Block 2

The John Scopes Trialalso known as…

• Did humans evolve from monkeys?• Did the world come into being through Divine Intervention?• May Darwin’s Theory of Evolution be taught in High School science classes?

When, Where, Why?• July, 1925

• Dayton, Tennessee

• Because of the “Butler Act” and Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution

The Voyage of the Beagle, 1831 The Origin of Species, 1859

The John Scopes Trial was – and is - important because:

• It brought the discussion of religion in public schools to the national attention

• It pitted North against South (again): Northern schools generally taught Evolution, Southern schools less so; Northerners felt intellectually superior and Southerners often felt “backward”

• It made a criminal case national news: Sensationalism! Media attention! Radio!

• It challenged the U.S. Constitution

The “Butler Act” (Tennessee,1925)

• It is illegal to teach any story or theory of the creation of human beings except the one in the Bible

• Anyone caught teaching anything else will be arrested.

• The fine will be a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $500 for each offense.

• This law applied to public educational institutions: those funded by the government

…but this was nothing new:• Laws like the Butler Act were already in

place in Florida, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Texas

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

• Offered to pay the fines for any teacher who would break the Butler Act law

• Wanted to take the law to court and prove it unconstitutional

• Issue: Separation of church and state: guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution?

• Found John Scopes, a young football coach and part-time science teacher, willing to fight the law

The Trial: Defense and Prosecution• For the defense: the politician

William Jennings Bryan, three-time Presidential candidate, Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson and a staunch defender of the Bible

• For the prosecution: Clarence Darrow, a brilliant and controversial trial lawyer who was said to be an atheist

Darwinian Evolution vs. Christianity?• The trial drew over 200 newspapers reporters from all

over the country, including H.L. Mencken, the most famous journalist in the USA

• It was the first trial in the world to be broadcast live on the radio

• Clarence Darrow called William Jennings Bryan to the stand as an “expert on the Bible”

• Darrow then argued with him until Bryan began to contradict himself and say ridiculous things

Darrow’s cross-examination; Bryan’s responses

• (Darrow) You believe the story of the flood to be a literal interpretation? (Bryan) Yes sir. (Darrow) When was that flood? (Bryan) I would not attempt to fix the day. (Darrow) But what do you think the Bible itself says? Don't you know how it was arrived at? (Bryan)I never made a calculation. (Darrow) What do you think? (Bryan) I do not think about things I don't think about. (Darrow) Do you think about the things you do think about? (Bryan) Well, sometimes.

The Jury• 12 white men

• 10 of them were farmers

• 11 of them went to church every Sunday

Soon it was known as the “Monkey Trial”:

Charles Darwin “Evolution Trial”

Cartoonists poked fun at the defense and the prosecution

Bryan dismisses science “Papa!” says the chimp to Darrow

There were daily protests

Popular music was written, sung, and played on the radio

“You Can’t Make a Monkey of Me”(streaming; click on song list for audio)

“The John Scopes Trial”

The Verdict: A victory for whom?• Scopes was found guilty

and fined $100 (the absolute minimum)

• Darrow was regarded, once again, as brilliant, and the verdict was regarded as biased

• The Butler Act remained a law until 1967, but religion and evolution were no longer taboo topics

The Verdict: A victory for whom?

• John Scopes left teaching and became a successful scientist at an oil company

• Five days after the verdict, William Jennings Bryan died of diabetes and heart failure in his sleep.

The Legacy of the “Monkey Trial”

• Just three days after Bryan died, an anti-evolution bill was put before the Georgia state legislature.  In 1926 similar bills were presented to three more state assemblies.  And in 1927 no less than eighteen different anti-evolution bills were submitted in fourteen states.  Overall, two-thirds of all anti-evolutionist political activity in the 1920s occurred after the Scopes trial ended.

The Legacy of the “Monkey Trial”

• By 1930, according to one pro-evolution commentator, Maynard Shipley, an estimated 70% of all public high schools omitted all reference to the theory of evolution in their science classes.

• By the 1950's - with all mention of the evolution of man, natural selection and even the word evolution removed – the textbook Biology for Beginners "dominated the market".

• In 1986, in a survey of high school biology teachers in Ohio, Some 37.6% of the respondents agreed that creationism should be part of the curriculum, and 25% thought that creationism should be part of the science course. 

The Legacy of the “Monkey Trial”

• HARRISBURG, PA, December 14, 2004

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and attorneys with Pepper Hamilton LLP filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of 11 parents who say that presenting "intelligent design" in public school science classrooms violates their religious liberty by promoting particular religious beliefs to their children under the guise of science education.

After the trial: “Inherit the Wind”

What do YOU think?

• If you had been on the jury, how would you have voted?

• Should American States all be allowed to decide these things for themselves?

• Do you think the teaching of evolution should be allowed in high school science classes?

• What about “Creationism”?• What about “Intelligent Design”?• Why is this still an issue in the United States in

2004 – 2005?