The “New Morality” of the 1920s

Single, working class women use work to:

• Break away from parental authority

• Establish a personal identity

• Participate in the consumer culture

Women’s colleges encourage women to:

• Pursue careers

• Challenge traditional ideas about women’s role in society

Wordsplash: “flapper”

Young skirts bobbed haird

Short "new breed” Jazz

unacceptable behavior excessive makeup

Drinking sex smoking

Automobiles

Women in the 1920s

• Flapper—bobbed hair, carefree, chic with fashion, young– Smoked, drank,

provocative clothing

• Majority of women remained in the home

• Others entered the workforce

The automobile allows young people to:

• Be more independent• Escape parental

control• Seek new form of

entertainment outside the family

• Find privacy

Wordsplash, “Scopes Monkey Trial”

Evolution Tennessee Divine Creation

Bible science teacher John Scopes Charles Darwin

the Butler Act Animals monkey trial

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/monkeytrial/sfeature/sf_music.html#

The Scopes Trial

• The Butler Act forbade the teaching of evolution in Tennessee; only divine creation allowed

• Am. Civil Liberties Union wanted to challenge the law and vowed to defend anyone who fought the Butler Act.

• John Scopes was contacted and was asked to teach the theory of evolution

• Scopes was indicted for teaching evolution after three students testified against him

• William Jennings Bryan, former Presidential candidate, would lead the prosecution

• Clarence Darrow, an agnostic, defended Scopes

End of the Trial

• Trial lasted for 8 days

• Scopes didn’t even testify; but scientist, priests, professors all spoke on the subject

• Jury took 9 minutes to decide Scopes was guilty

• $100 fine ($1,165 today)

Scopes’ Only Words

“Your honor, I feel that I have been convicted of violating an unjust statute. I will continue in the future, as I have in the past, to oppose this law in any way I can. Any other action would be in violation of my ideal of academic freedom — that is, to teach the truth as guaranteed in our constitution, of personal and religious freedom. I think the fine is unjust”

The Monkey Trial

• Present an argument for the defense of John Scopes based upon the scientific validity of teaching evolution and the fact that the Butler Act was unconstitutional.

• Present an argument for the prosecution based upon the right of a state to determine what is taught in its school system.