Date: December 27, 1930
Location: Northampton, MA
Summary: Opinion that creating a new political party is not practical.
(Original document available here)
It does not seem likely that any attempt made in the near future to start another political party could succeed. It is an enormous undertaking that requires the force of some great moral upheaval to make it effective. Without a political leader of nation-wide influence no practical result would be secured.
So far as now appears, any new party would have to be radical. Because the Democratic party has had the Solid South without much regard to issues, it has usually tried to appeal to the radicals in the North. If it were to lose this strength it could not win. If there were no choice at the next Presidential election, the decision would go to the House of Representatives, where in 1932 the Republicans will control a majority of the states and so would elect a Republican President. A third party apparently would insure a Republican victory. For that reason any plan to start a new party will not seem practical. But, in addition to this, our people are not third-party minded. They believe all necessary reforms can be secured within the old parties and that they are the best instruments of government.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge Says: Dispatches Written by Former-President Coolidge and Syndicated to Newspapers in 1930-1931 (Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation)
The Coolidge Foundation gratefully acknowledges the volunteer efforts of Jill Leavitt who prepared this document for digital publication.