Misplaced Pages

#208791

102-665: Since its inception, the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program has been called "the most important scheme for educating Chinese students in America and arguably the most consequential and successful in the entire foreign-study movement of twentieth century China." On July 16, 1925, President Calvin Coolidge approved "Executive Order 4268—Remission of Further Payments of Installments of the Chinese Indemnity" to implement

204-580: A French language translation of the Prātimokṣa sūtra , published in 1884 under the title Prâtimoksha sutra; ou, Le traité d'émancipation selon la version tibétaine: avec notes et extraits du Dulva (Vinaya) . In 1883, Rockhill's wife inherited $ 70,000 from the death of a cousin, allowing Rockhill to take an unpaid position with the American Legation in Peking . After perfecting his language skills, he

306-618: A French language translation of the Tibetan version of the Udanavarga , which was published in 1881. The Rockhills sold the ranch in 1881 and moved to Montreux , Switzerland, where William's mother lived. He spent the next three years in Europe studying Tibetan, Sanskrit , and Chinese . During this period, he co-authored a biography of the Buddha with Nanjo Bunyu and Ernst Leumann , and completed

408-543: 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

510-509: A course of 39 years to the eight nations involved. Under the exchange rates at the time, this was equal to US$ 335 million or £67 million. Including interest, the Qing finally paid 982,238,150 taels (equivalent to 37,000 short tons of silver), of which the U.S. share was 7.32%. The nationwide boycott of American goods in China was precipitated by several interconnected factors: the residual impact of

612-469: 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

714-466: A formative period of their lives, would have "a substantial impact on their political, emotional and even physical development". They would have a special sentiment toward America and would be grateful to the U.S. government for their educational opportunities. Subsequently, they would seek to model the new China after the U.S. rather than Japan, and prefer American goods. As Liang Cheng, the Chinese minister to

816-654: A fourth term, Coolidge announced his intention to run for governor. 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

918-529: 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

1020-458: 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

1122-499: 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

SECTION 10

#1732848734209

1224-404: 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

1326-414: A plan to establish a scholarship program to send Chinese students to the U.S. James's 1906 letter noted to President Roosevelt, China is upon the verge of a revolution ... The nation which succeeds in educating the young Chinese of the present generation will be the nation which for a given expenditure of effort will reap the largest possible returns in moral, intellectual and commercial influence. However,

1428-652: 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

1530-536: A position he held from September 25, 1897, to April 27, 1899. He concurrently served as Minister to Serbia from May 7, 1898, to April 27, 1899, and as Minister to Romania from May 18, 1898, to April 27, 1899. From 1899 to 1905, he served as Director-General of the International Union of American Republics. With the outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion , U.S. Secretary of State John Hay , who knew little of

1632-499: 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 . The U.S. vice-presidency did not carry many official duties, but Coolidge

1734-462: 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

1836-445: A second oath-taking but assumed it was to resolve any doubt about whether the first swearing-in was valid. Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other William Woodville Rockhill William Woodville Rockhill (April 1, 1854 – December 8, 1914)

1938-542: A similar step. The Japanese Government has announced its decision to remit Japan's share of the indemnity. The French Government purposes to use its indemnity funds in the rehabilitation of a French bank in China. The British Government announced in December, 1922, that it would release its funds for purposes "mutually beneficial to Great Britain and to China…" The remission of the Boxer Indemnity, as Roosevelt planned, helped

2040-517: 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. In 1903, Coolidge met Grace Goodhue , a graduate of the University of Vermont and

2142-472: 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

SECTION 20

#1732848734209

2244-709: A year prior to the Chinese Exclusion Act , and there was little activity afterwards. In 1899, a group of Chinese nationals known as Boxers, went on a campaign to expel all foreign influences in China. The uprising, known as the Boxer Rebellion , began as an anti-foreign , anti-imperialist , village-based movement in northern China, in response to fears of westerners seizing Chinese territory, requiring concession, seeking protection in court for their followers, and causing drought and natural disasters. Boxer groups attacked railroad builders, who were held to be violating feng shui , and Christians, who were held responsible for

2346-450: 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

2448-692: Is still much debate among historians as to the extent to which Coolidge's economic policies contributed to the onset of the Great Depression . 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

2550-471: 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

2652-525: 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

2754-633: The Boston police strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight as a man of decisive action. 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

2856-583: The China Institute in New York City in 1926. From 1909 to 1937, the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program sent around 1,300 Chinese students to study in the United States. Drawing candidates from across China, the examination process for this prestigious scholarship was highly competitive: among 630 candidates in 1909, only 47 were selected. In light of China's Self-Strengthening Movement during that time,

