chapter21

= Conservative Rule: Change to Status Quo =

The horrors of World War I shocked and disillusioned many Americans. The war, wrote novelist John Dos Passos, had been a “waste of time, waste of money, waste of lives, waste of youth.” In response, many Americans tried to return to the way things had been before the war. But there was no going back. Instead of a return to the “old ways,” the nation faced economic hardship and social strife. Tired of social strife, voters in the 1920 election rejected the party of Woodrow Wilson and elected Republican Warren G. Harding president. Although the Harding years ended in scandal, Harding’s Republican successor, Calvin Coolidge, restored a sense of integrity to the White House. As a result, voters elected another Republican president – Herbert Hoover – in 1928. Although many Americans prospered during the 1920s, deep social and racial divisions still plagued American life. Native Americans, African Americans, and Mexican immigrants all struggled for a place in American society. As African Americans continued to migrate to northern cities, racial tensions increased. The Ku Klux Klan encouraged bigotry not only against African Americans but also against foreigners. Responding to the national mood, Congress passed laws limiting immigration.
 * === Postwar Troubles ===
 * People:** Ole Hanson, Edwin Curtis, A. Mitchell Palmer, Emma Goldman, Nicola Sacco, Bartolomeo Vanzetti ||  ||
 * === The Republicans in Power ===
 * People:** Warren G. Harding, Andrew W. Mellon, Albert Fall, Calvin Coolidge, Alfred E. Smith ||  ||
 * === A Nation Divided ===
 * People:** A. Philip Randolph, Marcus Garvey ||  ||