>> grace coolidge was enormously popular as first lady and influenced the tastes of american women by becoming a style icon. married to a man known as silent cal, she never spoke to the press, but she did use her office to bring attention to issues she cared about. good evening and welcome to the c-span series "first ladies: influence and image." tonight we will be telling you the story of first lady grace coolidge. she came into office with her husband the president in 1923 after the sudden death of president harding. here to set the stage for us is amity shlaes, a coolidge biographer, syndicated columnist, and author of other books on that period. welcome to the program. tell us about the arrival of calvin coolidge into the white house. how prepared was he for the job? >> quite prepared, because he had been a politician all his

life. president coolidge is one of those men who started small on the city council as city solicitor in massachusetts, and went all the way up the ladder in the state of massachusetts, and then to vice president. one can never be prepared for a shock like the death of a president, but he was quite prepared professionally. >> grace coolidge was at his side all along that way in public life. how ready was she for the white house? >> she didn't think she was. she wrote to her sorority sisters and said pray for me, friends. she had been a politician's wife and she had quite a realistic view of politics and that particular job. she called this kind of marriage a double harness. that is not a phrase we would use now about marriage in a positive way, but she pulled her load along with the president when they were little politicians. even when they were courting, they would think about sitting

in the governor's chair. it was clear even when they were courting, that calvin, her future husband, was ambitious in politics. >> the 1920s were a time of enormous change for this country societally. just a couple of things that we pulled out as an example, 1925, the first woman governor in the country was elected in wyoming. in 1926, the national broadcasting company was founded. the first talking movie came out in 1927, "the jazz singer." in 1928, amelia earhart made her famous flight across the atlantic ocean. what kind of country did calvin coolidge inherit? >> he inherited a country in rough water. interesting, but rough water. when we came out of world war i, that was 1918. we owed quite a bit of money. we had far more debt.

taxes were very high. there were revolutions overseas, and people wondered if there would be revolutions here, if the workers would take over the streets as they had done in europe. when we look at what happened in world war i, some of us have forgotten this. it was quite progressive and interesting and unexpected. for example, the government nationalized our big industry, the railroad, and then de- nationalized it. the stock market was shut down. no one knew how we would come out of it. then there was inflation no one acknowledged, so public-sector workers were very angry, and justifiably so. that was a factor as well. plus, one third of the returning vets, and remember there was general conscription in world war i, had some form of disability, and we had no penicillin. that is a lot, right?

>> so how did president harding use his vice president? in other words, what was the relationship like between the first and second couple? >> you want to separate out the first and second ladies and the couples. i think the couples got along quite well. the famous thing harding did was invite his vice president, calvin coolidge, to sit in on the cabinet. that was a form of welcome. and very useful for coolidge. he never did hear all the dirty details of the harding administration, but he did hear some. he got to know the senate, which he recalled as quite an experience. between the ladies, it was a little bit rougher. mrs. harding was much older. she was a bit envious of young grace coolidge who had a beautiful complexion.

that was much treasured in that time. she still had the bloom of youth upon her, and mrs. harding defined one color as her own, a certain blue called harding blue. every color looks good on grace. she could be snippy with grace. we have some letters that suggest she was thinking about the next election, and maybe president coolidge would not be the candidate the next time. when the issue came up that maybe the coolidges should have a vice presidential house, there was none, mrs. harding said she did not think so, that the willard hotel was just fine for the coolidges. >> they were also very different than just what we have learned about the two women. last week with florence harding, we learned she had a bold personality. there were issues that she cared

about. she encouraged her husband into politics. we seem to have quite the opposite in the relationship between the coolidges. can you talk the differences in how the women approached public life and their temperaments? >> grace's biographer said the harding marriage was more like a business, and they had a deal. warren got to do this and mrs. harding got to do that. it was an older marriage, as well. in the coolidge case, i would not say that mrs. coolidge was always so deferential, it was just that she was deferential in public. in private, maybe there were some fireworks, but in public, she didn't talk about politics. her husband didn't want her to talk about politics. he kept her in quite a prescribed area. one time when mrs. coolidge tried on a riding habit, he

didn't want her to do that. he said i advise you not to try anything new while we are in the presidency. in some ways she was a very old- fashioned wife but it's complicated. >> we will visit a number of sites associated with the coolidges, and the first is vermont, which is the birthplace of calvin coolidge. there's a little town called plymouth notch. we will learn what happened there on the night he took office. what is plymouth notch like? >> i'm just newly the chairman of the board of our foundation there, and it is beautiful. the calvin coolidge memorial foundation, want to invite all americans to come to visit this place. it is one of the most beautiful villages in the world. you can see coolidge's birthplace. he was not born over the store like margaret thatcher, but he was born behind it. you get a feel for how beautiful and hard the life was for people

in a town like that. >> you are seeing some scenes of plymouth notch, vermont. we will talk about the dramatic night he got the news he was about to become president of the united states. one of the things it has been very special about this series is learning from your questions. we encourage them three different ways. you can call us. the phone numbers will be on the screen throughout the program. you can also tweet us. you can also join the conversation on our facebook page on c-span. you can find a beautiful photograph of the coolidge administration. there is already a conversation under way. now to plymouth notch, vermont, and the night that calvin coolidge and grace coolidge learned they are coming to the white house.

>> plymouth notch is the birthplace and boyhood home of calvin coolidge. he was born in a little house attached to the back of the store that his father operated. when he was four, he moved across the road to the building we now know as the coolidge homestead. this was an old-fashioned town for most americans in the sophisticated roaring 20's. grace spent some of the time just walking around, that was one of her great passions. she loved to walk, so she would go down to the cemetery, especially after her son, calvin jr. died. she did a lot of knitting and other types of handwork while she was here, just enjoying the country air. she grew up in the biggest town in vermont. when she was growing up her house had electricity and plumbing. when she came here, this was very much a country home still,

so there was no electricity or plumbing in a house where she stayed with her husband. this is the kitchen of the coolidge homestead. this is where they would have had breakfast and lunch and suppers, too. it is very simple. in here there was one running faucet in the kitchen. that was the only plumbing in the entire house. so this was quite a contrast to what grace had been experiencing not only as a child growing up in burlington, which was sophisticated at the time, as well as in the white house when she had all the modern luxuries. this is a two-hole privy and it was the only sanitary facility in the house. it was very much a throwback to the previous century. this is not what she was used to, but hearing all reports

about grace, she probably took this in good stride and regarded this as just part of her experience with her husband. the furniture in here is the bedroom set that grace and calvin used when they were here at the coolidge homestead here in plymouth notch, vermont. you can see it is a very simple set of furniture, very typical of the 1870's or so. it is country-style. the rooms were small in this house, not the spacious rooms they were accustomed to at the white house, certainly. she was also present in 1923 when word came that harding had died. she was among the select group in the family sitting room that was witness to the swearing-in. this is the sitting room of the coolidge homestead. we now know it as the oath of office room. this is where they gathered when coolidge was administered the oath of office.

all the furnishings in here are original. the original lamp that the scene, the pen that was used to sign the documents, and the bible that was here, but not officially used in the swearing- in because that was not required by vermont state law. grace would have stood right about where i am now. there is a famous painting of the homestead inaugural, and it shows the group gathered around, and she is right next to calvin's side. >> i want to introduce you to our second guest at the table, cyndy bittinger, who knows plymouth notch very well. former director of the calvin coolidge memorial foundation there, and as we learned earlier, a biographer of grace coolidge. her book is called, "sudden star." thanks for being with us. set the tone of her personality and what she brought to the job in 1923.

>> it was sudden, but she had been second for a little while. she was new to washington. she had not had a major role when her husband was governor of massachusetts. she was very much in the background. as the wife of the vice president, they were invited out quite a bit to dinner. she got to know the personages in washington, d.c., so that was very good. they would go out a lot and they were staying at the hotel willard, so it was obvious that they would need to go out to dinner quite a bit. she set the tone in that she was very joyous, very vivacious. some people said she was the fun one, she was the front door greeter, whereas her husband was the thoughtful one behind her. so it is an interesting dynamic. we often don't see that with first ladies and presidents.

