Also, the public's attitude toward the war was filled with disillusionment and loss of morality. Writers at the time, such as Scott F. Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemmingway, termed this popular public sentiment as the "Lost Generation". The term was used to describe the generation of men and women that came of age either during the war who were "lost", meaning their generation was characterized by lost values, obsolete morals, lost belief in human progress, and a mood of despair and disappointment as a result of their war experiences ("Lost Generation"). Ernest Hemmingway portrays this "Lost Generation" through the words of his fictional character Lieutenant Henry, in A Farewell to Arms. Henry describes the words "sacred," "glorious," and "sacrifice" as meaningless because people fail to fulfill their meanings (Document G). People didn't want to risk more American lives and money to fight a war that had nothing to do with them in the first place. President Woodrow Wilson wrote his famous Fourteen Points which were a basis for world peace. The last point which called for a League of Nations would be backed by peace seeking nations that would oversee world affairs and try and prevent any future conflicts. However, President Wilson couldn't get the League of Nations passed by Congress because of the "collective security" clause which bounded the US to help any country attacked by a belligerent nation. In the election of 1920, Warren G. Harding defeated Wilson and promised to return to a state of "normalcy" which existed before the war (The National Experience). Many Americans did not wish to take any action overseas unless it acted upon their interests. They just wanted to enjoy the prosperity that had developed without threats from any foreign complications (Dorrance).
The post-war period saw the increase in anti-immigration sentiment within American society.
