explain the origin of a certain character, fine, but don't call it a "literal" translation. That's not what etymology means.
 * Peter Isotalo 00:43, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

title: Talk:Buddhist cuisine/Archive 1


text:
Charles V

Charles V may refer to:

 * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
 * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
 * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
 * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
 * Infante Carlos of Spain, Count of Molina (1788–1855), first Carlist pretender to the throne of Spain (as Charles V)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Charles V


text:
Constantin von Tischendorf

Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf (18 January 1815 – 7 December 1874) was a German biblical scholar. In 1844, he discovered the world's oldest and most complete Bible dated to around the mid-4th century and called Codex Sinaiticus after Saint Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai.

Tischendorf was made an honorary doctor by the University of Oxford on 16 March 1865, and by the University of Cambridge on 9 March 1865 following his discovery. While a student gaining his academic degree in the 1840s, he earned international recognition when he deciphered the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, a 5th-century Greek manuscript of the New Testament.

Early life and education

Tischendorf was born in Lengenfeld, Saxony, the son of a forensic physician. After attending primary school in Lengenfield, he went to grammar school in nearby Plauen. From Easter 1834, having achieved excellent marks at school, he studied theology and philosophy at the University of Leipzig.

At Leipzig he was mainly influenced by JGB Winer, and he began to take special interest in New Testament criticism. Winer's influence gave him the desire to use the oldest manuscripts in order to compile the text of the New Testament as close to the original as possible. Despite his father's death in 1835 and his mother just a year later, he was still able to achieve his doctorate in 1838, before accepting a tutoring job in the home of Reverend Ferdinand Leberecht Zehme in Grossstadeln where he met and fell in love with the clergyman's daughter Angelika. He published a volume of poetry in 1838, Maiknospen (Buds of May) and Der junge Mystiker (The Young Mystic) was published under a pseudonym in 1839. At this time he also began his first critical edition of the NewTestament in Greek which was to become his life's work.

After a journey through southern Germany and Switzerland, and a visit to Strassburg, he returned to Leipzig to begin work on a critical study of the New Testament text.

Career
In 1840, he qualified as university lecturer in theology with a dissertation on the recensions of the New Testament text, the main part of which reappeared the following year in the prolegomena to his first edition of the Greek New Testament. These early textual studies convinced him of the absolute necessity of new and more exact collations of manuscripts.

From October 1840 until January 1843 he was in Paris, busy with the treasures of the Bibliothèque Nationale, eking out his scanty means by making collations for other scholars, and producing for the publisher, Firmin Didot, several editions of the Greek New Testament, one of them exhibiting the form of the text corresponding most closely to the Vulgate. His second edition retracted the more precarious readings of the first, and included a statement of critical principles that is a landmark for evolving critical studies of Biblical texts.

A great triumph of these laborious months was the decipherment of the palimpsest Codex Ephraemi Syri Rescriptus, of which the New Testament part was printed before he left Paris, and the Old Testament in 1845. His success in dealing with a manuscript that, having been over-written with other works of Ephrem the Syrian, had been mostly illegible to earlier collators, made him more well known, and gained support for more extended critical expeditions. He now became professor extraordinarius at Leipzig, where he was married in 1845. He also began to publish Reise in den Orient, an account of his travels in the east (in 2 vols., 1845–46, translated as Travels in the East in 1847). Even though he was an expert in reading the text of a palimpsest (this is a document where the original writing has been removed and new writing added), he was not able to identify the value or meaning of the Archimedes Palimpsest, a torn leaf of which he held and after his death was sold to the Cambridge University Library.

Tischendorf briefly visited the Netherlands in 1841 and England in 1842. In 1843 he visited Italy for thirteen months, before continuing on to Egypt, Sinai, and the Levant, returning via Vienna and Munich.

Discovery of the Codex Sinaiticus Bible manuscripts
In 1844 Tischendorf travelled the first time to Saint Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt, where he found a portion of what would later be hailed as the oldest complete known New Testament.

Of the many pages which were contained in an old wicker basket (the kind that the monastery hauled in its visitors as customary in unsafe territories) he was given 43 pages containing a part of the Old Testament as a present. He donated those 43 pages to King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (reigned 1836–1854), to honour him and to recognise his patronage as the funder of Tischendorf's journey. (Tischendorf held a position as Theological Professor at Leipzig University, also under the patronage of Frederick Augustus II.) Leipzig University put two of the leaves on display in 2011.

Tischendorf reported in his 1865 book Wann Wurden Unsere Evangelen Verfasst, translated to English in 1866 as When Were Our Gospels Written in the section "The Discovery of the Sinaitic Manuscript" that he found, in a trash basket, forty-three sheets of parchment of an ancient copy of the Greek Old Testament, reporting that the monks were using the trash to start fires. And Tischendorf, horrified, asked if he could have them. He deposited them at the University of Leipzig, under the title of the Codex Friderico-Augustanus, a name given in honour of his patron, Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, king of Saxony. The fragments were published in 1846, although Tischendorf kept the place of discovery a secret.

Many have expressed skepticism at the historical accuracy of this report of saving a 1500-year-old parchment from the flames. J. Rendel Harris referred to the story as a myth. The Tischendorf Lesebuch (see References) quotes that the Librarian Kyrillos mentioned to Tischendorf that the contents of the basket had already twice been submitted to the fire. The contents of the baskets were damaged scriptures, the third filling apparently, so cited by Tischendorf himself.[see Tischendorf Lesebuch, Tischendorf's own account]. In 1853 Tischendorf made a second trip to the Syrian monastery but made no new discoveries. He returned a third time in January 1859 under the patronage of Tsar Alexander II of Russia with the active aid of the Russian government to find more of the Codex Frederico-Augustanus or similar ancient Biblical texts. On 4 February, the last day of his visit, he was shown a text which he recognized as significant – the Codex Sinaiticus – a Greek manuscript of the complete New Testament and parts of the Old Testament dating to the 4th century.

Tischendorf persuaded the monks to present the manuscript to Tsar Alexander II of Russia, at the cost of the Tsar it was published in 1862 (in four folio volumes). Those ignorant of the details of his discovery of the Codex Sinaiticus accused Tischendorf of buying manuscripts from ignorant monastery librarians at low prices. Indeed, he was never rich, but he staunchly defended the rights of the monks at Saint Catherine's Monastery when he persuaded them eventually to send the manuscript to the Tsar. This took approximately 10 years because the abbot of St Catherines had to be re-elected and confirmed in office in Cairo and in Jerusalem, and during those 10 years no one in the monastery had the authority to hand over any documents. However the documents were handed over in due course following a signed and sealed letter to the Tsar Alexander II (Schenkungsurkunde). Even so, the monks of Mt. Sinai still display a receipt-letter from Tischendorf promising to return the manuscript to them in the case that the donation can not be done. This token-letter had to be destroyed, following the late issue of a "Schenkungsurkunde". This donation act regulated the Codex exchange with the Tsar, against 9000 Rubels and Rumanian estate protection. The Tsar was seen as the protector of Greek-Orthodox Christians. Thought lost since the Russian revolution, the document (Schenkungsurkunde) has now resurfaced in St Petersburg 2003, and has also been long before commented upon by other scholars like Kurt Aland. The monastery has disputed the existence of the gift certificate (Schenkungsurkunde) since the British Library was named as the new owner of the Codex. Now following the late find of the gift certificate by the National Russian Library the existence cannot be disputed in earnest.

In 1869 the Tsar awarded Tischendorf the style of "von" Tischendorf as a Russian noble. 327 facsimile editions of the Codex were printed in Leipzig for the Tsar (instead of a salary for the three-year work of Tischendorf the Tsar gave him 100 copies for reselling) in order to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the traditional foundation of the Rus' state in 862 with the publication of this most amazing find. Supporting the production of the facsimile, all made with special print characters for each of the 4 scribes of the Codex Sinaiticus, was shift work and contributed to Tischendorf's early demise due to exhausting work for months also during nights. Thus the Codex found its way to the Imperial Library at St. Petersburg.

