Changes

==Small town values==

==Small town values==

the 1896 editorial and "Mary White"--a beautiful tribute to his 17-year-old daughter on her death in 1921, portayer her as an anti-flapper--were his best-known writings. Locally he was known as the greatest booster for Emporia.

the 1896 editorial and "Mary White"--a beautiful tribute to his 17-year-old daughter on her death in 1921, portayed her as an anti-flapper--were his best-known writings. Locally he was known as the greatest booster for Emporia.

In his novels and short stories, White developed his idea of the small town as a metaphor for understanding social change and for preaching the necessity of community. While he expressed his views in terms of the small town, he tailored his rhetoric to the needs and values of emerging urban America. The cynicism of the post-World War I world stilled his imaginary literature, but for the remainder of his life he continued to propagate his vision of small-town community.  He opposed chain stores and mail order firms as a threat to the business owner on Main Street. The [[Great Depression]] shook his faith in a cooperative, selfless, middle-class America. Like most old Progressives his attitude toward the New Deal was ambivalent: President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] cared for the country and was personally attractive, but White considered his solutions haphazard. White seemed to see the country uniting behind old ideals by 1940 in the face of foreign threats.<ref> Agran (1998)</ref>

In his novels and short stories, White developed his idea of the small town as a metaphor for understanding social change and for preaching the necessity of community. While he expressed his views in terms of the small town, he tailored his rhetoric to the needs and values of emerging urban America. The cynicism of the post-World War I world stilled his imaginary literature, but for the remainder of his life he continued to propagate his vision of small-town community.  He opposed chain stores and mail order firms as a threat to the business owner on Main Street. The [[Great Depression]] shook his faith in a cooperative, selfless, middle-class America. Like most old Progressives his attitude toward the New Deal was ambivalent: President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] cared for the country and was personally attractive, but White considered his solutions haphazard. White seemed to see the country uniting behind old ideals by 1940 in the face of foreign threats.<ref> Agran (1998)</ref>