The Cultural Revolution of the 1920s
The 1920's were times of cultural revolution. The times were changing in many different ways. Whenever the times change, there is a clash between the "old" and the "new" generations. The 1920's were no exception. In Dayton, Tennessee, 1925, a high school biology teacher was arrested. He was arrested because he taught the theory of evolution. The teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of having violated the Butler Act. This was a Tennessee law that forbade the teaching of the theory of evolution in public schools. The Tennessee legislature felt that teaching evolution was wrong because it contradicted the creation theory of the Bible. The Scopes trial received worldwide publicity. The press nicknamed it the Monkey Trial because, people believed that the theory of evolution meant that humans were descended from monkeys.Clarence Darrow was the defense lawyer. Former U.S. secretary of state William Jennings Bryan was the prosecutor. The defense argued that the Butler Act was unconstitutional. They did not deny that Scopes had broken the law. He was convicted and fined $100. Darrow was quoted as saying, "Scopes isn't on trial, civilization is on trial
The Red Scare became like a witch-hunt. Change always brings about conflict between the "old" and the "new. This would cause another of the conflicts that arouse due to a changing society. Religion, politics, and ignorance were all obstacles to the progress that was being made in the 1920's. This was due to a government ruling that mere membership in the party is not in itself a crime. There was a growing fear of communism during the 1920's. January 2, 1920, he ordered department raids on meeting halls and homes in thirty cities nationwide to gather all suspected communists. The KKK's popularity peaked in the 1920's when its membership exceeded 4 million nationally, with strong organizations in the Midwest as well as in the South. She saw many poor women that were burdened with many children. Women of the 1920's were fighting in their own revolution. Russia and the United States were allies during the war. The Red Scare continued when on April 1, five legitimately elected members of the New York State legislature were expelled for being members of the Socialist Party.
Common topics in this essay:
Attorney-General Palmer,
Butler Act,
Catholic KKK,
Red Scare,
Margaret Sanger,
Catholics Jews,
Act Tennessee,
Control League,
,
Women's Rights,
red scare,
people arrested,
theory evolution,
birth control,
women 1920's,
fear communism,
butler act,
scopes trial,
times changing,
|