With Ms. Peters's caveat in mind, I will offer a few sources that
friends and I have used.  More general texts include:

- Faragher's Out of Many: A History of the American People (2003)
- Nation of Nations: A Concise Narrative of the American Republic (2006)
- America: A Narrative History (6th ed, 2003) by Tindall and Shi.
- Eric Foner's Give Me Liberty (2008)
- Alan Brinkley's American History: A Survey (2005 ed)

While the following are a bit more focused and academic, they are
classics that might provide insight into the nexus between art and
history for the period you are interested in:

- Advertising the American Dream:  Making the Way for Modernity,
1920-1940
- The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America (2001).
- No Place of Grace: Anti-Modernism and the Transformation of American
Culture, 1880-1920 (1981)
- Fables of Abundance: A Cultural History of Advertising in
America(1995)

Good luck,
John Metz

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jessica Welton" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 3:35 PM
Subject: A general/social history of US in 1920s


> Could someone recommend to me a good book on the social history in the
US 
> in the early 1900s, especially the 20s? I am looking for background to

> help understand how art produced in the era reflected what was
happening 
> across the country.
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