CCPortrait comingOfficial portrait of Calvin Coolidge
30th president of the United States · 1923–1925 and 1925–1929

Calvin Coolidge

RepublicanVice president: None (1923–25), Charles Dawes (1925–29)Chose not to run in 1928

This presidency falls in the realignment era (1896–1932), when the two parties were trading positions and both had progressive and conservative wings.

Became president when Harding died and was sworn in by his father, a notary, at the family farmhouse in Vermont. He appointed special counsels to prosecute the Harding scandals, cut income taxes twice, ran a surplus every year and paid down about a fifth of the national debt. He signed the Immigration Act of 1924 and the law granting citizenship to all Native Americans, and twice vetoed farm relief.

Debt paid down
−$4.75billion
$22.35 billion → $17.60 billion (−21%)
Debt-to-GDP, latest
18%
FY1923: 26% → FY1924: 24% · FY1924: 24% → FY1928: 18%
Unemployment
4.4%
1923: 3.2% → 1928: 4.4%
Average inflation
0.2%a year
1923–1924: 0.2% a year · 1924–1928: 0.0% a year
Executive orders
1,203
About 215 a year in office
Pardons & commutations
1,546
773 pardons · 773 commutations
Impeached
No
No · Convicted of a crime: No

The economy, first day to last

Shaded areas show the years in office, with a few years before and after for comparison. Budget years ran July to June until 1976 (now October to September), so each year's figures cover parts of two calendar years.

National debt

June 30, 1923 (end of fiscal 1923): $22.35 billion → June 30, 1928 (end of fiscal 1928): $17.60 billion

Daily debt figures don't exist before 1993, so Coolidge's numbers use the fiscal years closest to his term, the same rule as every other page.

Debt compared with the economy

Debt as a share of GDP. Above 100% means the debt is bigger than a year of everything the country produces.

Deficits and surpluses

Money borrowed each budget year (below the line) or paid down (above).

DeficitSurplus

Unemployment

1923: 3.2% → 1928: 4.4%. Yearly averages; monthly figures begin in 1948. Estimates by economist Stanley Lebergott (NBER, 1957).

Inflation

How much prices rose each year (consumer price index).

Cost of living

What everyday prices and paychecks did while in office.

What cost $100 in 1923$100.18 in 1924
What cost $100 in 1924$100.18 in 1928

Prices use the consumer price index (MeasuringWorth). The minimum wage is the federal rate set by Congress.

Executive orders

1,203 orders. Count from the American Presidency Project.

Orders signed each year

Yearly counts aren't reliable for this era. Orders were not numbered until 1907, when the State Department numbered the ones already in its files, and many orders were never numbered at all, so only the total is shown.

Source: American Presidency Project: executive orders (full list of every order).

Notable orders

Most orders in this era were routine, such as setting aside public land or exempting jobs from civil service rules.

Every executive order we have 80Search, filter by topic or year, and open any order's full text

Incomplete: orders before 1929 were not numbered or collected consistently. This archive has 80 of the roughly 1,203 orders counted for this president.

