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Resume
- 1907 - 1908: Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatitives
- 1910 - 1911: Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts
- 1912 - 1915: Member of the Massachusetts Senate
- 1914 - 1915: President of the Massachusetts Senate
- 1916 - 1919: 46th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
- 1919 - 1921: 48th Governor of Massachusetts
- 1921 - 1923: 29th Vice President of the United States
- 1923 - 1929: 30th President of the United States
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Chronology
- 1872: Born in Plymouth Nothc, Windsor County, Vermont
- 1897: Admitted to the Bar, becoming a country lawyer
- 1898: Opened his own law office in Northampton
- 1905: Married Grace Anna Goodhue
- 1906: Nominated for election to the state House of Representatitives
- 1910 - 1911: Ran for mayor of Northampton
- 1914: Election as President of the State Senate
- 1918: Unopposed for the Republican nomination for Governor of Massachusetts
- 1919: Became a hero for how he dealt with the Boston Police Strike
- 1924: Son died
- 1923: President Harding died suddenly while on a speaking tour of the western United States
- 1924: Withdrew American troops from the Dominican Republic
- 1933: Died suddenly from coronary thrombosis
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Notables
- Worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics
- Conduct during the Boston Police Strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight and gave him a reputation as a man of decisive action
- A man who said very little
- Restored public confidence in the White House after the scandals of Harding's administration
- Left office with considerable popularity
- Embodied the spirit and hopes of the middle class, could interpret their longings and express their opinions
- Only U.S. President to be born on Independence Day
- Took up law at his father's urging
- As his reputation as a hard-working and diligent attorney grew, local banks and other businesses began to retain his services.
- "Opinions and instructions do not outmatch the Constitution"
- Known to be a skilled and effective public speaker, but was a man of few words in private
- Style was naturally non-confrontational
- Roaring Twenties during his administration
- As Governor: 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
- 1927: only the richest 2% of taxpayers paid any federal income tax
- 1927: Criticized for his actions during the Great Mississippi Flood, the worst natural disaster to hit the Gulf Coast until Hurricane Katrina in 2005
- Spoke in favor of the civil rights of African Americans and Catholics
- Called for anti-lynching laws to be enacted, but most Congressional attempts to pass this legislation were filibustered by Southern Democrats
- Did not advocate membership to the League of Nations
- Spoke in favor of the United States joining the Permanent Court of International Justice
- Senate failed to act and the United States never joined the World Court
- Chose not to run in 1928
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Laws
- Pushed the legislature to give a $100 bonus to Massachusetts veterans
- Signed a bill reducing the work week for women and children from fifty-four hours to forty-eight
- 1924: Signed the Immigration Act which was aimed at restricting southern and eastern European immigration
- 1924: the World War I veterans' World War Adjusted Compensation Act was passed over his veto
- Signed into law a budget that kept the tax rates the same, while trimming four million dollars from expenditures
- 1924: Signed into law the Revenue Act, which decreased personal income tax rates while increasing the estate tax, and creating a gift tax to reinforce the transfer tax system
- Taxes should be lower and fewer people should have to pay them - Congress agreed
- 1924: Signed the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted full U.S. citizenship to all American Indians, while permitting them to retain tribal land and cultural rights
- 1928: Kellogg-Briand Pact committed signatories including the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan to "renounce war, as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another."
- 1927: Signed the Radio Act, which assigned regulation of radio to the newly created Federal Radio Commission