Calvin Coolidge writing his son, John, at Amherst College: October 12, 1924.

John matriculated at Amherst in the fall, following in the footsteps of his father and many Coolidge associates: Coolidge’s good friend and Ambassador to Mexico Dwight Morrow, Coolidge’s confidant and political champion Frank W. Stearns, and Coolidge’s Attorney General and later Supreme Court Justice Harlan Fiske Stone.

Perhaps wary of John going to dances, Coolidge instructs his son to inform him of “how much time you are spending in Northampton” and “what entertainments you are attending and who you are taking with you there and at Amherst.” Northampton is the home of Amherst's sister college, Smith. He warns his son, “you have been sent to college to work. Nothing else will do you any good. Nobody in my class who spent their time in other ways has ever amounted to anything.” John commented on this letter later in life saying, “my father as a correspondent was at times rather too accomplished in the succinct, forthright, and comprehensive communication of his thoughts.”

In a later letter to John dated November 18, Coolidge exhorts his son to stay at Amherst and not to come home for Thanksgiving. Imploring John to focus on his coursework, Coolidge writes, “I think you had better try staying in Amherst until you get a passing mark in all your studies. You are sent there to get your lessons… You do not need to take on any other activities. You have plenty time and opportunity for society outside your college days.”