In the 1930s a large section of the country was undergoing an ecological collapse that caused mass migration. There was a sustained occupation of the capital by

In the 1930s a large section of the country was undergoing an ecological collapse that caused mass migration. There was a sustained occupation of the capital by an army of former soldiers that was dispelled by force of arms. Unemployment was at 25%. Reproductive rights were not a thing. It seemed axiomatic to many in the educated classes that the more (apparently) efficient anti-democratic ideologies of communism and fascism would eventually displace the capitalist liberal democracy that had been the midwife of the depression. The Supreme Court overturned popular legislation for apparent political reason. And by 1946 the US was moving to the apogee of its power. I think the popularity of the collapse narrative over the past 10 years or so speaks more to the emotional salience of the topic and the ability of the web to supercharge emotionally potent topics than to the likelihood of any sort of collapse of the American state.