Coolidge circa 1923. Photograph taken by John Garo in Boston, Mass. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

CALVIN COOLIDGE

30th President of the United States

Calvin Coolidge was born on the Fourth of July 4, 1872, in a small hamlet called Plymouth Notch in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Raised on the family farm, Coolidge lost his mother and sister as a boy, and was raised primarily by his grandmother and father, John Calvin Coolidge. An industrious figure, Calvin's father taught through action. As early as Calvin could remember, his father was engaged in his farm work and active in local and state politics.

More than a mere understanding,
These ideals -- self-reliance, doing the day's work, attention to detail -- were as much a part of who Calvin would become as his classroom education.

Such an understanding of
Calvin made an acquaintance of diligent work, self-reliance, and

Governor of Massachusetts, 1919-1921

As governor of Massachusetts, Coolidge oversaw the reform of the state government's organization. There were ___ divisions in Massachusetts' government when Coolidge was elected governor in 1918. Under Governor Coolidge, however, needless departments were eliminated and others were consolidated, bringing the total number of divisions down to ___ -- a __% reduction.