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Contributions in Black Studies A Journal of African and Afro-American Studies Volume 8 Article 7 1986 Calvin Coolidge's Afro-American Connection Maceo Crenshaw Dailey Jr. Boston College Follow this and additional works at:https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cibs Recommended Citation Dailey, Maceo Crenshaw Jr. (1986) "Calvin Coolidge's Afro-American Connection,"Contributions in Black Studies: Vol. 8 , Article 7. Available at:https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cibs/vol8/iss1/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Afro-American Studies at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Contributions in Black Studies by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dailey: Calvin Coolidge's Afro-American Connection Maceo Crenshaw Dailey, Jr. CALVIN COOLIDGE'S AFRO AMERICAN CONNECTION I NTHEWAKEofPresidentWarrenG.Harding'sdeathandtheentryofCalvin CoolidgeintheWhiteHouseaschiefexecutiveinAugust,1923,blacks,like the bulk ofordinary white Americans, were uncertain ofwhat to expect. Nonetheless, thoseclosetothepriorpresidentialadministration, whetherblack orwhite,hadclearreasontobelievethatCoolidgewaspreeminentlyqualifiedto carry on in the fashion of his predecessor. They anticipated his continued implementationofRepublicanpoliciesinaccordwithpoliticalpromiseswhich hadledtotheparty'soverwhelmingelectoralvictoryin1920. Indeed,Harding's breaking of tradition to allow his Vice President Coolidge to sit with the presidential cabinetensuredthat the new chiefexecutive understood and was preparedadministrativelytodealwithtariffissues,tax-reformlegislation,meas uresforthereductionofthepublicdebt, andthehostofotherpoliticalpromises Republicans madein 1920. In 1924Coolidge,however, hadtowinnomination and election to the office in his own right in order to continue the quest for legislationconsonantwiththeRepublicanpartypoliticalmandatereceivedfour years earlier. Inonesense,Coolidge'sascendancytotheexecutiveofficeandhisunfold ing, staunchcampaignforelectiontothatpostin 1924werereminiscentofthe politicalactivities ofTheodoreRooseveltin 1901. Roosevelthadaggressively demonstratedthatanindividualinthegenerallyregarded"deadend"politicaljob ofvicepresidentcouldinheritthechiefexecutivepost,wrestcontroloftheparty fromitsrecognizedleadersifneedbe, andmakeagallantandsuccessfulbidto becomepresident. Rooseveltbecamethefirstvicepresidenttoengineersucha feat, andmanagedto dosoon theformation ofastrong politicalcoalitionthat involved both blacks and whites. Coolidge's task was not unlike that of Roosevelt,thoughhewouldhavetoduplicatesuchafeatinlessthanhalfthetime Roosevelt had had at his disposal. Coolidge's assignment, however, was somewhatless difficultowing to his almost total agreementon economic and politicalprincipleswithhispredecessor,Harding. Thiswaspartoftheattraction ofRepublicans to Coolidge. Ifthe Presidenthad any majorproblem atall, it centeredonpossiblepoliticalcomplicationsarisingoutofthealarminginnuen doesconcerningthecorruptionandscandaloftheHardingadministration. Such Published by ScChOoNlaTrWRlBolr.kJfsI@OUNMSIaNss BALmAhCeKrstS, T1U98D6IES, 8(1986-1987), 77-100 1 Contributions in Black Studies, Vol. 8 [1986], Art. 7 78 Maceo CrenshawDailey,Jr. rumors hadthepotentialofunderminingCoolidge's credibility andbidfor the presidencyin 1924 by associating himtoo much with theHarding administra tion.' Coolidge moved expeditiously and adroitly toward grappling with this problem and achieving his overall goal ofelection to the presidency. In the processheshrewdlysoughtpoliticalsupportfrombothblacks andwhitesinthe SouthwhereRepublicanpopularitywouldalmostassuredlybringaboutnational success for the party in 1924. In bidding for the political backing of white southerners,CoolidgeappointedC.BascomSlemp, formercongressmanfrom Virginiato thepostas WhiteHousesecretary in 1923, and also made another southerner,ClarenceSherill,hisnewmilitaryaideandsuperintendentofbuild ings andgrounds in theDistrictofColumbia. In the questfor