>> everything i have been reading about calvin coolidge over the years, he is not just the thoughtful one. he earns his moniker, silent cal. he seems to be an anti- politician in a lot of ways. what was it about this man that brought him to politics? his personality does not seem so suited for it. >> the principles, but also the politics. he was not a glad hander in that way, but he did shake a lot of hands. one reason he was able to climb up in massachusetts was he went to the constituencies. very famous stories about what he would say if someone asked for something, he would say well, maybe. that meant you would get it. more than he under-promised and over-delivered, that is a political tactic. it makes you trust the politician and therefore, also government. so he was a principled and thoughtful politician. more

modern than we like to pretend now. >> david welch asked a series of questions on facebook. what aspect of her personality or experience helped mrs. coolidge to be such an effective counterbalance for her husband and do you think he could have had the political career he had without her? >> that is interesting because when he was vice president, she thought she could get back to northampton and her boys quite a bit. he said no, i need you here to help me navigate these political and social waters. so yes, i think she was key in giving him social stability and reaching out to others. she remembered people's names and faces, so she could be very engaging with people, and he could sit back and think, as i said before, and also, they both had a great sense of humor. they had all these jokes with each other, and of course, he

played a few jokes on some of the people at the white house as well. >> so as they were coming into office, as warren harding died, there are a number of scandals beginning to come to light. how did calvin coolidge handle these scandals? >> this was one of the tests because it was his own party, and what he did was appoint a bipartisan group, an investigative group, and he stood back from it. when he came in as president, nowadays one might say make a clean sweep. he didn't do that because the continuity was important to him. continuity was a big part of harding-coolidge policy. don't change a lot, reduce uncertainty. he kept most of them on until it became very clear that there was too much trouble.

all very proper, all very clear. and he had the blessing of not knowing much about it, and people could see that he hadn't really known much as vice president, although he had suspected. the one thing he resented about warren harding was that harding might be sullying the presidency. >> is it true that grace coolidge went to listen to some of the senate hearings on the scandals in the administration? >> i'm not sure about scandals, but i think she did go from time to time to congress, and she did listen in on what was going on. but she kept very much in the background. she was more in the tradition of first ladies to have a happy home life, take care of her children, greet the public, but not meddle in public policy. >> we are going to go back in time now and learn a little bit about how they met and how the political partnership, the

double harness, how that all got started. here is a bit of a story about how the coolidges met. >> this is the clarke school for the deaf where calvin and grace met for the first time. she was a teacher living in a dormitory. he was a tenet in a boarding house on the property. she lived up here in the second floor of this building in the dormitory. we are standing in a courtyard area. there would have been a flower garden and roses that grace would have tended to in her free time. the building right beside us is where calvin coolidge lived as a boarder while working as a lawyer. his room is in the back of the building. he would have stood there watching grace in the flower garden. she caught a glimpse of him standing there in his undershirt, and he would watch her tend the rose garden. we are now in grace's bedroom in her clarke school dormitory building.

this window here is where grace would have looked out and seen calvin across the courtyard at the next building. she would have put a candle in this window to signify to calvin that the parlor room below was available for them to meet up in. we are now in the parlor room in the dormitory building that grace lived in. this is where they would meet up and be able to sit and talk and have some time together. they still had to abide by the rules of the school and needed to meet somewhere that they were supervised and chaperoned while they were on campus. here they would sit and talk and get to know each other. >> we learned about their northampton meeting. what about them attracted them to each other? >> both of them coming from vermont attracted them, but yet

she is the urban one. she is from burlington, vermont. he is from little, rural plymouth, so they were quite different in that respect. but she found him engaging and thoughtful, and he found her beautiful, but he didn't quite know how to romance her. so he asked one of his friends, who happened to be the shoemaker in town, what to say to grace. the shoemaker said just compliment her. tell her her dresses are beautiful. do that kind of thing. grace actually saved the letters that calvin wrote to her. even though they were neighbors, he wrote her letters, and they were very affectionate letters between them. >> how long did they court before they were married? >> they met in 1903 and married in october of 1905. >> she was an only child and i have read that her mother was not so happy about the relationship. >> lemira adored her only child and thought that after grace had

graduated from the university of vermont, she would stay in the burlington area. but grace had a mind of her own and said i would like to teach at the clarke school for the deaf. so grace said, i'm moving to northampton. lemira said that is the home of smith college. i guess most of the men are married, so it will be all right. lemira could still look for a husband for grace. that was sort of her idea, grace with a mind of her own finds calvin, calvin finds grace, and the rest is history. on the wedding day, lemira has a headache and did not feel well. >> she got married at her parents home. >> and a bit earlier than her mother would have liked. and with some trepidation,

writing to her friend that she was going off into this adventure, but they were quite determined. this was a modern thing, they chose one another. she had been to college, she had been to coed college. she had a trade. she taught the deaf. a very modern marriage compared to many of the preceding presidencies. >> jennifer on facebook, i am interested with her work on the disabled, one of the first to do so. was she involved with gallaudet university when she was in washington, d.c.? >> no, because she believed in lip reading, and she had been trained to do that, not sign language. it is a very different art and i would say a very difficult one. grace took on quite a challenge. >> our first caller of the evening, this is john, watching us in seattle. you are on the air. >> i think you just answered my

question. did grace know asl? it looks like you might have answered the question for me. >> how much of a controversy were the two approaches of teaching the deaf? >> i don't think it was that much of a controversy. it was different concepts. the feeling is that you would fit in society better if you did lip reading. sign language would not advance you in terms of your career. i think we feel differently about that now, but back then, there was a real drive to fit in and participate in society. >> next is jim from springfield, illinois. >> there was a famous anecdote, and by the way, i have talked to jim cook, he has a one-man show called "more than two words."

anyway, there was a story about when they were in the white house, when grace was ill one sunday, and calvin went to church alone. when he returned, grace asked him what had been the subject of the sermon, and he replied, "sin." grace said well, what did the preacher have to say about it? and calvin is alleged to have replied "he was against it." are you familiar with that or any of the other anecdotes about their relationship in the white house? >> there seem to be all kinds of favorite stories about the man of few words. do you have a favorite one yourself? >> being against sin, that is a

very good one. that's a kind of new englandism. if you have lived in new england, sin, he was agin' it. when coolidge said humor, the cadence, the way he said it, was very much of his region. jim cook, the coolidge impersonator, captures this and if you were on this show, he would take a full minute to say the word "cow." the other story to which the caller referred, coolidge goes to a dinner party and a lady says, "mr. coolidge, i made a bet i could get you to say more than two words tonight." and he said, "you lose." there is a little pause after and you laugh. that's a boarding house humor. >> what are some of the other

things we should know about the early years of the relationship before they come to the white house that are key? >> building on some of the stories, when they get married, calvin delivers to grace 52 pairs of socks to be darned. grace says, "did you marry me to darn socks?" he said "no, but it comes in pretty handy." she started doing it, it was ok. so they did kid each other quite a bit. i think she adjusted to some of his personality. i think he was a little tough when he was writing speeches. she said she was really his safety valve. she would listen to him and be positive when he was doing something like that. >> also some key roles before they came to the white house. we talked about their vice presidential years. what other roles were formative in them establishing the people they would become as first couple? >> when he was governor, he came into a difficult situation, the turmoil we described before.

right in the middle of it, there was the boston police union striking, just before his election. many of the policemen were his own constituents. there were whole dissertations written about how good coolidge was with immigrants, and of course the boston policemen were irish. there was anarchy in boston, and coolidge fired the policemen, very dramatic moment. incredible tension for him. his political career, some of us are not sure he did the right thing. grace is in the background at home in northampton. that was their relationship in massachusetts. back and forth on the train, and at the middle of the strike, he went home. i read it was his son's birthday right in the middle there, but that was to take the hard decisions. another place he went was to the

little cemetery to see his ancestors who had come over much earlier in massachusetts. so his family was important to him, and when you hear grace say the phrase safety valve, that is a little bit ominous. it sounds a little bit like anger and unmodern. but she was that and she was content with it. >> next is sean, watching us in louisville, kentucky. >> i just want to say how much i appreciate this series. i want to see if your guest would comment on the death of the coolidges' son and how it affected mrs. coolidge? >> we will talk about the death of her son because it was so important to the parents and to his election in its own right. we will catch up with that story

later on. you asked about the first lady's portrait. we will show that to you. when you have the opportunity to see the first lady's portrait, it is rather arresting in the red dress. can you talk a little bit about that portrait, how it was done and how well it epitomizes her? >> howard chandler christy is the portrait painter, and he was having grace pose. he said i really like this, because the contrast between the red dress and the white dog. >> calvin came by and said i like grace much better in her white dress. i don't agree, i think we should just have her wear her white dress and dye the dog red. >> the painting is important because the pi beta phis gave this to the white house. they came 1300 strong.

