The Tormented President: Calvin Coolidge, Death, and Clinical Depression

(Hardback)

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Although Calvin Coolidge is widely judged to have been a weak and even an incompetent president, this study concludes that he was a leader disabled by a crippling emotional breakdown. After an impressive early career, Coolidge assumed the presidency upon the death of Warren Harding. His promising political career suffered a major blow, however, with the death of his favorite child, 16-year-old Calvin Jr., in July 1924. Overwhelmed with grief, Coolidge showed distinct signs of clinical depression. Losing interest in politics, he served out his term as a broken man. This is the first account of Coolidge's life to compare his behavior before and after this tragedy, and the first to consider the importance of Coolidge's mental health in his presidential legacy. Gilbert carefully documents the dramatic change in Coolidge's leadership style, as well as the changes in his personal behavior. In his early career, Coolidge worked hard, was progressive, and politically astute. When he became Vice President in 1921, he impressed the Washington establishment by being strong and activist. After Harding's death, Coolidge took control of his party, dazzled the press, distanced himself from the Harding scandals, and showed ability in domestic and foreign policy. His son's death would destroy all of this. Gilbert documents Coolidge's subsequent dysfunctional behavior, including sadistic tendencies, rudeness and cruelty to family and aides, and odd interactions with the White House staff.

Reviews

"A tour de force, it will surely transform historical understanding of our 30th president. A one man interdisciplinary team, Gilbert has creatively integrated sophisticated political analysis with astute clinical psychological perceptiveness to demonstrate persuasively that the detached, lackluster, failed leadership of Coolidge's presidency was a consequence of a major depression precipitated by the tragic death of his beloved younger son. This is a remarkable book."-Jerrold M. Post, M.D. Director, Political Psychology Program, George Washington University
"Gilbert dispels the common view that Calvin Coolidge was a lazy, incompetent chief executive and provides convincing evidence that he was instead a talented and conscientious leader who was psychologically disabled for much of his presidency. This fascinating book offers a striking portrait of Coolidge, one never before presented. It is a compelling, penetrating, and powerful work!"-Aubrey Immelman Associate Professor of Psychology, St. John's University (Minnesota)
"Thanks to Gilbert, this much misunderstood president has finally found a voice. With an eloquence based on solid research, Gilbert presents the career of an extraordinary man from city council to the presidency."-William M. Fowler Jr. Director, Massachusetts Historical Society
"This excellent work is a real eye-opener, especially when it explores Coolidge's sleeping habits, temper tantrums, occasionally sadistic behavior, vulnerability to loss, and deep depression. For those interested in the role of first ladies in the presidency, Gilbert's portrait of Grace Coolidge is particularly revealing: she endured much as Calvin Coolidge's wife but bolstered him in ways that not even he could recognize."-Betty Glad Olin D. Johnson Professor of Political Science, University of South Carolina
"This convincing reinterpretation of Coolidge's failed presidency provides new insight into the career of "one of the most misunderstood presidents in American history..,." The author uses a biographical approach to contrast Coolidge's behavior before and after his son's death, demonstrating that the circumstances of his early life made him susceptible to depression, and showing how an active, engaged, disciplined, hard-working man became detached from the responsibilities of his office, consumed by his son's death, and distanced from associates, friends, and his wife and surviving son--virtually disabled....Recommended. General collections and upper-division undergraduates and above."-Choice
This convincing reinterpretation of Coolidge's failed presidency provides new insight into the career of "one of the most misunderstood presidents in American history..,." The author uses a biographical approach to contrast Coolidge's behavior before and after his son's death, demonstrating that the circumstances of his early life made him susceptible to depression, and showing how an active, engaged, disciplined, hard-working man became detached from the responsibilities of his office, consumed by his son's death, and distanced from associates, friends, and his wife and surviving son--virtually disabled....Recommended. General collections and upper-division undergraduates and above.-Choice

Author Bio

ROBERT E. GILBERT is Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University. His most recent book is Managing Crisis: Presidential Disability and the 25th Amendment (2000).