  1. EO 3949January 28, 1924Transferring Lands from the Department of the Interior to the Department of the Treasury
  2. EO 3987April 4, 1924Commercial Research of Government Officials in Foreign Lands
  3. EO 4060August 11, 1924Reserving for Naval Use Certain Areas in the Vicinity of the Island of Key West, Florida
  4. EO 4128January 17, 1925Modification of Executive Order No. 3949
  5. EO 4175March 17, 1925Transfer of Patent Office to Commerce Department
  6. EO 4224May 15, 1925Executive Order 4224 1/2—Waiver or Reduction of Application and Visa Fees for Non-Immigrants
  7. EO 4239June 4, 1925Transfer of Bureau of Mines to Commerce Department
  8. EO 4268July 16, 1925Remission of Further Payments of Installments of the Chinese Indemnity
  9. EO 4359ADecember 19, 1925Citizenship, Passports and Protection
  10. EO 4439May 8, 1926Use of State and Local Officials in Enforcing Prohibition
  11. EO 4476July 12, 1926Documents Required of Aliens Entering the United States
  12. EO 4527October 22, 1926Political Activities of Alaska Railroad Employees
  13. EO 4538November 5, 1926Presidential Postmasterships
  14. EO 4549December 6, 1926San Carlos Indian Irrigation Project
  15. EO 4571January 24, 1927Extension of Trust Period on Allotments Made to the Sac and Fox of the Missouri Indians in Kansas and Nebraska
  16. EO 4601March 1, 1927Distinguished Flying CrossAmended
  17. EO 4628April 13, 1927Lands in the State of Utah
  18. EO 4705August 10, 1927Rules of Official Precedence
  19. EO 4816February 25, 1928Extension of Trust Period on Allotments Made to Indians of the Oakland Reservation in Oklahoma
  20. EO 4858April 16, 1928Extension of Trust Period on Allotments Made to the Prairie Band of Pottawatomi Indians in Kansas
  21. EO 4898May 29, 1928Extension of Trust Period on Allotments Made to the Pawnee Indians of Oklahoma
  22. EO 4929July 7, 1928Lands Within the Carson National Forest, New Mexico
  23. EO 4979October 16, 1928Extension of Trust Period on Allotments Made to the Indians on the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska
  24. EO 4981October 20, 1928Extension of Trust Period on Allotments Made to Indians of the Lower Brule Reservation in South Dakota
  25. EO 4986November 2, 1928Reserving for Use by the Department of Agricultre Certain Areas in the Vicinity of Osborn, Montana
  26. EO 4994November 14, 1928Extension of Trust Period on Allotments Made to Indians of the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska
  27. EO 5019January 2, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Mildred Brown McIntosh Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  28. EO 5020January 2, 1929Authorizing the Reinstatement of James M.E. Brown Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  29. EO 5021January 5, 1929Making Edward V. Sheely Eligible for Nomination Without Examination
  30. EO 5022January 5, 1929Amendments to Executive Order No. 4728
  31. EO 5023January 10, 1929Extension of Trust Period on Allotments Made to the Iowa Indians in Kansas and Nebraska
  32. EO 5024January 14, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Carrie C. Anderson Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  33. EO 5025January 14, 1929Reserving Certain Described Lands in Minnesota in Accordance with the Convention with Great Britain of February 24, 1925
  34. EO 5026January 14, 1929Enforcement of the Fur Seal Convention
  35. EO 5027January 15, 1929Making Ward M. Parker Eligible for Nomination Without Examination
  36. EO 5028January 16, 1929Extension of Trust Period on Allotments Made to the Rosebud Indians in South Dakota
  37. EO 5029January 18, 1929Reserving Certain Described Lands in New Mexico Pending Resurvey
  38. EO 5030January 18, 1929Reserving Certain Described Lands in Florida Pending Resurvey
  39. EO 5031January 18, 1929Reserving Certain Described Lands in New Mexico Pending Resurvey
  40. EO 5032January 18, 1929Amendment to Chapter XII of the "Instructions to Diplomatic Officers of the United States, March 8, 1927"
  41. EO 5033January 19, 1929Reserving Certain Described Lands in Oregon for a Lookout Station
  42. EO 5034January 19, 1929Authorizing the Reinstatement of Arthur J. Dahn Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  43. EO 5035January 23, 1929Abolishing Frenchville, Maine as a Customs Port of Entry
  44. EO 5036January 24, 1929Reserving Certain Described Lands in Alaska for the Department of Agriculture
  45. EO 5037January 28, 1929Reserving Certain Described Lands in Utah for Classification and Possible Inclusion in the Zion National Park
  46. EO 5038February 2, 1929Reserving Certain Described Lands in California for Classification and Possible Inclusion in the Pinnacles National Monument
  47. EO 5039February 4, 1929General Joe Wheeler Dam
  48. EO 5040February 4, 1929Reserving Certain Described Lands in Wyoming for Elk Refuge Purposes
  49. EO 5041February 9, 1929Reserving Additional Lands in Utah for the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
  50. EO 5042February 15, 1929Placing the Position of Press Helper in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Into the Classified Civil Service
  51. EO 5043February 15, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Marion Hayes McCarthy Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  52. EO 5044February 16, 1929Amendment to Executive Order No. 4987 Correcting Description of Land at the the Fort Tilden Military Reservation
  53. EO 5045February 16, 1929Amendment to the Consular Regulations
  54. EO 5046February 16, 1929Modification of Reservation of Certain Described Lands in California to Permit Approval of an Application for Right of Way for a Tramway for the Little River Redwood Company
  55. EO 5047February 18, 1929Declaring the Panama Canal Zone to be a Military Airspace Reservation
  56. EO 5048February 18, 1929Revoking in Part, Executive Order No. 4889
  57. EO 5049February 19, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Anna M. Stack Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  58. EO 5050February 21, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Samuel H. Thompson Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  59. EO 5052February 21, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Mrs. James E. Golladay Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  60. EO 5053February 22, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Anna M. Archibald Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  61. EO 5054February 23, 1929Authorizing the Reinstatement of Mary E. Kelly Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  62. EO 5055February 23, 1929Amendment to Subdivision IX, Schedule A of the Civil Service Rules
  63. EO 5056February 23, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Mary Scott Mills Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  64. EO 5057February 26, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Gertrude L. George Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  65. EO 5058February 26, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Julia Behneke Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  66. EO 5059February 26, 1929Authorizing the Reinstatement of Oliver H. Clarke Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  67. EO 5060February 26, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Barbara Davis Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  68. EO 5061February 27, 1929Authorizing the Reinstatement of Clifford C. Marsh Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  69. EO 5062February 28, 1929Designating Airspace Over the District of Columbia as a Prohibited Area
  70. EO 5063February 28, 1929Reserving Certain Described Lands in Oregon for Classification and Pending Legislation
  71. EO 5064February 28, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Elizabeth Gibson Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  72. EO 5066March 1, 1929Reserving Certain Described Lands in Wyoming Pending Resurvey
  73. EO 5067March 2, 1929Assignment of Frequencies to Government Radio Stations
  74. EO 5068March 2, 1929Amendment of Civil Service Rule VI
  75. EO 5069March 2, 1929Authorizing the Reinstatement of Jeannette J. Donahue Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  76. EO 5070March 2, 1929Authorizing the Reinstatement of James W. Girard Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  77. EO 5072March 2, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Virginia Ladd Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  78. EO 5073March 2, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of Lee H. Garby Without Regard to Civil Service Rules
  79. EO 5074March 2, 1929Authorizing the Reinstatement of Raymond F. Mulherin
  80. EO 5075March 4, 1929Authorizing the Appointment of William M. Stuart Without Regard to Civil Service Rules