When the 4-volume luxury edition of the Sinai Bible was completed in 1862, C. Tischendorf presented the original ancient manuscript to Emperor Alexander II. Meanwhile, the question of transferring the manuscript to the full possession of the Russian Sovereign remained unresolved for some years. In 1869, the new Archbishop of Sinai, Callistratus, and the monastic community, signed the official certificate presenting the manuscript to the Tsar. The Russian Government, in turn, bestowed the Monastery with 9000 rubles and decorated the Archbishop and some of the brethren with orders. In 1933 the Soviet Government sold the Codex Sinaiticus for 100,000 pounds to the British Museum in London, England. The official certificate with signatures in Russian/ French/ Greek sections has been refound in St Petersburg.

Novum Testamentum Graece – publication with 21 editions
In the winter of 1849 the first edition of his great work now titled ''Novum Testamentum Graece. Ad antiquos testes recensuit. Apparatum criticum multis modis appeared (translated as Greek New Testament. The ancient witnesses reviewed. Preparations critical in many ways''), containing canons of criticism, adding examples of their application that are applicable to students today:

Basic rule: "The text is only to be sought from ancient evidence, and especially from Greek manuscripts, but without neglecting the testimonies of versions and fathers."
 * 1) "A reading altogether peculiar to one or another ancient document is suspicious; as also is any, even if supported by a class of documents, which seems to evince that it has originated in the revision of a learned man."
 * 2) "Readings, however well supported by evidence, are to be rejected, when it is manifest (or very probable) that they have proceeded from the errors of copyists."
 * 3) "In parallel passages, whether of the New or Old Testament, especially in the Synoptic Gospels, which ancient copyists continually brought into increased accordance, those testimonies are preferable, in which precise accordance of such parallel passages is not found; unless, indeed, there are important reasons to the contrary."
 * 4) "In discrepant readings, that should be preferred which may have given occasion to the rest, or which appears to comprise the elements of the others."
 * 5) "Those readings must be maintained which accord with New Testament Greek, or with the particular style of each individual writer."

These were partly the result of the tireless travels he had begun in 1839 in search of unread manuscripts of the New Testament, "to clear up in this way," he wrote, "the history of the sacred text, and to recover if possible the genuine apostolic text which is the foundation of our faith."

In 1850 appeared his edition of the Codex Amiatinus (in 1854 corrected) and of the Septuagint version of the Old Testament (7th ed., 1887); in 1852, amongst other works, his edition of the Codex Claromontanus. In 1859, he was named professor ordinarius of theology and of Biblical paleography, this latter professorship being specially created for him; and another book of travel, Aus dem heiligen Lande, appeared in 1862. Tischendorf's Eastern journeys were rich enough in other discoveries to merit the highest praise.

Besides his fame as a scholar, he was a friend of both Robert Schumann, with whom he corresponded, and Felix Mendelssohn, who dedicated a song to him. His colleague Samuel Prideaux Tregelles wrote warmly of their mutual interest in textual scholarship. His personal library, purchased after his death, eventually came to the University of Glasgow, where a commemorative exhibition of books from his library was held in 1974 and can be accessed by the public.

Death
Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf died in Leipzig on 7 December 1874, aged 59.

Codex Sinaiticus
The Codex Sinaiticus contains a 4th-century manuscript of New Testament texts. Two other Bibles of similar age exist, though they are less complete: Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican Library and Codex Alexandrinus, currently owned by the British Library. The Codex Sinaiticus is deemed by some to be the most important surviving New Testament manuscript, as no older manuscript is as nearly complete as the Codex. The codex can be viewed in the British Library in London, or as a digitized version on the Internet.

Tischendorf's motivation
Throughout his life Tischendorf sought old biblical manuscripts, as he saw it as his task to give theology a Greek New Testament which was based on the oldest possible scriptures. He intended to be as close as possible to the original sources. Tischendorf's greatest discovery was in the monastery of Saint Catherine on the Sinai Peninsula, which he visited in May 1844, and again in 1853 and 1859 (as Russian envoy).

In 1862 Tischendorf published the text of the Codex Sinaiticus for the 1000th Anniversary of the Russian Monarchy in both an illustrious four-volume facsimile edition and in a less costly text edition, to enable all scholars to have access to the Codex.

Tischendorf pursued a constant course of editorial labours, mainly on the New Testament, until he was broken down by overwork in 1873. His motive, as explained in a publication on Tischendorf's Letter by Prof. Christfried Boettrich (Leipzig University, Prof. of Theology), was to prove scientifically that the words of the Bible were trustfully transmitted over centuries.de:Christfried Böttrich

Works
His magnum opus was the "Critical Edition of the New Testament."

The great edition, of which the text and apparatus appeared in 1869 and 1872, was called by himself editio viii; but this number is raised to twenty or twenty-one, if mere reprints from stereotype plates and the minor editions of his great critical texts are included; posthumous prints bring the total to forty-one. Four main recensions of Tischendorf's text may be distinguished, dating respectively from his editions of 1841, 1849, 1859 (ed. vii), and 1869–72 (ed. viii). The edition of 1849 may be regarded as historically the most important, from the mass of new critical material it used; that of 1859 is distinguished from Tischendorf's other editions by coming nearer to the received text; in the eighth edition, the testimony of the Sinaitic manuscript received great (probably too great) weight. The readings of the Vatican manuscript were given with more exactness and certainty than had been possible in the earlier editions, and the editor had also the advantage of using the published labours of his colleague and friend Samuel Prideaux Tregelles.

Of relatively lesser importance was Tischendorf's work on the Greek Old Testament. His edition of the Roman text, with the variants of the Alexandrian manuscript, the Codex Ephraemi, and the Friderico-Augustanus, was of service when it appeared in 1850, but, being stereotyped, was not greatly improved in subsequent issues. Its imperfections, even within the limited field it covers, may be judged by the aid of Eberhard Nestle's appendix to the 6th issue (1880).

Besides this may be mentioned editions of the New Testament apocrypha, De Evangeliorum apocryphorum origine et usu (1851); Acta Apostolorum apocrypha (1851); Evangelia apocrypha (1853; 2nd ed., 1876); Apocalypses apocryphae (1866), and various minor writings, partly of an apologetic character, such as Wann wurden unsere Evangelien verfasst? (When Were Our Gospels Written?; 1865; 4th ed., 1866, digitized by Google and available for e-readers), Haben wir den echten Schrifttext der Evangelisten und Apostel? (1873), and Synopsis evangelica (7th ed., 1898).

Facsimile of manuscripts

 * Codex Ephraemi Syri rescriptus, sive Fragmenta Novi Testamenti, Lipsiae 1843
 * Codex Ephraemi Syri rescriptus, sive Fragmenta Veteris Testamenti, Lipsiae 1845
 * Notitia editionis codicis Bibliorum Sinaitici (Leipzig 1860)
 * Anecdota sacra et profana (Leipzig 1861)

Editions of Novum Testamentum Graece

 * Novum Testamentum Graece. Editio stereotypa secunda, (Lipsiae 1862)
 * Novum Testamentum Graece. Editio Quinta, Lipsiae 1878
 * Novum Testamentum Graece. Editio Septima, Lipsiae 1859

Editio Octava

 * Gospels: Novum Testamentum Graece: ad antiquissimos testes denuo recensuit, apparatum criticum omni studio perfectum, vol. I (1869)
 * Acts–Revelation: Novum Testamentum Graece. Editio Octava Critica Maior, vol. II (1872)
 * Prolegomena I–VI: Novum Testamentum Graece. Editio Octava Critica Maior, vol. III, Part 1 (1884)
 * Prolegomena VII–VIII: Novum Testamentum Graece. Editio Octava Critica Maior, vol. III, Part 2 (1890)
 * Prolegomena IX–XIII: Novum Testamentum Graece. Editio Octava Critica Maior, vol. III, Part 3 (1894)
 * Novum Testamentum graece: recensionis Tischendorfianae ultimae textum. Lipsiae 1881

LXX

 * Vetus Testamentum Graece iuxta LXX interpretes: Vetus Testamentum Graece iuxta LXX (Volume 1)
 * Vetus Testamentum Graece iuxta LXX interpretes: Vetus Testamentum Graece iuxta LXX (Volume 2)