it was the biggest gathering of women at the white house up until that time. they were her fraternity. they call them fraternities in those days. she was a fraternity sister. now we would say she was a sorority sister. she had started the fraternity at the university of vermont. she always stayed interested and involved and was appointed to higher and higher offices there, and had to recede once they reached national office, but she always loved her sisters, and in 1915, she started round robin letters with her sisters. that means writing letters to them and they write letters to her, and passing these around. so they were very important for the historians, because we have those letters to read. >> we will learn more about grace coolidge's style in this next video. >> there are number of items that don't come out very often because of their fragility and sensitivity to light and so forth.

we have these in our permanent storage area here. she was really quite a fashion plate of the 1920's and that was largely because of him. that was his one fiscal weakness, was to keep her in beautiful clothing. much of the jewelry is more of the costume-style, but there are a few fancier pieces i like to show. this is a beautiful jade pendant that includes a clock and is surrounded by sapphires and diamonds. of course, this would fit in very nicely with the 1920's interest in the oriental style. there is a small brooch that was given to her and there are newspaper reports of her wearing this piece.

it is the eagle of the united states with diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. a wonderful little art deco traveling clock. among the several fans that we have in the collection is this one here which she received from the president of cuba when they went to that country. cuba was the only other country that calvin and grace visited during the white house years. this is a particularly fine fan, as you can see, with the mother- of-pearl and gold inlay and the hand-painted screen. one of the gowns in the collection is so heavily beaded that we can never display it in the upright position.

whenever we have it out in the display case, it is flat. you can see that it is almost entirely beads and sequins. quite heavy, actually. she had a great impact on the style of the 1920's. this was not the flapper look, by any means, but the gowns very much have the ragged hemlines that was so popular during the 1920's, the heavily beaded features, very typical. you can only imagine what this would have looked like as she came down the stairs in the white house. >> patricia on facebook picks up on this. is it true that president coolidge was very frugal except when it came to his wife's clothing? when did that whole dynamic first start in their relationship? >> i think he was interested in

clothing for both of them right from the beginning. he even wrote his father to get funding for their clothes because he wanted to look good. this was part of their image as a couple. i think it is fascinating. we have not mentioned frank waterman sterns yet, who owned the sterns department store in boston. i have a feeling that frank sterns was able to maybe get some discounts on some of that clothing so that grace could wear it. that could have been part of it. but calvin would go window shopping, which is so interesting, as a president. he would buy a hat and bring it back for grace to wear. so he was very interested in what she wore. >> if she didn't like it, she didn't always say. she saw how important it was for him, but she certainly enjoyed the clothing, and that was something they could do together. she enjoyed how lavishly he attended to her.

this was one of the happy parts of their marriage. and she was so beautiful, that is what we forget, how beautiful she was. she became a great and important symbol for her joy, her beauty, all of that. >> we have had first lady's earlier in history who set fashion standards, but this was the time of a great rise in advertising. how good was this for business? >> i'm sure it was very good to have a first lady like this. as we mentioned before, she didn't speak much in public, so everyone loved her. she never said anything you wouldn't like, because she didn't speak very much. >> like her predecessors, she was the master of the photo op. >> she absolutely was. he played the silent one, and

she played the big volume -- some of this is theater. in marriage, we trade off roles, don't we? they had their act down, we could say. >> as a style and fashion icon, she was honored by the french fashion industry for the style she set in the united states. someone asked whether or not she could be considered a woman of the jazz age. >> i think she might have liked it. she wanted to dance. she took dancing lessons in washington. coolidge would not have liked that. he did not want her to have short skirts. he did not like her to wear pants. grace did not wear pants until after calvin passed away. and hair bobbing, he did not really like the idea of bobbing hair. she didn't bob her hair until after the presidency.

>> she did have music, though, wonderful music at the white house, but it wasn't jazz. it was more traditional. she loved to showcase people at the white house who were very talented, but it wasn't jazz. that was going a little too far. we are in this transition time period, and some people feel this couple was quite traditional as the nation was becoming very wild in some ways. remember, they believed in prohibition, too. >> she was among the first of first ladies to pursue a study of her predecessors. we have some quotes from them that look at their approach to this role of first lady. first is grace coolidge herself, and this is a pretty famous one.

she thought about herself as first lady and she wrote or said, "this was i, and yet not i, this was the wife of the president of the united states and she took residence over me, my personal likes and dislikes must be subordinated to the consideration of those things which were required of her." here is calvin coolidge about the role. "the public little understands the very exacting duties that she must perform, and the restrictive life that she must lead." i would like to have you both comment more about this studied approach to the role of first lady. >> remember how many hands they had to shake because people came through by the thousands. when he did her a favor, he would shake 3000 hands so that she didn't have to. more often, she had to be there, or she had to entertain. just the very physical obligations were hard to endure.

at a point, she did become ill, later in the presidency. you could see how much they had to do, just in terms of pure reception. the idea of the white house as a democratic place. certainly the hardings had set that precedent. >> as we all know, you are the head of state. we don't have royalty here. and they are somewhat our royalty. that is what you're getting at a little bit with all this adulation by the public. when they would travel, people swarmed them, so to speak. she brought a little more discipline into the role of first lady. she had two secretaries instead of one. florence harding let people come any old time to the white house. grace said no, i think you should meet me at noon on the steps, or a 3:00 reception. she was a little more organized about these things. people forget that they had the mayflower yacht.

that was their camp david. this was a place they could go and be themselves. the military ran it, and the public really didn't know a lot about what was going on there. it was a time-out for them a little bit. >> when they escaped, did they go to northampton or back to plymouth notch? >> it was often no escape because of the crowds. plymouth notch, people camped out, shopped, the neighbor created a tea house. coolidge was not sure people should exploit the presidency in that way, but he wanted his neighbors to do well. they began to go on summer retreats. they went to the adirondacks or they went to south dakota or they went to wisconsin where they could have a distance from the rest. this was the president of saving and economy.

if he lived too opulently, what about that? one of the interesting things at plymouth notch that you could find is the tension over the spending on food in the coolidge white house. there was a housekeeper, she spent too much. coolidge didn't like the way she spent. she went to the specialty stores. he thought she should go to the piggly wiggly and save. soon she was gone and they brought in a new england lady, ms. riley. ms. riley kept a record of every penny that was spent, and indeed, she spent less. grace had to be the wife in all this, had to appear to save with all these social demands. what tension that must have caused for her. >> i think it was good that they did have to pay for everybody's food, but they had a diplomatic budget.

they had an entertaining budget. some historians said they entertained more than many presidential couples because they had a separate budget. remember, this is a very middle- class couple coming into the presidency. they don't have their own wealth as we have seen with others. >> what was her religion and was that an important part of her public life? >> it was very important. she was raised as a methodist in burlington, vermont. she moved over to the congregational church. her family followed her to the church. she felt and said in her memoirs that she was in a church from the time she was little, and also i feel her faith was very much part of her character and got her through a lot of tough parts of life. >> phil is in california and up next.

>> i am a big fan. i am really enjoying this. just a comment and maybe a question about mrs. coolidge. i always wondered if sinclair lewis based his book "babbitt" on calvin coolidge's persona. people look at him as a hardly speaking, myopic, very conservative viewpoint of life or even social reform and things like that, and the butt of jokes in vaudeville at that time. and dorothy parker saying when mr. coolidge passed away, how could they tell? did that persona or that idea of what calvin coolidge would look like to the general public permeate into mrs. coolidge's consciousness, the jokes and everything else that were made of her husband at the time?

or was she screened away from that? >> nobody could be totally screened away from that. she handled it wonderfully. you might imagine sinclair lewis being the colbert or something to them. they handled it very well most of the time. coolidge did not really like sinclair lewis picking on him so much, and in one column he wrote subsequent to the presidency, you could see him complaining about sinclair lewis. i think grace just looked away. she just looked past it. she wasn't so worried about what people said about her husband most of the time. >> people keep asking questions, in many of the photographs we've seen her with dogs, including her official portrait. tell us about the coolidge animals at the white house including the chow dog.