2958-625: 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." 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

3060-586: The French Foreign Legion , serving as an officer in Algiers . In 1876, Rockhill returned to the United States, and on December 14, 1876, he married his childhood sweetheart, Caroline Tyson, daughter of J. Washington Tyson and Marie Louise (Hewling) Tyson of Philadelphia. The couple purchased a cattle ranch in New Mexico , but Rockhill concluded that ranching was not to his liking. By 1880, he had completed

3162-632: 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. 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

Boxer Indemnity Scholarship - Misplaced Pages Continue

3264-804: 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,

3366-510: The YMCA from the United States and its graduates transferred directly to American schools as juniors upon graduation. The school was later expanded to offer four-year undergraduate and post-graduate programs and became Tsinghua University . A second remission in 1924 provided for the establishment of the China Foundation ( 中华文化教育基金会 ; Zhōnghuá wénhuà jiàoyù jījīnhuì ), which would in turn fund

3468-492: 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

3570-526: 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

3672-486: 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

3774-427: 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

3876-460: The 29th vice president from 1921 to 1923 and as the 48th governor of Massachusetts from 1919 to 1921. Elected vice president in 1920 , he succeeded to the presidency upon the sudden death of President Warren G. Harding in August 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

3978-638: The American share of war reparations was used to establish the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program . In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Rockhill as United States Ambassador to China , a position he held from June 17, 1905 to June 1, 1909. This appointment came in the wake of the British Expedition to Tibet (1903–1904) that had forced Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama into isolation. Learning that Rockhill spoke Tibetan,

4080-749: 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

4182-639: The Boxer Rebellion's failure, reported instances of mistreatment of Chinese immigrants in the United States, and the U.S. federal government's contradictory stance of renewing the Chinese Exclusion Act while advocating for the Open Door Policy in China. The movement had terrible consequences for American trade in China: In ten months, $ 21,125,838 worth of cotton goods alone went from this country to

Boxer Indemnity Scholarship - Misplaced Pages Continue

4284-545: The Chinese empire. Not only is this export trade menaced by a Chinese boycott, but our hold on much greater future development is practically given over to European nations. There are few interests in the United States that will not feel the pinch of a Chinese boycott in one way or another. At the same time, Qing representative to the United States Liang Cheng learned that the terms of the Boxer Protocol awarded

4386-491: The Congress's "Joint Resolution to provide for the remission of further payments of the annual installments of the Chinese indemnity" approved on May 21, 1924. Prior to the establishment of the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program, Yung Wing 's Chinese Educational Mission also provided some higher education opportunities in the United States for Chinese students. As the first Chinese graduate of Yale University, Yung Wing persuaded

4488-509: The Dalai Lama entered into a correspondence that was to last until Rockhill's death. In June 1908, Rockhill made a five-day on-foot trek to Mount Wutai to meet the Dalai Lama and successfully convinced the Dalai Lama to seek peace with China and Britain. In 1909, President William Howard Taft named Rockhill Minister to Russia and Rockhill held this post from January 11, 1910, until June 17, 1911. President Taft then named him Minister to

4590-958: The Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History , Smithsonian Institution , and archival materials are in their associated archives, the National Anthropological Archives . Rockhill wrote a glossary of Salar in his 1894 book Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet in 1891 and 1892 . During the administration of President of the United States Grover Cleveland , Rockhill served as Third Assistant Secretary of State from April 17, 1894, until February 13, 1896. He then served as United States Assistant Secretary of State under United States Secretary of State Richard Olney from February 14, 1896, until May 10, 1897. In 1897, President William McKinley named Rockhill U.S. Minister to Greece ,

4692-603: The Far East, turned to Rockhill for guidance. As such, Rockhill drafted a memorandum that spelled out the famous Open Door Policy towards China; this memorandum was circulated to Russia , Britain , Germany , France , Japan , and Italy and in March 1900, Secretary Hay announced that all the Great Powers had signed off on the Open Door Policy. Rockhill was then despatched as President McKinley's special envoy , where he represented

4794-578: 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

4896-575: 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

4998-591: The Ottoman Empire , and he held this post from August 28, 1911, until November 20, 1913. Appointed Advisor to the President of China, Yuan Shikai , in 1914, Rockhill sailed from San Francisco for China via Japan aboard the SS Chiyo Maru . Afflicted by a severe cold he contracted in San Francisco, he developed pleurisy on the voyage, and had to leave the ship on arrival at Honolulu for treatment. Four days later,

