1920's In-Class Assignment

1.  Unlike the majority of U.S. residents at the time, President Harding believed that World War I was not necessarily at fault for the increased moral degradation of the American people.  He was convinced that, instead, the disregard of American law on behalf of highly influential, authoratative figures within the nation paved the way for other members of society to follow, subsequently leading to horrific ethical corruption.  If respect for the law was to be maintained, such figures of influence had to have led by example.

2.

     With a lack of temperance, upper-class members of American society often fell victim to alcoholism, leading them to engage in disorderly conduct.  Excessive spending on alcoholic beverages in an attenpt to satisfy their addiction  impoverished a number of them.  The drinking also diseased them, attacking, and gradually weakening, their livers.  They soon found themselves alone, unwanted, friendless, and in utter despair.  With little to their name and virtually no hope for bettering their condition, they resorted to a life a crime.  Seeing no purpose in living such a life of distaste any longer, many committed suicide.



In the latter portion of the 19th century and into the early 20th century, alcoholism was the number cause of marital divorce in the U.S.  It plagued matrimonies with extreme domestic violence and uneccesary spending, shattering homes and ,in turn, the lives of children across the nation.