>> there was blackberry and there was terrible tim. they just loved their animals. i brought with me the list that grace typed of her animals that she had, and the names and nicknames and who they were. she loved her animals, but i think the best story is rebecca the raccoon. rebecca was sent to the coolidges for thanksgiving dinner. both of them being animal lovers, they were outraged at this and decided to raise rebecca at the white house. this is the only time i read that the staff was not terribly happy because rebecca was sitting in the bath of the first lady's room, throwing the soap and climbing the curtains.

she even sent rebecca out to the black hills to play with her. rebecca got rambunctious and was a bit too much. even though grace designed a house for rebecca on the grounds, they eventually were taken to the zoo. >> how did she square the furs that we see her wearing? >> she did wear quite a bit of fur. how did she square with that? i don't know. i'm sure she didn't, she just thought that was fine. >> one other passion, baseball. >> she loved baseball more than the president. when i was writing about some of his great battles over taxes or fiscal problems or vetoing that he had to do, grace would take him to a baseball game.

that is what they did in washington, and later when she was alone, she went to baseball with her friends in boston herself. >> she was a red sox fan. >> here they watched the washington senators, as they were known then. when did they decide that he would seek the presidency himself in 1924? >> i think it was pretty automatic. the moment it became clear among other politicians was when he gave a long speech, like a state of the union speech, around december of 1923. right before that speech, he was particularly cross, because he knew it was a key speech and if he did it well, he might truly be the candidate in 1924, and suddenly there was respect for him.

this man knows how to lay out an agenda, take some risks, to focus and pick the risks. in that case, the risk was cutting taxes. that was his civil war, his big campaign was tax cuts. it was all laid out in that speech. >> before the election happened, a great tragedy struck the coolidge family, but we have not really set the stage for it. tell us about their two sons. >> they were teenagers when calvin was vice president. they were still at home in northampton. as i mentioned before, that was difficult. grace and calvin conferred with admiral boone, the assistant white house physician, and decided the boys should go to mercersburg academy in pennsylvania. maybe she could see them a

little bit, and after talking to admiral boone, she felt it would be a good place for them. they would have good leadership with them and become fine young men. that was pretty much the decision. >> their sons' name were john and calvin junior. >> they were fairly close together. she felt she really raised them at home because calvin commuted to the general court in boston. she is the one who built the little roadster. she is the one who played with the boys. their father came home on weekends and often, i interviewed the president and first lady's son, he said i was supposed to be quiet when my father came home. he insisted we wear shoes with metal toes, so it was difficult for us. >> the two boys came home for vacation to the white house that summer.

that is really when tragedy struck. we will learn a little bit more about what happened with the coolidge sons in our next video. >> let's head into the vault where we keep specific things about the coolidge family. grace coolidge's earlier life before her marriage to calvin coolidge, as well as documents about her relationship with her family, specifically her sons and her grandchildren. she was not only a loving wife, she was a loving mother. we have some wonderful correspondence that documents that. in 1922, she wrote to the head of the academy where both of her sons were, and she writes, "is there a way in which we can arrange for calvin junior to have a soft boiled egg for breakfast for a time without great inconvenience?" she was worried about his health. the other letter was written by calvin junior.

he talks about his cooling, which was not going too well, his clothing, which needed updating because he was growing out of it, and his plans for traveling back to washington to visit his mom and dad. the letter reads, "i hope you are well and happy. i know you are happy. with love, calvin." here's an interesting side note, obviously he had forgotten to put something in the letter -- "send me some socks." it's sad too because we see it as basically the last documented letter that we have before calvin junior suddenly passes away while in washington. shortly after his death, people wrote to the president and first lady in the white house, sending their condolences. as was common at the time, grace and calvin acknowledged their sympathies by sending letters, thanking them for their condolences and their sympathy. the letters were always bordered in black as a way of showing

they were in mourning. we actually have quite a few of those letters. john was the older and calvin junior was the younger. john coolidge did not die young. he lived to a very old age. we have a wonderful letter from john to his mother on her birthday. it is a wonderful letter that just describes his love. "dearest mother, just to let you know i'm thinking of you on your birthday and loving you as no boy has ever loved his mother." john and grace had a very close relationship throughout their life. he never really said much about how the passing of his brother affected the family. you can tell from the letters between john and grace until her passing, there were letters many times a year. whether that was increased by calvin junior's passing or not, there is really no way of

knowing. i would assume that is the case. >> we did not hear the story of how he died. >> the boys loved tennis and some historians think grace taught them tennis when they were little which kind of makes sense. the white house had tennis courts. the boys played on the tennis courts on vacations. they were not there that much at the white house, but one day, calvin junior went out without any socks and he got a blister on his toe from playing tennis. nothing was made of this, but when the assistant white house physician arrived one day to play tennis again, he noticed that calvin junior was quite ill and had a fever. he did look him over and found there were streaks of red on his leg. admiral boone was a learned right away to do something about this. he called in military advisers

and military physicians and civilian physicians. the family knew this was quite serious, and they also took samples and found out it was first staph, and then septicemia. even today you could die from septicemia. calvin and grace were shocked that anyone could lose a son this way. >> we just saw the note saying send me some socks. when you read of the death, it was a very painful death for their son, and they watched all of this. what happened to the first couple after their son's death? how did they respond? >> you want to remember that they were not the only ones in this period to lose a son. it was a much more common event.

t.r. lost a son in world war i. all around them were people who had been through this singular experience. lincoln had lost a son, and there are echoes in the way this was handled. the paperboys called extra, the carts rolled with flowers. they set up the stations at the white house, people came to call, and the train went to take the sad cargo to vermont where calvin was buried. it was a very familiar, very american event. >> there is a quote of calvin coolidge about his reaction. "when he died, the power and the glory of the presidency went with him." some biographers suggest that in the time afterwards that he really went into a state of depression, that he was working shorter days, and that it was

grace who was the more stable of the two. did your research show you that? >> no, actually, there is a very good biography that posits that by mr. gilbert. it says calvin coolidge could have completed his presidency, but his son died. i see it as more like abraham lincoln. lincoln prosecuted his war after the loss of his son. coolidge pursued his policy plans. he did things notwithstanding the loss of his presidency. more joyless, but still that perseverance. coolidge did not give up and grace did not give up. >> i think the difference between the two is interesting. when there were holidays, calvin would note who wasn't at the table. grace took joy with whoever was at the table.

just very different in that way, the way they handled it. >> bill is watching from delaware. >> two quick questions. is it correct historically that the room we now know as the solarium was built by the coolidges because there was a roof leak? did that occur during his full term or prior to him being elected to a full term in 1924? since mrs. coolidge outlived president coolidge for so many years, did she develop a friendship with lou henry hoover, eleanor roosevelt, bess truman and mamie eisenhower, and did she ever go back to the white house? >> we know that there was a solarium built, and she retreated to it at the end of the first full term of president coolidge.

i don't know whether she visited with succeeding first ladies. >> yes, she did, but back to the roof leak. yes, the roof had to be reinforced. it was cracking. they re-did the family quarters as well and put in more closets and that kind of thing. the coolidges had to move to dupont circle, so they were gone for a little while. grace even donned a hard hat to go in and look at what they were doing at the white house. so yes, that did happen. in terms of friendship with the other first ladies, yes. they did get together and there are people who saw madame roosevelt pay her respects to grace coolidge in northampton. so there was sort of a first ladies club in some ways. when they were suddenly thrust to the presidency, mrs. wilson came to call, mrs. taft came to call.

the first ladies were very supportive of each other. >> what was their inauguration like? >> it was a little bit tense. it was ruined by the vice president who took the opportunity to berate the senate for blocking legislation and making everything so difficult. coolidge found that very unseemly and was disappointed. he thought his vice president dawes lacked discipline. he himself had served only the president and given a very short inaugural address when he was vice president. it was a day that wasn't as happy as they expected it to be. >> did they have an inaugural ball and a parade? >> i'm thinking not. the ball was cancelled the time before austerity. that was one of the things mrs. harding used to needle grace. grace said what shall we wear

and mrs. harding said there won't be any inaugural ball so it is stricken. this was a period when the government was trying to save. >> we do have this wonderful photograph. host: we do have this wonderful photograph. it is of grace and president coolidge traveling together to the inauguration. what seems rather iconic about it is the expression on both of their faces. you can see up there, the president looking very serious, and grace coolidge, having what looks to be a fabulous time. guest: it says to me she is a joy his person. as i said before, she is going to take joy in the moment and make it work for everybody. what is her job? she will make it work for her husband and go better for him. in this term that they doing in their own right, she is more involved.

when they're up in plymouth, when he's somewhat campaigning, edison and firestone and who's the other one? henry ford. she's involved in the conversation. here's a woman that's not supposed to be involved in public policy. things are changing a little bit in this term. >> edwin cabba on facebook wrote did the first couple vote publicly? >> they did vote, they voted publicly. she organized some effort in her town of north hampton to get women out to vote. >> what happened in this in the second time women could have voted, what happened with women and politics as a result of their ability to participate in the vote. >> people supported they would vote another way with their husband. but they didn't. that was one of the big surprises of their 20s. then they asked should they be in politics. then there were a few female by coolidge. no big one, no cabinet ladies.