5100-582: The Qing government to send groups of young Chinese students to the United States to study Western science and technology in 1871. Beginning in 1872, with the support of some reform-minded officials of the Qing dynasty , Yung established the Chinese Educational Mission to send 120 Chinese students to study in the New England region of the United States. However, this short-lived effort was disbanded in 1881,

5202-412: The Qing government urged students to focus their studies on the fields on Science, Engineering, Agriculture, Medicine and Commerce. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was thus one of the most popular destinations. In 1929, after Tsinghua had become a true university itself, the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program was opened to all candidates. A total of five groups of scholars were educated in

SECTION 50

#1732848734209

5304-431: 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

5406-527: The U.S. before the Japanese invasion of China in 1937. A number of prominent Chinese and Chinese Americans were beneficiaries of the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program, including MIT's first Chinese architect Kwan Sung-sing , philosopher Hu Shih , Nobel laureate Yang Chen-Ning , electrical engineer Lee Yuk-wing , mathematician Chung Kai-lai , linguist Yuen Ren Chao , educator Kuo Ping-Wen , rocket scientist Qian Xuesen , meteorologist and scholar Chu Coching and architectural engineer Edward Y. Ying, who

5508-414: The U.S. in the Conference of Ministers that followed the ending of the Boxer Rebellion. During the negotiations surrounding the Boxer Protocol , Rockhill argued against full war reparations and instead encouraging the Great Powers to settle for a lump sum of $ 333 million in reparations to be divided amongst themselves in proportion to their expenses incurred in intervening in China. At Rockhill's urging,

5610-561: The U.S. more than it had originally demanded and initiated a campaign to pressure the U.S. into returning the difference to China. In addition, American missionaries in China, sympathetic to the suffering of the average Chinese family, were clamoring for the return of the excess Boxer Indemnity. Roosevelt seized on this opportunity and set forth his intention to "do the Chinese justice about this indemnity" in his Atlanta speech where he declared: "we [Americans] cannot expect China to do us justice unless we do China justice". Roosevelt realized that if

5712-477: The U.S. stated, this group of students would be able to "insure a peace and trade in the Far East that treaties and military forces cannot insure". The impact of educational exchange could extend far beyond the educational field. It was, as Smith envisioned, the most "satisfactory and subtle" way to "reap the largest possible returns in moral, intellectual, and commercial influence", because "trade follows moral and spiritual domination far more inevitably than it follows

5814-425: The U.S. to not only dispel the embarrassment caused by the boycott, but also build its international image. Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr. / ˈ k uː l ɪ dʒ / KOOL -ij ; July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States , serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican lawyer from Massachusetts , he previously served as

5916-435: The United States were to help China and return the excess of the Boxer Indemnity while all the other powers were taking its territory and exploiting its people, "by a very small effort the good-will of the Chinese may be won over in a large and satisfactory way". However, the American minister to China William Woodville Rockhill strongly opposed the idea of returning the money to the corrupted Qing government as he believed that

6018-420: The United States wrote, "If your honorable country would take the lead [in returning excess indemnity payments], wherever the voice of righteousness spread, those countries would rise and follow it". As the leader of an emerging super power, Roosevelt recognized the remission of Boxer Indemnity as an chance for the U.S. to assume leadership position in the world. Roosevelt later claimed after the remission: "we have

6120-433: The Western powers as equals. During that time, many of the Western-returned students such as Liang Cheng and Tang Shaoyi "formerly pushed to the margins of government and shunned due to their Western influence, were brought into power as the fortunes of reformers improved". In 1906, the President of the University of Illinois, Edmund J. James , who led the university from 1904 to 1920, proposed to President Theodore Roosevelt

6222-517: The end of the 1915 legislative session. 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,

SECTION 60

#1732848734209

6324-474: The family to France to escape the Civil War . While in his teens, Rockhill read Abbé Huc 's account of his 1844-46 voyage to Lhasa , which sparked young Rockhill's interest in Tibet . Rockhill sought out the celebrated Orientalist Léon Feer of the Bibliothèque Nationale , who guided Rockhill's learning about the Far East . Rockhill attended the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr , where he studied Tibetan . After graduation, Rockhill joined

6426-435: The flag". The establishment of the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program was not only "an act of friendship" as Roosevelt claimed, it was also a cultural investment for bridging China with the U.S. and a farsighted scheme for peacefully controlling China's reform and development. Despite further proposals by the Chinese to use the funds within China, the settlement was made on American terms. The program, set up in 1909, funded

6528-450: The foreign domination of China. In the summer of 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance —comprising Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Britain and the United States—sent troops to relieve the siege of the foreigners and Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarters. The Allies forced the Qing government to sign the Boxer Protocol , which required the Qing government to pay 450 million taels of fine silver as indemnity over

