The historiography and narrative of certain events and time periods and the way in which they change are extremely fascinating and deeply reflect the views in which they were written. Meaning the main topics of these historical retellings often deeply reflect the political, social and economic views of the author, as well as of the time period in which that author writes from. The endless amounts of writings that analyze the 1920s are certainly not immune to such a claim, and are demonstrated especially within different American History Chapters. Two prime examples of how the focus of an analysis can change over time are seen within chapters 29-31 of the 1948 textbook ‘The Story of Our Country’ and within chapter 24 of the 2009 textbook ‘The American Journey.’
Voyant Analysis and Chart
For and foremost, before diving into the specifics of either chapter I wanted to take a look at the data that Voyant produced, just to get a basic understanding of how these chapters might differ. The results were not shocking, and there were several differences within the sets of data the program produced. Most notably the bar graph it produced based on some language data.
As one can see the chapter from 1948 heavily focused on work and war, providing a more economic standpoint on the 1920s as a whole. Comparatively the 2009 chapters heavily focused much of its sections on African Americans, although it does still mention work heavily. This therefore demonstrates that the 2009 chapter focuses on the experience and stories of minority groups during the 1920s, something that would have been considerably lacking since these minorities would have been continually marginalized while the 1948 chapter was written. Overall based on this data alone it can be concluded that the 1948 chapters focused on the economic, and possibly even political aspects of the 1920s, whereas the 2009 chapter included more stories and perspectives of marginalized groups.
Comparison of Chapters
Unfortunately in order to finish this assignment well and on time I used Microsoft’s AI platform ‘Copiolit’ to summarize and provide further analysis and details regarding the chapters. Overall the information it provided was well organized and gave clear differences between the two chapters. And by comparing the two chapters further using Burl Noggle’s 1966 article, the differences of how the 1920’s narrative is written is even clearer.
The two textbook chapters share the same basic purpose, to educate students on the 1920s, and to emphasize its importance, however they construct slightly different versions of the period. Noggle’s historiographical analysis aids in providing an explanation.
The American Journey presents the 1920s as a self‑contained decade of conflict, reaction, and cultural transformation. It opens with fear and repression: “Events after World War I made some Americans intolerant of immigrants and foreign ideas.”¹ The chapter moves through the Red Scare, the Palmer Raids, Sacco and Vanzetti, labor strikes, lynchings, and the Chicago race riot. It highlights African American agency through A. Philip Randolph and Marcus Garvey, and frames politics around Harding’s “return to ‘normalcy’” and Coolidge’s probusiness conservatism.² The economic boom, consumer culture, and mass production appear alongside cultural change—jazz, the Harlem Renaissance, women’s new roles, and the Scopes Trial. This chapter offers broad domestic coverage, with attention to workers, immigrants, African Americans, women, and political elites.
The Story of Our Country, written in 1948, tells a very different story. It places the 1920s within a longer international narrative about peace, diplomacy, and global interdependence. It emphasizes the Washington Naval Conference, the League of Nations, the World Court, and the Kellogg‑Briand Pact, noting that the pact “rests on the will of people everywhere to end war.”³ It devotes substantial attention to war debts, reparations, tariffs, and trade agreements. Scientific and technological change—radio, aviation, medicine—receives extended treatment, as do democratic reforms and social welfare. What is missing are the domestic conflicts that dominate The American Journey: the Red Scare, Sacco and Vanzetti, the Klan, the Scopes Trial, and the Harlem Renaissance. The chapter focuses on diplomats, statesmen, scientists, and reformers; ordinary Americans appear mainly as beneficiaries of peace and progress.
These differences reflect the historiographical patterns Noggle describes. He argues that early and mid‑twentieth‑century historians viewed the 1920s through the lens of the Great Depression and World War II, focusing on diplomacy, isolationism, and the failure of interwar peace efforts. This is exactly the perspective of The Story of Our Country, which treats the 1920s as a cautionary tale about missed opportunities for international cooperation. Noggle also notes that before 1950, historians largely ignored the decade’s cultural and social conflicts.
By contrast, The American Journey reflects the post‑1950 expansion of scholarship that Noggle identifies as a “new historiographical frontier.” Later historians moved beyond Frederick Lewis Allen’s popular narrative and began studying race, gender, labor, urban politics, and cultural modernism. The 2009 chapter incorporates these developments: it foregrounds racial violence, migration, labor unrest, and cultural creativity, offering a more inclusive and conflict‑centered account.
Knowing when historians write helps us evaluate their interpretations. Older histories are not necessarily less professional, but they are shaped by the concerns of their own moment. A 1948 textbook, written in the shadow of WWII and at the dawn of the Cold War, naturally emphasizes diplomacy and global institutions. A 2009 textbook, shaped by decades of scholarship on race, gender, and culture, tells a more socially expansive story. Both are historically grounded, but each reflects the questions of its era considered most urgent. In that sense, our historical narratives always make sense to the times that produce them—and comparing these chapters through Noggle’s framework makes that clear.
¹ The American Journey (2009), “Fear of Radicalism.”
² The American Journey, “Harding and Coolidge.”
³ The Story of Our Country (1948), on the Paris Pact.
Citations:
The American Journey. Glencoe/McGraw‑Hill, 2009, pp. 744–753.
The Story of Our Country. American Book Company, 1948, pp. 511–526.
Noggle, Burl. “The Twenties: A New Historiographical Frontier.” The Journal of American History, vol. 53, no. 2, 1966, pp. 299–314. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1894201.
Madison is currently a senior at the Ramapo College of New Jersey, who took this course in the spring of 2026. She has a major in Visual Arts, with a concentration in Art History, along with a double minor in Anthropology and Museum and Exhibitions Studies. After graduating Madison hopes to continue her education in order to become an Archaeologist or Museum Educator.
