calvin coolidge was much -- and that created a a problem. calvin coolidge didn't follow through. instead it are both senators and u.s. senate formed an opposition group and they were the people who wanted government control and set a private control. and what turned out to be a series of more than a dozen dams on the river and eventually ford's image turned into more than ae dozen. it was an enormous project. david wanted to be owned by henry ford so they formed an opposition group by one of my favorite people. everybody should know the name of george norris and old senator from a nowhere state in nebraska and no offense to the people and the press -- the fresca but he is a heroic figure easy maverick never let anyone tell him what to think called lies and falsehoods where he saw them. didn't matter which political party you were in and it didn't matter how powerful you were. if he thought you were lying he would tell you and he led the opposition to ford. however if he hadn't been there and his friends if they hadn't been there there's a chance for it would have gotten what he w

yes, the coolidge white house was really hopping.rters from mississippi decided to send the coolidges a thanksgiving dinner, and what he sent them was a live raccoon. >> reporter: andrew, have you ever tried raccoon? >> i have not tried raccoon. >> reporter: i have. tastes like chicken. but for the coolidges, that idea was off the table. >> they decided, "well, we're going to keep her, instead." >> reporter: so coolidge gave her a name, rebecca, and then he gave her some bling. so, rebecca had jewelry? >> yes, she had a handmade collar, actually, and it said "white house raccoon" on it. >> reporter: now, the press was pretty rough on rebecca. the "cleveland plain dealer" called her the most obstreperous of all coolidge's pets. >> that-- that is tough, to be called "obstreperous." >> reporter: tougher still were the tabloid rumors. what do we know about rebecca's love life? >> well, she-- they-- they got her a male raccoon named reuben, but rebecca and reuben did not get along at all. >> reporter: rebecca coolidge finally left the whi

agreed not to run for president that meant coolidge could run and in exchange coolidge would push forntrol of this project. that was the deal that was struck. it was a secret deal and controversial. there is evidence that it happened. but george morris got a hold of the scandal and found out about the secret meeting and blasted it all over the media. once it became a public scandal, coolidge backed off. henry ford by then already said he would run for president. so ford took himself out of running for president prematurely and he never got the project but he also never got to be president. if he was president my idea he would be up president unlike any we had ever had. he would have been an autocrat. he would've been unable to deal effectively with groups like congress or the press. he just want his own way it would have been a very interesting four years. but it didn't happen. in fairness ford didn't really want to be president. he knew he was lucky to have the job he had as the world's richest one-man band this enormous profitable company and could do what he wanted and tell anybody

calvin coolidge was much -- and that created a problem. calvin coolidge didn't follow through and give ford his support. instead a group of senators in the u.s. senate appointed an opposition group and they were people who wanted government control to the private control in what turned out to be a series of of more than a dozen dams on the river. it turned into more than a dozen enormous projects. many senators wanted that to be owned by the people of united states and they didn't want to be owned by henry ford so they formed an opposition headed by a fabulous guy one of my favorite people. everybody should know the name of george morris. the senator from a nowhere state but he is a heroic figure. he's a maverick and never let anyone tell them what to think. stop the lies and falsehoodshe when he saw them it didn't matter how n powerful you were f he thought you were lying he would tell you it was actually george norris -- however that one man george norris and his friend. there's a good chance he would have gotten what he wanted even with

once it became a public scandal, calvin coolidge already backed off.been president, my view is he would have been a president unlike any president we've ever had. he would have been an autocrat he could do what he wanted and tell anybody what he wanted h to tell. he was a genius and it sounds like it contradicts what you just said. i wouldn't be able to work with the press if he was president. and as a private citizen, as an industrialist, he maintained a very large public relations in the ford motor company. he was a genius at publicity. everybody that was interested in what henry ford was doing. he was an enemy of wall street and bankers which most were at the time.. he knew how to work with the press at that level. he didn't know how to work with the press as a public service. he had never been a public servant and that is a different rule you could argue the point but in any case it is the basic difference between politics and businesses. the newspaper reporters and why are reporters at the time always gave henry ford a break. what henry ford wore