but it was more modest than might have been predicted or hoped for by the suffrages, isn't it? >> this is also the time the talkies came to being, the first film that actually had sound attached to them. and this becomes the first president and first lady that we cannot only see on film, but also hear. coming up next, a short clip of calvin coolidge on film with sound. followed by grace coolidge with film and sound. >> i want the people of america to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. i want them to have the rewards of their own industry. this is the chief meaning of freedom. until we can re-establish a condition under which the earningings of the people can be kept by the people, we are bound to suffer a very severe and distinct curtailment of our

liberty. >> the ringing of this bell announces the opening on thanksgiving day of the 22nd annual sale of christmas -- the proceeds from which go to the prevention of -- in the united states of america. [bell ringing] this is a picture of a 100 of the seal, each seal costing one cent. no letter to your sweetheart is considered authentic unless it bears one of these seals. >> there we have it. a president and at that point a former first lady. but it's the first time we have

her on sound and film. i wanted to ask you about how being able to hear and see a president as you went to the movie theater around america increasingly popular for the american public. how did it change politics? >> it changed politics a lot. there's a myth that goes with that that coolidge wasn't good in the new media and he was stiff -- he was very good on radio. they said his voice cut through the air like a wire that new england voice. our problem is we -- he ranked high in the polls when people were told which radio voice do you like? our problem is we don't have those reportings. the radio wasn't recorded as it is now or as it was for franklin roosevelt after them. it was popular, it was impactful. >> next is michael watching us in new york city. hi, michael? >> hi, how are you? >> fine, thanks. what's your question about grace coolidge?

caller: i wanted to ask about the rumored affair she had with a secret service agent? was that a public scandal at the time? is it something that's been speculated about more recently? and any way, do you give it any credence. thanks again for the programming. >> thank you very much. at what point did the presidency with the mini scandal take place? guest: it was in the black hills, when we were -- they were there for the summer white house. she in the secret service agent were lost for a few hours. when they returned, calvin was not happy, mainly because he thought she had been hurt. a secret service agent is supposed to be taking care of the first lady and making sure she is not hurt. he sent jim haley back to washington, d.c., and grace tried to explain, but no, nothing had happened. she had not fallen down. they were all right.

they had just been lost. that was all that had happened. i said, no, there's nothing to this. she kept up letters, communication with his family. she felt embarrassed about the whole thing. this was very much in the public. there was no affair. it's just a few people thought jim haley was handsome, and the should have been an affair. host: i want to tell you at this point about our fabulous website c-span.org/firstladies where we have been accumulating video related to these series. videos have additional of the places we have been visiting that we haven't been able to put into the television program. each week, there is also a featured item. this week, the featured item is the piano that was given to grace coolidge by the baldwin pierno company which she kept in the private quarters of the white house. was she a pianist?

guest: yes. she loved her music. she had lessons when she was a child, cap tupper interest and invited things people to come to the white house to play the pnm. it is very important in her life. she would turn on the radio to listen to music. it helped her day go better. host: next is a call from sander washing us in huntington, maryland. you are on the air. caller: it is a wonderful program. my question was regarding children. about't heard anything them. then you came on and talked about the children. it did answer my question. host: thank you for watching. we are delighted. say howi just want to very much i enjoy the program. it is wonderful. host: glad to have you in the audience. thanks for making the call. was becomingfilm enormously popular in american culture. celebrities have become part of the political scene during the

harding white house trade did the coolidges continued that trend? guest: absolutely, not only the how -- the hollywood celebrities who were brought around to show they were jolly at various points -- they had this elaborate friendship with will rogers, kind of a superstar. i think he is like jon stewart. i don't know who you would compare him to. he had columns. he did ask. he made movies. he was very funny. he came and he called mrs. coolidge -- his favorite first female number one. they had a whole courtship going, the rogers and teh coolidges, and charles lindbergh, the flyer, who had gone over to paris in that way. on thed the lindberghs house on dupont circle while they were out of the white house. yes, of course they were with

celebrities. calvin rare picture of coolidge with a wide smile on his face. guest: that was a very important moment because calvin and grace went to a talk at the budget zero -- beareau. they sort of plotted to get together charles and and. -- and ann murrow. host: another celebrity they brought to the white house was someone that continued grace coolidge's passion, keller. -- hellen keller. we have some footage. will you talk about when she visited, the significance of her visit, and how the public reacted? guest: it was very significant. helen keller wanted to use the white house to publicize the need for support for deaf education. grace and calvin were both happy to accommodate her.

yes, you do see in this picture hellen keller reading the lips of grace. she also reads the lips of calvin. grace did as much as she could to bring children, deaf children, children with disabilities, veterans with disabilities to the white house and highlight their needs for the american public. host: ann in newport, vermont. few years ago, i went to a yard sale and found an put together in 1924 by various women's groups. there is a recipe for a souflet by mrs. calvin coolidge, washington, d.c. i have been amiss in the program, but i would give mrs. coolidge a chance to share her recipe. host: there are many grace coolidge recipes available online. way thatpart of the

they establish her persona to the public. will you talk about that? by calvin was kidded a lot about her cooking not being very good. when she gets to the white house, of course she has some recipes that have been handed down over the years and that she is happy to share with the public. she also felt that first ladies should leave something at the white house that they had made. she made a cover letter for the lincoln bed. she did want to highlight things that were cooking and sewing, crocheting. those were important things to her. guest: randy williamson on twitter i did ask her son if that was true, and he said, absolutely not. we have a contrary in here. he said, my mother would never have used sign language.

she did not know it. i didn't know whether it was observed by anyone who disagreed with them. i don't know. host: i want to go back to the renovation of the white house. the coolidge is made the decision to create the third floor. it change the way first families use it. the creation of the solarium. we have a view of what the solarium looked like when they were finished, and also, we are going to show some video from our white house documentaries or is of what the celeb -- documentary series of what the solarium looks like today. this was established in the coolidge administration. graceu talk about coolidge's desire to change and improve the white house and how involved she was? guest: she was very involved and we always think of jackie kennedy as the first one to want antiques at the white house. no, first ladies did want to do this. grace got to the white house and said, i would like to have a

committee. i would like to have congress allow gifts to be given to the white house. that did go through. she was then able to accept gifts. she went to the attic trying to find colonial antiques. her committee got a little ahead of its health. the american institute of architects got upset. they were in charge of the white house. offne point when they are at one of the summer white house is, calvin says, we've really got to stop. you can't pursue -- we can't pursue this attempt to change the green room and read room. she sort of dropped that. she is one of the first first ladies to say, the white house is amusing, and we must honor it. host: we have a still with some the coolidgents of presidency, including his veto of farm subsidies in 1924. 1926, he signed the revenue act, which was, in fact, a lowering of taxes.

briand pact,gg also known as the paris sees treaty, which did what? guest: outlawed war. host: good job they did with that. guest: we market, but i think it has new attraction. ,hat resident coolidge said was maybe international law may be a better stuff than intervention. that idea is interesting. we should consider that as well. what i noticed about these is they took enormous political capital to get them through. each one of them was hard for calvin. when you look at their marriage and his view of scandal, i learned about scandal from the reason he-- the avoided scandal and controversy right down to her wearing a writing habit or redecorating the white house to loudly was because he wanted that capital to pass laws. well, ok, that's what you are elected for. this is all going on in their marriage.

you feel like redecorating the house, but maybe you shouldn't because it attracts so much attention. i might have one fewer vote. quite cold, but also quite concentrated, a focus presidency in that way. that is what struck me as i went over the years. guest: calvin coolidge was also experiencing a number of digestive problems, stomach problems, as his presidency progressed. how much a factor was his health and his decision not to run for reelection? not at all dispositive. of 1927.in the summer what i noticed was he happened to be right near mount rushmore. he went up to route -- mount rushmore. coolidge was a man concerned about having his head turned by power. he thought, every president thinks about, and by the -- am i a narcissist? when i worked with president bush, i saw he didn't become a

narcissist. he always thinks about humility. you see that with coolidge. you try very hard not to turn into, it's all about me. coolidge writes about this very carefully in his autobiography, that the presidency is surrounded by flattery. heads cominge, big of giant presidents. i think he was grossed out by it. he said, that's not the kind of presidency i want to have or be remembered for. therefore, i will not run again, though i might. he stepped back. you can see in some footage which you may also have, him and mount rushmore when the sculptor was about to take some step in lookedcess -- coolidge as though, i'm going to drawback. i don't want to be part of this show a vanity. it was a very moral position, his decision not to run. host: there are stories about

how grace coolidge was informed of her husband's decision not to run again. what do you and the scholars believe of how much she knew in advance? guest: she did know in advance. i found the letters to her girlfriends. she told them in march, i'm getting ready. i will soon be on the trolley. i won't have these cars. she did know about it. she kidded around how, please, treat me like everybody else. she did know it was coming. however, when he announced that day, she acted as if she didn't know. i'm perplexed little bit about that. out again, i've got to stay of this public policy. i don't want to comment, type of thing, maybe. video ashave one more our program hurtles towards its close. this is about grace coolidge and baseball. >> one of the letters that she wrote to her friends dating from october 22, 1946 -- yes, i was