6630-405: 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

6732-579: 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

6834-453: 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

6936-494: 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

7038-509: The money would not escape their greed. Among the numerous proposals for the use of the remittance, Roosevelt inclined toward "cultural investment" through education, envisioning education as a bridge across the Pacific through which the United States could extend its influence to the Far East. As Japan and the European powers carved out spheres of influence in China, the conservative Qing government finally sought to study Western technology and adopt Western policies in order to reform China and meet

7140-408: 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. By the time Coolidge

7242-402: 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. 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

7344-445: 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 . His prompt and effective response to

7446-554: 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

7548-478: The right to hope that the return of these funds to China will stimulate European Powers to take action similar to that just suggested, and that generosity on our part will be met by similar unconditional remission by them". Roosevelt's act later yielded significant results. U.S's act of justice, friendship, and allowance greatly influenced other Powers: Other governments, recognizing the beneficial effects of America's earlier action in this matter, are proposing to take

7650-543: The selection, preparatory training, transportation to the United States, and study for the scholarship beneficiaries. Part of the first remission of money included the establishment of a preparatory school in Beijing for Chinese graduates pursuing further studies at American universities. The preparatory school, established on 29 April 1911 on the site of a former royal garden , was named Tsinghua College ( 清华学堂 ; Qīnghuá xuétáng ). The faculty members for sciences were recruited by

7752-488: 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

7854-572: 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

7956-671: The sum necessary for the actual indemnity to the United States… The United States, he adds, ‘should help in every practicable way in the education of the Chinese people, so that the vast and populous Empire of China may gradually adapt itself to modern conditions. One way of doing this is by promoting the coming of Chinese students to this country and making it attractive to them to take courses at our Universities and higher educational institutions. Our educators should, so far as possible, take concerted action toward this end.’ Although President Roosevelt claimed that his intention

8058-749: 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. The Republican Party

8160-483: 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

8262-453: The tendency in China at that time was to "adopt the policy of Japan, and so engage Japan as her instructor". As Japan's military and political influence developed rapidly, Roosevelt's administration could not allow the large influx of Chinese students to Japan continue rising and watch their Pacific rival take over China through intellectual domination. Therefore, he quickly "assented in April 1906 to

8364-434: 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

8466-508: 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

8568-522: 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. 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,

8670-547: The wisdom of Smith's proposal" and decided to establish the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program to "turn the current of Chinese students" to America. The following year Roosevelt expressed this message to the Senate and House of Representatives in his annual address: Mr. Roosevelt announces the intention of the United States Government to release China from all payments in connection with the Boxer war indemnity in excess of

8772-422: 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

8874-518: Was a United States diplomat , best known as the author of the U.S.'s Open Door Policy for China , the first American to learn to speak Tibetan , and one of the West's leading experts on the modern political history of China. Rockhill was born in Philadelphia , the son of Thomas Cadwalader Rockhill and Dorothea Anne Woodville (1823–1913). His father died when he was 13 years old and his mother relocated

8976-493: 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

9078-816: 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

9180-569: 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?" On August 2, 1923, President Harding died unexpectedly from

9282-480: 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 (equivalent to $ 21,974 in 2023). 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

9384-438: 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!" In 1906,

9486-660: 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

9588-462: Was inaugurated on January 2, 1919, the First World War had ended, and Coolidge pushed the legislature to give a $ 100 bonus (equivalent to $ 1,757 in 2023) 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

9690-510: Was influential in the planning of modern Shanghai. The scholarships served as a model for the Fulbright Program 's grants for international educational exchange. The remittance of excess payment and the establishment of the scholarship program also helped raise the international standing of the United States. In a letter to the Secretary of State John Hay, Liang Cheng, the Chinese minister to

9792-469: 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

9894-433: 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

9996-414: 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

10098-432: 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

10200-599: 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

10302-475: Was to help China "adapt itself to modern conditions", he in fact aimed to direct reform in China by creating an influential group of American-educated-Chinese leaders. With China's reform-friendly environment, the American-returned students would occupy important positions in politics due to their knowledge of American bureaucracy. Their education in American high schools and colleges, which would take place at

10404-629: Was upgraded to a paid position. In the 1880s, he made two extended expeditions into western China , Mongolia and Tibet . He sent an account of his travels to the Smithsonian Institution for publication (as The Land of the Lamas (1891)), and in 1893, he was awarded the Patron's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society . Artifacts from Rockhill's expeditions are in the collections of

#208791