Source: Executive Orders Archive, compiled from the American Presidency Project and the Federal Register. Topics are the archive's automated tags; "Revoked" and similar labels come from the Federal Register's records.

Pardons and commutations

A pardon wipes out the punishment for a federal crime; a commutation shortens a sentence but leaves the conviction. Counts are by federal fiscal year (July to June). The Justice Department counts fiscal 1924, which began a month before he took office, and all of fiscal 1929, including Hoover's first four months, under Coolidge. In December 1923 he also freed the remaining prisoners held under the World War I Espionage Act.

Granted each year

PardonsCommutations

Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, clemency statistics, which lists every recipient with the crime and sentence.

Notable grants: tap to see the crime

Marcus GarveyCommutationNovember 18, 1927

The crime: Mail fraud in selling stock in his Black Star Line shipping company (convicted 1923)

Sentence: Five years; served about three

Why it drew attention: The Black nationalist leader was released on condition that he be deported to Jamaica. Biden granted him a posthumous pardon in 2025.

Source

Controversies and scandals

What happened, what was proven, and how it ended.

Proven convicted, admitted or confirmed by a court or official investigationCharged indicted or impeached (outcome stated)Disputed facts established, whether it was wrong is debatedAlleged reported but never established
The Immigration Act of 1924DisputedMay 1924

Set national quotas based on the 1890 census that sharply cut immigration from southern and eastern Europe and barred almost all immigration from Asia. Coolidge said he objected to the Japanese exclusion but signed the law.

Outcome: The quota system lasted until 1965.

Source
Vetoing farm reliefDisputed1927 and 1928

Farmers were in a long depression. Coolidge twice vetoed the McNary–Haugen bill, which would have had the government buy surplus crops, calling it price-fixing.

Outcome: Congress failed to override; farm prices stayed low into the Depression.

Source
The Great Mississippi FloodDisputed1927

The worst river flood in U.S. history displaced about 700,000 people. Coolidge declined to visit or to call a special session for relief, leaving the response to Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover. Black refugees were held in camps and forced to work on the levees.

Outcome: Congress passed the Flood Control Act of 1928.

Source

In their own words

Widely quoted remarks, with the context they were said in.

After all, the chief business of the American people is business.

January 17, 1925 · Speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Often misquoted as 'the business of America is business.' Source

The collection of any taxes which are not absolutely required ... is only a species of legalized larceny.

March 4, 1925 · Inaugural address. Source

I do not choose to run for President in nineteen twenty eight.

August 2, 1927 · Typed on slips of paper and handed to reporters, with no further explanation. Source
How this page is made. Every president gets the same sections and the same checklist. A controversy is listed if it led to an investigation by Congress, an inspector general, a special or independent counsel or a court, or was a sustained national story covered across the political spectrum. Labels follow the strongest official finding, not media coverage. Debt figures come from the U.S. Treasury; deficits and GDP from the White House budget office and the Commerce Department; unemployment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (before 1948, yearly estimates by Stanley Lebergott via NBER and the Census Bureau's Historical Statistics); prices from MeasuringWorth; executive orders from the Federal Register and National Archives; clemency from the Justice Department.