thepresidential nominationin1924,herealizedtheirvalueintheefforttoobtainadditionalwhite southernsupportasquicklyaspossible. Slemp,inparticular,didproveextremely useful to Coolidge in his bid for the nomination when the white southerner explained to a congressional committee the nature and extent ofthe Harding administration scandal. He was able to convince the Republican national conventiontoforego anearlierrulingthatwouldhavereducedsignificantlythe numberofdelegatesfromGeorgia,Mississippi,andSouthCarolina,stateswhere theincumbentpresidentanticipatedmajorsupport. Slempalsoimpressedupon other white southernRepublicans the importanceofbacking Coolidge for the presidentialnomination. InbringingSlempintotheWhiteHouse,Coolidge,in particular,hadsucceededinincreasinghisstatureamongSouthernwhites. The President next turned to the Afro-American community, equally zealous in courting an importantpoliticalfriendship.2 InseekingthesupportofAfro-Americans,Coolidgeunderstoodthepolitical implicationofthedemographicshiftofsome400,000to 1,000,000blacksfrom theSouthin theyears between 1910and 1920(somethingmostwhiteRepubli cans seemedtobeobliviousorunwillingtograspfully), andtherefore appreci ated the potential ofthe black vote in key states. In Coolidge's papers is a memorandumof9August1924noting thenumberofAfro-Americanvotersin "importantstates"intheWestandNorth. AttractingtheseAfro-Americanvoters For cogent discussions of this question, see John Blum, The RepublicanRoosevelt I (Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress, 1954);SethScheiner, "TheodoreRooseveltand theNegro, 1901-1908,"JournalofNegroHistory, 47(November, 1962): 169;LouisR. Harlan,BookerT.Washington,TheWizardofTuskegee,1901-1915(NewYork:Oxford University Press, 1983),3-32;DonaldMcCoy, Calvin Coolidge: The QuietPresident (NewYork: MacMillanCompany, 1967),217,241. 2 Edward C. Lathem, Your Son, Calvin Coolidge (Montepelier: Vermont Historical Society,1968),34-40;McCoy,CalvinCoolidge,1-30,217,241;ClaudeM.Feuss,Calvin Coolidge:TheManFromVermont(Boston:Little,Brown, andCompany, 1940), 1-70. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cibs/vol8/iss1/7 2 Dailey: Calvin Coolidge's Afro-American Connection CalvinCoolidge 79 was thechallengeforCoolidge,fortheyhadnoespecialreasontosupporthim. While the appointments of Slemp and Sherrill counted as excellent political strategy for gaining white southern support, they weredecisions anathema to many blacks who viewed the two men as little more than segregationists and membersofthe"LilyWhite"faction. ThatfactionhademergedintheSouthin the 1890s on the basis ofapoliticalprogramexcluding Afro-Americans from participating andexercising influence inRepublican partyconventions on the local,state, andnationallevels. Theappointments werenotencouragingsigns toAfro-Americans, thensizingup aCoolidgewhoindeedhadbeenalmosttoo quietasVicePresidentandwasstilllargelyunknowntoblacks. Uponbecoming presidentin1923abouttheonlyvirtuehehadtocommendhimtoblackswasthe factthathecamefromNewEngland, aregionAfro-Americans associatedwith theAbolitionistmovementoftheantebellumeraandwithmoreliberalattitudes onmattersaffectingracerelationsandcitizenshiprightsforblacksatthetumof thetwentiethcentury. YetNewEnglandhadinstilledinhimnoneofthisstrong commitmentordetermination to improving racerelationsinthecountry.3 Therewerereasons,however,forCoolidge'slackofinterestincriticalracial issuesofhisday. InVermontwherehewasbornon4July1872,Coolidge,ifthe writtenrecordiscorrect,hadnofamiliarity withAfro-Americansorthehostof problemstheyfaced. Hisfirstexposuretoblackscameinalimitedmannerinthe early1890swhenheenteredAmherstCollege. ProminentonAmherst'scampus inthatperiodwastheaccomplishedAfro-Americanstudentathlete,WilliamH. Lewis, who after graduating from that college obtained a law degree from Harvard University and subsequently became a follower of the unusually powerfulblackleaderandprincipalofTuskegeeInstitute,BookerT.Washing ton. Lewis' athletic exploits while he was in college caught the attention of CoolidgeduringhisschooldaysatAmherst. InOctober,1892,theyoungCalvin, who