i present the evidence in the book henry ford and calvin coolidge the president of the united states the world's richest man got together in the white house and has to deal ford agreed not to run for president. that meant coolidge could run and in exchange calvin college would push for ford's control of this project. that is the deal that was struck a secret deal controversial evidence that was happening but what happened was george norris got a hold of the scandal found out about the secret meeting and blasted all over the media. once it became a public scandal, coolidge backed off ford by then said he wouldn't run for president so ford took himself out of the running prematurely he never got the project but also did not get to be president he would then have president unlike any we have ever had an autocrat and unable to deal effectively with groups like congress or the press and just would've wanted his own way would benefit very interesting four years but it didn't happen for didn't really want to be president he knew he was lucky to have the job that he had as the world's riches

and it just must have been a dream. >> jennifer coolidge is a national treasure and i'm so glad that that fully when we see her brilliant work in this show and i'm obsessed with her, and i was recently down in new orleans. and she has a house in new orleans and she invited me over and i was like, "there's no way i'm missing going to jennifer coolidge's house in new orleans. and it was -- i was, sort of, doing other things all day and she texted me and she goes, "you have to -- no matter what, even if it's late, you have to come because i feel like the spirits are really strong tonight. and i was like, "you are right, jennifer coolidge, of course i have to come if the spirits are really strong at your house. so i went to her house, and she has the most unbelievably gorgeous house in new orleans. i mean, it feels like it's like a full city block. and so i get there and i'm waiting at the gate and i text her and i'm like, "i'm here. and i think a full five minutes passed and then she finally texted me back like, "oh, great. and then another five minutes passed when she finally came out

. >> can you talk about the coolidge tax cuts? was that effective? did kennedy -- was that a precedent he used? second is, are you aware of any situations, in the u.s. or foreign countries in which you felt tax cuts were not effective in spurring growth? is there any contrary precedent? >> about the coolidge tax cuts, the 1920s, yeah, tax rates -- income tax rates went up. by 1920, james grant has written about this in his great book "the forgotten depression," by 1920, there was an investment strike in this country. there was no investment that could be measured in housing, in railroad, track and station maintenance, among many other categories. municipal bonds were selling because they were exempt from taxation. there was a portfolio shift into the public purse. harding and coolidge, under the treasury secretary, who was reading the memos of his three democratic predecessors, wilson's treasury secretaries said, we created a monster. you have to cut tax rates. this is when the democrats were beholden to their tradition at tax rate cutters. there was

>> about the coolidge tax cuts, tax cuts in the 19 twenties. yeah, income tax rates went up 11 fold during world war i, from the top rate of 77%. and by 1920, and james -- has written about this in his great book, the forgotten depression. by 1920, there essentially was an investment strike in this country. there was no investment that could be measured in housing. in railroad track and station maintenance, among any other categories. while municipal bonds were selling like crazy, because they were exempt from taxation, and so there was this big portfolio shift with the nation's capital. out of the economy and into, you know, the public purse. and so harding and coolidge, under the guidance of andrew melon, the treasury secretary, who was reading the memo memos of his three predecessors, all of wilson secretary said, we created a monster. and this is back when the democrats were beholden to their tradition as tariff cutters. and then there were a series of cuts dropping the income tax. and then kennedy and dylan referred to that and the canes e

the most popular president during the 19 twenties, calvin coolidge, took office when warren harding died of a heart attack. he famously said in the mid 19 twenties, the business of america's business. it was a prosperous time for a lot of americans. there are certainly not all. prices were fairly high, wages were stable or going up. farmers were not doing as well as they had done during world war i. but nevertheless, in many places of the country, they were not doing so badly. now there was one piece of legislation passed in 1924, one of actually a number of pieces on immigration, which gave the sense both of the power of what you might call the old stop americans. americans from mostly western european backgrounds. white in every case. but also gave a sense i think of the vulnerability that those people felt. because so many catholics and eastern orthodox and jewish people had moved into the united states, beginning in the 18 eighties and 18 nineties. so many african americans had moved to the north and big cities and big cities in the south as well during the war. this bill was passed

