On July 7, 1924, Calvin Coolidge Jr., son of Calvin Coolidge, the 30th U.S. president, died from blood poisoning. This paper explores how that death impaired the presidency of Coolidge. Self-blame, questions about God and theodicy, and severe depression significantly impaired his ability to perform presidential responsibilities. Worden's work on “historical antecedents” underpins this paper. To comprehend Coolidge's grief for Calvin, Worden asserted, one must explore his antecedent losses. (Coolidge's beloved mother died when he was 12; his only sister died when he was 17.) Coolidge poorly navigated four major deaths: mother, sister, son, and assumptive world. Coolidge's grief narrative offers insights for clinicians.
Air of sorrow about White House today shared by all nation. (1924, July 8). Washington Evening Star, 2.
2.
AndersonD. F. (2005). Review of the book the tormented president: Calvin Coolidge, death, and clinical depression, by R. E. Gilbert. Political Psychology, 26(5), 825–828. http://\www.jstor.org/ stable/3792315
3.
AngeloB. (2005). First families: The impact of the White House on their lives. William Morrow.
4.
AnthonyC. S. (1990). First ladies: The sage of the president’s lives and their power, 1789–1961. Quill/William Morrow.
5.
BergerJ. (2011). Loves, lies and tears: The lives of America’s First Ladies. Vol. II: Ellen Wilson to Jacqueline Kennedy, 1913–1963. Roserita Books.
6.
BittingerC. D. (2005). Grace Coolidge: Sudden star. Nova History Publications.
7.
BooraemH. V. (1995). Calvin Coolidge at Black River Academy. In The real Calvin Coolidge: A first-hand story of his life told by people who knew him best, Vol. 11. CoolidgeG. (Ed.) (pp. 20–33). Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation.
8.
BossP. (2022). The myth of closure: Ambiguous loss in a time of pandemic and change. W.W. Norton.
9.
BrandusP. (2015). Under this room: The White House and the presidency. LP. Christian Enquiry Agency. (2024, March 9). Heaven. https://www. christianity.org.uk/ article/heaven
10.
CoolidgeC. (1929). The autobiography of Calvin Coolidge. Cosmopolitan Book Corporation.
11.
Coolidges mark holiday quietly. (1924, December 25). Washington Evening Star, 2.
12.
CrosleyS. (2024). Grief is for people. MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
13.
DavidsonJ. R. T.ConnerK. M. (2008). The impairment of Presidents Pierce and Coolidge after traumatic bereavement. Comprehensive Psychology, 49(4), 413–419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2008.02.002
14.
DokaK. J.ChowA. Y. M. (2021). Loss, grief and mourning. In Servaty-SeibH. L.ChappleH. (Eds.), Handbook of Thanatology: The essential body of knowledge for the study of death, dying, and bereavement (3rd. ed., pp. 235–261). Association for Death Education and Counseling.
15.
EngleJ. A.KnockT. J. eds. (2017). When life strikes the president: Scandal, death and illness in the White House. Oxford University Press.
16.
FerrellR. H. (1998). The presidency of Calvin Coolidge(American Presidency Series). University Press of Kansas.
17.
FerrellR. H. (2008). Grace Coolidge: The people's lady in Silent Cal's White House (Modern First Ladies). University Press of Kansas.
GilbertR. E. (1988). Psychological pain and the presidency: The case of Calvin Coolidge. Political Psychology, 9(1), 75–100. https://doi.org/10.2307/3791318
20.
GilbertR. E. (1992). The mortal presidency: Illness and anguish in the White House. Basic Books.
21.
GilbertR. E. (1993, January 24). The mortal presidency. CSPAN Book Notes. https://www. booknotes.org/Watch/37708-1
22.
GilbertR. E. (2003). The tormented president: Calvin Coolidge, death, and Clinical Depression. Praeger Publications.
23.
GilbertR. E. (2004). The dysfunctional presidency of Calvin Coolidge. White House Studies, 4(3), 371–386.
24.
GilbertR. E. (2005). Calvin Coolidge’s tragic presidency: The political effects of bereavement and depression. Journal of American Studies, 39, 87–109. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021875805009266
25.
GilbertR. E. (2006). Personal tragedy and presidential performance: Calvin coolidge as legislative leader. Congress & the Presidency, 33(2), 47–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/07343460609507674
26.
GoodfellowG. F. (1969). Calvin Coolidge: A study of presidential inaction. University Microfilms.
27.
GreenbergD. (N.D.). Calvin Coolidge: Life after the presidency. Miller Center for the Presidency, University of Virginia. https://millercenter.org/ president/coolidge/life-after-the-presidency
28.
GreenbergD. (2006). Calvin Coolidge. Times Books.
29.
Grieving capitol in last tribute to son of president (1924, July 8). Washington Evening Star, 1.
30.
GroseJ. (2023, April 19). Lots of Americans are losing their religion. Have you? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/ 04/19/opinion/religion-america.html.gion-america.html
31.
