Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Biography of Calvin Coolidge, the 13th US President

Biography of Calvin Coolidge, the 13th US President Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the United States. He is often described as unusually quiet, though he was known for his dry sense of humor. Coolidge was a small-government Republican who was popular among conservative middle-class voters. Calvin Coolidges Childhood and Education Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872, in Plymouth, Vermont. His father was a storekeeper and local public official. Coolidge attended a local school before enrolling in 1886 at the Black River Academy in Ludlow, Vermont. He studied at Amherst College from 1891-95. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1897. Family Ties Coolidge was born to John Calvin Coolidge, a farmer and storekeeper, and Victoria Josephine Moor. His father  was a justice of the peace and actually delivered  the oath of office to his son when he won the presidency. His mother died when Coolidge was 12. He had one sister named  Abigail Gratia Coolidge. Sadly, she died at age 15. On October 5, 1905, Coolidge married  Grace Anna Goodhue. She was well educated and ended up getting a degree from the Clarke School for the Deaf in Massachusetts where she taught elementary aged children until her marriage. Together she and Coolidge had two sons:  John Coolidge and Calvin Coolidge, Jr. Calvin Coolidges Career Before the Presidency Coolidge practiced law and became an active Republican in Massachusetts. He began his political career on the Northampton City Council (1899-1900). From 1907-08, he was a member of the Massachusetts General Court. He then became Mayor of Northampton in 1910. In 1912, he was elected to be a Massachusetts State Senator. From 1916-18, he was the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and, in 1919, he won the Governors seat. He then ran with Warren Harding to become Vice President in 1921. Becoming the President Coolidge succeeded to the presidency on August 3, 1923, when Harding died from a heart attack. In 1924, Coolidge was nominated to run for president by the Republicans with Charles Dawes as his running mate. Coolidge ran against Democrat John Davis and Progressive Robert M. LaFollette. In the end, Coolidge won with 54% of the popular vote and 382 out of 531 electoral votes. Events and Accomplishments of Calvin Coolidge’s Presidency Coolidge governed during a relative calm and peaceful period between the two world wars. Nevertheless, his conservative beliefs helped make significant changes to immigration laws and taxes. The Immigration Act of 1924 reduced the number of immigrants allowed into the U.S. so that only 150,000 total individuals were allowed in each year. The law favored immigrants from Northern Europe over Southern Europeans and Jews; Japanese immigrants were not allowed in at all.In 1924 and 1926, taxes were cut that had been imposed during  World War I. The money that individuals were able to keep and spend helped contribute to the speculation that eventually would lead to  the fall of the stock market  and contribute to the  Great Depression.​In 1924, the Veterans Bonus passed through Congress despite Coolidges veto. It provided veterans with insurance redeemable in twenty years.In 1927-28, Congress tried to pass farm relief bills allowing the government to buy crops to support farm prices. Coolidge vetoed this bill twice, believing that government had no place in setting price floors and ceilings.In 1928, the Kellogg-Briand Pact was created among fifteen countries who agreed that war was not a viable method for settling international disputes. It was created by Secretary of State Frank Kellogg and French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand. Post-Presidential Period Coolidge chose not to run for a second term in office. He retired to Northampton, Massachusetts and wrote his autobiography; he died on January 5, 1933, of a coronary thrombosis. Historical Significance Coolidge was president during the interim period between the two world wars. During this time, the economic situation in America seemed to be one of prosperity. However, the foundation was being laid for what would become the Great Depression. The era was also one of increased isolationism after the close of World War I.

