Preview

Inherit The Wind: The Importance Of Freedom Of Thought

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1029 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Inherit The Wind: The Importance Of Freedom Of Thought
In Inherit The Wind, Bertram Cates was arrested for violating the Butler Act. Like John Scopes, a football coach and substitute teacher, he was also put on trial because of violating the Butler Act on July 10, 1925. The Butler Act is a law that prohibits a teacher from teaching evolution other than creationism. The theme of Inherit The Wind is the Importance of Freedom of Thought because everyone has different thoughts and ideas. Without a Freedom of Thought, there wouldn’t be any changes at all.
Everyone rejected what Bertram Cates believed in for it wasn’t related to creationism. Instead, it is about how we are created through evolution. It doesn’t prove anything about putting a man on trial. Just because someone doesn’t have the same thought as one has, one does not have to be …show more content…
Everyone has the right to have their own freedom of thought. A freedom of thought is to accept what others are thinking. Creationism and Evolutionism have both different definitions. This means both cannot have a conflict. If the citizens were able to think freely, Bertram Cates wouldn’t be in jail and none of those individuals wouldn’t have sent him to trial. If the Importance of Freedom of thought has not been accepted, none of the citizens would have been able to speak their own mind. In other words, if the Butler Act has not been abolished in 1967, none of the citizens of Tennessee would have the Freedom of Thought. In conclusion, everyone has their on beliefs and one shouldn’t be punished for it. It is important to have freedom of thought for not everyone has the same ideas. As Khalil Gibran once said, “Life without freedom is like a body without a soul, and freedom without thought is like a confused spirit… Life, freedom, and thought are three in one, and are everlasting and shall never pass
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Thomas Scopes 'Religion-Fundamentalism'
    • 226 Words
    • 1 Page

    John Thomas Scopes 'Religion-Fundamentalism'

    Picture A. The scopes trial- A high school teacher by the name of John Thomas Scopes was charged and fined because he had started teaching his students of evolution theory. By teaching evolution theory, the idea that mankind had descended from apes and evolved throughout time, he was therefore denying the biblical stories of creationism. It doesn’t seem like a big deal at all except that at this time the Butlers Act was taking place which forbid exactly was Mr. scopes taught.…

    • 226 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis: Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Analysis: Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

    The theme of Inherit the Wind is, "don't be afraid of new ideas, and you have to let people make up their own minds about things." That theme fits the story really well, because that is the exact opposite of what the people of Hillsboro did, and look what happened there. One man spoke his mind, and a trial that made history was held. No one should be afraid to speak their mind, and people should not automatically reject a new idea because it is not what they are used to. The characters in Inherit the Wind heard Bert Cates's idea, didn't like it, and sent him to jail, not even giving his idea a chance. So, think before you judge someone else's ideas, because you never know how worthwhile they may end up being.…

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Summary Of Cal Thomas: Free Speech
    • 188 Words
    • 1 Page

    Summary Of Cal Thomas: Free Speech

    In “Cal Thomas: Free speech takes another hit” (2018), Cal Thomas claims free speech took “another hit” due to the backlash towards Laura Ingraham “for nothing more serious” than a tweet. He backs up his claim by implying Ingraham was using her freedom of speech in her tweet (David Hogg rejected by four colleges to which he applied and whines about it. (Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA ... totally predictable given acceptance rates.)’ to David Hogg, giving a short background on Ingraham to support her character (“Laura is a kind, compassionate woman and a practicing Roman Catholic.”), and stating “The left says things far worse than what she tweeted about David Hogg.” Thomas writes this article in order to stand up for the freedom of speech and…

    • 188 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Passion for Equality: Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr.
    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Passion for Equality: Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr.

    Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. both shared a similar theme in their writing, which was their passion for equality. These two authors both desperately longed for fairness amongst the people of our nation. Though the stories of Thoreau and King were similar, how they went about it differed.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    scopes trial
    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages

    scopes trial

    According to this source, what are the main reasons people supported the Butler Act? The teaching of evolution would destroy civilization.…

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Scopes Trial Essay
    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages

    John Scopes Trial Essay

    On March 13, 1925, the Butler Act was passed by W.F. Barry and L.D. Hill. It was soon approved by Austin Peay. The Butler Act prohibited the teaching of the Evolution Theory in all schools in the state of Tennessee. Basically it states that it is, “unlawful for any teacher in any of the Universities to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.”…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Scopes Trial Essay Example
    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Scopes Trial Essay Example