attended major athletic contests involving college rivalries, wrote to his fatherthattheHarvardfootballteamhadtrouncedsoundlyitsAmherstopponents byascoreof26to0andthata"negrobythenameofLewis"playing"centrerush" ledtheCambridgeeleventovictory. ThiswasperhapstheonlyinterestCoolidge expressedinan Afro-American, atleastwhilehe was astudentatAmherst.' InCoolidge'ssubsequentcareeras an attorneyinNorthampton, legislator, 3"MemorandumonImportantStates,"August9,1924,reel63,CalvinCoolidgePapers, MicrofilmEdition, Forbes Library, Northampton, Massachusetts;SamMarvello, "The MigrationofBlackstotheNorth,1911-1918"JournalofBlackStudies, 15(March,1985), 292;DanielM.Johnson and Rex R. Campbell,BlackMigrationin America: ASocial DemographicHistory(Durham: DukeUniversityPress,1981),68-79. • Lathem, Your Son, Calvin Coolidge, 34-40; McCoy, Calvin Coolidge, 1-30; Feuss, CalvinCoolidge:TheManFromVermont, 1-70. Published by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst, 1986 3 Contributions in Black Studies, Vol. 8 [1986], Art. 7 80 Maceo CrenshawDailey.Jr. andgovernorinMassachusetts from 1900to 1920, andearlyyears as the Vice PresidentoftheUnitedStates,hefocusedinanominalandlimitedwayonissues ofconcern to Afro-Americans. The sumtotal ofhis early political efforts on behalfofthe blackcommunitymay havebeenaceremonialsaluteas governor in1919welcominghomeMassachusettsblacksoldierswhofoughtinWorldWar Iandhisdiscussionon27April1920withthenBostonattorneyWilliamH.Lewis regarding thepossibilityofforming amachinegunbattalionofAfro-American troopsinMassachusetts. ThislatterrecommendationCoolidgetransmittedtothe SecretaryofWarNewtonD. Baker. Coolidge'slater years as VicePresident, however, did acquaint him with some Afro-American leaders on the national level. He responded positively to a request in 1922 from Emmett Jay Scott, formerly secretary to Booker T. Washington, to recommend a black, Butler Wilson,forastatepatronagejobinMassachusetts. Coolidgehonoredthisappeal owinglargelytothepoliticalsupporthereceivedfromButlerasaMassachusetts delegate to theRepublicanpartypresidentialnominatingconventionof1920.5 Lateras VicePresident,Coolidgehadachancetoseean importantsideof black life in the South when he traveled to Tuskegee, Alabama in 1923 to participateinthededicationceremonyfortheopeningoftheVeteransHospital. TherehemetRobertRussaMoton,formerlycommandantofcadetsatHampton Institute, who succeeded Booker T. Washington as principal of Tuskegee Institutein1916. CoolidgecametoliketheAfro-Americanleaderaswellasthe brandofeducationaltrainingheespousedatTuskegeeInstitute:tradesandcrafts or the newest techniques in farming, all primarily in the endeavor to prepare blacks forjobsorlandownership. WhileintheAlabamatown, Coolidge, in a promptshowofsupportforMoton,volunteeredtocontributetoeffortstoincrease the endowment funds ofTuskegee Institute and its sister school, Hampton in Virginia. His appreciationofMotonand thedifficulties the blackleaderfaced intheSouthalsoledtoasignificantshowofsupportfromtheWhiteHousewhen thestruggleovercontroloftheVeteransHospitalprecipitatedracial tensionin Tuskegeeshortlyafterthemedicalfacilities wereopened.- EmmettJayScotttoWilliamH.Lewis,27April1920,cant.18;LewistoScott,30April 5 1920, cant. 28; Scott to Channing Cox, 25 January 1923, cant. 24; Republican Party CampaignBroadside,c.1920,cant.28,EmmettJayScottPapers,SoperLibrary,Morgan StateUniversity,Baltimore,Maryland. _Robert R. Moton to Calvin Coolidge, 17 December 1924, reel 64; Calvin Coolidge Statement, 3October 1924, reel 64, Coolidge Papers, Microfilm Eition; Coolidge to Moton,9August1923,cant.86,RobertRussaMotonPapers,HollisB.FrissellLibrary, Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama; PeteDaniel, "BlackPowerin the 1920s:The CaseofTuskegeeVeteransHospital,"JourlUllofSouthernHistory, 36(August, 1970) 368-88;Harlan.BookerT. Washington:TheWizardofTuskegee,5-31. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cibs/vol8/iss1/7 4 Dailey: Calvin Coolidge's Afro-American Connection ~ :? 