Inaugurating Coolidge : the extraordinary transfer of power following the death of Warren Harding /
"While on a cross-country speaking tour, President Warren G. Harding became ill and was hospitalized at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Although his condition appeared to improve, he died unexpectedly on the evening of August 2, 1923. After his death, Harding's aides struggled to contac...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Jefferson, North Carolina :
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers,
[2026]
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| Summary: | "While on a cross-country speaking tour, President Warren G. Harding became ill and was hospitalized at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Although his condition appeared to improve, he died unexpectedly on the evening of August 2, 1923. After his death, Harding's aides struggled to contact Vice President Calvin Coolidge, who was vacationing at his family home in the remote hamlet of Plymouth Notch, Vermont, a location without telephone service or electricity. Upon learning of Harding's death, Coolidge moved quickly to address the uncertain transfer of executive authority, informed by Harding's previous authorization of two cabinet secretaries to exercise certain presidential powers. The United States Constitution offered limited guidance on succession under such circumstances, leaving historical precedent to shape the response. Coolidge rejected the idea of divided executive authority and sought to establish clear control. He was sworn in as President by his father, a notary public, formally assuming office and nullifying the temporary authority Harding's secretaries had been granted. This action consolidated presidential power and helped clarify the practical operation of succession in the absence of explicitly constitutional direction. This work highlights how Coolidge's actions following Harding's death helped define the modern understanding of presidential succession and executive authority in the United States"-- Provided by publisher. |
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| Physical Description: | pages cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781476698731 1476698732 |