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The fundamental precept of liberty is toleration. We cannot permit any inquisition either within or without the law or apply any religious test to the holding of office. The mind of America must be forever free.  Inaugural Address

Inaugural Address

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Legacy

Coolidge became president when President Harding died unexpectedly. Coolidge was visiting the family farm in Vermont and sleeping when messengers arrived with the news. His father happened to be a notary public, and so he administered the oath of office as Coolidge held his hand on the family Bible. His father also had the privilege of being the first to address him as “Mr. President.”

Though he had not been elected to the presidency, Coolidge is remembered for returning a sense of trust to the executive office in the wake of scandals that had surrounded Harding and his administration. Alfred E. Smith, a Democrat and four-term Governor of New York, actually wrote that Coolidge was “distinguished for character more than for heroic achievement. His great task was to restore the dignity and prestige of the presidency when it had reached the lowest ebb in our history . . . in a time of extravagance and waste.”