Conflicts of the 20s The Scopes Trial Description

Conflicts of the 20’s

The Scopes Trial • Description • Court case in Tennessee in 1925 – crime to teach evolution. • John Scopes – biology teacher was arrested for reading a passage referring to evolution. • This was a fight about evolution and religion in public schools and American society. • Bryan was a Bible expert that acknowledged that the bible could be interpreted in diffrent ways. • Scopes found guilty.

The Scopes Trial • Causes • Tensions were growing between those who believed in science and those who believed in religion. • Issue on separation between church and state. • Pursuit of political careers was a way to gain attention and notariety.

The Scopes Trial • Consequences • States became tolerant of teaching evolutionary theory. • Ruined reputations. • This is still a relevant issue. Should there be a separation between church and state?

The Klan Rises Again • Description • 1915 they reimerged. • 100 percent Americanism • Believed in keeping blacks « in their place » and keeping foreign-born people out of the country. • Klan members were « plain people , not highly cultured, not overly intellectualized » They were threatened by changes in American society.

The Klan Rises Again • Causes • Racists felt African-Americans would attack white communities because many white men were away at war. • They resented the growing pride in the African. American communities. • African Americans were beginning to serve the country and making decent wages.

The Klan Rises Again • Consequences • Membership peaked in the mid 1920’s • Racial violence • They tried to invluence national, state, and local politics. • Crimes committed by Klan leaders in Indiana resulted in major decrease in their power nationwide.

The Prohibition Experiment • Description • 18 th Amendment – prohibited sale, manufacture, transport or import of alcoholic beverages. • Drinkers went underground to hidden saloons and night clubs called speakeasies. • People breaking the law. • Brought about organized crime – gangs selling liquor.

The Prohibition Experiment • Causes • Reformers felt liquor was a prime cause of corruption. • The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union considered drinking a sin. • Certain areas of the country considered prohibition a state law. • Most support came from the rural South and West (Protestants who opposed alcohol consumption)

The Prohibition Experiment • Consequences • Failure • People grew tired of the government meddeling in their business. • Police and judges were being bribbed. People found creative ways to hide the liquor. • Nearly every major city had gangs that sold liquor. • Chicago – Al Capone – he killed his competition. • Corruption got worse.

The Flapper • Description • Emancipated young woman who embraced the new fashions and urban attitudes of the 1920’s. • Image of rebellion • Women becoming assertive. • Women wanting equal status as men, smoking and drinking in public. • Changing attitudes toward marriage.

The Flapper • Causes • 19 th Amendment to the constitution – the right to vote for women • Women feel empowered. • Women have greater economic freedom because of changing roles during the war.

The Flapper • Consequences • Older suffragettes felt the younger women were being frivolous. • This caused a divide amongst the older and younger women. • Women had many obstacles and were still fighting for equal rights as men.