In The Mortal Presidency: Illness and Anguish in the White House, Robert E. Gilbert argues that Coolidge was devastated by the death of his 16-year-old son in 1924. Having ascended to the presidency upon Warren Harding's death in 1923, Coolidge was fairly active as president, working with Congress and reaching out to members of his party. But his son's sudden death, coming just days after Coolidge was nominated for president in his own right, changed his style of governance. He pulled back from his efforts to cultivate Congress and his party and accomplished little during the balance of his term.