Evolution - Scopes Trial in the 1920s?

Question

Why do you think evolution became such a hot button issue in the 1920s? What
else what going on during this period that explains the increased attention given to
evolution?
I mean, there were all the flappers, and prohibition... but how did all of that make evolution so significant?

Answer 1

Now from a historian:

1. There was a growing debate in the 1920s between modernists and fundamentalists. The modernists were behind the scientific movement that became more common after World War I. The fundamentalists were those behind the passage of the Butler Act (which mandated the teaching of Biblical creationism in public schools.)
2. Additionally, in the 1920s the writings of Sigmund Freud had become extremely popular and they preached the belief in "relative morality" in which there is NO inherent right or wrong. All right and wrong is relative--it depends on the person and nothing else.
3. With the disenchantment that many people fetl after seeing the effects of WW I and horros of that tragedy, the interest in religion waned a bit in America and people began worrying more about enjoying THIS life rather than holding out for an eternal reward in the next life.
4. It was within this climate that the flappers and the prohibition opponents came to the forefront. But their impact on the Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee was minimal at best.

And there you have it.

Answer 2

Tennessee had passed a law forbidding the teaching of Evolution and opponents to the law were looking for a volunteer for a test case. Scopes volunteered. He was represented by the great defence lawyer, Clarence Darrow while the prosecution was handled by former Secretary of State and Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan.

Evolution wasn't particularly significant in the 1920s. I think the fuss started because Tennessee passed the law and a challenge was needed. All such laws are unconsitutional in the USA.

Answer 3

It was a very local thing, in Tennessee. The teacher was told not to teach that such a thing as evolution even existed, he did and paid the price. The major focus was not on evolution but on William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution and Henry Darrow for the defense.
Prohibition and flappers were a minor part also. Those things were in the big cities. They mattered little to the common man. It is just that they were exciting and that is what sells movies today.

Answer 4

religion it's always been a dominanting influence in all of history.maybe the fact that there was os much disillusionment because of WW1 everyone was all tense.people were losing morals and that was just too much for the church.Evolution,the theory is a slap on the christine doctrine.