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After the war, the American people made the change from "old" ways to "new" ways. Many factors, such as new technology, fundamentalism, new looks and church led to tension between the old and the new. The 1920s were a time of conflicting viewpoints between traditional behaviors and new and changing attitudes.

New technology in the 1920s attributed to the change. Inventions such as the radio helped improve communication. Court trials, conventions, and meetings were broadcasted. Electrical appliances improved homes. In 1922, Sinclair Lewis wrote, "These standard advertised wares- toothpastes, socks, tires, cameras, instantaneous hot-water heaters - were his symbols and proofs of excellence, at first the signs, then the substitutes, for joy and passion and wisdom" (Document A.) The invention of the motion picture was also very significant. The invention of the airplane was influential as well. Charles Lindbergh's nonstop, 33-hour flight from New York to Paris helped increase interest in planes. Afterwards, Lindbergh became almost a world hero. Mary B. Mullett stated in The American Magazine, "When, because of what we believe him to be, we gave Lindbergh the greatest ovation in history, we convicted ourselves of having told a lie about ourselves. For we proved that the "things of good report" are the same today as they were nineteen hundred years ago . . . to have shown us this truth about ourselves is the biggest thing that Lindbergh has done" (Document F.) Within two years, William E. Boeing had created the first commercial airplane and was flying people from San Francisco to Chicago in it. The automobile was the biggest invention of its time. The automobile helped the tourist industry, and created some new businesses, such as gas stations, motels, and roadside restaurants. The automobile was popular, as it created a sense of freedom and power for those who drove it. Henry Ford was credited the most for the automobile. His assembly line made Model T was inexpensive and therefore was more available to the "common man." New technology attributed to the new attitudes and demands.

One of the most changes was the "new look" for young women. The Flapper Era entered America. Ladies did the unthinkable in cutting their long hair to chin length bobs, smoking, wearing shorter dresses and even engaging in premarital sex. Traditional women were horrified at these loose morals and daring behavior. They pushed to stop the women reformers who pushed for legalized birth control. They spoke against the sensual behavior of young women. At this time marriage decreased and divorce increased because women became more independent

Another source of tension was the difference in religious beliefs among people. A new way of thinking called Modernism emerged in which people took a slightly more critical look at the Bible. The people claimed to believe in the theory of evolution as opposed to the seven-day Creation story of Genesis. Fundamentalists, on the other hand, denounced this as blasphemy. These traditionalists took the word of the Bible as exact and literal. Nowhere was the conflict between these two parties more highlighted than in the Scopes Trial in Tennessee. John Scopes, a schoolteacher, had been arrested for teaching the theory of evolution to his students. He was eventually convicted (but later released), demonstrating the firm hold that Fundamentalism still had on this country, while also emphasizing the new ways of thinking that had begun to appeal to Americans.

Fundamentalism attributed to the growing rift between rural ("old") and urban ("new") areas. Fundamentalists were very conservative. They believed in a very literal interpretation of the Bible, and therefore were strongly opposed to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Fundamentalists that lived in rural areas saw city dwellers as sinful and disgusting. Since the fundamentalists lived so closely with nature and so far away from the rapidly growing cities, it was difficult for them to abandon their viewpoints for new developments and theories in science. William Jennings Bryan was the leader of the fundamentalists. The fundamentalists had attempted to eliminate the teaching of evolution in schools, and had been