US History · 11th Grade · Depression, New Deal & World War II · Weeks 19-27

Culture Wars: Traditionalism vs. Modernism

Explore the social and cultural conflicts of the 1920s, including Prohibition and the Scopes Trial.

• Common Core State Standards
• C3: D2.His.1.9-12
• C3: D2.Civ.14.9-12

About This Topic

The 1920s presented Americans with a fundamental question: what kind of country was the United States becoming? The decade witnessed a sharp collision between urban modernism -- science, Jazz Age culture, immigration, and changing gender roles -- and rural traditionalism rooted in Protestant Christianity, nativism, and temperance. This conflict was not simply cultural; it played out in law, education, and politics, making the 1920s a genuine battleground over American identity.

The Scopes Trial of 1925 crystallized the science-versus-religion debate, with William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow as its dramatic spokespeople. Prohibition, ratified as the 18th Amendment in 1919, simultaneously reflected traditionalist victory and urban resistance, giving rise to bootlegging and organized crime. The Ku Klux Klan's revival to nearly 4 million members by mid-decade illustrated how nativism and white Protestant anxiety could mobilize into political force.

This topic rewards active learning because the tensions of the 1920s -- between tradition and progress, local and national identity -- echo in contemporary American life. Students can examine these historical debates with rigor, building genuine historical empathy and critical analysis skills.

Key Questions

1. Analyze how the Scopes 'Monkey' Trial reflected the clash between science and religion.
2. Explain the motivations behind Prohibition and why it ultimately failed.
3. Compare the values of urban modernists with rural traditionalists in the 1920s.

Learning Objectives

• Compare the core values of urban modernists and rural traditionalists in the 1920s, citing specific examples of their beliefs and practices.
• Analyze the Scopes Trial as a focal point for the conflict between scientific inquiry and religious fundamentalism in American society.
• Explain the primary motivations for enacting Prohibition and evaluate the social and economic consequences that led to its repeal.
• Critique the effectiveness of Prohibition as a social policy, considering its impact on crime rates and public respect for the law.

Before You Start

The Progressive Era and Reform Movements

Why: Students need to understand the context of earlier reform efforts, including temperance movements, to grasp the origins and motivations behind Prohibition.

Early 20th Century Immigration and Urbanization

Why: Familiarity with the growth of cities and changing demographics provides essential background for understanding the rise of modernism and the anxieties of traditionalists.

Key Vocabulary

Modernism	A cultural and artistic movement in the early 20th century that emphasized innovation, individualism, and a break from traditional values, often associated with urban life.
Traditionalism	A belief system that emphasizes adherence to established customs, religious doctrines, and social norms, often associated with rural and Protestant communities in the 1920s.
Prohibition	The nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States from 1920 to 1933.
Scopes Trial	A 1925 court case in Tennessee that debated the legality of teaching evolution in public schools, highlighting the tension between science and religion.
Nativism	A policy or ideology of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants, prominent in the 1920s.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

The Scopes Trial settled the evolution vs. creationism debate once and for all.

What to Teach Instead

The trial ended with Scopes' conviction (later overturned on a technicality). It did not resolve the underlying tension, which resurfaced in school board battles throughout the 20th century. A timeline showing subsequent legal battles from the 1920s through the 2000s helps students understand this as an ongoing struggle rather than a decisive moment.

Common Misconception

Prohibition was a complete failure with no positive outcomes.

What to Teach Instead

Alcohol consumption did decline significantly during Prohibition, and some public health metrics improved. The failure was primarily in enforcement and unintended consequences like organized crime. Students who analyze data on alcohol consumption before, during, and after Prohibition develop a more nuanced view than the simple it-failed narrative.

Active Learning Ideas

Socratic Seminar: Debating the Scopes Trial

Students read excerpts from both the prosecution and defense arguments in Tennessee v. Scopes before engaging in a teacher-guided discussion about academic freedom, local control of education, and religious belief. The seminar develops the skill of understanding a historical argument on its own terms.

45 min·Whole Class

Gallery Walk: Urban Modernism and Rural Traditionalism

Stations feature images and short texts representing urban modernism (Jazz, flapper fashion, speakeasies) alongside rural traditionalism (Prohibition rallies, fundamentalist sermons, KKK marches). Students annotate observations and questions at each station, then debrief on how geography and economics shaped these different experiences.

35 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Why Did Prohibition Fail?

Students read a brief text on Prohibition enforcement challenges, then discuss in pairs whether Prohibition was doomed from the start or could have worked with better enforcement. Pairs share their reasoning with the class, sharpening the skill of evaluating policy arguments with evidence.

25 min·Pairs

Role Play: Town Hall Meeting on Teaching Evolution

Students take roles representing a school board, a fundamentalist parent group, a science teacher, and an ACLU observer in a simulated 1925 town meeting debating whether evolution should be taught in local schools. The activity builds the skill of arguing from a specific historical perspective with historically grounded reasoning.

50 min·Whole Class

Real-World Connections

• Legal scholars and historians analyze the legacy of Prohibition when discussing current debates over drug legalization, examining the unintended consequences of criminalizing substances.
• Museum curators at institutions like the Henry Ford Museum often feature exhibits on the 1920s, showcasing artifacts from the Scopes Trial or Prohibition-era speakeasies to illustrate these cultural clashes for visitors.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

Pose the following question to small groups: 'Imagine you are a journalist in 1925. Write a brief (3-4 sentence) news report from either Dayton, Tennessee, covering the Scopes Trial, or a city street discussing the impact of Prohibition. What specific details would you include to capture the cultural conflict?'

Quick Check

Provide students with a short primary source excerpt, perhaps a quote from William Jennings Bryan or a description of a speakeasy. Ask them to identify which side of the 1920s culture war (traditionalism or modernism) the excerpt most closely represents and justify their answer in one sentence.

Exit Ticket

On an index card, have students write one sentence explaining the main argument of the prosecution or defense in the Scopes Trial, and one sentence explaining a key reason why Prohibition was difficult to enforce.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Scopes Monkey Trial and why was it significant?

The 1925 Tennessee v. Scopes case tested a state law banning the teaching of evolution in public schools. Teacher John Scopes was convicted but the case became a national debate about science, religion, and academic freedom. It marked a cultural watershed, pitting modernist and traditionalist views of education and progress against each other in ways that continued to resonate for decades.

Why did Prohibition fail as a national policy?

Prohibition failed primarily due to weak enforcement mechanisms, widespread public resistance especially in cities, and organized crime networks that profited enormously from illegal alcohol supply. The 18th Amendment lacked the funding and enforcement infrastructure needed to change deeply ingrained cultural behaviors across a large, diverse nation. It was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.

How did urban modernists and rural traditionalists differ in the 1920s?

Urban modernists tended to embrace science, immigration, consumerism, and new social freedoms associated with the Jazz Age. Rural traditionalists defended Protestant Christianity, nativism, temperance, and older social hierarchies. The divide was geographic and generational, with different communities experiencing the rapid changes of industrialization and immigration in fundamentally different ways.

How does active learning help students understand cultural conflict in the 1920s?

Role play and structured debate help students develop historical empathy without presentism. When students argue from the perspective of a 1925 rural school board member or a Harlem jazz musician, they practice understanding how historical actors saw their own world -- a skill essential for rigorous historical analysis that avoids mapping today's categories onto the past.