Name Class Date Directions: Read the following biography. Then, answer the questions that follow. John Scopes (1900-1970) John Scopeg was a bright, clean-cut teacher and football coach, well liked by his students at Rhea County High School in Dayton, Tennessee. When Scopes was a youngster, his parents had insisted that all of their children read literature and philosophy, and they often quizzed the children on this material. Not surprisingly, Scopes grew up to be intellectually curious and committed to academic freedom, the idea that teachers should not be restricted from teaching specific subjects or information. Shortly after the 24-year-old Scopes began teaching general science, Tennessee passed the Butler Act, making it a crime to teach evolution in public schools. Some prominent members of the Dayton community asked Scopes whether he taught evolution in his biology class and whether he would be willing to fight the new law. Although Scopes said that he didn't remember teaching the theory of evolution, he did believe in it, so he Questions to Think About Photo of John Scopes, Bettmann/CORBIS agreed to be a defendant. Yet Scopes would soon regret his decision, and only his father's insistence that the trial was an opportunity to serve the country kept Scopes involved. When Scopes was found guilty, he said these words to the judge: "Your honor, I feel that I have been convicted of violating an unjust statute [law]. I will continue in the future, as I have the past, to oppose this law in any way I can." Yet Scopes gave up teaching after the trial, and instead studied geology and eventually moved to Venezuela, where he worked as a petroleum engineer. However, Scopes could not escape his past. In 1960 he returned to Dayton for a premiere of Inherit the Wind, a film about the famous trial. Today, the Scopes "Monkey Trial" is considered an early proving ground for the conflict of modernism and fundamentalism, a debate that is still being carried on around the world. 1. What groups or individuals prompted the actions that resulted in the "Monkey Trial"? 2. Why did Scopes agree to be a defendant, even though he couldn't remember teaching evolution? 3. Draw Inferences What does the passage tell you about the type of person that John Scopes was? 4. Link Past and Present Would you go on trial to defend your beliefs as Scopes did, even though your beliefs were unpopular or controversial? Explain. Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. 22
IN Name Class Date THE TINFIATIES The idea of the 1920s "New Woman" pleased some people and alarmed others. Popular magazines of the time dealt with the issue from different perspectives. Some called for a return to old-fashioned ways, but others welcomed the change as progress that would improve society. Directions: Read the two excerpts below. Then, answer the questions that follow on a separate sheet of paper. The "New" Woman The Flapper poor thing is the most discussed [and] praised... to-day... Also, the most sincere... the most natural... the most fearless and healthiest type of womanhood the world has seen in many a century... She is what countless generations of her ancestresses would have liked to be, but never dared.... The new generation stands on its own feet. The girls can go into the business world and earn their own meal tickets. They look about them at the world and see that it is good and want to enjoy it to the fullest, the best of it and the worst of it.... The pendulum perhaps has swung a bit fast, as indeed it always does. But never fear it will swing back. Adrian Van Muffling "The Flapper Defense" New York Tribune, 1922 ATLANTIC CITY, Nov. 1 A campaign to rid the world of the flapper by showing herself on the screen was urged today by Mrs. Frank C. Everitt, of Trenton, chairman of the Parent Teachers Association, here to attend the state conference of the organization and the Mothers' Congress. "A study in contrasts is what is needed," she said "Show upon the screen pictures of the typical flapper enjoying herself in the manner typical to flappers. Then by way of contrast, show the girl of refinement enjoying herself in a refined way. Would Mirror Flapper On Screen to Cure Her New York Tribune, 1922 Questions to Think About 1. What is Adrian Van Muffling's opinion of the flapper? 3. How might Adrian Van Muffling respond to Mrs. Everitt's comments? 2. What does Mrs. Frank C. Everitt think of the flapper? Copyright C Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. 23
Name Date Class INTERPRETING POLITICAL CARTOONS Activity 33 ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS The 1980s brought a new societal awareness of environmental issues and concerns. Scientists and environmental advocates published dramatic findings showing that the habits of Americans from individuals in their homes to industrial corporations were harming our environment and threatening our planet. Today our habits are slowly changing, but there are still many environmental issues upon which to focus, such as everexpanding landfills and emissions harmful to the atmosphere. Directions: Study the cartoon below, and then answer the questions that follow. BEFORE IT WAS TRENDY TO BE SENSITIVE To OUR ENVIRONMENT THERE WAS ONE GROUP OF AMERICANS......WHO BELIEVED THE EARTH WAS A LIVING BEING DESERVING To BE TREATED WITH CARE AND RESPECT. wrift THE SIGNAL I /9O WE CALLED THEM SAVAGES Randy Wicks/The Signal. (continued) INTERPRETING POLITICAL CARTOONS 65
Name Date Class D1, ANALYZING THE CARTOON 1. Is this cartoon primarily addressing our ignorance toward the environment or the way in which Native Americans have been treated? 2. How does this cartoonist seem to feel about the current American interest in protecting the environment? 3. What is the irony in the cartoon? 4. Why do you think the cartoonist chose not to illustrate the cartoon more fully? CRITICAL THINKING 5. Identifying Assumptions Why do you think Americans seem to have taken the environment for granted, allowing these problems to develop? 6. Recognizing Stereotypes Look at the Native American figure. How is he stereotyped? Do you think this stereotype helps or hinders the message of the cartoon? Explain your response. aui sa!uedtuod mi-hvelpaw atil Aq OO 4112pAdop 66 INTERPRETING POLITICAL CARTOONS
