Great Depression (1929) followed the Great War.  -- brought poverty and suffering to millions of Americans.

American was no longer looked on as the "utopia of the world..." -- a place of boundless capacity, of liberty, etc.

Tradition that seemed to have become spiritually empty.

Modernists experimented and rejected traditional themes and styles.

          "We saw some stuff*"

{{{{SIDE NOTE:
    Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which Wilson signed into law on May 18, 1917. The act required all men in the U.S. between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for military service. Within a few months, some 10 million men across the country had registered in response to the military draft.}}}} 

--- Imagism: Sought clarity of expression through the use of precise images.

--- William Carlos Williams, Amy Lowell, Marianne Moore, and Wallace Stevens followed suit.
--- Part of the poetry culture until mid-twentieth century

Rejection:
- Optimism.

Challenge:
-The American Dream

This is possibilty the best and richest period of literature from the United States.