5· ~ ~ ~ Reviewing the Tuskegee R.O.T.e., 1923: fifth from right, Governor W.W. Brandon of Alabama; fourth, Vice President Calvin Coolidge; third, Dr. Robert R. Moton, Principal, Tuskegee Institute. Photo courtesy of Dan 0....0.. T. Williams, Archivist, Tuskegee University. Published by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst, 1986 5 Contributions in Black Studies, Vol. 8 [1986], Art. 7 82 Maceo CrenshawDailey.Jr. Tuskegeewhiteoppositionin1923toAfro-Americanemploymentinupper echelonjobsintheVeteransHospitalledtoaKuKluxKlanmarchonthegrounds of the facilities to intimidate blacks then working there. In its sortie on the hospital,however,thewhitesupremacistgroupavoidedmarchingdirectlyonthe campus ofnearbyTuskegeeInstitutewhere manyAfro-Americanfarmers and schoolalumnihadstationedthemselves toprotectMoton, thestudents, andthe institutionidentifiedwiththevenerableBookerT. Washington. Inthemidstof this tension-filled environmentMoton, who was confronted with the difficult diplomatic taskofmaintainingpeace as well as obtainingjobsforblacks in the hospital,receivedextraordinarysupportfromtheWhiteHouseinaccomplishing his two objectives.1 By 1923Coolidge,itseems,hadcometosympathizewith blacks on some problems regarding their plight in the American society, but perhaps more significantwas thefact thatin this stageofhis politicalcareer, he hadcometo understand these issues through contact with Tuskegee individuals such as Moton,Scott, andLewis. LiketheirformerleaderBookerT.Washington, they wereindividualswhosoughttoprofitbytiestopowerfulpoliticiansandphilan thropists in theNorth andSouth. Consequently, they turned to Coolidge with similar thoughts when he became president in 1923. Coolidge's ties to these individuals, coupled with his willingness to meet with other distinguished reform-minded blacks, augured well for the President during his formative months inoffice and led to aperiodofgoodwill between him and the overall Afro-Americancommunity" CoolidgewelcomedofficialsoftheNegroNationalEducationalCongressto theWhiteHouseinSeptember,1923andlistenedattentivelytotheirexpressions ofalarmabouttheproblemsofsegregationanddiscriminationwithinthefederal government. InOctoberthePresidentgrantedaninterviewtoanAfro-American groupbroughttoWashingtonbyWilliamMonroeTrotter,thefieryblackeditor oftheBoston Guardian. Trotterhad gained much attention at the tum ofthe twentiethcenturyasamajorcriticofBookerT.Washington'spublicprogramof placingeconomicdevelopmentandtradeschooleducationaheadofthestruggle forAfro-Americanvotingrights andcrusadeagainstsegregationistcodesinthe country. (Trotter, who seldom minced words, had been so outspoken on a 1 Daniel,"BlackPowerintheI920s,"368-88;Harlan,BookerT.Washington:TheWizard ofTuskegee, 5-31. • InthepersonalpapersofCoolidgeandhisstandardbiographiesbyMcCoyandFeuss, thereisnoevidencetosuggestthathiscontactwithblacksduringhisearlydaysandvice presidencywentbeyondinteractionwiththeTuskegee-orientedmen. Forinformationon this topic see the microfilmedition ofthe Coolidge papers as wellas the collectionof personalcorrespondencelocatedinForbesLibraryin Northampton, Massachusetts. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cibs/vol8/iss1/7 6 Dailey: Calvin Coolidge's Afro-American Connection Calvin Coolidge 83 previous trip to the White House almost adecade earlier that then President, Woodrow Wilson, peremptorily terminated the meeting. This made it all the moreremarkablethatanotherPresident,Coolidge,wouldagreetoseetheBoston editor.) InthatmeetingTrotterurgedthePresidenttocontinuetoassistMoton inhiseffortstoensureblacksacentralroleinpoliciespertainingtotheVeterans Hospital. TrotteralsoencouragedCoolidgetogivestrongpresidentialbacking toananti-lynchingbillexpectedtocomebeforeCongressin1924,andtakesteps toincreasetheenrollmentofblacksinWestPointandtheNavalAcademy. After theTrottermeeting,thePresidentmetanotherblackdelegationledtotheWhite House in that same month by the prominent Afro-American attorney from Richmond, Virginia,Giles B.Jackson,whoimpresseduponCoolidgetheneed for a Negro Industrial Commission, a proposal