much excited over baseball and terribly disappointed that the red sox lost the world series. i had a grand time at the games in boston and met many of my old faithful friends, as well as some of the players. ,he was a lifelong baseball fan starting out as early as an undergraduate at the university of vermont where she was the official scorekeeper for the uvm baseball team. this continued on, being in massachusetts and vermont, they were big boston red sox fans. when they went to washington, they had a little allegiance to the local team down there, the washington senators. in our collection, we have a number of the season passes that she was given by the american league. usually, they were issued to her either in a wallet or pocketbook. some of those pocketbooks are wonderful art deco in style. he was given the 14 karat gold

season passes. we have those as part of the display as well. we acknowledged the president's interest in the sport, but focus most especially on grace's passion for it. exhibithe items in the is a certificate that she was andn by the boston red sox the washington nationals, as they were called in 1955, designating her first lady lady of the land, first lady of baseball. another object in the exhibit is a very fine baseball that was given to john coolidge, the son of grace and calvin, and it is signed by both babe ruth and lou gehrig. going to return two phone calls. next up is joseph in massachusetts. caller: hi. i'm just wondering if the panel is aware of calvin coolidge's mark-great-grandson, coolidge, who is one of

america's greatest living poets. i haven't heard any mention of him. he really is quite an important figure in american literature. i will take your response often. host: thank you. how many grandchildren did calvin have? aest: that would not be direct line. calvin and grace had john and calvin junior who we heard about. florence trumbull, the governor of connecticut daughter. they had two daughters, lidia and cynthia. cynthia had chris. lidia had jenny and john. now, the next generation is coming along -- john has two children. jenny has two children. chris has two children. i hear his two sons love baseball. host: the coolidges left lighthouse to return to where? guest: they return to northampton, massachusetts were coolidge had begun his career as a county seat attorney, if you can imagine. ,hey went back to their house

which is half of a two family, with not much distance to the sidewalk. did come up.ople as much as they wanted to fit back into their old clothes, of course, they couldn't. people were always pressing whether it was that the president's office or at the house. they were treated to a house with a bit of a border around it, the beach is also in northampton, and the president said, the doggies can run here. it was also a bit more fancy. they could have some privacy. still quite modest by presidential standards, the beeches. after the president passed away, mrs. coolidge built yet another house somewhere nearby. host: how long after the white house did the president died? guest: january of 1933. in his retirement, he did write

articles, daily articles. then he turned to grace and said, you know? i think you could write too. she started writing some articles for "american magazine." those are important to us who study first lady lady's. she does tell about her life. to feel, he seems strongly about what is happening in the nation. his friends say he is not good at figuring out his own medical problems. he sort of denies medical treatment. to chaise, goes up and grace goes out and walks back, and by happenstance goes upstairs and finds him -- he has died. host: here is what she said about the death of her hudson, her lifelong partner -- i am just a lost soul. nobody is going to believe how i miss being told what to do. my father always told me what i had to do. and calvin told me what i had to do. how do we process that remark?

guest: i don't think we judge it. it was a different time. she was a different kind of life. for someone who did not know what she was going to do, she did quite a lot as a widow. one of the stories that is a background of this is the story of great love. i've been watching president bush build his library. we have watched other presidents do that. coolidge had to raise money for his library or his papers and stuff. he did get his friends, led by clarence barron of the "wall street journal," to raise $2 million. i don't know what they thought he would do with the money. they didn't really believe him. in the end, he did what he said. he gave all the money of his friends to his wife's favorite charity, the clark school for the deaf. because he was giving back, coolidge wanted to give to grace. therefore, there was no great money -- monument for the

coolidge papers. there was only her charity. i think he knew it would be wonderful if after he died his life could be the most important lady in the town and lead a charity that meant something to them both at the clark school where she had begun her career so many years ago. you can't think of a greater act of love than that. you have to juxtapose it with the statements that sound, shall i say, un-modern. we find it quite wonderful and intriguing. at the clarkyed school throughout her widowhood. we have a photograph of her with the young john f. kennedy. what is that photograph? how do they work together? guest: she was constantly fundraising. host: was she not trustee of the school? guest: she was. he was also powerful as a senator. she understood politics. she got his support for her cause, very smart of her. she also, when calvin died, ask

about 50 friends to write their view of calvin coolidge. that softened his image quite a bit. she contributed the last love letter that he wrote to her, which was really just before he died. somewhat manipulate his image a little bit at the end. host: josh in connecticut. caller: how are you doing? this is really the cats meow, this show. what happened after calvin died? did grace have to be the defender of the coolidge through the ravages of the great depression through the rest of the 1930s? a lot of people say the policies of the 1920s caused the depression in the 1930s. that,e have to answer for or was a lot of weight put on her to cope with that? guest: two things. you do not have to accept that contention.

also, grace didn't have to. that was her license. she had never been political. that is the great liberty of not being political. she could say, well, it's very sad. you could see her doing charity work throughout the 1930s. it was a terrible time. she didn't have the burden of it having been her policy print host: there are some references in some biographies that she whispered to friends, a depression is coming. was there knowledge that the country was headed towards the financial climate it that it had? guest: no, i don't think so. i would defer to amity on that. people didn't really know a crash was coming. guest: crashes came all the time. coolidge had six or seven serious crashes in his career. they never led to a decade of double-digit unemployment. it is not a crash so much as the depth of the unemployment and

the duration of it that makes the depression great in our memory. that's the key thing. he was be willed or diet -- bewildered by it. host: she lived until my 1057 print what was her role during world war ii? guest: very important. a very few people know this, but in the run-up to world war ii, she was the champion of the jewish children in germany. she was part of the northampton committee. she wanted to rescue children. about 25sed that children come to the town of northampton. i wouldn't have been surprised if she would not have taken a couple in herself. her proposal was sent to the state department, was folded into the wagner-rogersville, which all of us know did not pass. she was rather brave with that stand and strong about america's participation. she urged americans to get involved in world war ii. host: jerry in decatur, georgia. what is your question? caller: good evening.

my question has to do with race relations during the 1930s. i've seen several images of african-americans in the program. my question is, what were the tion toes' reac and relationships with race relations in the 1920s? host: thank you so much. guest: it is a good question -- too bad we don't have more time -- someone wrote that he was deploring that black men ran for office. coolidge wrote back, i'm really appalled. anyone may run for any office. that's the main thing. lynchings went down over time. effect, as much of the prosperity of the time. host: the art of her life was

not very long after the civil -- all the weight until the way until 1957. think of the enormous changes our country went through. over the years she spent in the white house, how did she change the job of first lady, or what should we remember her for? guest: i think we should remember her for treating the white house as amusing. she took her job very seriously. she thought she was the national hugger. she was to greet as many people as she could. keep the doors open for the public, so to speak. also, keep her husband and her children happy. it was very important to be a good wife and mother, provide a solid home life for them. that's what she saw as her role, and to be an advocate for people with disabilities. host: when she died in a heart failure in july 1957, she joined her husband and death.

you can visit their gravesites. guest: we hope you do. especially this summer. come and visit us, especially the fourth of july. host: what would your answer be? guest: her great joy. troubled transcend any through her faith and joy. host: our thanks to our partners at the white house is merkel association for their help throughout this series and to our two guests to tell us more about the life and legacy of grace coolidge. thanks to both of you. ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013]

