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unhinged
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during the fight to ratify the 19th amendment warren harding pulled classic waffling doublespeak politico tactics to keep his presidential campaign alive. because of world events and national sentiment, he became president in 1920...
'...americans eagerly embraced harding's promise of a 'return to normalcy' as a retreat from the kinds of liberal policies that had brought disruptive social change. and his campaign platform of 'america first' promised a withdrawal from international alliances and entanglements (especially the league of nations). fearful that the nation's identity (white and anglo-saxon) was being undermined by massive immigration, and anxious that 'undesirables' were invading american shores, congress and the new administration would soon shut the nation's borders to new immigrants. americans picked a man who promised them strength and security, but whose character was weak and easily manipulated. harding surrounded himself with cronies and opportunists who used the white house and its agencies to enrich themselves. harding's short and ignominious term (he died of a heart attack in this third year in office) was defined by scandal.' - elaine weiss
and sadly, in 2018, it seems that not much has changed.
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180422
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