expectedto beincludedin the DelawareCongressmanCalebR.Layton'slegislativebilltobeconsideredbythe HouseofRepresentatives thatyear.9 FromthePresident'sviewpoint,perhapsthemostsignificantblackvisitorto theWhiteHouseinOctoberwasRobertRussaMoton,theprincipalofTuskegee, whohadcometo sharewithCoolidgeinformationon southern politicalissues affectingtheRepublicanparty. ThemeetingwastheresultofaletterfromMoton toCoolidgeseveralweeksearlier,advisingthePresidenttoconferwithsouthern politiciansJosephO.Thompson, awhiteinAlabama, andRobertR. Church, a wealthy black businessman in Tennessee. Both men, as former Booker T. Washingtonpoliticalassociates,hadacquiredanexcellentunderstandingofthe Republicanpartymachineintheirregion. Theiradvice,Motonbelieved,would beusefulingrapplingwiththeissuesofdelegatesupportintheconventionand thepossiblepoliticalstrengthofthepartyin theirstatesintheelectionof1924. OtherTuskegee-orientedpoliticalstalwartsattunedtotheBookerT.Washington dictatesofobtainingpatronagepositionstraveledtotheWhiteHouseinOctober, themostprominentbeingEmmettJayScott, thensecretary-treasurerandbusi nessmanagerofHowardUniversity,JamesA.Cobb,alawprofessoratthesame institution,andWilliamH.Lewis. They, as agroup,promptlysuggestedtothe Presidentthekindsofblackpoliticalappointmentstobemade,andevendrafted forCoolidgethenecessarywordingofapolicystatementwhenthetimecameto announce to newspapers the anticipated patronagejobs to be given to Afro Americans.1O 9 John Blair, "ATimeforParting: The Negro DuringtheCoolidge Years,"American StudiesSeries, Volume 3 (London, England), 178-79;Stephen Fox, The Guardian of Boston:WilliamMonroeTrotter(NewYork: Atheneum, 1971),248-49;Sherman,The RepublicanParty andBlackAmerica,200-23. C. BascomSlemp to Moton, 22September1923,cant. 86;Moton to Coolidge, 15 10 October 1923, cant. 86, Moton Papers; "Suggested Statement for the President," 4 Published by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst, 1986 7 Contributions in Black Studies, Vol. 8 [1986], Art. 7 84 Maceo CrenshawDailey,Jr. ThoughCoolidgewasdrawnpoliticallytotheTuskegee-orientedfactionas awhole, itappearedfor the momentinOctober, 1923 thathisdoors wereopen to othersignificantblackleaders ofthepress,civilrights organizations, educa tionalinstitutions, andRepublican party as well. Thus, despite initialreserva tions,blacksasawholeweremoreoptimisticasthenewadministrationbeganto take shape. An indication oftheir positive attitude toward the President was reflectedin theDistrictofColumbiablacknewspaper, the Washington Eagle, whichopinedthat"muchsignificanceisattachedtotheeasyaccess totheWhite Housewhichcoloredcitizensnowenjoy." Coolidgedidremainopentovisitsand discussions with Afro-Americans, and sought their advice on matters ofrace relations. Any doubts he may have had about what Afro-Americans wanted politicallymusthavebeendispelledbythesemeetings. Inparticular,hereceived a long detailed memorandum in November from the head of the Associated NegroPress,NahumB.Brascher,whoplacedhisnewsserviceatthedisposalof the President as he had done also for Harding. Brascher wrote to Coolidge, summarizing and confirming that the issues central to Afro-Americans were policychangestostoplynchings,segregationinpublicoffices,andthediscrimi nationpoliciesofthecivilservice. BrascheralsoadvisedthePresidenttoprovide morepatronageappointments forblacks,extendthe influencesofAfro-Ameri cansinpolicy-makingdecisionsattheVeteransHospitalinTuskegee,ensurethe enfranchisementofmore blacks insouthernstates, andincreasethe numberof blackrepresentativesinRepublicannationalconventions. Resolvingallofthese problems to the satisfaction of Afro-Americans would have been a difficult assignment for Coolidge, but he continued to give hope to blacks that some reformwas forthcoming byhis willingness todiscuss these matterspublicly.n ThepinnacleofAfro-Americanconfidenceinthenewchiefexecutivecame, consequently, shortly after Coolidge gave the annual presidential address to Congress inNovemberandopenedthesegmentofthisspeechonracialreform with the ringing declaration thatunder the