Rural Values vs. Urban Idealism
The 1920's was a time of great change for the American people, WW1 had just ended and Americans were trying their best to forget the horrors of war and live up the good times. Lifestyles were changing as new inventions like the automobile gave people the freedom to travel long distances whenever they pleased while various common household appliances like the washing machine and dishwasher were saving women valuable housework time that could now be spent working in jobs or on entertainment. Residential patterns were also undergoing a massive transformation. For the first time in American History the urban population of the nation outnumbered the rural as people flocked to the cities in record numbers to find employment. The yeomen farmer was no longer idolized as the American Dream and was rapidly becoming a thing of the past as more and more Americans found themselves trading in their hoes and plows for assembly line wrenches. Factories were the new place of employment for the average man, as growing ones' own food became a thing of the past. The average American family was now living off of wages, renting their residence, and buying their food from the supermarket. Appliances and cars incr
To the people of Tennessee, evolution undermined the sanctity of The Bible and Christianity; it was almost the equivalent of blasphemy and therefore could not be tolerated. Because of this, Darrow found ways in which he could reconcile Creationism with Evolution. Darrow intended to get Bryan on the witness stand and publicly embarrass him by forcing to admit that all of the events in the Bible could not be interpreted literally, hence opening up the door for Evolutionary theory. If one were able to question the validity of the creation, what would stop that same person from questioning and eventually even rejecting other equally important parts of The Bible? To them, Darwinism was of Satan, it spat in the face of many of their Christian ideals. Scopes it would have been a very simple open/shut case. He did not have a rigid, literal view of The Bible like Bryan did, and felt that the theory of Evolution and Creationism could co-exist together peacefully. During this period of time a distinctive rift began to manifest itself between the people of small towns and those of the big cities. Like them, he feared that teaching evolution in public schools would undermine all of the good old-fashioned Christian values that people had strived so hard to instill in their children. was a man who strongly upheld the traditional Christian values of the rural people. Bryan saw the trial as a perfect opportunity to voice his beliefs and gain more supporters for his cause, he argued that the majority should decide what is taught in public schools, and saw the teaching of Evolution in as a threat on the rights of this majority. Even though he was found guilty, he was only required to pay a small fine of one hundred dollars which was even put up by some generous donor. Unlike Bryan, Clarence Darrow was an idealist who favored the teaching of Evolution. Practically everyone believed in the same god and worshiped him in the same manner.
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Acceptance Essays
