American History: A Survey (Brinkley), 13th Edition

Chapter 22: THE NEW ERA

Primary Sources

1
Read H. L. Mencken's obituary for Calvin Coolidge, noting Mencken's contempt for politics and his sarcasm concerning Coolidge's lack of aggressiveness. Mencken's iconoclastic style was extremely popular with young intellectuals; but, in fact, his American Mercury was not a mass-circulation magazine, and Mencken's comments reached a relatively small portion of the general public. In contrast to the often vicious and biting satire of Mencken, humorist Will Rogers poked gentle fun at American life, including politics. Rogers's "daily telegrams" appeared in hundreds of newspapers, including the New York Times. Read Rogers's obituary for Calvin Coolidge, and consider the following questions: How do Mencken's and Rogers's contrasting views of Coolidge reflect their differing attitudes toward American politics in general? Which column probably came closer to reflecting the American people's feelings toward Coolidge? How do both selections show how politics in 1933 was defined in terms of the Great Depression?

H. L. Mencken and Will Rogers

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