When Warren G. Harding ungrammatically promised America a return to"normalcy" What did he mean?

Question

AP history question

Answer 1

Since he was president after WWI, he wanted a return to the way things were before the war

Answer 2

He was referring to an end to the era of World War I with a return to isolationism (from European intrigues) and nativism (an anti-immigrant attitude like today), and an abandonment of the earlier reform movement.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_G._Harding

"Harding ran on a promise to "Return to Normalcy", a seldom-used term he popularized. The slogan called (1) an end to the abnormal era of the Great War, along with a call to reflect three trends of his time: (2) a renewed isolationism in reaction to the War, (3) a resurgence of nativism, and (4) a turning away from the government activism of the reform era (i.e., liberalism of the first two decades of the twentieth century featuring reforms in farmer's issues, women’s suffrage, municipal and state reform, temperance, immigration reform and a host of social reforms, antitrust reform, conservation issues)


*EDIT - Well bruhaha, your scholarship is apparent, and thank you for painting a clearer picture. I merely cut and paste from Wikipedia in an effort to get some kind of an essentially accurate answer down for the questioner, since the question didn't call for a nuanced answer.

Garfield is remembered in caricature, like Bush and Clinton will be, not fleshed out. Harding is remembered only as an incompetent executive who presided over a corrupt administration. I didn't expect anything flattering from Wikipedia. But you say Harding's not all bad. OK, I have no basis or reason to disagree.

Perhaps Wikipedia’s treatment of Harding is tainted by recent politics: we're considering corruption and incompetence in a Republican administration that wants to roll back the clock on liberal policies. Immigration is an issue again, and an oil company scandal erupts. Twins.The only thing Harding lacks to complete the analogy is a Plamegate, politicizing the Justice department, dismantling FEMA and the Constitution, isolating America with a catastrophic war complete with sensational war crimes, an irresponsible tax policy, a devastation of the treasury, dismantling the separation clause, gutting the dollar and the econ…OK, so Harding’s not a contender for the worst president ever any more. A slacker, even.

Anyway, thanks again for the light. It's been a pleasure

Answer 3

A note about the QUESTION.

Contrary to popular (and or snobbish) belief, "normalcy" is a perfectly fine word, and not at all ungrammatical. Harding was not making a mistake (much less coining a word) when he used this term in 1920. Check the following dictionary entry, including the dates!

nor·mal·cy /ˈnɔrməlsi/
–noun. The quality or condition of being normal, as the general economic, political, and social conditions of a nation; normality: "After months of living in a state of tension, all yearned for a return to normalcy."
[Origin: 1855–60]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/normalcy
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I also would take issue with some of the particular in the first answer (Clearly this is from a source in thorough disagreement with Hoover's policies -- so if you wish to know what HE meant, you would be better served looking at more dispassionate assessments, and perhaps even friendly ones, such as those listed in "sources" below. )

To begin with, the suggestion that Harding was deliberately calling the nation toward nativism goes too far. Support for immigration laws does not HAVE to be nativist. Not that I agree with all the steps his administration took here. But while there is ample room for criticism, it would help to make some effort to understand the times and intent of those advocating new limitations.

As for the suggestion that Harding was turning his backs on every sort of reform (trying to 'turn the clock back'?) I do not believe the evidence supports that. Even if he was looking for the government to be less "activist" in certain areas, that is not the same as rejecting, much less undoing reform.

Interesting that the list offered in the first answer makes mention of women's suffrage, insinuating that Harding (and perhaps conservative Republicans in general) opposed to it. In fact, Harding was an important SUPPORTER of women's suffrage, helping to gain passage for the 19th amendment (a point emphasized in the wikipedia article the same answer linked to).

Along the same lines, though Wilson was a "progressive" he was hardly what we would consider progressive on race relations. Harding, on the other hand, spoke out in favor of greater civil rights for blacks.

Generally, the idea of "return to normalcy" was about healing wounds and recovering from a time of major upheavals, not from reform or progress. On the foreign front that meant leaving behind the hardships of world war and the struggle over the League of Nations, and including efforts by his capable Secretary of State at curbing a major arms race. On the domestic front he was concerned with reducing the explosive conflicts between organized labor and business.

None of this is to exonerate Harding for the appointing corrupt friends to Cabinet-level positions, and not calling them to account. (Those decisions were especially regrettable when you consider that he also made some STELLAR appointments, esp. of Hughes as Sec. of State, and Mellon as Sec of the Treasury, and allowed them to do their jobs. If he had followed the same model elsewhere, his final "grade" might have been quite different.)

Answer 4

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