>> tonight on c-span, some of the events that happened on capitol hill today, beginning with debate in the house over a temporary funding bill for american indian programs. after that, house minority whip steny hoyer and other house democrats talk about the government shutdown. then senate majority leader harry reid and other senate

democrats speaking to reporters about the debt ceiling shortly after the senate failed to move forward on the bill that would have raise the debt limit through december 2014. c-span -- we bring public affairs events from washington directly to you, putting you in the room at congressional hearings, white house events, andfings, and conferences, offering complete gavel-to-gavel coverage of the u.s. house, all as a public service of private industry. we are c-span, created by the cable tv industry 34 years ago and funded by your local cable or satellite provider, and now, you can watch us in hd. >> in the house today, members debated a temporary funding bill for american indian programs. it was another attempt to fund federal programs through a short-term targeted measure in light of the ongoing government shutdown. next, the debate on that bill. it is about 50 minutes. e speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. simpson: mr. speaker, i

riseoday in support of this important legislation, to continue funding for the bureau of indian affairs and indian education and indian health services. this bill focuses on education, law enforcement, health care and many other vital services to american indians and alaskan natives. mr. speaker, for long ago the federal government made treaty commitments to american indians who in return ceded the vast lands that make up the united states today. visit any indian reservation today and you'll quickly realize that the federal government has not lived up close to its end of the bargain. my colleagues on both subcommittees on both sides of the aisle and mr. moran and mr. dicks that chaired this committee have been working rd over the years -- over the past several years to address the critical needs and challenges in indian country. even in declinin budget environments on a bipartisan basis, our committee continues to make funding for indian country a pority. why i doubt my friends

and colleagues on the other side of the aisle will oppose the merits of the bill. they might oppose the strategy but they probably won't oppose the merits of the bill as something we agree on on a bipartisan bay bipartisan basis. for the past 11 days the house has abeen tempting to reopen the government without further delay and without trying to extract any further concessions from the senate or president. mr. speaker, you can't go wrong by trying to do the right thing. right here, right now, those of us who care about indian country have been given the opportunity to do the right thing. let's not waste this opportunity, pointing fingers and arguing over everything other than the topic at hand. the topic at hand is indian health, indian education, and the b.i.a. this is the hand we have been dealt. let's do the right thing. i encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this resolution. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves.

the chair will recognize the gentleman from virginia. mr. moran: i'd like to ask unanimous consent that i be able to control the time. i guess there is a parliamentary procedure. does mrs. lowey have to request that? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. moran: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro mpore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. moran: thank you, mr. speaker. here we go again. each day the gaping wound of the government shutdown represents grows bigger and the house republican response continues to be these little band-aid. of course we on the democratic side want to see all native amican programs fund. the other side knows that. and in fact, this has been one area where we have achieved bipartisan agreement.

both chairman simpson, i want to particularly mention mr. cole on our subcommittee, myself, ms. mccollum, all of us have tried to put as much money as possible given very severe fiscal constraints to native american programs. but this bill that's on the floor today in fact doesn't state -- doesn't serve its stated purpose. we are going to hear from house republicans what this latest band-aid temporarily funds, but here is just some of the native american programs and offices that are not funded by this resolution. native american education programs that are funded by the department of education. native amecan law enforcement programs funded by the department of justice. e programs to carry out the

violence against women act. that's an area we had achieved finally bipartisan agreement. th doesn't allow us the funds to carry out that program. native american social service programs that are funded by the -- >> mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is correct. members will please tear their conversations from the floor and -- take their conversations from the floor and clear the well. the gentleman may continue. mr. moran: thank you, mr. speaker. i understand that this is a very trying day for all of the american people, and that colleagues feel that as well. i'm happy to speak through the interruption. but i do want to make the point these tive american social service programs that are so importan to the american indians, particularly on our reservations, are not funded by this bill. childcare, temporary assiance to needy families, because they

are funded b the department of health and human services. native american housing programs, funded by the department of housing and urban development. h.u.d. has the highest percentage, almost 100% of its employees are furloughed. still, what is this the 11th day, mr. speaker? that was a rhetorical question. mr. speaker, while this resolution temrarily funds the bureau of indian affairs and bureau of indian education, it fails to fund the office of the assistant secretary for indian affairs, which oversees those agencies. we are not even willing to fund the office that's responsible for managing the programs that we purport to fund today. what about the office of the special trustee which administers $3.7 billion in tribal funds and $728 million in individual indian accounts. that's not funded either. let's not be deluded that this

is going to fix the situation with regard to the -- our native americans. that's why a number of tribes have opposed this way of doing it. they want all the government to open up. because it is their government as well. mr. speaker, the underlying basis for the republican shutdown of the government has been an irrational and intransigent opposition to the affordable care t. that's how it started. house republicans voted 43 times to repeal the affordable care ac at the same time they were voting to repeal the permanent re-authorization of the indian health care improvement act. every time the other side voted to repeal the affordable care act, they were voting to repeal the determine re-authorization of the indian health care act. as well as voting to repeal many new programs that are contained in the affordable care act that

are designed to assist indian health -- indian health service in meeting its mission to raise the health status of native americans. these 43 attempts to repeal the affordable care act and shutting down of government is all the more disheartening because we in the subcommittee on interior and environment have so strongly supported native american programs. unlike what we have seen in the last week of certain members come to the floor to claim support for n.i.h., head start, all of which we strongly support, even as members have pushed sequester and proposed additional cs to these programs in 2014, on the other side, this subcommittee has a bipartisan commitment to native american programs. that's something we should be proud of. and this subcommittee, i know, does not want to go about funding native american programs in this manner. it's a halfhearted band-aid

approach. it's strong. we need to fund all native american, we need to fund all federal government. it's long past time for this shutdown to end. let's release all the feral employees that have been taken hostage. let's reopen the people's government. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman reserves. the gentleman from idaho. mr. simpson: it's my pleasure to yield three minutes to the gentleman from washington, the chairman of the natural resources committee, mr. hastings. the speaker pro tempore: the gentman is recognized for three minutes. mr. hastings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise todain full support of this resolution to fund the bureau of indian affairs. while house republicans continue to offer solutions to end this government shutdown, we will continue also to take steps to provide funding for important areas of our government. this measure fulfills the congress' unique responsibility

to fund programs vital to indian tribes and alaska natives. there are 56 million acres of indian trust lands in the united states. unlike other privately owned lands, in most cases indian trust lands may not be leased for development purpose without approval of the secretary of the interior. these lands are ctical for indian tribes to create jobs and generate revenue for their reservatioeconomies. for example, in my central washington district, two tribes are major producers of timber that employ hundreds of people and produce income for tribal governments and thousands of individual members. in other parts of the country, tribes utilize their trust lands for oil, natural gas, and coal development, and a variety of business leasing and housing. it is critical to ensure continued funding for the bureau of indian affairs to perform functions necessary for tribes and individual landowners to lease and develop their lands. the joint resolution additionally provides funding for the indian health service

programs. while direct care for accuse and chronic health conditions is being provided to the american indians during the shutdown, other services have been scaled back. it is critical these be restored to normal operations. the president repeatedly stresses the importance of the united states' unique relations with indian tribes. he now has the opportunity, mr. speaker, to match his rhetoric with action by supporting the passage of this resolution and signing it into law. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i yield back to the chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from idaho reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. moran: mr. speaker, it's my great pleasure right now to yield two minutes to the ranking member of the full appropriations committee, mrs. nita lowey, from new york. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for two minutes. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to the republican shutdown. of course we support funding for

indian education and health services. unfortunately, the house hasn't had the opportunity to approval funding for these programs this year because the majority did t have the courage of their convictions to bring their f.y. 2014 interior and environment, on the labor-h.h.s. appropriation bills to the house floor. don't for a moment think that today's bill fulfills their commitments to native americans. under this bill they will still not receive funding they are due from the departments of jusce and the department of education. this is nothing more than a republican ploy, and the claim that democrats are not negotiating is absolutely false. house republicans wrote a bill, sent it to the senate, the senate adopted the motion -- the

most important part of it, the funding level, anti-president agreed to sign it, even though democrats wanted greater investments to support economic growth, jobs. the only thing democrats oppose are irresponsible efforts to put health care decisions back in the hands of insurance companies. which has nothing to do with keeping the government opened. that is democracy. that is negotiation. we have done more than meet in the middle, but the republicans now say no to their own bill. we cou end the shut down today if the majority would only support a reasonable solution to allow a vote on the republican written senate-passed bill. vote no, demand a house vote to immediately end the reckless republican shutdown. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back.