stop the bill from being passed and certainly not enough political clout to stop president calvin coolidge from signing it. as i said, this law was a sign of a certain fear and weakness i think knowledge the white anglo-saxon majority as well. and the weakness can be glimpsed in what was going on in american culture in the 1920s. which is the main topic of the lecture today. the '20s saw a number you have fierce conflicts between supporters of an older white, mostly protestant and very deeply religious and mostly rural order. the majority, but a majority that was felt itself in peril. and the other side, those both immigrant and native born who had a more tolerant or at least a looser sense of personal morality and who lived mostly in modern cosmopolitan cities with a mix of church goers and secularists. you can see echos of the split in our own time in arguments between those who support gay marriage and those who oppose it to arguments over those who think sex education in schools is great and those who don't think it is at all. those who think that the teaching of evolution in science c

but that's exactly what coolidge meant. he meant the business of america is business. he didn't mean the business of america is taking care of consumers. the business of america is making sure that people have adequate income and wages. he meant the business of america is the business. the 1920s, the department of commerce flourishes in helping american businesses find markets at home and abroad and helping them become more efficient and helping them adapt scientific management become more productive. the business of america was business. and so it didn't concern -- government didn't concern itself with purchasing power. and americans, as i said, didn't engage in collective action. there were hardly any strikes. there weren't any protests, and there weren't any communal efforts to make up for this difference between wages and wants. so we just sort of muddled along through the 1920s. we muddled along. now, the dormancy of pocketbook politics in the '20s was due in part to the slow rate of inflation. right? you have a slow rate of inflation, so people can't complain abo

. ♪ in the white house the other day, work the job and coolidge says ♪ ♪ and patrick henry made a famous ask you for security. if i had security, i wouldn't be there in the first place. my hands are my security. >> as we come marching, marching, we battle too for men, for they are women's children and we mother them again. our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes. hearts starve as well as bodies. give us bread, but give us roses. >> the amalgamated pioneering slum clearance, putting up the first cooperative low rent houses, a bank where the working man can get a loan with the security of his labor, setting up the only insurance program in the nation, and that was also the '20s. >> boys, the sky is the limit. >> at&t 253 and u.s. steel, 253. >> u.s. steel 313. >> what is wrong with the market? >> u.s. steele 300, 152, u.s. steele 60. ♪ who cares if the sky appears to fall in the sea, who cares what banks fail in yonkers as long as you got a kiss that conquers ♪♪ >> president hoover assured the reporters that the economy is on a sound and prosperous basis. he assured the

carter is 96, born when coolidge was president. he is our longest lived former president.een married for 74 years. it is for a good reason that a number of us were interviewed for the documentary airing tomorrow night, called in their own words, and the subject is jimmy carter. so here now, a sample. >> when you have lost the next morning, as we all were down, he said, get your chains off the ground, lift them up, we're going to have the brat best transition out of any president. he used every second he was president to do something constructive, up to the last minute. >> my grandfather used the power of the presidency to do good. >> we wouldn't be having this conversation if he wasn't a good president. >> when he left the white house he would often talk about what he was going to do next. >> he and miss rosalynn were smart enough to see that they had 30 years of their life left. how are we going to do something even more important than the president of the united states? >> number one priority is to build housing. >> through the work that he has done with habitat for huma

lo and behold you mentioned the example of all people calvin coolidge.erences per time in office than any other president. he had almost two a week. but they were questions which the reporters had to commit on note cards and he would feel free if the issue was an issue that could not-- he couldn't go into because there were sensitive negotiations, he he would not answer the note cards and most he would answer and one way that he could give information that the press wanted to hear at the same time be shielded from having to answer touchy questions, which i can understand that presidents face. neil: you know, it's just odd to me that it's become such a big production. i don't think that with all respect to you, professor, that the note card would work in this electronic media world today. it might so i'm not to hear it. >> and what about short answers, if john kennedy would answer i don't know, or yes, no. maybe because he's had so many lawyers as presidents, they're carefully parsing the language and barack obama of course, a lawyer, had mile long answer