GullanH. I. (2016). Cradles of power: The mothers and fathers of the American presidents. Skyhorse Publishing.
HarboughH. (1850). Jesus I live to thee. In The hymnal. General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States.
34.
HarrisD. L. (2020). Non-death loss and grief: Laying the foundation. In HarrisD. (Ed.), Non-death loss and grief: Context and clinical implications (pp. 7–16). Routledge.
35.
HarrisD.L. (2023). An exploration of the assumptive world in trauma and grief. In BalkD. E.WongTBalkJ. R. (Eds.), A professional’s guide to understanding trauma and loss (pp. 38–51). Cambridge Scholars Press.
36.
HooverI. H. (1934). Forty-two years in the White House. Houghton-Mifflin.
37.
KolmerJ. D. (1955, July 18). A president’s grief. Time, 55.
38.
LambB.SwaimS., & C-Span. (2019). The presidents: Noted historians rank America’s best and worst chief executives. Public Affairs.
39.
LambertJ. T. (1986, August 3). When the president wept. In CoolidgeC. (Ed.), The Real Calvin Coolidge (pp. 149–155). Charles Scribners.
40.
LathemE. C. (1968). Your son: Calvin Coolidge. The Vermont Historical Society.
41.
LeuchtenburgW. E. (2015). The American president: From Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton. Oxford University Press.
42.
LindemannE. (1944). Symptomatology and management of an acute grief. American Journal of Psychiatry, 101(2), 141–148. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.101.2.141
43.
McCoyD. R. (1967/1988). Calvin Coolidge: The quiet president. The University Press of Kansas.
44.
McDermottR. (2005). The tormented president: Calvin Coolidge, death, and clinical depression by Robert E. Gilbert. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 35(4), 807–809. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5705.2005.00278_7.x
ParksL. R.LeightonF. S. (1961). My thirty years backstairs at the White House. Fleet Publishing.
47.
PenaL. G. (2024, March 10). My father’s quiet love speaks louder than words. The New York Times, SR 12.
48.
PlattM. (1992). The life of Calvin Coolidge. Lecture, Calvin Coolidge Foundation. Plymouth, VT.
49.
PoulinM. J.SilverR. C. (2019). When are assumptions shaken? A prospective, longitudinal investigation of negative life events and worldviews in a national sample. Journal of Research in Personality, 83(1–2), 103866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2019.103866
50.
President’s son, Calvin Jr., 16, dies as parents watch (1924, July 7). The New York Times, A1, A8.
51.
RhoadsJ. (2014, July 7). The medical context of Calvin Jr.’s untimely death. https://coolidge foundation.org/blog/the-medical-context-of-calvin-jr-s-untimely-death/
52.
RossI. (1962). Grace Coolidge and her era: The story of a president’s wife. Dodd, Mead & Company.
53.
SchneiderD.SchneiderC. J. (2001). First ladies: A biographical dictionary. Checkmark Books.
54.
ShawA.JosephS.LindleyP. A. (2005). Religion, spirituality and posttraumatic growth: A systematic review. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 8, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/1367467032000157981
55.
ShlaesA. (2013). Coolidge. Harper Perennial.
56.
SmithH. I. (2012). Borrowed negatives: Using biographical and historical grief narratives with the bereaving. Routledge/Taylor Francis.
57.
Smith, H. I. (2013). Coping with grieving: Clinical interventions for normal, complicated and traumatic grief. CMI Educational Institute; see also Pacheco, D. (2023 December 23). Grief and its effect on sleep. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/mental-health/grief-and-sleep.
58.
SmithH. I. (2023). Loss of religious faith after trauma. In BalkD. E.WongT.BalkJ. R.. (Eds.), A professional’s guide to understanding trauma and loss (pp. 205–225). Cambridge Scholars Press.
59.
SobelR. (1998). Coolidge: An American enigma. Regnery.
60.
StarlingE. W. (1946). Starling of the White House: The story of the man whose Secret Service detail guarded five presidents from Woodrow Wilson to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Simon and Schuster.
61.
TuckerG. S.WalkerS. (2024). 1924: Coolidge, Davis, and the high tide of American conservatism (Rev. ed). Coolidge Press.
62.
Van BeckT. W. (2006, February 10). Personal correspondence.
63.
WebbS. (1994). Grace Goodhue Coolidge. In The Real Calvin Coolidge (pp. 15–22). Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation.
64.
WhiteW. A. (1938/2018). A Puritan in Babylon: The story of Calvin Coolidge progressive president. Papanoa Press.
65.
White House flags alone fly half-staffed for Coolidge’s son (1924, July 8). Washington Evening Star, 1.
66.
WolfeB. (2012, March 27). Iceberg theory: Counseling way below the surface. In: Preconference: Association for Death Education and Counseling, Duluth, Wisconsin, United States.
67.
WordenJ. W. (2013). Grief counseling and grief: A handbook for the mental health practitioner (4th ed.). Springer.
68.
WordenJ. W. (2018). Grief counseling and grief: A handbook for the mental health practitioner (5th ed.). Springer.
