[MUSIC - "HAIL TO THE CHIEF"]

NARRATOR: Calvin Coolidge's nickname was Silent Cal, which wasn't exactly right. Coolidge, former Republican governor of Massachusetts, wasn't a motor mouth. But he held more press conferences than any president before him. He made a personal connection to Americans with regular radio addresses. And he had one of the more famous presidential quotes, "The chief business of the American people is business."

Business was booming when Cal entered the White House in 1923. As vice president, he succeeded the late President Harding. He was president during the roaring '20s, and Coolidge thought government should stay out of the way of a growing economy. More than that, he thought commerce was virtuous. He cut taxes on the wealthy and eased federal regulation of companies. He even vetoed bills to give direct government relief to struggling farmers because he didn't want government interfering with agriculture markets.

There was a downside to prosperity. The huge increase of wealth led to questionable investing by citizens, and the decrease in regulation meant government wasn't policing the financial sector very closely. The stock market collapsed not long after Coolidge left office. But, in his day, the witty and calming Coolidge was hugely popular, and his style of governing is considered the predecessor of modern-day conservatism.

[MUSIC - "HAIL TO THE CHIEF"]