His publications continued

 * Doctrina Pauli apostoli de vi mortis Christi satisfactoria. Leipzig, 1837 Google
 * Fritz der junge Mystiker, oder die drei letzten Festzeiten aus seinem Leben...: eine biographische Skizze. Leipzig, [1839]
 * Disputatio de Christo, pane vitae, sive de loco Evang. Ioann. c. VI. vv. 51 – 59 Leipzig, 1839
 * Die Geissler: namentlich die große Geißelfahrt nach Straßburg im Jahre 1349. Leipzig, 1840
 * De ev. Matth. c. 19. v. 16 et 39. Leipzig, 1840
 * De recensionibus quas dicunt textus Novi Testamenti ratione potissimum habita Scholzii: dissertatio historica exegetica critica. Leipzig, 1840 [Hochschulschrift]
 * Novum Testamentum Graece / Ad Antiquos Testes Recensuit Lectionesque Variantes Elzeviriorum Stephani Griesbachii Notavit Constantinus Tischendorf. Paris, 1842
 * Hē Kainē Diathēkē / In Antiquis Testibus Textum Versionis Vulgatae Latinae Indagavit Lectionesque Variantes Stephani Et Griesbachii Notavit V. S. Venerabili Jager in Consilium Adhibito Constantinus Tischendorf. Paris, 1842
 * Codex Ephraemi Syri rescriptus sive fragmenta utriusque testamenti. T.1. Fragmenta Veteris testamenti, T. 2. Fragmenta Novi testamenti. Leipzig, 1843
 * Weihnachtspredigt ... in Lengefeld. Leipzig, 1845
 * Monumenta sacra inedita sive reliquiae antiquissimae textus Novi testamenti Graeci: ex novum plus mille annorum codicibus per Europam dispersis. Leipzig, 1846
 * Codex Friderico-Augustanus sive fragmenta Veteris Testamenti: e codice Graeco, omnium qui in Europa supersunt facile antiquissimo; in Oriente detexit, in patriam attulit. Leipzig, 1846
 * De Israelitarum per mare rubrum transitu: cum tabula. Leipzig, 1847
 * Evangelium Palatinum ineditum sive reliquiae textus Evangeliorum Latini ante Hieronymum versi: ex Codice Palatino Purpureo quarti vel quinti p. Chr. saeculi. Leipzig, 1847
 * Der Geist der Wahrheit: Zeitpredigt am Sonntag Cantate den 6. Mai 1849 in der Universitätskirche zu Leipzig gehalten. Leipzig, 1849
 * Novum Testamentum: Latine interprete Hieronymo; ex celeberrimo codice Amiatino omnium et antiquissimo et praestantissimo. Leipzig, 1850
 * Acta apostolorum apocrypha. Leipzig, 1851 Google
 * Synopsis evangelica: ex quattuor evangeliis ordine chronologico concinnavit. Leipzig, 1851 Google-USA* (5. Aufl. 1884)
 * De evangeliorum apocryphorum origine et usu. In: Verhandelingen / uitg. door het Haagsche Genootschap tot Verdediging van de christelijke Godsdienst, Bd. 12, Den Haag, 1851
 * Codex Claromontanus sive Epistulae Pauli omnes Graece et Latine: ex Codice Parisiensi celeberrimo nomine Claromontani plerumque dicto sexti ut videtur post Christum saeculi. Leipzig, 1852
 * Evangelia apocrypha: adhibitis plurimis codicibus graecis et latinis maximam partem nunc primum consultis atque ineditorum copia insignibus. Leipzig, 1853 Google Editio Altera 1874: Google-USA*
 * Novum Testamentum Triglottum: graece, latine, germanice; graecum textum addito lectionum variarum delectu recensuit, latinum Hieronymi notata Clementina lectione ex auctoritate codicum restituit, germanicum ad pristinam lutheranae editionis veritatem revocavit. Leipzig, 1854
 * Anecdota sacra et profana ex oriente et occidente allata sive notitia codicum Graecorum, Arabicorum, Syriacorum, Copticorum, Hebraicorum, Aethiopicorum, Latinorum: cum excerptis multis maximam partem Graecis et 35 scripturarum antiquissimarum speciminibus. Leipzig, 1855 Google Editio repetita 1861: Michigan, Google, Google
 * Pastor: Graece; ex fragmentis Lipsiensibus. Leipzig, 1856
 * Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine: Graecum textum addito lectionum variarum delectu rec.; Latinum Hieronymi notata Clementina lectione ex auct. codicum. Leipzig, 1858
 * Notitia editionis Codicis Bibliorum Sinaitici auspiciis imperatoris Alexandri II. susceptae. Leipzig, 1860
 * Aus dem heiligen Lande: nebst fünf Abbildungen in Holzschnitt und einer lithographirten Tafel. Leipzig, 1862
 * Vorworte zur sinaitischen Bibelhandschrift zu St. Petersburg : unter den Auspicien seiner Kaiserlichen Maiestät Alexander II. dem Dunkel entzogen, nach Europa überbracht, zur Hebung und Verherrlichung christlicher Wissenschaft. Leipzig, 1862
 * Novum Testamentum Sinaiticum sive Novum Testamentum cum Epistola Barnabae et Fragmentis Pastoris : ex codice Sinaitico ... Leipzig, 1863
 * Die Anfechtungen der Sinai-Bibel. Leipzig, 1865 Google
 * Aus Dem Heiligen Lande. Leipzig, 1865 Google
 * Wann wurden unsere Evangelien verfasst? Leipzig, 1865 Google, 2. Expl. Google
 * Novum Testamentum Graece: ex sinaitico codice omnium antiquissimo vaticana itemque Elzeviriana lectione notata. Leipzig, 1865
 * Apocalypses apocryphae Mosis, Esdrae, Pauli, Johannis, item Mariae Dormitio: additis Evangeliorum et actuum Apocryphorum supplementis. Leipzig, 1866 Internet Archive Internet Archive
 * Appendix Codicum celeberrimorum Sinaitici, Vaticani, Alexandrini cum imitatione ipsorum antiqua manu scriptorum. Leipzig, 1867
 * Philonea: inedita altera, altera nunc demum recte ex vetere scriptura eruta. Leipzig, 1868 Internet Archive
 * Responsa ad calumnias romanas: item supplementum novi testamenti ex sinaitico codice anno 1865 editi. Leipzig, 1870
 * Novum Testamentum graece: ad antiquissimos testes denuo recensuit, apparatum. Leipzig, 1869–1872. 1. Band 1869 Google-USA*, 2. Band 1872 Google-USA*
 * Die Sinaibibel, ihre Entdeckung, Herausgabe und Erwerbung. Leipzig, 1871 Google-USA*
 * Die evangelische Alliance-Deputation an Kaiser Alexander zu Friedrichshafen: zur Abwehr der groben Entstellungen und Verleumdungen des Herrn von Wurstemberger (zu Bach bei Bern). Leipzig, 1872
 * Clementis Romani epistulae. Ad ipsius codicis alexandrini fidem ac modum repetitis curis edidit Constantinus de Tischendorf. Leipzig, 1873. Internet Archive
 * Haben wir den ächten Schrifttext der Evangelisten und Apostel? Leipzig, 1873 Google-USA* (2. Aufl.)
 * Liber Psalmorum: hebraicus atque latinus ab Hieronymo ex hebraeo conversus. Leipzig, 1874

Cooperation

 * Textum ... recensuit, brevem apparatum criticum una cum variis lectionibus Elzevirorum, Knapii, Scholzii, Lachmanni subjunxit, argumenta et locos parallelos indicavit, commentationem ... edd. Stephanicae tertiae atque Millianae, Matthaeianae, Griesbachianae praemisit Aenoth. Frid. Const. Tischendorf. Leipzig, 1841
 * Clementinorum Epitomae duae: altera edita correctior, inedita altera nunc primum integra ex codicibus Romanis et excerptis Tischendorfianis, cura Alberti Rud. Max. Dressel. Accedunt Friderici Wieseleri Adnotationes criticae ad Clementis Romani quae feruntur homilias. Leipzig, 1859 Internet Archive
 * Ad Vetus Testamentum Graecum ex auctoritate Sixti V. Pont. Max. a. 1587 editum a Leandro van Ess quoad textum accuratissime recusum trecentis annis post editionem originalem novis curis iteratum prolegomena et epilegomena. Bredt, 1887
 * Novum Testamentum : Constantin Tischendorf: griechisch, lateinisch, englisch, Ostervald: französisch, Martin Luther, DeWette, Richard Nagel: deutsch ... Hrsg. Eugen Niethe Berlin, 1891

Second Author

 * Ezra Abbot: The late Professor Tischendorf. Aus: The Unitarian Review and Religious Magazine. März 1875 (Festschrift Konstantin von Tischendorf)
 * Caspar René Gregory: Tischendorf, Lobegott Friedrich Constantin. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. Band 38. Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1894, S. 371–373

Sortable articles

 * Works by Von Tischendorf in English at CCEL
 * Tischendorf's eighth Greek New Testament with morphological tags and lemmas
 * Comparison of Tischendorf's 8th GNT text with other manuscript editions on the Manuscript Comparator
 * A digital edition of the Evangelia Apocrypha document written in Latin and Greek, in pdf format.
 * Novum Testamentum graece (1859)
 * Complete Apparatus, 8th Version in pdf –

title: Constantin von Tischendorf


text:
Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929.

Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer who climbed the ladder of Massachusetts politics, becoming the state's 48th governor. His response to the Boston police strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight as a man of decisive action. The next year, Coolidge was elected the country's 29th vice president and succeeded to the presidency upon President Warren G. Harding's sudden death in 1923. Elected in his own right in 1924, Coolidge gained a reputation as a small-government conservative with a taciturn personality and dry sense of humor that earned him the nickname "Silent Cal". His widespread popularity enabled him to run for a second full term, but Coolidge chose not to run again in 1928, remarking that ten years as president would be "longer than any other man has had it—too long!"

During his gubernatorial career, Coolidge ran on the record of fiscal conservatism, strong support for women's suffrage, and vague opposition to Prohibition. During his presidency, he restored public confidence in the White House after the many scandals of the Harding administration. He signed into law the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, which granted U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans, and oversaw a period of rapid and expansive economic growth known as the "Roaring Twenties", leaving office with considerable popularity. He was known for his hands-off governing approach and pro-business stances; biographer Claude Fuess wrote: "He embodied the spirit and hopes of the middle class, could interpret their longings and express their opinions. That he did represent the genius of the average is the most convincing proof of his strength."

Scholars have ranked Coolidge in the lower half of U.S. presidents. He gains nearly universal praise for his stalwart support of racial equality during a period of heightened racial tension in the nation, and is highly praised by advocates of smaller government and laissez-faire economics; supporters of an active central government generally view him far less favorably. His critics argue that he failed to use the country's economic boom to help struggling farmers and workers in other flailing industries, and there is still much debate among historians as to the extent to which Coolidge's economic policies contributed to the onset of the Great Depression.

Early life and family history
John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was born on July 4, 1872, in Plymouth Notch, Vermont—the only U.S. president to be born on Independence Day. He was the elder of the two children of John Calvin Coolidge Sr. (1845–1926) and Victoria Josephine Moor (1846–1885). Although named for his father, from early childhood Coolidge was addressed by his middle name. The name Calvin was used in multiple generations of the Coolidge family, apparently selected in honor of John Calvin, the Protestant Reformer.

Coolidge Senior engaged in many occupations and developed a statewide reputation as a prosperous farmer, storekeeper, and public servant. He held various local offices, including justice of the peace and tax collector and served in both houses of the Vermont General Assembly. When Coolidge was 12 years old, his chronically ill mother died at the age of 39, perhaps from tuberculosis. His younger sister, Abigail Grace Coolidge (1875–1890), died at the age of 15, probably of appendicitis, when Coolidge was 18. Coolidge's father married a Plymouth schoolteacher in 1891, and lived to the age of 80.

Coolidge's family had deep roots in New England. His earliest American ancestor, John Coolidge emigrated from Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, England, around 1630 and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. Coolidge's great-great-grandfather, also named John Coolidge, was an American military officer in the Revolutionary War and one of the first selectmen of the town of Plymouth. His grandfather Calvin Galusha Coolidge served in the Vermont House of Representatives. His cousin Park Pollard was a businessman in Cavendish, Vermont and the longtime chair of the Vermont Democratic Party. Coolidge was also a descendant of Samuel Appleton, who settled in Ipswich and led the Massachusetts Bay Colony during King Philip's War. Coolidge's mother was the daughter of Hiram Dunlap Moor, a Plymouth Notch farmer, and Abigail Franklin.

Education and law practice
Coolidge attended the Black River Academy and then St. Johnsbury Academy before enrolling at Amherst College, where he distinguished himself in the debating class. As a senior, he joined the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and graduated cum laude. While at Amherst, Coolidge was profoundly influenced by philosophy professor Charles Edward Garman, a Congregational mystic who had a neo-Hegelian philosophy.

Coolidge explained Garman's ethics forty years later: "[T]here is a standard of righteousness that might does not make right, that the end does not justify the means, and that expediency as a working principle is bound to fail. The only hope of perfecting human relationships is in accordance with the law of service under which men are not so solicitous about what they shall get as they are about what they shall give. Yet people are entitled to the rewards of their industry. What they earn is theirs, no matter how small or how great. But the possession of property carries the obligation to use it in a larger service..."

At his father's urging after graduation, Coolidge moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, to become a lawyer. Coolidge followed the common practice of apprenticing with a local law firm, Hammond & Field, and reading law with them. John C. Hammond and Henry P. Field, both Amherst graduates, introduced Coolidge to practicing law in the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts. In 1897, Coolidge was admitted to the Massachusetts bar, becoming a country lawyer. With his savings and a small inheritance from his grandfather, Coolidge opened his own law office in Northampton in 1898. He practiced commercial law, believing that he served his clients best by staying out of court. As his reputation as a hard-working and diligent attorney grew, local banks and other businesses began to retain his services.

Marriage and family

In 1903, Coolidge met Grace Goodhue, a graduate of the University of Vermont and a teacher at Northampton's Clarke School for the Deaf. They married on October 4, 1905, at 2:30 p.m. in a small ceremony which took place in the parlor of Grace's family's house, having overcome her mother's objections to the marriage. The newlyweds went on a honeymoon trip to Montreal, originally planned for two weeks but cut short by a week at Coolidge's request. After 25 years he wrote of Grace, "for almost a quarter of a century she has borne with my infirmities and I have rejoiced in her graces".

The Coolidges had two sons: John (1906–2000) and Calvin Jr. (1908–1924). On June 30, 1924, Calvin Jr. had played tennis with his brother on the White House tennis courts without putting on socks and developed a blister on one of his toes. The blister subsequently degenerated into sepsis. Calvin Jr. died a little over a week later at the age of 16. The President never forgave himself for Calvin Jr's death. His eldest son John said it "hurt [Coolidge] terribly", and psychiatric biographer Robert E. Gilbert, author of The Tormented President: Calvin Coolidge, Death, and Clinical Depression, said that Coolidge "ceased to function as President after the death of his sixteen-year-old son". Gilbert explains in his book how Coolidge displayed all ten of the symptoms listed by the American Psychiatric Association as evidence of major depressive disorder following Calvin Jr.'s sudden death. John later became a railroad executive, helped to start the Coolidge Foundation, and was instrumental in creating the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site.

Coolidge was frugal, and when it came to securing a home, he insisted upon renting. He and his wife attended Northampton's Edwards Congregational Church before and after his presidency.

City offices
The Republican Party was dominant in New England at the time, and Coolidge followed the example of Hammond and Field by becoming active in local politics. In 1896, Coolidge campaigned for Republican presidential candidate William McKinley, and was selected to be a member of the Republican City Committee the next year. In 1898, he won election to the City Council of Northampton, placing second in a ward where the top three candidates were elected. The position offered no salary but provided Coolidge with valuable political experience. In 1899, he was chosen City Solicitor by the City Council. He was elected for a one-year term in 1900, and reelected in 1901. This position gave Coolidge more experience as a lawyer and paid a salary of $600. In 1902, the city council selected a Democrat for city solicitor, and Coolidge returned to private practice. Soon thereafter, however, the clerk of courts for the county died, and Coolidge was chosen to replace him. The position paid well, but it barred him from practicing law, so he remained at the job for only one year. In 1904, Coolidge suffered his sole defeat at the ballot box, losing an election to the Northampton school board. When told that some of his neighbors voted against him because he had no children in the schools he would govern, the recently married Coolidge replied, "Might give me time!"

