Rural and Urban Conflict in the 1920s
At the end of World War I, changes in society began to dominate daily lives.
Conflict arose as an increasingly urban, secular society came into conflict with older
rural traditions. The rise of new ideas and the change into peacetime economy brought
problems in both urban and rural environments. The two sections of the county had their
own sources of conflict, but many affected both.
One source of conflict was fundamentalism, in which the millennial zeal of the
19th century was combined with a less rational way of interpreting the Bible. The
Fundamentals, a series of religious pamphlets, gave fundamentalism its name, and
allowed it to gain popularity. Fundamentalism became institutionalized in 1919 and
1920. The Darwin theory of evolution became more widely recognized and accepted in
the more liberal parts of Protestant churches. Higher criticism of the Bible, much of
which contradicted Darwin's theory, followed. With the growing popularity of
fundamentalism in the South, southern laws were passed prohibiting the teaching of
evolution in schools. George W. Rappelyea offered support to teachers who wished to
disobey the laws. John Scopes, a schoolteacher, took advantage of this offer and taught
Darwin's theory to his students. When arrested, Rappelyea alerted media to attend the
trial. Clarence Darrow was Scopes' attorney. Darrow wanted the jury to find Scopes
guilty so he could appeal to higher court and get the law changed. When Darrow was
denied the use of scientists to testify as expert witnesses, he called the prosecutor,
Williams Jennings Bryan to the stand. Bryan was a highly religious fundamentalist.
Through sarcastic questioning, Darrow got Bryan to contradict his beliefs, turning public
sentiment against him. Scopes was found guilty, but given a minimal penalty, later
overturned by an appeals court. This &q...