Coolidge practiced law beginning in 1897. He quickly became active in the Republican party in Massachusetts. His journey to the presidency occurred by steps: first locally, and then in the state of Massachusetts. In 1899, he was elected to his first political office as a Northampton City councilman. From 1907 to 1908, he served as a member of the Massachusetts General Court. He was then elected to be mayor of Northampton in 1910.

In 1912, Coolidge moved to the Massachusetts State Senate before becoming lieutenant governor in 1916 and governor in 1919. He gained national prominence in 1919 as governor when he ordered the Massachusetts National Guard to end a Boston police department strike. It was his opinion that “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, anytime.” In 1921, he ran with Warren Harding to become vice president of the United States.