SS President Coolidge Newport News, Virginia built the two ships, completing "President Hoover" in 1930. The keel for "President Coolidge" was laid 22 April 1930 and the ship was delivered 1 October 1931. They were the largest merchant ships built in the United States up to that time. Each ship had turbo-electric transmission, with a pair of steam turbo generators generating current that powered propulsion motors on the propeller shafts. Westinghouse built the turbo generators and propulsion motors for "President Coolidge" but General Electric built the turbo generators and propulsion motors for "President Hoover". In the "President Coolidge" twelve Babcock & Wilcox superheater
Calvin Coolidge after his name was put forth, relying on the rank and file to confirm their decision. A delegate from Oregon, Wallace McCamant, having read "Have Faith in Massachusetts", proposed Coolidge for vice president instead. The suggestion caught on quickly with the masses starving for an act of independence from the absent bosses, and Coolidge was unexpectedly nominated. The Democrats nominated another Ohioan, James M. Cox, for president and the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, for vice president. The question of the United States joining the League of Nations was a major issue in the campaign, as was