The Edwardian Era Synthesis Question

The Edwardian period in the early 18^th century, people saw violence as moral means of attaining justice. This was during the era of World War One, socialism and the Darwinism theory. War and conflict were very apparent during this day and age because religion was becoming weaker and Darwin’s theory of natural selection directed people away from the church. Atheism led to immoral beliefs and toward sinful actions. In addition, after the US success in the World War, violence became a preferred means of solution. Violence may not be the answer to most of the world’s problems, but violence has led great changes in the shortest amount of time. People believed that violence could be justified and evidence of this can be perceived in the art forms of this era.

The US has produced many works of art that portray this idea of justified violence during this period, such as the classic film The Birth of a Nation. This film takes place in 1915 where the Ku Klux Klan has a powerful influence over the south and its laws. When one of the characters named Gus, an African American, was killed by the clan the black militia went up in arms. Although the clan wins in its battles against the militia, one can argue that the violence that they committed was justified by the cruel and hateful treatment form the supremacy group. Violence was considered justified in this film and proper way of bringing an end to a conflict.