John T. Scopes, the man who caused all the fuss It started out as a publicity stunt designed to bring tourists to the small town of Dayton, Tennessee. By the time it was over, it had brought together three of the most famous men in the world, killed one of them, and left ripples that we still feel today. While the event we note today is the 85th anniversary of schoolteacher John T. Scopes being arrested for teaching evolution, the events that prompted that arrest go back to 1922, when the Tennessee legislature passed the Butler Act, which prohibited any teacher in a public school from teaching "any theory that denies the Story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals." The law had been written by a Tennessee farmer, who had "read in the papers that boys and girls were coming home from school and telling their fathers and mothers that the Bible was all nonsense." The law, which had a fatal flaw (the state's required biology text had a chapter about evolution) sat unchallenged for three years, while the American Civil Liberties Union hunted for a teacher willing to challenge the law, even announcing its willingness to pay for the trial and any fines (the penalty was $100). There were no takers. Finally, in 1925, a group of Dayton businessmen were sitting around Robinson's Drugstore, trying to come up with a scheme to draw tourists to their town of 1,800. Someone mentioned the Butler Act, and before Scopes knew it, he had agreed to become the sacrificial lamb (or perhaps, "ape"). On May 5th, Scopes was "arrested" and all hell broke loose. The local fathers, hoping to secure maximum publicity for the trial, contacted such notables as novelist H.G. Wells (who declined, stating that he wasn't a lawyer). The prosecution countered with William Jennings Bryan, the three-time presidential candidate who was America's most respected public figure. Spurred by Bryan's presence, Clarence Darrow, the country's most famous defense attorney and defender of civil liberties, agreed to head Scopes' defense. Drawn by not only the spectacle of those two giants going head-to-head in the courtroom, but by the circus that developed around the trial, H.L. Mencken, the reporter who was one of the country's sharpest social commentators, came to report on the doings -- along with hundred of other reporters, an unprecedented national radio hookup, newsreel photographers, trained chimpanzees, and tens of thousands of spectators. The trial finally began on July 10 and things went badly for the defense. Witnesses were not allowed to testify and Darrow fought with the judge -- dodging more than one contempt citation. Finally, in a desperate stroke of genius, Darrow put Bryan himself on the stand -- or, rather, under the tree, since the judge moved matters outside to accommodate both the huge crowds and in an attempt to beat the stifling heat. Darrow cut him to ribbons, challenging his opponent's literal belief in the Good Book, and generally making a monkey of him. Bryan died five days after the trial, possibly the victim of his exertions. It was all for naught, though. The jury, deliberating only nine minutes, found Scopes guilty, and the judge fined him $100. That verdict was overturned on a technicality, but the law remained (unenforced) on the books until 1967. Even though no one else was every prosecuted under the Butler Act, its effects are felt today in controversies over Creationism, and the curricula proposed by the Kansas and Texas Boards of Education. And, for all the spectacle the trial provided, that kind of carnival atmosphere could never happen today... right? Suggested Sites... Tennessee vs. John Scopes - from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Full of facts, biographies, photos, transcripts, and more. "Inherit the Wind" - examines how the play and movies based on the trial have adapted the facts. Clarence Seward Darrow - summarizes many of Darrow's famous trials. Wikipedia: William Jennings Bryan - biography of Bryan, "The Great Commoner." American Experience: Monkey Trial - PBS site with background on 1925's "Trial of the Century."

Directory categories: Scopes Monkey Trial, Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, Evolution, Creation vs. Evolution

Archived under: 1920s, American History, Anniversaries, Apes, Biology, Clarence Darrow, Creationism, Education, Evolution, Law, Legal Cases, Primates, Religion, Science, Society and Culture, William Jennings Bryan

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