Massachusetts state legislator and mayor

In 1906, the local Republican committee nominated Coolidge for election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He won a close victory over the incumbent Democrat, and reported to Boston for the 1907 session of the Massachusetts General Court. In his freshman term, Coolidge served on minor committees and, although he usually voted with the party, was known as a Progressive Republican, voting in favor of such measures as women's suffrage and the direct election of Senators. While in Boston, Coolidge became an ally, and then a liegeman, of then U.S. Senator Winthrop Murray Crane who controlled the western faction of the Massachusetts Republican Party; Crane's party rival in the east of the commonwealth was U.S. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. Coolidge forged another key strategic alliance with Guy Currier, who had served in both state houses and had the social distinction, wealth, personal charm and broad circle of friends which Coolidge lacked, and which would have a lasting impact on his political career. In 1907, he was elected to a second term, and in the 1908 session Coolidge was more outspoken, though not in a leadership position.

Instead of vying for another term in the State House, Coolidge returned home to his growing family and ran for mayor of Northampton when the incumbent Democrat retired. He was well liked in the town, and defeated his challenger by a vote of 1,597 to 1,409. During his first term (1910 to 1911), he increased teachers' salaries and retired some of the city's debt while still managing to effect a slight tax decrease. He was renominated in 1911, and defeated the same opponent by a slightly larger margin.

In 1911, the State Senator for the Hampshire County area retired and successfully encouraged Coolidge to run for his seat for the 1912 session; Coolidge defeated his Democratic opponent by a large margin. At the start of that term, he became chairman of a committee to arbitrate the "Bread and Roses" strike by the workers of the American Woolen Company in Lawrence, Massachusetts. After two tense months, the company agreed to the workers' demands, in a settlement proposed by the committee. A major issue affecting Massachusetts Republicans that year was the party split between the progressive wing, which favored Theodore Roosevelt, and the conservative wing, which favored William Howard Taft. Although he favored some progressive measures, Coolidge refused to leave the Republican party. When the new Progressive Party declined to run a candidate in his state senate district, Coolidge won reelection against his Democratic opponent by an increased margin.

In the 1913 session, Coolidge enjoyed renowned success in arduously navigating to passage the Western Trolley Act, which connected Northampton with a dozen similar industrial communities in Western Massachusetts. Coolidge intended to retire after his second term as was the custom, but when the president of the state senate, Levi H. Greenwood, considered running for lieutenant governor, Coolidge decided to run again for the Senate in the hopes of being elected as its presiding officer. Although Greenwood later decided to run for reelection to the Senate, he was defeated primarily due to his opposition to women's suffrage; Coolidge was in favor of the women's vote, won his re-election, and with Crane's help, assumed the presidency of a closely divided Senate. After his election in January 1914, Coolidge delivered a published and frequently quoted speech entitled Have Faith in Massachusetts, which summarized his philosophy of government.

Coolidge's speech was well received, and he attracted some admirers on its account; towards the end of the term, many of them were proposing his name for nomination to lieutenant governor. After winning reelection to the Senate by an increased margin in the 1914 elections, Coolidge was reelected unanimously to be President of the Senate. Coolidge's supporters, led by fellow Amherst alumnus Frank Stearns, encouraged him again to run for lieutenant governor. Stearns, an executive with the Boston department store R. H. Stearns, became another key ally, and began a publicity campaign on Coolidge's behalf before he announced his candidacy at the end of the 1915 legislative session.

Lieutenant Governor and Governor of Massachusetts (1916−1921)
Coolidge entered the primary election for lieutenant governor and was nominated to run alongside gubernatorial candidate Samuel W. McCall. Coolidge was the leading vote-getter in the Republican primary, and balanced the Republican ticket by adding a western presence to McCall's eastern base of support. McCall and Coolidge won the 1915 election to their respective one-year terms, with Coolidge defeating his opponent by more than 50,000 votes.

In Massachusetts, the lieutenant governor does not preside over the state Senate, as is the case in many other states; nevertheless, as lieutenant governor, Coolidge was a deputy governor functioning as an administrative inspector and was a member of the governor's council. He was also chairman of the finance committee and the pardons committee. As a full-time elected official, Coolidge discontinued his law practice in 1916, though his family continued to live in Northampton. McCall and Coolidge were both reelected in 1916 and again in 1917. When McCall decided that he would not stand for a fourth term, Coolidge announced his intention to run for governor.

1918 election
Coolidge was unopposed for the Republican nomination for Governor of Massachusetts in 1918. He and his running mate, Channing Cox, a Boston lawyer and Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, ran on the previous administration's record: fiscal conservatism, a vague opposition to Prohibition, support for women's suffrage, and support for American involvement in World War I. The issue of the war proved divisive, especially among Irish and German Americans. Coolidge was elected by a margin of 16,773 votes over his opponent, Richard H. Long, in the smallest margin of victory of any of his statewide campaigns.

Boston police strike

In 1919, in reaction to a plan of the policemen of the Boston Police Department to register with a union, Police Commissioner Edwin U. Curtis announced that such an act would not be tolerated. In August of that year, the American Federation of Labor issued a charter to the Boston Police Union. Curtis declared the union's leaders were guilty of insubordination and would be relieved of duty, but indicated he would cancel their suspension if the union was dissolved by September 4. The mayor of Boston, Andrew Peters, convinced Curtis to delay his action for a few days, but with no results, and Curtis suspended the union leaders on September 8. The following day, about three-quarters of the policemen in Boston went on strike. Coolidge, tacitly but fully in support of Curtis' position, closely monitored the situation but initially deferred to the local authorities. He anticipated that only a resulting measure of lawlessness could sufficiently prompt the public to understand and appreciate the controlling principle – that a policeman does not strike. That night and the next, there was sporadic violence and rioting in the unruly city. Peters, concerned about sympathy strikes by the firemen and others, called up some units of the Massachusetts National Guard stationed in the Boston area pursuant to an old and obscure legal authority, and relieved Curtis of duty.

Coolidge, sensing the severity of circumstances were then in need of his intervention, conferred with Crane's operative, William Butler, and then acted. He called up more units of the National Guard, restored Curtis to office, and took personal control of the police force. Curtis proclaimed that all of the strikers were fired from their jobs, and Coolidge called for a new police force to be recruited. That night Coolidge received a telegram from AFL leader Samuel Gompers. "Whatever disorder has occurred", Gompers wrote, "is due to Curtis's order in which the right of the policemen has been denied…" Coolidge publicly answered Gompers's telegram, denying any justification whatsoever for the strike – and his response launched him into the national consciousness. Newspapers across the nation picked up on Coolidge's statement and he became the newest hero to opponents of the strike. Amid of the First Red Scare, many Americans were terrified of the spread of communist revolutions, like those that had taken place in Russia, Hungary, and Germany. While Coolidge had lost some friends among organized labor, conservatives across the nation had seen a rising star. Although he usually acted with deliberation, the Boston police strike gave him a national reputation as a decisive leader, and as a strict enforcer of law and order.

1919 election
Coolidge and Cox were renominated for their respective offices in 1919. By this time Coolidge's supporters (especially Stearns) had publicized his actions in the Police Strike around the state and the nation and some of Coolidge's speeches were published in book form. He faced the same opponent as in 1918, Richard Long, but this time Coolidge defeated him by 125,101 votes, more than seven times his margin of victory from a year earlier. His actions in the police strike, combined with the massive electoral victory, led to suggestions that Coolidge run for president in 1920.

Legislation and vetoes as governor
By the time Coolidge was inaugurated on January 2, 1919, the First World War had ended, and Coolidge pushed the legislature to give a $100 bonus to Massachusetts veterans. He also signed a bill reducing the work week for women and children from fifty-four hours to forty-eight, saying, "We must humanize the industry, or the system will break down." He signed into law a budget that kept the tax rates the same, while trimming $4 million from expenditures, thus allowing the state to retire some of its debt.

