BIOGRAPHY HOMESPUN INAUGURAL TOUR PLYMOUTH NOTCH VERMONT'S BRIGADOON

Homespun Inaugural

At 2:47 AM on August 3, 1923, a small solemn group gathered in the Coolidge family homestead in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. The unexpected death of President Warren G. Harding a few hours earlier had set in motion an event unique in American history. In the soft glow of a kerosene lamp, notary public Colonel John Coolidge administered the presidential oath of office to his son, Calvin. Never before (or since) had a father sworn in his son as president. Plymouth Notch, with its population of twenty-nine inhabitants, was immediately thrown into the world's limelight.

		'The Swearing in of Calvin Coolidge by his Father' Artist: Arthur I. Keller. Oil on canvas, c. 1923 The President later wrote: "The picture of this scene has been painted with historical accuracy by an artist named Keller, who went to Plymouth for that purpose. Although the likenesses are not good, everything in relation to the painting is correct."

The Press quickly focused on the new president's modest background and made comparisons to his famous Republican predecessor, Abraham Lincoln. Most Americans thought Coolidge's boyhood home was quaint, and thousands of curious visitors soon descended upon "The Notch." The savvy Vermonters were aware of this special appeal and kept the village exactly as it was. They meticulously maintained the buildings, as well as household furnishings. Plymouth reveled in its traditions -- exemplified by such novelties as the "Plymouth Old-Time Dance Orchestra" and brisk sales of copies of the "inaugural lamp."

The story of the "Homestead Inaugural" has been told numerous times, but Coolidge's own version, recorded in his autobiography, may be the most accurate. In typical understatement he wrote: "It seemed a simple and natural thing to do at the time, but I can now realize something of the dramatic force of the event." His words still ring true. The homespun ceremony and, indeed, the entire village were in stark contrast to what was happening in the rest of America.

"The Roaring Twenties"

Calvin Coolidge's Homestead Inaugural was set during one of the most prosperous periods in U.S. history -- a time we now call "The Roaring Twenties." This decade saw the longest housing boom on record, and the stock market reached staggering heights.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Gershwin, Charles Lindbergh, and the Charleston were all the rage. Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Gene Tunney thrilled the nation with their athletic prowess. Rudolph Valentino, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplin starred on the silver screen. The 18th or "Prohibition" Amendment, instituted in 1920 to enforce alcoholic temperance, instead fostered bootlegging, speakeasies, and mob violence.

Flappers bobbed their hair and raised hemlines; their male counterparts sported raccoon coats, strummed ukuleles, and drank from hip flasks. It was, in short, the decade that columnist Westbrook Pegler called "the era of wonderful nonsense."