The Significance Of The Scopes Monkey Trial

The Scope Trial, or more commonly known as the “Monkey” Trial, was a battle between the ideology of creationism and evolutionism that challenged the American citizens’ belief in the Bible during the 1920’s. This trial had not simply strengthened the idea of evolutionism but also lead to the decline of morality, complete rejection of creationism, and the rise of faith in science. Although it took place over fifty years ago, the “Monkey” trial still has a grand influence to the spirit and general attitude of the American people in the modern era. The Scopes Trial was more than simple a prosecution trial; it was the day the downfall of fundamentalism began. Before the trial, the state of Tennessee enforced the Butler Law, which made it unlawful

Eventually, the conspirators summoned John Scopes, a science teacher who taught evolution to his students, to start their plan. Scopes agreed, and the trial began on July 10th, 1925. Throughout the entire trial, however, the attention was not on Scopes’ prosecution. The main focus was on Darrow versus Bryan, evolutionism versus creationism. Unfortunately, despite Bryan’s reputation as a fundamentalist, he did not represent Christianity in a favorable image. Bryan’s constant mention of God and his firm faith were not unnoticed, but his inability to answer Darrow quirky questions

In the 1920’s, Sigmund Freud came up with the ideology of disdain of moral absolute and repression of desire. He concluded that everyone should let their desire run wild in order to maintain a healthy emotional life. Besides Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, although it was not the scientist’s intention, also contributed to the decrease in morality in the United States. Since everything around human are essentially relative to one’s perspective, the American citizens acted solely on their instinct and perspective without consideration of others. Particularly in the 1920’s, the era after the bloody Great War, the rise of rebellion against the old ideas and the desire to move on from the past through entertainment, clothing, and music was prominent. These mentalities as well as the debunk of Christianity in the Scopes Trial led to numerous Americans immoral decisions such as alcohol smuggling. Even though the case ended in 1925, the Americans in the modern era were not much different from those in the 1920’s. In the modern day, there are still numerous crimes regarding sexual abuses or robbery. Along with that, the music always evolve around the theme of drugs and actions that should keep quiet in public places. Without a divine being to hold their actions accountable, people can possibly escape