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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 world was changing and scientific advances made it harder to fully accept the Bible's interpretation of creation. The older generation seemed set in their ways. It would seem that a science was on trial defending itself against traditional beliefs. The Red Scare was the result of wartime tensions. There was a growing fear of communism during the 1920's. The Red Scare became like a witch-hunt. Everyone was suspicious of each other. U. S. Attorney-General Palmer planned a round up of communists. January 2, 1920, he ordered department raids on meeting halls and homes in thirty cities nationwide to gather all suspected communists. Twenty seven hundred people were arrested without being charged with a specific crime. In all, more than 6,000 people were arrested. The raids ended after May 5th. This was due to a government ruling that mere membership in the party is not in itself a crime. Most people that were arrested were released, few of the people arrested were actually communists. 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 ...
Throughout the history of the United States, the relationship between white and black people has been an issue that has greatly divided the nation. Race is an important issue to many people in America. The race issue is very influential because of the fact that our country has had so many problems throughout its history. In the chapter, "Gon...
Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts, on July 12, 1817. He was born to parents that were very intelligent, yet poor and undistinguished. Despite their struggle with poverty, "their home was a center of affection and vivacity." Thoreau was the third of four children and he showed an early love of nature and was the "scholar"...
? ? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- People sometimes ask why the Jews were the people to get harmed during the Holocaust or why Holocaust even happened. Jews were the targets of Holocaust because Adolf Hitler hated Jews and blamed t...
Chamberlain Entering Bowdoin College , Chamberlain studied the traditional classical curriculum and showed particular skill at languages. But first Chamberlain took his Bowdoin A. B. degree, in the Class of 1852, and returned north for three more years of study. Turning down the opportunity to become a minister or missionary, he ac...
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were authored in secret by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in response to the repressive Alien and Sedition Acts passed in 1798. In the opinion of Jefferson and Madison, the Acts were unjust. They also represented a major victory for the Federalists. By writing...
