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SCOPES' MONKEY TRIAL
The Scopes' Monkey Trial of 1925 sparked nationwide controversy between Fundamentalists and evolutionists concerning public school curricula. The values clash between traditionalism (religion) and modernism (evolution) was eloquently debated in Dayton, Tennessee court proceedings by Christian Fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan and agnostic Clarence Darrow, considered the greatest orators of their time. Unprecedented press coverage was given to the Scopes' Monkey Trial, and it was the first trial in United States history to be broadcast over national radio.
Central to the Scopes' Monkey Trial was concern about public school teaching of theories taken from two books by Charles Darwin. His 1859 work, On the Origin of Species, asserted that each species was not independently created. Darwin’s second book, The Descent of Man, published in 1871, stated that man descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped.
Scopes' Monkey Trial dialectic concerned Darwin’s theory of evolution which challenged religious creationism fundamentals. Fundamentalists interpret the Bible literally and view evolutionary theory as a serious threat to their religious truths. In the 1920s, anti-evolution legislation was introduced in 11, mostly southern, states. Tennessee was the first state to prohibit public school teaching of evolution with the passage of the Butler bill in 1925. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) construed anti-evolution laws as unconstitutional under the First Amendment to the Constitution, which mandates separation between church and state in public education. George Rappalyea, an evolutionist and manager of local Dayton mines, read in a Chattanooga paper that the ACLU was seeking teachers to challenge the law. Rappalyea thought a Dayton trial would bring publicity and tourism dollars to the city of approximately 1,800. With the help of the school board, Rappalyea recruited 24 year old teacher John Scopes, who agreed to be indicted for teaching evolution.
As the Scopes' Monkey Trial progressed, Darrow departed from the ACLU’s strategy of challenging the constitutionality of the Butler law. In a novel move, Darrow called Bryan to the stand after he declared himself an expert on the Bible. Darrow attacked Bryan’s literal interpretation of the Bible and his limited scientific knowledge. After 8 days of trial and only 9 minutes of deliberation, Scopes was found guilty and fined $l00, which both Bryan and the ACLU offered to pay. Five days after the end of the Scopes' Monkey Trial, Bryan died in his sleep.
In 1927 the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the Scopes' Monkey Trial verdict on a technicality; the jury should have determined the fine instead of the judge. The Butler Act was deemed constitutional. Still, Darrow and the ACLU did win partly; Tennessee prosecutors were directed not to indict anyone under the Butler law. Bibliography On the Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition, Charles Darwin, Wildside Press, 2003 Center of the Storm: Memoirs of John T. Scopes, John T. Scopes, Henry Holt & Co., Inc., 1967 Summer for the Gods: The Scopes' Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion, Edward J. Larson, Basic Books, New Ed edition, 1997 |
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