Calvin Coolidge to work jointly with Edward T. Clark, a Massachusetts Republican organizer whom he retained from his vice-presidential staff, as Secretaries to the President (a position equivalent to the modern White House Chief of Staff). Perhaps the most powerful person in Coolidge's Cabinet was Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon, who controlled the administration's financial policies and was regarded by many, including House Minority Leader John Nance Garner, as more powerful than Coolidge himself. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover also held a prominent place in Coolidge's Cabinet, in part because Coolidge found value in Hoover's ability to win positive publicity with
John Calvin Coolidge Sr. Coolidge. Calvin G. Coolidge was a farmer, and also served in the Vermont House of Representatives. John Coolidge graduated from Black River Academy, and served in Vermont during the American Civil War as commander of the state militia's Company K, 10th Regiment with the rank of captain. Early in his life, Coolidge worked as a woodcutter and wheelwright. He was later active in several occupations; a partial list includes farmer, blacksmith, bricklayer, mason, carriage maker, harness maker, teacher, store owner, and insurance broker. In addition, he was a vice president of the Ludlow Savings Bank & Trust Company, and was