Following the end of World War I (1914-18), Americans were eager to return to normal life. The war had disrupted families, created shortages of many basic necessities, and filled the daily newspapers with stories from foreign locales. Nearly every aspect of life seemed geared to the war effort. Warren G. Harding (1865-1923; see entry in volume 4) rode the sentiment for normalcy to victory in the presidential election of 1920.

Harding campaigned against the views of outgoing president Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924; see entry in volume 4) and the Democratic Party candidate James M. Cox (1870-1957). They wanted the United States to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, the pact that ended the war. However, Harding and many others were against ratification of the treaty because it called for U.S. involvement in the League of Nations (see box...