Ch. 21 sec. 1 critical thinking #5

Do you think the passage of the Volstead Act and the ruling in the Scope's trial represented genuine triumphs for traditional values?

I don't think it represented triumphs. It represented attempts to preserve traditional values. By the beginning of the 1920's many people were moving away from rural areas were traditional values were upheld to the city where many things once thought to be sinful were now common occurences and the norm. People went to speakeasies and movie theaters all the time. Women dressed scantily, died their hair, and wore short skirts. Everyone drank. You did not eat home much. The time you went out most was at night.
In rural areas you stayed home at night. You had a meal with the whole family, went to church on sundays and so on. Prohibition groups were formed to attempt to stop the manufacture and sale of alcohol. But this attempt quickly opened the doors for criminal acts, speakeasies, and illegal manufacture and transportation of alcohol. People just wanted to enjoy their lives.
The ruling in the Scope's trial did uphold traditional family values. Scopes was teaching about evolution and was arrested as a result. He was found guilty. This ruling showed that the court and government stil upheld the creation theory which many rural families stil believed in. But overall the traditional family values were being pushed farther and farther under the rug and people were now beginning to live their life the way they wanted.