| Description |
The decade of the 1920s conjures up a unique cluster of images. A few broad, organizing conceptions dominate as people and events are filtered through a screen of memories, books, and films. This was the era of "normalcy," prohibition, "flaming youth," and the "golden glow." George Babbitt, Al Capone, and Charles Lindbergh reign unchallenged in America's mind. Looking backward, Middletown seemed to have revolved around the acquisition of automobiles, radios, and washing machines. Beneath this perceptual facade, poorly focused, were ordinary Americans who lived and worked much the same as their ancestors and descendents. The needs, fears, and resulting activities of some of these men and women are the subjects of this study. Alongside the flapper and the bootlegger stands the hooded figure of the Ku Klux Klansman as one of the enduring symbols of the decade. |