Constitution, "therights ofcolored citizenswereassacredasthoseofanyothercitizen"andthatitwas"bothapublic and private duty to protect these rights." The President went on to urge the Congress "to exercise all its power ofprevention andpunishment against the hideouscrimeoflynching." Healsoacknowledgedthatmoneyhadalreadybeen appropriatedtogiveblackAmericansvocationaltraininginagriculture,recom mendedfederalfundsforthemedicalschoolofthepredominant!yblackHoward Universitytocontributetotheoverallobjectiveofproducing an additionalfive October1923,reel63,microfilmeditionofCoolidgePapers. N.D.BraschertoCoolidge,6November1923,reel63,CoolidgePapers;Washington 11 Eagle, 6October1923. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cibs/vol8/iss1/7 8 Dailey: Calvin Coolidge's Afro-American Connection CalvinCoolidge 85 hundredAfro-Americandoctors, andpointedtotheneedforabiracialindustrial committee to facilitate the adjustment of large numbers of southern blacks migrating to northern urban centers in search ofjobs and all-around better conditions. ConcludingtheportionofhisspeechonAfro-Americans,Coolidge didlessenthestingoftheseremarks towhitesbyproclaimingthat"itwaswell torecognize that[racial] difficultiesareto alargeextentlocalproblemswhich must be worked out by mutual forbearance and human kindness of each community. Such amethodgives much more promise ofareal remedy than outsideinterference."l2 In these succinct but significant statements the President touched upon issuesthathadlongtroubledblacksandforwhichtheyhadsoughtsolutionson many previous occasions. Lynchings had been aperennial problem since the AmericanCivilWar. From1880to1920,some3,112Afro-Americanshadbeen victims of lynch mobs in the United States, but congressional legislative measurestoendthisoftenraciallymotivatedcrimehadbeenvoteddownonfive separateoccasionspriorto 1923. In 1923,theveryyearinwhichCongressman LeonidasDyer'santi-lynchingmeasurewasdefeatedintheUnitedStatesSenate, atotaloftwenty-nineAfro-Americans hadbeenhangedbymobs. Anticipating thereintroductionoftheDyerBillinCongressin 1924,Coolidgetook acoura geousstepinurgingCapitolHilllegislatorstopass theanti-lynching measure. Thechiefexecutive'srecommendationforabiracialcommissionforeasingthe settlementofsouthernblackmigrantsinnorthernindustrializedareasamounted to anendorsementoftheLaytonbill,oneofthegoalsofwhich was tofacilitate the transition of workers to life in urban regions. This particular bill was scheduledtocome before Congress in 1924. Coolidge's pledging offunds to HowardUniversity,aninstitutionexperiencingthekindofgrowthanddevelop ment in the 1920s which caused blacks to label it "the Capstone of Negro Education,"provedextremelysoothingtomanyAfro-Americanswholookedto the Washington, D.C., center oflearning for the much needed cadre ofwell traineddoctors,dentists,lawyers,engineers,preachers,andteachers vitaltothe welfare of the black community. In all, the Afro-American segment of the President's annual speech beforeCongress in 1923 was favorably received by blackswhointerpreteditas thebeginningofnewexecutivesensitivityto assist themin theirendeavorstoimprovetheirstatus in the Americansociety.13 In the wake of his speech to Congress, Coolidge continued to welcome 12 CalvinCoolidge,AnnualMessageofthePresidentoftheUnitedStatestoJointSession ofCongress, November, 1923(Washington: GovemmentPrintingPress), 1-14. 13 MaceoCrenshaw Dailey, Jr., "EmmettJayScott: The CareerofaSecondaryBlack Leader," Ph.D. dissertation, Howard University, 1983,438-77;Giles B. Jackson to C. BascomSlemp,25October1923,reel63,CoolidgePapers. Published by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst, 1986 9

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Roosevelt, though he would have to duplicate such a feat in less than half the time. Roosevelt had had at his (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1954); Seth Scheiner, "Theodore Roosevelt and the Negro With Lewis on the fringe of the Coolidge administration after 1924, Emmett. Jay Scott
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