Social Conservatism.
- Conservatism is the political and social belief of protecting traditional orders, promoting stability and authority, and resisting change, or opposing modernism.
- This philosophy was the basis of Harding's presidential campaign, and would echo throughout the era of the 1920s. In a world shocked by the terrors of World War I and the social upheavals of the Progressive Era, the Americans just wanted 'normalcy'.
"America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration; …not surgery but serenity."
-Warren G. Harding
- The American people shared the sentiment with Harding; as evidenced when they elected three consecutive conservative presidents in the 1920s decade [Harding in 1920, Coolidge in 1924, and Herbert Hoover in 1928]. The election of 1924 is often marked the high tide of 'American conservatism', as both main candidates campaigned with conservative agendas, such as limiting the government, lowering taxes and regulation, etc.
- Conservatism would make also its way into immigration policies, the Constitution, and even schools.