Name Class Date THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Link to Literature Thomas Paine (1737-1809) was a political thinker and writer from England who moved to the American colonies at the encouragement of his friend, Benjamin Franklin. While in America, Paine published several articles and pamphlets, many of them anonymously. His most famous pamphlet was Common Sense, in which he stated that monarchy was unnatural and that American colonists should break from Great Britain and build a new government based on reason, not tradition. Published anonymously nine months after the beginning of the American Revolution, Common Sense sold more than a half-million copies. As you read the following excerpts from Common Sense, think about the political ideas that circulated during the Enlightenment. Then, on a separate sheet of paper, answer the questions below. Thomas Paine's Common Sense "As much [has] been said of the advantages of [settling differences with Great Britain],.. it is but right, that we should examine the [other] side of the argument, and inquire into some of the many... injuries which these colonies [endure], and always will [endure], by being connected with, and dependent on Great Britain. To examine the connection and dependence, on the principles of nature and common sense, to see what we have to [expect], if separated, and what we are to expect, if dependent. "I have heard it [stated] by some, that as America [has] flourished under her former connection with Great Britain, that the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness... Nothing can be more [deceptive] than Thomas Paine, CORBIS this kind of argument. We may well assert, that because a child has thrived upon milk, that it is never meant to have meat... America would have flourished as much, and probably much more, had no European power had anything to do with her. "But Britain is the parent country, say some. Then the more shame upon her conduct. Even brutes do not [eat] their young... "It is [vile] to reason... that this continent can... remain subject to any external power.... The utmost stretch of human wisdom cannot, at this time [understand] a plan short of separation..." Source: Common Sense, bythomas Paine. Available online at http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/paine/cs-frame.html. Questions to Think About 1. According to Paine, on what principles should people examine the dependence of the colonies on Great Britain? 2. To what does Paine compare the argument that, because America has flourished under British rule, it should continue to be ruled by Great Britain? 3. Draw Conclusions Many Enlightenment thinkers believed that all problems could be solved by the use of human reason. In what ways do Paine's arguments for American separation from Great Britain reflect this idea? Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. 16
Name Class Date THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Link to Literature Thomas Paine (1737-1809) was a political thinker and writer from England who moved to America in 1774. His most famous pamphlet, Common Sense, urged American colonists to break from Great Britain. Published anonymously nine months after the beginning of the American Revolution, Common Sense would have an enormous influence on the Declaration of Independence. Read the following excerpts from Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence. Then, on a separate sheet of paper, answer the questions that follow. Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence From Common Sense: "I have heard it asserted by some, that as America [has] flourished under her former connection with Great Britain, that the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness, and will Thomas Paine, CORBIS always have the same effect. Nothing can be more [decep- tive] than this kind of argument.... America would have flourished as much, and probably much more, had no European power had anything to do with her... "It is repugnant to reason, to the universal order of things, to all examples from the former ages, to suppose, that this continent can longer remain subject to any external power..." Thomas Jefferson, Bettmann/CORBIS From the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness...." Source: Common Sense, bythomas Paine. Available online at http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/paine/ CS-Frame.html. Source: Declaration of Independence. Available online at http://www.archives.gov/nati ona I-a rchi ves-experience/ charters/declaration_transcript.html. Questions to Think About 1. What central idea, or theme, is presented in both excerpts? 2. According to the Declaration of Independence, when is it the right of people to alter or to abolish government? 3. Draw Conclusions What is the relationship between Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence? Explain. Copyright Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. 17
Name Date Class INTERPRETING POLITICAL CARTOONS Activity 31 QUESTIONING CULTURAL VALUES Henry Ford Once stated that he invented the automobile so people could drive out from the city on the weekend and enjoy the wide open spaces. As the cartoon shows, the problem with Ford's statement was he never anticipated that roads, cars, and people would fill those spaces. Directions: Study the cartoon below, and then answer the questions that follow. TRAIVI3LAZE A NEW DESTINY' Copyright C Ron Cobb. All rights reserved. Used with permission of Wild and Woolley, Sydney. (continued) INTERPRETING POLITICAL CARTOONS 61
/ON 13) Cartoon Analysis Worksheet Level 1 Visuals Words (not all cartoons include words) 1. List the objects or people you see in the cartoon. 1. Identify the cartoon caption and/or title. 2. Locate three words or phrases used by the cartoonist to identify objects or people within the cartoon. 3. Record any important dates or numbers that appear in the cartoon. Level 2 Visuals 2. 3. Level 3 Which of the objects on your list are symbols? What do you think each symbol means? Words 4. Which words or phrases in the cartoon appear to be the most significant? Why do you think so? 5. List adjectives that describe the emotions portrayed in the cartoon. 1. 2. 3. 4. Describe the action taking place in the cartoon. Explain how the words in the cartoon darify the symbols. Explain the message of the cartoon. What special interest groups would agree/disagree with the cartoon's message? Why?