Coolidge also wielded the veto pen as governor. His most publicized veto prevented an increase in legislators' pay by 50%. Although he was personally opposed to Prohibition, he vetoed a bill in May 1920 that would have allowed the sale of beer or wine of 2.75% alcohol or less, in Massachusetts in violation of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. "Opinions and instructions do not outmatch the Constitution," he said in his veto message. "Against it, they are void."

1920 election
At the 1920 Republican National Convention, most of the delegates were selected by state party caucuses, not primaries. As such, the field was divided among many local favorites. Coolidge was one such candidate, and while he placed as high as sixth in the voting, the powerful party bosses running the convention, primarily the party's U.S. Senators, never considered him seriously. After ten ballots, the bosses and then the delegates settled on Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio as their nominee for president. When the time came to select a vice presidential nominee, the bosses also made and announced their decision on whom they wanted – Sen. Irvine Lenroot of Wisconsin – and then prematurely departed after his name was put forth, relying on the rank and file to confirm their decision. A delegate from Oregon, Wallace McCamant, having read Have Faith in Massachusetts, proposed Coolidge for vice president instead. The suggestion caught on quickly with the masses starving for an act of independence from the absent bosses, and Coolidge was unexpectedly nominated.

The Democrats nominated another Ohioan, James M. Cox, for president and the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, for vice president. The question of the United States joining the League of Nations was a major issue in the campaign, as was the unfinished legacy of Progressivism. Harding ran a "front-porch" campaign from his home in Marion, Ohio, but Coolidge took to the campaign trail in the Upper South, New York, and New England – his audiences carefully limited to those familiar with Coolidge and those placing a premium upon concise and short speeches. On November 2, 1920, Harding and Coolidge were victorious in a landslide, winning more than 60 percent of the popular vote, including every state outside the South. They also won in Tennessee, the first time a Republican ticket had won a Southern state since Reconstruction.

"Silent Cal"
The U.S. vice-presidency did not carry many official duties, but Coolidge was invited by President Harding to attend cabinet meetings, making him the first vice president to do so. He gave a number of unremarkable speeches around the country.

As vice president, Coolidge and his vivacious wife Grace were invited to quite a few parties, where the legend of "Silent Cal" was born. It is from this time that most of the jokes and anecdotes involving Coolidge originate, such as Coolidge being "silent in five languages". Although Coolidge was known to be a skilled and effective public speaker, in private he was a man of few words and was commonly referred to as "Silent Cal". An apocryphal story has it that a person seated next to him at a dinner said to him, "I made a bet today that I could get more than two words out of you." He replied, "You lose." However, on April 22, 1924, Coolidge himself said that the "You lose" quotation never occurred. The story about it was related by Frank B. Noyes, President of the Associated Press, to their membership at their annual luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, when toasting and introducing Coolidge, who was the invited speaker. After the introduction and before his prepared remarks, Coolidge said to the membership, "Your President [referring to Noyes] has given you a perfect example of one of those rumors now current in Washington which is without any foundation."

Coolidge often seemed uncomfortable among fashionable Washington society; when asked why he continued to attend so many of their dinner parties, he replied, "Got to eat somewhere." Alice Roosevelt Longworth, a leading Republican wit, underscored Coolidge's silence and his dour personality: "When he wished he were elsewhere, he pursed his lips, folded his arms, and said nothing. He looked then precisely as though he had been weaned on a pickle." Coolidge and his wife, Grace, who was a great baseball fan, once attended a Washington Senators game and sat through all nine innings without saying a word, except once when he asked her the time.

As president, Coolidge's reputation as a quiet man continued. "The words of a President have an enormous weight," he would later write, "and ought not to be used indiscriminately." Coolidge was aware of his stiff reputation; indeed, he cultivated it. "I think the American people want a solemn ass as a President," he once told Ethel Barrymore, "and I think I will go along with them." Some historians suggest that Coolidge's image was created deliberately as a campaign tactic, while others believe his withdrawn and quiet behavior to be natural, deepening after the death of his son in 1924. Dorothy Parker, upon learning that Coolidge had died, reportedly remarked, "How can they tell?"

Presidency (1923–1929)
On August 2, 1923, President Harding died unexpectedly from a heart attack in San Francisco while on a speaking tour of the western United States. Vice President Coolidge was in Vermont visiting his family home, which had neither electricity nor a telephone, when he received word by messenger of Harding's death. Coolidge dressed, said a prayer, and came downstairs to greet the reporters who had assembled. His father, a notary public and justice of the peace, administered the oath of office in the family's parlor by the light of a kerosene lamp at 2:47 a.m. on August 3, 1923, whereupon the new President of the United States returned to bed.

Coolidge returned to Washington the next day, and was sworn in again by Justice Adolph A. Hoehling Jr. of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, to forestall any questions about the authority of a state official to administer a federal oath. This second oath-taking remained a secret until it was revealed by Harry M. Daugherty in 1932, and confirmed by Hoehling. When Hoehling confirmed Daugherty's story, he indicated that Daugherty, then serving as United States Attorney General, asked him to administer the oath without fanfare at the Willard Hotel. According to Hoehling, he did not question Daugherty's reason for requesting a second oath-taking but assumed it was to resolve any doubt about whether the first swearing-in was valid.

The nation initially did not know what to make of Coolidge, who had maintained a low profile in the Harding administration; many had even expected him to be replaced on the ballot in 1924. Coolidge believed that those of Harding's men under suspicion were entitled to every presumption of innocence, taking a methodical approach to the scandals, principally the Teapot Dome scandal, while others clamored for rapid punishment of those they presumed guilty. Coolidge thought the Senate investigations of the scandals would suffice; this was affirmed by the resulting resignations of those involved. He personally intervened in demanding the resignation of Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty after he refused to cooperate with the congressional probe. He then set about to confirm that no loose ends remained in the administration, arranging for a full briefing on the wrongdoing. Harry A. Slattery reviewed the facts with him, Harlan F. Stone analyzed the legal aspects for him and Senator William E. Borah assessed and presented the political factors.

Coolidge addressed Congress when it reconvened on December 6, 1923, giving a speech that supported many of Harding's policies, including Harding's formal budgeting process, the enforcement of immigration restrictions and arbitration of coal strikes ongoing in Pennsylvania. The address to Congress was the first presidential speech to be broadcast over the radio. The Washington Naval Treaty was proclaimed just one month into Coolidge's term, and was generally well received in the country. In May 1924, the World War I veterans' World War Adjusted Compensation Act or "Bonus Bill" was passed over his veto. Coolidge signed the Immigration Act later that year, which was aimed at restricting southern and eastern European immigration, but appended a signing statement expressing his unhappiness with the bill's specific exclusion of Japanese immigrants. Just before the Republican Convention began, Coolidge signed into law the Revenue Act of 1924, which reduced the top marginal tax rate from 58 percent to 46 percent, as well as personal income tax rates across the board, increased the estate tax and bolstered it with a new gift tax.

On June 2, 1924, Coolidge signed the act granting citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States. By that time, two-thirds of them were already citizens, having gained it through marriage, military service (veterans of World War I were granted citizenship in 1919), or the land allotments that had earlier taken place.

1924 election

The Republican Convention was held from June 10 to 12, 1924, in Cleveland, Ohio; Coolidge was nominated on the first ballot. The convention nominated Frank Lowden of Illinois for vice president on the second ballot, but he declined; former Brigadier General Charles G. Dawes was nominated on the third ballot and accepted.

The Democrats held their convention the next month in New York City. The convention soon deadlocked, and after 103 ballots, the delegates finally agreed on a compromise candidate, John W. Davis, with Charles W. Bryan nominated for vice president. The Democrats' hopes were buoyed when Robert M. La Follette, a Republican senator from Wisconsin, split from the GOP to form a new Progressive Party. Many believed that the split in the Republican Party, like the one in 1912, would allow a Democrat to win the presidency.

After the conventions and the death of his younger son Calvin, Coolidge became withdrawn; he later said that "when he [the son] died, the power and glory of the Presidency went with him." Even as he mourned, Coolidge ran his standard campaign, not mentioning his opponents by name or maligning them, and delivering speeches on his theory of government, including several that were broadcast over the radio. It was the most subdued campaign since 1896, partly because of Coolidge's grief, but also because of his naturally non-confrontational style. The other candidates campaigned in a more modern fashion, but despite the split in the Republican party, the results were similar to those of 1920. Coolidge and Dawes won every state outside the South except Wisconsin, La Follette's home state. Coolidge won the election with 382 electoral votes and the popular vote by 2.5 million over his opponents' combined total.

Industry and trade
During Coolidge's presidency, the United States experienced a period of rapid economic growth known as the "Roaring Twenties". He left the administration's industrial policy in the hands of his activist Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, who energetically used government auspices to promote business efficiency and develop airlines and radio. Coolidge disdained regulation and demonstrated this by appointing commissioners to the Federal Trade Commission and the Interstate Commerce Commission who did little to restrict the activities of businesses under their jurisdiction. The regulatory state under Coolidge was, as one biographer described it, "thin to the point of invisibility".

Historian Robert Sobel offers some context of Coolidge's laissez-faire ideology, based on the prevailing understanding of federalism during his presidency: "As Governor of Massachusetts, Coolidge supported wages and hours legislation, opposed child labor, imposed economic controls during World War I, favored safety measures in factories, and even worker representation on corporate boards. Did he support these measures while president? No, because in the 1920s, such matters were considered the responsibilities of state and local governments." However, Coolidge did sign the Radio Act of 1927 into law that established the Federal Radio Commission (1927–1934), the equal-time rule for radio broadcasters in the United States, and restricted radio broadcasting licenses to stations that demonstrated that they served "the public interest, convenience, or necessity".

Taxation and government spending
Coolidge adopted the taxation policies of his Secretary of the Treasury, Andrew Mellon, who advocated "scientific taxation" – the notion that lowering taxes will increase, rather than decrease, government receipts. Congress agreed, and tax rates were reduced in Coolidge's term. In addition to federal tax cuts, Coolidge proposed reductions in federal expenditures and retiring of the federal debt. Coolidge's ideas were shared by the Republicans in Congress, and in 1924, Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1924, which reduced income tax rates and eliminated all income taxation for some two million people. They reduced taxes again by passing the Revenue Acts of 1926 and 1928, all the while continuing to keep spending down so as to reduce the overall federal debt. By 1927, only the wealthiest 2% of taxpayers paid any federal income tax. Federal spending remained flat during Coolidge's administration, allowing one-fourth of the federal debt to be retired in total. State and local governments saw considerable growth, however, surpassing the federal budget in 1927. By 1929, after Coolidge's series of tax rate reductions had cut the tax rate to 24 percent on those making over $100,000, the federal government collected more than a billion dollars in income taxes, of which 65 percent was collected from those making over $100,000. In 1921, when the tax rate on people making over $100,000 a year was 73 percent, the federal government collected a little over $700 million in income taxes, of which 30 percent was paid by those making over $100,000.

Opposition to farm subsidies

Perhaps the most contentious issue of Coolidge's presidency was relief for farmers. Some in Congress proposed a bill designed to fight falling agricultural prices by allowing the federal government to purchase crops to sell abroad at lower prices. Agriculture Secretary Henry C. Wallace and other administration officials favored the bill when it was introduced in 1924, but rising prices convinced many in Congress that the bill was unnecessary, and it was defeated just before the elections that year. In 1926, with farm prices falling once more, Senator Charles L. McNary and Representative Gilbert N. Haugen – both Republicans – proposed the McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill. The bill proposed a federal farm board that would purchase surplus production in high-yield years and hold it (when feasible) for later sale or sell it abroad. Coolidge opposed McNary-Haugen, declaring that agriculture must stand "on an independent business basis", and said that "government control cannot be divorced from political control." Instead of manipulating prices, he favored instead Herbert Hoover's proposal to increase profitability by modernizing agriculture. Secretary Mellon wrote a letter denouncing the McNary-Haugen measure as unsound and likely to cause inflation, and it was defeated.

After McNary-Haugen's defeat, Coolidge supported a less radical measure, the Curtis-Crisp Act, which would have created a federal board to lend money to farm co-operatives in times of surplus; the bill did not pass. In February 1927, Congress took up the McNary-Haugen bill again, this time narrowly passing it, and Coolidge vetoed it. In his veto message, he expressed the belief that the bill would do nothing to help farmers, benefiting only exporters and expanding the federal bureaucracy. Congress did not override the veto, but it passed the bill again in May 1928 by an increased majority; again, Coolidge vetoed it. "Farmers never have made much money," said Coolidge, the Vermont farmer's son. "I do not believe we can do much about it."

Flood control
Coolidge has often been criticized for his actions during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the worst natural disaster to hit the Gulf Coast until Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Although he did eventually name Secretary Hoover to a commission in charge of flood relief, scholars argue that Coolidge overall showed a lack of interest in federal flood control. Coolidge did not believe that personally visiting the region after the floods would accomplish anything, and that it would be seen as mere political grandstanding. He also did not want to incur the federal spending that flood control would require; he believed property owners should bear much of the cost. On the other hand, Congress wanted a bill that would place the federal government completely in charge of flood mitigation. When Congress passed a compromise measure in 1928, Coolidge declined to take credit for it and signed the bill in private on May 15.

Civil rights

According to one biographer, Coolidge was "devoid of racial prejudice", but rarely took the lead on civil rights. Coolidge disliked the Ku Klux Klan and no Klansman is known to have received an appointment from him. In the 1924 presidential election his opponents (Robert La Follette and John Davis), and his running mate Charles Dawes, often attacked the Klan but Coolidge avoided the subject. During his administration, lynchings of African-Americans decreased and millions of people left the Ku Klux Klan.

Coolidge spoke in favor of the civil rights of African Americans, saying in his first State of the Union address that their rights were "just as sacred as those of any other citizen" under the U.S. Constitution and that it was a "public and a private duty to protect those rights."

Coolidge repeatedly called for laws to make lynching a federal crime (it was already a state crime, though not always enforced). Congress refused to pass any such legislation. On June 2, 1924, Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans living on reservations. (Those off reservations had long been citizens.) On June 6, 1924, Coolidge delivered a commencement address at historically black, non-segregated Howard University, in which he thanked and commended African Americans for their rapid advances in education and their contributions to U.S. society over the years, as well as their eagerness to render their services as soldiers in the World War, all while being faced with discrimination and prejudices at home.

In a speech in October 1924, Coolidge stressed tolerance of differences as an American value and thanked immigrants for their contributions to U.S. society, saying that they have "contributed much to making our country what it is." He stated that although the diversity of peoples was a detrimental source of conflict and tension in Europe, it was peculiar for the United States that it was a "harmonious" benefit for the country. Coolidge further stated the United States should assist and help immigrants who come to the country and urged immigrants to reject "race hatreds" and "prejudices".

Foreign policy
Coolidge was neither well versed nor very interested in world affairs. His focus was directed mainly at American business, especially pertaining to trade, and "Maintaining the Status Quo". Although not an isolationist, he was reluctant to enter into European involvements. While Coolidge believed strongly in a non-interventionist foreign policy, he did believe that the United States was exceptional.

Coolidge considered the 1920 Republican victory as a rejection of the Wilsonian position that the United States should join the League of Nations. Coolidge believed the League did not serve American interests. However, he spoke in favor of joining the Permanent Court of International Justice (World Court), provided that the nation would not be bound by advisory decisions. In 1926, the Senate eventually approved joining the Court (with reservations). The League of Nations accepted the reservations, but it suggested some modifications of its own. The Senate failed to act and so the United States did not join the World Court.