>> stephen: jennifer coolidge is a national treasure.at there's nothing we can personally do to stop climate change? >> no, that's a bunch of baloney! there's so much you can do-- little things, like recycling, unplugging unused appliances, becoming the c.e.o. of a multinational energy conglomerate. every little bit helps! >> stephen: wait, i'm sorry, what was that, again? >> oh, i just mean, like, when you're not using it, you should unplug your toaster oven. >> stephen: no, no, i get that. do i really have to become the c.e.o. of an energy company to help? couldn't i just, i don't know, carry a reusable water bottle? >> of course. you should absolutely use a reusable water bottle while you're in business school, getting an m.b.a., so you can slowly claw your way up the corporate ladder to dismantle the suicidal world-destroying system of greed from the inside. ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: are you-- let me get this straight, are you saying-- are you saying that individual actions are useless because these corporations are the rea

what you got [ beeping [ laughter ] >> jimmy: wait i'm loving this already. [ applause ] jennifer coolidgeet into the mode. hold on. >> jimmy: yeah, let her get into character here we go >> yeah, yeah. she's taking over my body. all right, here we go. now i like dollars i like diamonds. i like struttin' i like shining i like million dollar deals. where's my pen i'm shining. i like those balenciagas the ones that look like sharks i like going to the jeweler. i put rocks on all my watch. yeah baby. god, i like it like that [ cheers and applause >> jimmy: that is -- >> jimmy: here we go here we go [ beeping okay [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause >> yeah. ♪ ♪ call me when you want call me when you need ♪ ♪ call me in the mornin i'll be on my way ♪ ♪ call me when you want call me when you need ♪ ♪ call me on friday and i'll be on the way yeah ♪ [ cheers and applause >> i love that >> jimmy: all right. alessia! >> that was so good. >> jimmy: last one, you're the best whenever you're ready. >> all right [ beeping last -- oh, my god i just toppled the table over. okay >> jimmy: wait "it's raining

they wrote a book on coolidge you did amazingly and not many people realize it but reagan did that's what he was successful. that's when he had with my grandfather called stick to its of this, setbacks which are inevitable and they all lead to his triumph even when he had the setbacks. he believed in the uniqueness of this country. and sadly we have an establishment today, unfortunately cultural politics and elsewhere have the exact opposite view that this country is a disgrace to humanity and that is what we are fighting is the battle for the soul of america let's not forget it. >> steve moore? >> you mentioned tonight on the tv show i worked in the late 1987 with management and budget under jim miller, remember jim miller? i never really thought a lot of it. i spent seven or eight months we tried to privatize amtrak wouldn't that be a great thing give me $50 billion for amtrak? [laughter] that's a difficult example thing reagan wanted to do, right? what better transportation we would have today if we privatize amtrak i'm very proud of that that i worked for reagan. then i tell make

this was the coolidge administration and it grew out of the commerce department when herbert hoover headed the commerce department. it grew out of a meeting between a prominent african-american entrepreneur by the name of clive barnett who had a meeting with hoover contending it would be in the commerce department's best interest to develop a special program, a special programming aimed at african-american entrepreneurship. barnett's motivation for this was essentially during the 1920's, historians refer to it as a golden age of african-american business at pivoting in the united states. barnett made the point that the commerce department could help stimulate this by forming a special agency to deal with issues or promote african-american entrepreneurship. interestingly enough, when we talk about interest and the division of negro affairs, it was founded during a republican administration, continued through hoover, and was continued in the fdr administration and continued through truman. this division literally had bipartisan support. but again, when eisenhower came in, the division was di