the gentleman from virginia reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from idaho. mr. simpson: it's my pleasure to yield a minute and a half to gentleman from montana, mr. daines. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 1:30 seconds. mr. daines: i rise to support to appropriate funds for the bureau of indian education today becauseur native americans cannot sustain another day of this washington gridlock. in my home state of montana, we have seven indian reservations, and also the state recognized little shaw tribe. we are now working on getting recognition for them. native americans encompass 6% of montana's population. on a reservation, unemployment can rise as high as 50%. the indian health service, the bureau of indian affairs, and education can literally be life line for many. earlier this year, when i

visited the college, i learned about their slogan grounded in tradition, charging into the future. our reservations want to be self-sustaining without adequate health services, education, and economic opportunities, that goal is unattainable. i want our native american to be able to thrive in my home state of montana. that's why i support this resolution today. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from idaho reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. moran: mr. speaker, i'd like to inquire how much time we have on both sides. remaining in the debate. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia has 12 1/2 minutes. the gentleman from idaho has 14 1/2 minutes. mr. moran: at this time i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from minnesota, the chair of the indian caucus, miss betty mccollum -- ms. betty

mccollum. ms. mccollum: mr. speaker, the house not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is correct. if members would please remain from conversations on the floor. the gentlewoman is recognized. mitts mccollum -- ms. mccollum: i rise today to oppose this bill. as democratic co-chair of the native american caucus, i'm here to promote respect for tribal sovereignty, to fight for the needs of native american families, and to call our federal government to uphold its trust and treaty obligations. mr. paul, my republican co-chair, ranking member moran, and mr. simpson, the author of this legislation, shir those very same goals. . but i think the bill before us today doesn't meet the needs of inan country. the national conference of american indians has asked us to, quote, reopen government operations for all federal agencies that meet trust and treaty obligations to tribal

nations and to stop the sequester of 2014. and i've heard that same message loud and clear from minnesota tribal leaders. mr. speaker, when we consider federal funding for tribal nations, we are talking about government-to-gornment relationships. this means the entire federal government needs to be open and functioning. many services have been pointed out that are vital to indian country are not funded with b.i.a. or b.h.s. the department of agriculture, commerce, justice, transportation and other agencies within h.h.s. or interior all have native american accounts. food distribution on indian reservations is administered by the department of agriculture and no funds is able to replenish food reserves to support low-income american indians each month. in minnesota, winter is on its way and tribal housing development has been brought to a halt for white earth nation

because the bureau of land management is closed. mr. speaker, i could list other important tribal partnerships that this bill will not open. and i have one that i'll enter into the record with your permission. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. mccollum: we need to vote for a clean funding bill for this government. i'll vote no. i encourages others to do the same. i yield ck. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentleman from idaho. mr. simpson: mr. speaker, it's my pleasure to yield to the gentleman from alaska, mr. young, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alaska is recognized for two minutes. mr. young: i ask unanimous consent t revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. young: my fellow colleagues, this is an important piece of legislation. when you vo against this legislation, you're voting against the first americans. everyone in this room is an

immigrant. we made a trust relationship with american indians to take care of them, providehem and a trust relationship that we failed. you say this won't go anywhere. very frankly, we should have done this a long time ago we should set up the system because of the trust system that they are front end loaded for their health care primarily. we have a system now that does not work. they have to hold their hand out and beg, and a lot of you on that side, all you'll say, don't say too much. take your blanket and go home and be quiet. no other minority would be treated that way. this health system has to be fixed. we have an opportunity to fix it now. we should fix it now. when people stand up and say, i support the american indians, the first americans, you're not really supportingt. you're paying lip service. you're paying lip service.

that's all you have been doing for all these years ever since columbus landed on these shores, and you broke treaty after treaty after treaty, both sides of the aisle. i've been with eight presidents and they paid lip service. they paid lip service. the prident is going to have a big first american conference, the fifth one, and now all they tell them again, be quiet, take your blanket and your half a beet and go home. for those that talk about the minority, this is the first minority. yes, i get a little emotional about this because i have 10 american native grandchildren. i have two beautiful american native children that's given me those 10 grandchildren. and i had a wife that was in fact one of the first americans and i'm proud to be associated with that.

we should vote yes on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman fromdaho reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman fromirginia. mr. moran: mr. speaker, i agree wi my good friend from aska. the unconscionable treatment that's been accorded our native americans. and i agree that there should be a unique commitment to our native americans, but at this point i'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from michigan, mr. kildee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kildee: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you for the time. look, we all know what's happening here. if anybody believes that there's a true commitment to fully fund the promises that we have made to america's native american tribes, you've got to be joking. look what is not funded in this legislation. it would be really simple to meet the promise that the gentleman spoke so eloquently about and the way we would do that is to simply bring up a

clean bill to reopen the entirety of government. instead of picking and choosing which promises we will keep to america's native american tribes, we would keep them al instead of skipping the housing program, skipping the social service programs a providing a talking point but not meeting the obligation that this congress h made to america's native american tribes. if any community in this country understands broken promises, it's the native american tribes of this country. in this bill, this legislation, continues the trail of broken promises. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman's time has expired. mr. moran: ieserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from idaho. mr. simpson: mr. speaker, it's now my pleasure to yield to the gentleman from oklahoma, a valued member of our subcommittee and probably the largest advocate for indian

issues in congress, the gentleman, mr. cole. the speaker pro tempor the gentleman is recognized. mr. cole: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i can agree with parts of what my friends have said and parts i frankly can't agree with. i worked in a bipartisan manner across the aisle and with the white house on native american issues ever since i've gotten here no matter who was on the other side of the aisle or who was in the whi house. i have to tell you, when you question t commitment of our native american affairs, you clearly haven't looked at the record. because of this chairman, indian health expense is up9% in three years. each year for the last three years, we have raised above what the administration quested in native american community. i want to give my friend, mr. moran, my friend, betty mccollum, a lot of truth -- excuse me -- a lot of credit for those achievements. i want to give our predecessor, norm dicks, who operated in the same way, a lot of credit for

that. this is a good faith effort to do exactly what my friends suggest, make sure that critical programs in indian program are funded right now. i'll continue to work in a bipartisan manner with my friends on these kinds of -- and other issues, but to suggest that they're being used as a pawn, no, for the first time they're just not being forgotten about, because that what tends to happen around here. that's happened with democrats and republicans. so with that, i would urge the adopti and support. i want to thank my fend r being the leader in this house on funding native american programs. has done more than anybody in this country to improve the quality and the level of federal services on that. so he ought to be given the credit that he respects. i want to thank my friend, mr. moran, working with him every step of the way to accomplish those things. i saw them do it when their roles were reversed and he was chair and he was ranking member. not an effort to divide. it's an effort, actually, to put something out that has united us in a bipartisan sense and to make sure that the first americans aren't the last

americans that anybody around here thinks about. with that i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from idaho reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. moran: mr. speaker, this releases .15% of the federal government, leaving more than 9% of the federal government -- 99% of the federal government still closed. so at this point i'd like to yield for the purposes of a unanimous consent request to our very distinguished minority whip, mr. hoyer from maryland. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the house bring up the senate amendment to h. resolution 59, to open the government and go to conference on a budget so that we end this epublican government shutdown. the speaker pro tempore: under guidelines consistently issued by successive speakers as recorded in section 956 of the house rules and manual, the chair is constrained not to

entertain the request unless it has been cleared by the bipartisan floor and committee leadership. the gentleman from virginia. mr. mon: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield for the purposes of a unanimous consent request o ms. velazquez from new york. ms. velazquez: i thank the gentleman for yielding. ask that the house bring up the resolution to open the government so we can end the republican government shutdown. the speaker pro tempore: the request cannot be entertained absent appropriate clearance. the gentleman from virginia. mr. moran: mr. speaker, i yield for the purpose of a unanimous consent request to mr. green from texas. mr. green: thank you. mr. speaker, i, too, ask unanimous consent that the house bring up the senate amendment to h.j.res. 59, to open the government and to go to conference on a budget so that we can end the republican government shutdown. the speaker pro tempore: as the chai previously advised, that

reest cannot be entertained absent appropria clearance. the gentleman from virginia. mr. moran: mr. speaker, i yield for the purpose of unanimous consent request the gentlelady from california, ms. hahn. ms. hahn: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the house bring up the senate amendment to h.j. resolution 59, to open this government and go to conference on a budget so that we can end this republican government shutdown that is hurting so many american people. the speaker pro tempore: as the chair previously advised, that request cannot be entertain absent appropriate clearance. the gentleman fromirginia. mr. moran: mr. speaker, i yield for the purpose of a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from rhode island, mr. cicilline. mr. cicilline: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the house bring up the senate amendment to house joint resolution 59, to open the government and go to conference on a budget so we can end this republican shutdown now and get the american people back to work. the speaker pro tempore: as the chair previously advised, that request cannot be entertained absent appropriate clearance. the gentleman from virginia. mr. moran: mr. speaker, at this

time i yield for the purpose of a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from new york, mr. maloney. mr. maloney: mr. speaker, in order to end this republican shutdown today to get the people's government working, i ask you bring up the senate amendment to h.j.res. 59 and open the government without further delay. the speaker pro tempore: as the chair previously advised, that request cannot be entertained without appropriate clearance. mr. moran: i ask unanimous consent to yield to the gentleman from texas, mr. hinojosa. mr. hinojosa: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the house bring up the senate amendment to the house joint resolution 59, to open the government and go to conference on a budget so that we end this republican government shutdown. the speaker pro tempore: as the chair previously advised, that request cannot be entertained absent appropriate clearance. the gentleman from virginia. mr. moran: i now yield for the purpose of a