Scopes Monkey Trial

Setting the scene

The Scopes Monkey Trial took place in Dayton, Tennessee, from July 10-21, 1925, when high school teacher John T. Scopes was prosecuted for teaching evolution in violation of Tennessee's Butler Act, which prohibited teaching that humans descended from animals. The American Civil Liberties Union had offered to defend any teacher willing to test the law, and Dayton businessmen, seeking publicity, recruited Scopes. The trial became a national sensation, pitting modernism against fundamentalism.

What happened

The prosecution was led by three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, a populist and fundamentalist. The defense was led by Clarence Darrow, the nation's most famous defense attorney and an agnostic. The trial's climax came when Darrow called Bryan as an expert on the Bible and cross-examined him about biblical literalism, forcing Bryan to admit that the Bible should not be interpreted literally on all points. The exchange was humiliating for Bryan, who died five days after the trial.

Why it still matters

Scopes was convicted and fined $100 (later overturned on a technicality), but the trial was a public relations victory for evolution supporters. It exposed the anti-intellectualism of fundamentalism and made teaching evolution a national issue. The trial was broadcast nationally by radio, the first trial to receive such coverage. It inspired the play and film 'Inherit the Wind.' Though Tennessee's law remained until 1967, the trial marked a turning point in the culture wars between science and religion, establishing a pattern that continues in debates over evolution, climate change, and education.

Background

It symbolized urban-rural cultural divides.