Uncle Sam (as “Public Opinion”) embracing nurse (“American womanhood”) (1917)
This propaganda poster was created by Morris for the Brooklyn Magazine. It was published in the Brooklyn magazine on November 10, 1917. The poster depicts Uncle Same closely embracing a nurse. In the poster Uncle Sam is regarded as American “Public Opinion” and the Nurse is portrayed as “American Womanhood”. At the time the United States had just recently joined World War I and with the American men overseas fighting the war, women began joining the workforce to support the military. Around the same time, the Women’s Suffrage Movement took place. This poster was published with the hopes to increase support for the Women’s Suffrage Movement. On the poster reads “If you are good enough for war you are good enough to vote.” This line struck the hearts of many American women and was a key argument that supporters of the movement made. Supporters argued that if women were capable of being involved with the war then they should have the right to vote. As a result of this movement, in 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote for the first time in the history of the United States. This poster demonstrates why World War I influenced changes in the role of American Women.
President Warren G. Harding Readjustment Speech (1920)
This speech was given by President Warren G. Harding and was recorded on June 29, 1920, New York, NY. At the time of the speech, Harding was not yet president, he gave this speech for his presidential campaign in which he won over Democrat candidate James Cox on November 2, 1920. Just a few years prior the United States had helped the Allies win World War I, and Democrats looked to keep the United States present in international affairs. Republicans like Harding disliked this idea and favored isolationism. In this speech, Harding urges for the United States to “Return to Normalcy”. This became President Harding’s main slogan during his presidential campaign. Harding ran for presidency under the promise that he would keep the United States out of international affairs to focus more on the internal issues of the United States. He demonstrated this when he refused to join the League of Nations. But as an effect of isolationism, the United States suffered in the 1930s with the Great Depression.