Calvin Coolidge and Civil Rights—the Rest of the Story

Here is a great recap by David Pietrusza of what has gone unreported and even suppressed about Coolidge’s brave convictions on civil rights. Notice that in what is commonly perceived to be a past mired in racism (contrary to these “enlightened times”) Americans of all backgrounds were running for office, owning their own successful businesses, finding opportunity and realizing the potential of America’s ideals decades before the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Considering the past fifty years especially, have the benefits really outweighed the costs of government’s social experimentation? “Coolidge Prosperity” alone, aside from the leadership Coolidge demonstrated in the ways Mr. Pietrusza notes, did more for race relations than any of the “Great Society’s” loftiest promises.