In 1924 the Coolidge administration nominated Charles Dawes to head the multi-national committee that produced the Dawes Plan. It set fixed annual amounts for Germany's World War I reparations payments and authorized a large loan, mostly from American banks, to help stabilize and stimulate the German economy. Additionally, Coolidge attempted to pursue further curbs on naval strength following the early successes of Harding's Washington Naval Conference by sponsoring the Geneva Naval Conference in 1927, which failed owing to a French and Italian boycott and ultimate failure of Great Britain and the United States to agree on cruiser tonnages. As a result, the conference was a failure and Congress eventually authorized for increased American naval spending in 1928. The Kellogg–Briand Pact of 1928, named for Coolidge's Secretary of State, Frank B. Kellogg, and French foreign minister Aristide Briand, was also a key peacekeeping initiative. The treaty, ratified in 1929, committed signatories – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan – to "renounce war, as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another". The treaty did not achieve its intended result – the outlawry of war – but it did provide the founding principle for international law after World War II. Coolidge also continued the previous administration's policy of withholding recognition of the Soviet Union.

Efforts were made to normalize ties with post-Revolution Mexico. Coolidge recognized Mexico's new governments under Álvaro Obregón and Plutarco Elías Calles, and continued American support for the elected Mexican government against the National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty during the Cristero War, lifting the arms embargo on that country; he also appointed Dwight Morrow as Ambassador to Mexico with the successful objective to avoid further American conflict with Mexico.

Coolidge's administration would see continuity in the occupation of Nicaragua and Haiti, and an end to the occupation of the Dominican Republic in 1924 as a result of withdrawal agreements finalized during Harding's administration. In 1925, Coolidge ordered the withdrawal of Marines stationed in Nicaragua following perceived stability after the 1924 Nicaraguan general election, but redeployed them there in January 1927 following failed attempts to peacefully resolve the rapid deterioration of political stability and avert the ensuing Constitutionalist War; Henry L. Stimson was later sent by Coolidge to mediate a peace deal that would end the civil war and extend American military presence in Nicaragua beyond Coolidge's term in office.

To extend an olive branch to Latin American leaders embittered over America's interventionist policies in Central America and the Caribbean, Coolidge led the U.S. delegation to the Sixth International Conference of American States, January 15–17, 1928, in Havana, Cuba, the only international trip Coolidge made during his presidency. He would be the last sitting American president to visit Cuba until Barack Obama in 2016.

For Canada, Coolidge authorized the St. Lawrence Seaway, a system of locks and canals that would provide large vessels passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes.

Cabinet
Although a few of Harding's cabinet appointees were scandal-tarred, Coolidge initially retained all of them, out of an ardent conviction that as successor to a deceased elected president he was obligated to retain Harding's counselors and policies until the next election. He kept Harding's able speechwriter Judson T. Welliver; Stuart Crawford replaced Welliver in November 1925. Coolidge appointed C. Bascom Slemp, a Virginia Congressman and experienced federal politician, to work jointly with Edward T. Clark, a Massachusetts Republican organizer whom he retained from his vice-presidential staff, as Secretaries to the President (a position equivalent to the modern White House Chief of Staff).

Perhaps the most powerful person in Coolidge's Cabinet was Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon, who controlled the administration's financial policies and was regarded by many, including House Minority Leader John Nance Garner, as more powerful than Coolidge himself. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover also held a prominent place in Coolidge's Cabinet, in part because Coolidge found value in Hoover's ability to win positive publicity with his pro-business proposals. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes directed Coolidge's foreign policy until he resigned in 1925 following Coolidge's re-election. He was replaced by Frank B. Kellogg, who had previously served as a senator and as the ambassador to Great Britain. Coolidge made two other appointments following his re-election, with William M. Jardine taking the position of Secretary of Agriculture and John G. Sargent becoming Attorney General. Coolidge did not have a vice president during his first term, but Charles Dawes became vice president during Coolidge's second term, and Dawes and Coolidge clashed over farm policy and other issues.

Judicial appointments

Coolidge appointed one justice to the Supreme Court of the United States, Harlan F. Stone in 1925. Stone was Coolidge's fellow Amherst alumnus, a Wall Street lawyer and conservative Republican. Stone was serving as dean of Columbia Law School when Coolidge appointed him to be attorney general in 1924 to restore the reputation tarnished by Harding's Attorney General, Harry M. Daugherty. It does not appear that Coolidge considered appointing anyone other than Stone, although Stone himself had urged Coolidge to appoint Benjamin N. Cardozo. Stone proved to be a firm believer in judicial restraint and was regarded as one of the court's three liberal justices who would often vote to uphold New Deal legislation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt later appointed Stone to be chief justice.

Coolidge nominated 17 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals and 61 judges to the United States district courts. He appointed judges to various specialty courts as well, including Genevieve R. Cline, who became the first woman named to the federal judiciary when Coolidge placed her on the United States Customs Court in 1928. Coolidge also signed the Judiciary Act of 1925 into law, allowing the Supreme Court more discretion over its workload.

1928 election
In the summer of 1927, Coolidge vacationed in the Black Hills of South Dakota. While on vacation, Coolidge surprisingly issued a terse statement that he would not seek a second full term as president: "I do not choose to run for President in 1928." After allowing the reporters to take that in, Coolidge elaborated. "If I take another term, I will be in the White House till 1933 … Ten years in Washington is longer than any other man has had it – too long!" In his memoirs, Coolidge explained his decision not to run: "The Presidential office takes a heavy toll of those who occupy it and those who are dear to them. While we should not refuse to spend and be spent in the service of our country, it is hazardous to attempt what we feel is beyond our strength to accomplish." After leaving office, he and Grace returned to Northampton, where he wrote his memoirs. The Republicans retained the White House in 1928 with a landslide by Herbert Hoover. Coolidge had been reluctant to endorse Hoover as his successor; on one occasion he remarked that "for six years that man has given me unsolicited advice – all of it bad." Even so, Coolidge had no desire to split the party by publicly opposing the nomination of the popular commerce secretary.

Post-presidency (1929–1933)

After his presidency, Coolidge retired to a spacious home in Northampton, "The Beeches". He kept a Hacker runabout boat on the Connecticut River and was often observed on the water by local boating enthusiasts. During this period, he also served as chairman of the Non-Partisan Railroad Commission, an entity created by several banks and corporations to survey the country's long-term transportation needs and make recommendations for improvements. He was an honorary president of the American Foundation for the Blind, a director of New York Life Insurance Company, president of the American Antiquarian Society, and a trustee of Amherst College.

Coolidge published his autobiography in 1929 and wrote a syndicated newspaper column, "Calvin Coolidge Says", from 1930 to 1931. Faced with a Democratic landslide in the 1932 presidential election, some Republicans spoke of rejecting Hoover as their party's nominee, and instead drafting Coolidge to run. Coolidge made it clear that he was not interested in running again, and that he would publicly repudiate any effort to draft him. Hoover was renominated, and Coolidge made several radio addresses in support of him. Hoover then lost the general election to Coolidge's 1920 vice presidential Democratic opponent Franklin D. Roosevelt in a landslide.

Death
Coolidge died suddenly from coronary thrombosis at "The Beeches" on January 5, 1933, at 12:45 p.m., aged 60. Shortly before his death, Coolidge confided to an old friend: "I feel I no longer fit in with these times." Coolidge is buried in Plymouth Notch Cemetery, Plymouth Notch, Vermont. The nearby family home is maintained as one of the original buildings on the Calvin Coolidge Homestead District site. The State of Vermont dedicated a new visitors' center nearby to mark Coolidge's 100th birthday on July 4, 1972.

Radio, film, and commemorations
Despite his reputation as a quiet and even reclusive politician, Coolidge made use of the new medium of radio and made radio history several times while president. He made himself available to reporters, giving 520 press conferences, meeting with reporters more regularly than any president before or since. Coolidge's second inauguration was the first presidential inauguration broadcast on radio. On December 6, 1923, his speech to Congress was broadcast on radio, the first presidential radio address. Coolidge signed the Radio Act of 1927, which assigned regulation of radio to the newly created Federal Radio Commission. On August 11, 1924, Theodore W. Case, using the Phonofilm sound-on-film process he developed for Lee de Forest, filmed Coolidge on the White House lawn, making "Silent Cal" the first president to appear in a sound film. The title of the DeForest film was President Coolidge, Taken on the White House Grounds. When Charles Lindbergh arrived in Washington on a U.S. Navy ship after his celebrated 1927 trans-Atlantic flight, President Coolidge welcomed him back to the U.S. and presented him with the Medal of Honor; the event was captured on film.

title: Calvin Coolidge