Homework Ten Answers - Student One

1. I missed question 22 on the Midterm which dealt with the Sugar Act. It was a foolish mistake and one that can be easily corrected. First, I ruled out two of the answers because I knew that date didn’t fit the event. Then I quickly scanned the remaining two options and instead of thinking the question, I hurriedly chose the wrong answer. If I had thought of the question as a puzzle, I would have seen that the piece (or the answer I chose) was not the best fit. Also, I hadn’t studied the Acts passed by England on the Colonies in depth so I wasn’t quite equipped to answer the question with confidence.

Excellent analysis.

2. Because President Woodrow Wilson was a pacifist, he was unwilling to involve the US in World War I. In fact, he was re-elected based on his position to not inject America into World War I. However, Germany began sinking unarmed ships which killed many Americans and this made the American people furious. The final stroke came when the German foreign minister sent the Zimmermann telegram to Mexico, promising Mexico the return of the Southwest if they invaded the United States. It was then that Congress began to seriously prepare for war.

Superb answer.

3. I believe there were many victories and losses at the Scopes Trial. Technically, the only legal issue in the Scopes trial was: did John Scopes violate the Butler Act by teaching that man descended from a lower order of animals? For both Bryan and Darrow, however, the real issue wasn’t Scopes’s guilt or innocence, but rather should evolution be taught as fact in the public schools? Darrow had hoped to have a number of evolutionist scientists testify in the court to the “fact” of evolution, but this wasn’t permitted by the judge because the evidence for evolution was technically not at issue in the trial, and Darrow refused to allow his evolutionists to be cross-examined by the prosecution. As a result, most of the testimony by the scientists at the trial was written and filed into record—none was heard by the jury.

Anyone taking the time to read the transcript of the Scopes trial (The World’s Most Famous Court Trial, Bryan College) will note that Darrow and his defense team of lawyers knew little about evolution and failed in their efforts to establish why it was necessary to teach evolution in the classroom. Much of Darrow’s effort at the trial amounted to a caustic diatribe against the Bible and Christianity.

On the seventh day of the trial, Darrow challenged Bryan to take the witness stand as an expert on the Bible. Going against the advice of his co-counsel, Bryan foolishly agreed to this outrageous and unprecedented arrangement, with the agreement that Darrow would in turn take his turn at the witness stand to be questioned on his agnostic and evolutionary views. In his questioning, Darrow sarcastically and often inaccurately recounted several miracles of the Old Testament such as Eve and the serpent, Jonah and the whale, Joshua’s long day, Noah’s flood, confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel, and biblical inspiration. Darrow ridiculed Bryan for his belief and defense of these miracles, but Bryan steadfastly stuck with the clear words of Scripture, forcing Darrow to openly deny the Word of God.

Then came the turning point. Darrow raised the matter of a six-day creation. Bryan denied that the Bible says God created everything in six ordinary days of approximately 24 hours. When Darrow asked, “Does the statement ‘the morning and the evening were the first day,’ and ‘the morning and the evening were the second day’ mean anything to you?” Bryan replied, “I do not see that there is any necessity for constructing the words, ‘the evening and the morning,’ as meaning necessarily a 24-hour day.” When Darrow asked, “Creation might have been going on for a very long time?” Bryan replied, “It might have continued for millions of years.” With the help of Bryan’s compromise on the days of creation, Darrow achieved his goal of making the Bible subject to reinterpretation consistent with the ever-changing scientific and philosophical speculations of man.

At the time of the trial, some probably thought, What have the age of the earth, the days of creation, and Cain’s wife got to do with this trial? But actually, Darrow understood the connection—the same connection that these questions have to the Ten Commandments controversy (and general loss of Christian morality) today. While in the witness box, Bryan, who stood for Christianity, couldn’t answer the question about Cain’s wife, and admitted he didn’t believe in six literal creation days but accepted the millions of years for the earth’s age.

That’s when Darrow knew he had won, because he had managed to get the Christian to admit, in front of a worldwide audience, that he couldn’t defend the Bible’s history (e.g., Cain’s wife), and didn’t take the Bible as written (the days of creation), and instead accepted the world’s teaching (millions of years). Thus, Bryan (unwittingly) had undermined biblical authority and paved the way for secular philosophy to pervade the culture and education system.

Interesting explanation! I hadn't realized that Bryan accepted an Old Earth, which is similar to accepting evolution itself. The way you describe Bryan's testimony, it does seem to undermine Bryan's case.

But realize that much of Bryan's testimony was spectacular, with many jokes at Darrow's expense. The liberal reporters distorted what happened and made Bryan look worse than he really was.

Evidently Darrow became so afraid of Bryan's comments and potential questions that Darrow then broke his end of the deal and refused to take the witness stand himself afterward!

4. In all honest, I am having a hard time choosing who was the most influential because I feel many men accomplished many things during this period. Teddy Roosevelt certainly did much good as a President by breaking up monopolies. Woodrow Wilson’s views on the war definitely affected many people and their views. He was the one that laid the foundation for the United Nations which still exists today, although it does not seem to have accomplished its main goal—peace.

Excellent.

6. The Constitutional Amendments 16-19 are consequences of the progressive movement.

The 16th Amendment gives Congress the power to lay and collect taxes on income.
The 17th Amendment states that Senators will now be directly elected by the people and by popular vote.
The 18th Amendment prohibits the manufacturing, sale, or transportation of alcohol.
The 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote in any election, anywhere in the United States.

Correct.

H1. According to the first Amendment, American citizens have the freedom of speech. This means that the government is not allowed to control our speech. This can be a good thing because it allows Christians to share their faith without the government stepping in and silencing us. However, there is also a danger to this amendment and I believe the government took notice of that fact which led to Schenk v. U.S. If someone shouts “fire” as a joke in a crowded building, the safety of everyone in the building is at stake. The freedom of speech can be two-faced at times. Therefore I am undecided as to my view concerning the free speech decisions during World War I. If too many pacifists and anti-war protesters spoke out, it could have stirred up riots amongst those in America and resulted in harm and possibly even death. Yet, the government seems to have overstepped its bounds by passing the Sedition Act along with the Supreme Court ruling in Debs v. U.S. Yet, the government does seem to take more control during times of war which is perfectly constitutional! The President is Commander in Chief of the armed forces and Congress alone can declare war. Again, I am unsure of my position concerning government interference concerning free speech during World War I.

Good answer that addresses the main issues.

H2. Mustard Gas (Yperite) was first used by the German Army in September 1917. It was one of the most lethal of all the poisonous chemicals used during the war. It was almost odourless and took twelve hours to take effect. Yperite was so powerful that only small amounts had to be added to high explosive shells to be effective. Once in the soil, mustard gas remained active for several weeks.

The skin of victims of mustard gas blistered, the eyes became very sore and they began to vomit. Mustard gas caused internal and external bleeding and attacked the bronchial tubes, stripping off the mucous membrane. This was extremely painful and most soldiers had to be strapped to their beds. It usually took a person four or five weeks to die of mustard gas poisoning.

How terrible! No wonder nations afterward banned used of this awful tactic of war.

H5. Although Darwinism was hardly the cause of the World War I, it definitely played a huge part in the mindsets of those fighting in the War. World War I was the start of racial superiority (later manifested in WWII). Such a belief could only stem from Darwinism and “survival of the fittest.” Each nation was fighting to become “top dog” and did not care how it achieved the position. This led to the merciless killing and horrific tortures that became apart of World War I.

Terrific answer, could become a model answer.

Gabrielle <><

Grade: 90/90. Terrific work.--Andy Schlafly 21:20, 5 May 2011 (EDT)