Clearly, Harding’s call for a return to normalcy was relevant to the national situation as it helped him to get elected.

In the 1910s, the United States had had anything but “normalcy.”  In foreign affairs there had, of course, been World War I.  In domestic policy, the country had been going through the Progressive Era.  This had involved strong efforts by the government to create major changes in society.  The government had been trying to regulate business.  It had been trying to regulate people’s lives (Prohibition).  Women had gotten the vote.  All of these things were examples of major changes.  In this context, there would have been many people who would have liked a return to normalcy.