Author Question: How did American politics reflect American society during the 1920s? What will be an ideal response? (Read 58 times)

Jipu 123 · **on:** Sep 11, 2019

Question 1

In what ways did the decade of the 1920s see a reaction to the emergence of modern values?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

How did American politics reflect American society during the 1920s?

What will be an ideal response?

jointhecircus · **Reply #1 on:** Sep 11, 2019

Answer 1

Students have a good deal of evidence of antimodern sentiments. Organizations like the Ku Klux Klan symbolize the 1920s cultural wars. Prohibition and nativism likewise represented efforts of old-stock Americans to maintain what they saw as traditional values. A sophisticated student might point to the figure of Henry Ford, whose automobiles heralded the modern world at the same time as his fears of Jewish conspiracies revealed his anxieties about that world.

Answer 2

Students should begin this essay by describing the appeal of Warren G. Harding's appeal for a return to normalcy. Americans were eager to escape the restrictions and sorrows of the war years and embraced a government that largely stayed out of the economy, even at the expense of organized labor. Better students may point out the continuation of prohibition, but should also mention the government's half-hearted efforts in enforcing the measure. Students may also compare corruption in government to corruption in society, revealing an America that prioritized financial gain instead of the reform-minded Progressive Era that preceded the Roaring Twenties.