The Scopes Trial (a.k.a The Monkey Trial) by Erin Clark

Why This was Relevant to the 20's/30's

2016mbaumann — 2015-12-09 16:52:24 UTC

The 1920´s and 30´s was a time of great change for America. When John Scopes explained to his high school class what evolution was, he was arrested and a trial was held. Even though John was only telling his class a very small portion of what evolution was, consequences were out in place. Even though his fine was over turned by the supreme court of Tennessee, this event changed the way people thought about what was right and wrong to teach in a classroom.

We chose this topic because we wanted something that was controversial to citizens of America at the time. We wanted to investigate why John got into trouble, for simply explaining something to his class. We thought this topic would be interesting to learn about.

William Jennings Bryan

2016mbaumann — 2015-12-09 16:53:26 UTC

William Jennings Bryan was a Christian and disagreed with the process of evolution.

Clarence Darrow

2016mbaumann — 2015-12-09 16:54:33 UTC

Clarence Darrow was at the top of his career when he was asked to defend John Scopes. He defended many other people, and even argued someone out of getting the death penalty!

Before the Trial

2016mbaumann — 2015-12-09 16:56:05 UTC

The area of Evensville was split in half. Some civilians thought it was okay for John T. Scopes to explain a little snip it of evolution. Others thought that it was completely unconstitutional, and that John should be fined more than 500 dollars. This was a very big situation at the time, and this was getting a lot of publicity. Clarence Darrow was going to defend John. Clarence Darrow was one of the most well - known lawyers in America at the time. William Jennings Bryan was the lawyer prosecuting John.

John T. Scopes

2016eclark — 2015-12-10 17:04:34 UTC

John T. Scopes was born August 3, 1900 and died October 21, 1970. He was born and raised in Paducah, Kentucky, and lived on a farm. When he was 17, he moved to Salem, Illinois to pursue an education. He attended University of Illinois for a short while, but left because of health reasons. He then earned a degree at the University of Kentucky in 1924, with a major in law and a minor in geology. Then, John Scopes became a high school teacher in Dayton, Tennessee.

2016eclark — 2015-12-10 17:21:25 UTC

May 5, 1925

2016eclark — 2015-12-11 01:59:51 UTC

The law making it illegal to teach evolution was made in March of 1925, called "The Butler Act. Teaching evolution was a misdemeanor and was punishable by fine. The law stated that you cannot “teach 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.” Evolution is the process in which animals or other living organisms develop over time from their earlier species. This theory, however, conflicts with what the bible says. The bible states that God created man, and the process of evolution would contradict that belief.

2016eclark — 2015-12-11 02:17:44 UTC

Here are protesters against John Scopes teaching evolution, right outside of the high school!

The Trial

2016mbaumann — 2015-12-11 02:52:42 UTC

Over 120 journalists were sent to Dayton by newspapers to report on the proceedings. Chicago sent announcer Quin Ryan to Dayton, making the trial the first U.S. one to be broadcast over live national radio. Presiding judge John Raulston opened the trial on July 10th in the presence of nine hundred spectatirsThree students testified and said that Scopes had said that humans gradually evolved from single-celled organisms, while in the classroom.

The defense tried to explain that the Butler Act violated the freedoms guaranteed in both the federal and state constitutions. Defense attorney Malone explained that there was no evidence that Scopes had denied the biblical account of Creation. The defense unexpectedly called William Jennings Bryan (prosecutor) to the stand as an expert witness. Bryan was forced to defend literal interpretations of biblical stories. Many of Bryan's followers were disappointed with his ability to give more persuasive answers. On July 21st, Clarence Darrow (defense), in order to allow the case to be appealed, he asked for a verdict of guilty. Judge John Raulston fined Scopes one hundred dollars.

2016eclark — 2015-12-11 16:58:57 UTC

Life After The Trial

2016eclark — 2015-12-11 17:13:01 UTC

After the trial, John did not come back to teaching. He earned his masters in geology at the University of Chicago. He settled down and married and had two children. He worked for companies such as Gulf Oil and United Gas.

In 1967, John published a book called "Center of the Storm", about his life and experiences in the Monkey Trial. Unfortunately, John died at age 70 due to cancer, on October 21, 1970.

Why is the Scopes Trial Called The Monkey Trial?

2016eclark — 2015-12-11 17:30:06 UTC

The Scopes Trial is Called the Monkey Trial, because according to evolution, humans developed from the lower order of animals, and in this case, the lower animals from which humans developed is monkeys.

Another reason is that merchants of Dayton featured monkey motifs in advertisements and sold monkey dolls in hopes of improving the economy.

Our Notes and Citations

2015-12-15 02:45:06 UTC

The Monkey Dolls

2016eclark — 2015-12-15 16:57:30 UTC

Here is a woman from Dayton holding a monkey doll in support of the Trial.