Sunday, March 1, 2020

More Than and Less Than in Spanish

More Than and Less Than in Spanish Spanish has two common ways of saying more than and two corresponding ways of saying less than - but they dont mean the same thing to a native Spanish speaker and arent interchangeable. Tip for Remembering the Rule on More Than and Less Than Both ms que and ms de are usually translated as more than, while menos que and menos de typically are translated as less than. Menos de is also frequently translated as fewer than. Fortunately, the basic rule for remembering which to use is simple: Ms de and menos de normally are used before numbers. (If you like mnemonic devices, think D for digit.) Ms que and menos que are used in making comparisons. (Think K for comparison.) Some examples of ms de and menos de: Pronto vamos a ver el aceite a ms de cinco euros por litro. (Soon were going to see oilat more than 5 euros per liter.)El estudio dice que las mujeres necesitan ms de un hombre para ser felices. (The study says women need more than one man in order to be happy.) ¿Es posible sentir amor por ms de una persona? (Is it possible to feel love toward more than one person? Note that while una can mean a, it also is the feminine form of the number one.)Las temperaturas mà ­nimas descendieron a menos de cero grados. (The low temperatures fell to less than zero degrees.)Hay muchos alimentos con menos de 100 calorà ­as. (There are many foods with fewer than 100 calories.)Adquirir una vivienda de menos de un millà ³n de pesos en la Ciudad de Mà ©xico es complicado, pero no imposible. (Purchasing a home for less on than a million pesos in Mexico City is complicated but not impossible.) Here are some examples of comparisons using que: Nadie te ama ms que yo. (Nobody loves you more than I do.)Eres mucho ms que tus sentimientos. (You are much more than your feelings.)Gano menos que ella. (I earn less than she does.)Yo estaba ms feliz que un nià ±o con juguete nuevo. (I was happier than a boy with a new toy.)Me duele ms que antes. (This hurts me more than before.)Soy blogger y sà ©Ã‚  mucho ms que si fuera polà ­tica. (Im a blogger and I know much more  than if I were a politician.)Se necesitan ms manos que trabajen y menos gente que critique. (Needed are more hands that work and fewer people who criticize.) Note that a comparison takes the following form: Subject verb more/less than subject verbSujeto verbo ms/menos que sujeto verbo More Examples of More Than and Less Than However, in both Spanish and English, the noun and/or verb in the second part of the sentence can be implied rather than stated explicitly. In the final sentences given, for example, both the noun and verb are omitted in the second half. This hurts me more than before (Me duele ms que antes) has the same meaning as This hurts me more than it hurt me before (Me duele ms que me dolà ­a antes). If you cant readily expand a sentence to such a form, then there is no comparison being made. Here are some more examples using ms de and menos de. Note how these sentences cant be restructured the same way a comparison can: La Wikipedia tiene ms de 100.000 artà ­culos. (The Wikipedia has more than 100,000 articles.)El estudiante promedio necesita ms de cuatro aà ±os para obtener su tà ­tulo. (The average student needs more than four years to earn his or her degree.)Son menos de las cinco de la tarde. (It is not yet 5 p.m.)Menos de uno de cada tres espaà ±oles con derecho a voto apoya el tratado. (Fewer than one out of three Spaniards with the right to vote support the treaty.) In those rare cases where ms de or menos de isnt followed by a number, de usually can be translated as of or about, never than. Le deseo muchos aà ±os ms de felicidad. (I wish you many more years of happiness.)Quiero saber ms de los dinosaurios. (I want to know more about dinosaurs.)Nike Air: un poco menos de dolor. (eslogan publicitario) (Nike Air: A little less hurt. (advertising slogan) An Exception to the Number Rule Where a comparison is being made, ms que can be followed by a number. Example: Tiene ms dinero que diez reyes, he has more money than 10 kings. To use de in the just-given example would be nonsensical (unless rey were a unit of money). There are a very few cases, however, where the distinction between ms de and ms que can eliminate an ambiguity thats present in the English more than. Take, for example, a sentence such as he can eat more than a horse. The sentence could be translated to Spanish in two ways, depending on what is meant in English: Puede comer ms que un caballo. (He can eat more than a horse can eat.)Puede comer ms de un caballo. (He can eat a greater amount of food than eating a horse.) The first example above is a comparison, while the second is not.