This is the punchline of a story in which Coolidge reports a sermon about sin. Wikiquote flags it as apocryphal, citing Nigel Rees; contemporary circulation does not establish that the conversation happened.
“He was against it” — An apocryphal anecdote about Calvin Coolidge; the story circulated by 1925, but the conversation is unconfirmed.
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Evoking the world of Calvin Coolidge — U.S. president. Theme: "He was against it". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
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Provenance
The source
Source
The sermon-about-sin anecdote
Evidence
Checked secondary citation; primary artifact not independently inspected
The attribution decision follows the checked evidence and its limits. Checked evidence ↗
The cited underlying artifact was not independently inspected; the conclusion is limited to this evidence. Research and citations ↗
The anecdote was in print by 1925, but no authenticated speech or original conversation was established. No rights status is asserted for an identified Coolidge work.
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Fact-check
Often misattributed
A newspaper printing the anecdote establishes that the story circulated, not that Coolidge actually said its punchline.
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Popular creditCalvin Coolidge
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More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
Calvin Coolidge was a U.S. president known for terse speech. That reputation made him an easy subject for short comic anecdotes.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
The primary source (Chicago)
Rees, Nigel. Sayings of the Century, p. 67, as cited by Wikiquote; compare Barry Popik, American Dialect Society post, July 16, 2004, transcribing a 1925 newspaper anecdote.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘He was against it’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/he-was-against-it/