It took a long time to get the U.S. involved in World War I, which was a horrible and bloody war that just illustrated to Americans how the Old World of Europe had torn itself to pieces. So one of the big concerns of the 1920s was how the U.S. could avoid getting pulled into other messy foreign conflicts, like whether the British or American version of The Office was funnier.
Coolidge firmly believed in staying out of those kinds of conflicts, but also saw the U.S. as having a vital humanitarian role in the world. In his Inaugural Address, he emphasizes that America needs to stay independent and genuinely "American," but also needs to help those poor nations of the world struggling under outdated and oppressive regimes.
Coolidge limited immigration to protect American jobs, but he was generally okay with allowing foreigners into the country as long as they adopted American culture and ideals.
As we discuss in our "Symbols" section, Coolidge returns again and again to the idea of "Americanness." He's not entirely clear about what this means, but one thing is clear: we are not like them. And Steve Carrell is totally different from Ricky Gervais.
Questions About Foreignness and "The Other"
- How does Coolidge think we can continue being influential without getting involved with the rest of the world?
- How does Coolidge differentiate the U.S. from other regions?
- What purpose could Coolidge's portrayal of the "other" have in his political agenda?
- How was the U.S. able to maintain an isolationist stance through so much of U.S. history? What features of the country helped it maintain some degree of distance?
Chew on This
Coolidge really needed to reference World War I to make his arguments work.
In the 1920s, the U.S. seemed to want all the commercial benefits of globalization but none of the responsibility. That totally changed after World War II.