The Urban-Rural Culture Wars of the 1920s and the Issues over Which They Were Fought - Assignment Example

The following paragraphs dwell on the different ways and movements, which typify how the urban-rural culture wars were fought. One of the historically notable figures of the 1920s was the birth and multiplication of the Ku Klux Klan, an "anti-foreign, anti-Catholic, anti-black, anti-Jewish, anti-pacifist, anti-Communist anti-internationalist, anti-evolutionist, anti-bootlegger, anti-gambling, anti-adultery, and anti-birth control" movement, which literally means the "Knights of the Invisible Empire"(Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey ch. 32). Basically, the sentiment of the Klan was about the vanishing of the traditional American values due to the massive influx of foreigners who were allegedly taking over the American land (Hilton 91).

Moreover, the group claimed to have grown into a multitude of 5 million members, who were mainly situated in the South and the Midwest (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey ch. 32; Hilton 91). However, the existence of this movement was said to be alarming as it was a manifestation of extreme intolerance, prejudice, and negative response of the people to social change and cultural diversity in the American land (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey ch. 32). Another historically significant event that revealed the existing cultural warfare during the said period was the so-called "Monkey Trial" in Tennessee, which charged John T.

Scopes, a young biology teacher, for violating the state law when he taught Darwin's evolution theory to his students (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey ch. 32; Hilton 91). Later on, Scopes was found guilty and was fined $100 (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey ch. 32). The said event was a representation of the Fundamentalist versus Modernist conflict of norms and religious ideas (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey ch. 32; Hilton 91). Furthermore, the records of crimes and other forms of moral conflicts (values, traditions, and sexual views) were evident in the said era.

The sensational growth of urban beliefs had seemingly left out the traditions and values of the rural facet of American society (Hilton 90). In addition, "the Fundamentalists lost ground to the Modernists who believed that God was a 'good guy' and the universe was a friendly place" (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey ch. 32). Also, the cartoon that was published in the Chicago Daily Tribune, labeled "if grandpap could only return with some of his disciplines", published on August 23, 1924 (qtd. in Hilton 93), utterly typified the dismay of the Fundamentalist to the somewhat "polluted" values of the Americans, which were brought about by the advent of urban and modern ideas.

Consequently, the above discussion has described the details of the rural-urban culture wars during the 1920s, thus elaborating on the argument of this paper. Hence, despite the existence of the cultural revolution, Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey regarded the 1920's as a "dynamic decade", thereby showcasing its importance to the American history.