    The Scopes Trial was the Tennessee legal case involving the teaching of evolution in public schools. A statute was passed (Mar., 1925) in Tennessee that prohibited the teaching in public schools of theories contrary to accepted interpretation of the biblical account of human creation. John T. Scopes, a biology teacher, was tried (July, 1925) for teaching Darwinism in a Dayton, Tenn., public school. Clarence Darrow was one of Scopes's attorneys. Darrow argued that academic freedom was being violated and claimed that the legislature had indicated a religious preference, violating the separation of church and state. He also maintained that the evolutionary theory was consistent with certain interpretations of the Bible, and in an especially dramatic session he sharply questioned Bryan on the latter's literal interpretation. Scopes was convicted, partly because of the defense, which refused to plead any of the technical defenses available, fearing an acquittal on a technical rather than a constitutional basis. Scopes was, however, later released by the state supreme court on a technicality. Although the outcry over the case tended to discourage enactment of similar legislation in other states, the law was not repealed until 1967. William Jennings Bryan, three-time Democratic candidate for President and a populist, led a Fundamentalist crusade to banish Darwin's theory of evolution from American classrooms. Bryan's motivation for mounting the crusade is unclear. It is possible that Bryan, who cared deeply about equality, worried that Darwin's theories were being used by supporters of a growing eugenics movement that was advocating sterilization of "inferior stock." More likely, the Great Commoner came to his cause both out a concern that the teaching of evolution would undermine traditional values he had long supported and because he had a compelling desire to remain in the public spotlight--a spotlight he had occupied since his famous "Cross of Gold" speech at the…

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Analysis of John Wintrop's Voices of Freedom
    • 284 Words
    • 1 Page

    Analysis of John Wintrop's Voices of Freedom

    John Winthrop distinguished between natural and moral liberty. What was the difference? How did moral liberty work, and how did Puritans define liberty and freedom? Discuss the restrictions of moral liberty and the consequences as illustrated by Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson. Be sure to address Winthrop’s speech in the “Voices of Freedom” box.…

    • 284 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay About Inherit the Wind
    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay About Inherit the Wind

    It is common knowledge that winners write history. In Inherit the wind, by Lawrence and Lee, this is obvious by how they portray religion and sciences. Theology, the side that lost the case, is shown as a deleterious force, smothering all ideas that disagree with it without reason.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Great Commoner Research Paper
    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Great Commoner Research Paper

    Jennings-Bryan was the seemingly perfect candidate for the fundamentalist lawyer, as his devout faith and good political campaigns gave him the nickname “The Great Commoner”. This case would become the capstone of his very prestigious career, and serve as a structural backbone for his previous views on evolution which were illustrated by his participation in the World Christian Fundamentals Association, and having quotes such as “the (evolution) most paralyzing influence with which civilizations has had to deal with in the last century,… promulgated a philosophy that condemned democracy,… denounced christianity,… denied the existence of god, overturned all concepts of morality,... and endeavored to substitute the worship of the superhuman for the worship of Jehovah.” which he told the World Brotherhood Congress. The evidence was clear that Jennings-Bryan was obviously a devout Christian, and a complete opponent to the theory of evolution and anything it stood…

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Ain T I A Wom An Analysis Of Speech By Sojourner Truth
    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ain T I A Wom An Analysis Of Speech By Sojourner Truth

    Being a Woman is powerful. Being an African-American woman is even more powerful Ain't I a Woman is a speech by Sojourner Truth. This speech is very in lighting to many women of color. For women of color to be noticed is something Sojourner thought was important. Women's and Negros rights is something positive and that should be looked upon and that's how Sojourner saw it.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Inherit The Wind: An Inequitable Law
    • 1927 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Inherit The Wind: An Inequitable Law

    Laws are one of the most important parts in the life of a human today and they have been for many centuries. They decide what people in that region can or cannot do and if you break a law you get punishment, sometimes a fine, sometimes a jail sentence, and sometimes you can even get put on death row. But do citizens have to follow a law if it is unjust? In the play, Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, this occurred, Bertram Cates, a public school teacher in Hillsboro, Tennessee in 1925 broke an unjust law called the Butler Act. The Butler Act prohibits public school teacher from denying the Biblical account of man’s origin, or in simpler words, teachers couldn’t teach their students the theory of Evolution by Charles Darwin.…

    • 1927 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Paper on Freedom for the Thought That We Hate
    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Paper on Freedom for the Thought That We Hate

    In the book Freedom for the Thought that we Hate, author Anthony Lewis takes a simply phrased law, the First Amendment and shows how complex freedom of speech really is once put into the real world of freedom, as we know it. He shows through his rejections of absolutism, strong support towards freedom restriction, and objective analysis of Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, that the United States press is unlike any other in the world.…

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Liberty and the Pursuit of Truth
    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Liberty and the Pursuit of Truth

    In my essay I’ll direct my efforts to write about the thing that holds the American society together which is their values. Values are very important because all our actions based on them. I’ll address the importance of liberty and the pursuit of the truth.…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    James Baldwin's Essay What It Really Means By Freedom
    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages

    James Baldwin's Essay What It Really Means By Freedom

    James Baldwin’s statement about “what it really means by freedom” that challenged the United States to rethink the meaning of the statement because racism segregation was still happening. On the February of the year of 1960, four black students from North Carolina and Agriculture and Technical State University which in short terms was a black only college. All four students entered a local Woolworth’s store to purchase a couple of items and bravely decided to sit down at a white’s only lunch counter. Do to the color of their skin these individuals were told they would not be served, but they remained in their sits until closing and kept coming back every morning. They were able to gather support from other students and even gathered the…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics