History Of The Scopes Monkey Trial

The Scopes Monkey Trial: The Trial of the Century Imagine being placed under arrest for preaching something you believed in that others did not. This is almost unheard of in today's time. The teaching of evolution became illegal in 1925 because christians saw it as a threat to their beliefs. John Scopes, voluntarily, was in violation of this law and was arrested in Dayton, Tennessee. This arrest led to one of the most famous trials in the 1920s. After teaching evolution illegally, John Scopes was the subject of controversial trial that opened people’s minds to the idea of evolution. John Scopes taught evolution to students in Tennessee which was against the law. The Butler Act made the teaching of evolution more difficult. This law was passed

William Jennings Bryan, a religious fundamentalist helped the prosecution, and the judge was also a Christian which led to a biased courtroom. Freya Ottem Hanson says, “It was reported ‘by 1925, Bryan and his followers had succeeded in getting laws introduced in fifteen states [including Tennessee] to ban the teaching of evolution’”(21). This shows how popular Bryan was and how much he was followed by other Christians. The first day of the trial took place on July 10, 1925 (“Scopes Trial” 139-140). Deberry says that the judge opened each day with a prayer and Darrow would object but it would be overruled. The trial was more focused on the Butler Act than it was on defending Scopes. Darrow called his first scientist to the stand but the judge did not allow it because it was seen as opinion whether it was from an expert or not. It seemed the trial was over but it was not. The trial proceeded when Bryan was called to the stand. Darrow questioned Bryan hard on the bible and his beliefs. Darrow bore down on Bryan so hard that he got Bryan to admit that he did not believe in the literal interpretation the bible gave (2-4). Cawthon says even though many people were shocked and disgusted with Bryan, who many looked up to as a mentor, Scopes was still found guilty and fined one hundred dollars. The trial was later dismissed because the judge can not fine more than fifty dollars, only the jury can (297). Although the trial was dismissed and did

Evolutionist lost short term but won long term. DeBerry says how some schools throughout the U.S. took evolution out of their textbooks. Tennessee did not even use their biology books in their schools. Schools did not start teaching evolution until decades later (4). The Butler Act was not enforced, and it was eventually repealed years later. It was seen by many that this act violated separation of church and state: “On appeal the U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, Epperson vs. Arkansas (1968), held that it violated the constitutional ban against the establishment of religion” (“Scopes Trial” 143). This proved that the Butler Act separated the rights of church and state. Cawthon says the act highlighted people's attitudes towards science and faith. So, they ended up repealing the Butler Act in 1967 (298-299). This change in the law had a huge effect on what we learn today in