The Scopes Monkey Trial In a tiny courtroom in the county of Dayton Tennessee, the jury settled into their seats, ready to return the verdict in the most controversial case of the 1920’s, the scopes “monkey” trial. Up to this point, the trial itself had been a media spectacle; the lawyers, the witnesses, even the defendant had become media icons in the commercialism of the twenties. The trial itself was set up to be a media demonstration to challenge the constitutionality of the butler act
the previously unexplainable, it has caused conflicts with religion. The Scopes “Monkey” Trial of Dayton, Tennessee was one of the most talked about trials in history because it was one of the first and most publicized times that this conflict occurred. The trial showed the schism between the faithful fundamentalists and the newly formed group of evolutionists. Although the jury was reminded that they only had to decide if Scopes had broken the law, the verdict was seen as much more than that. For one
dominated society. This clash between science (Darwin's Theory of Evolution) and religion (Bible scriptures) as the teaching of evolution became widespread across the country is best reflected in the Scopes Trial of the 1920s. However, the fight still continues today as the great uproar caused by the Scopes Trial has made a great impact on the acceptance of evolution through modern academic curriculum. While the people of the 19th century were uncomfortable with Darwin's theory and findings, they tolerated
Scopes Monkey Trial Perhaps one of the most famous trials in our history was that of the John Scopes. Scopes was a high school teacher in Dayton, Tennessee and was arrested because he was teaching the theory of evolution in his high school biology class. During the 1920's it was against the law in Tennessee to teach anything other than the theory of creation as written in the Bible. These laws were a result of a strong fundamentalist movements spreading throughout the United States. In 1925 the
I think the Scopes trial brought together a great cast of characters: three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan; America's best defense attorney, Clarence Darrow: and its most popular journalist, H. L. Mencken. It was a trial about ideas, a contest between traditionalism, the faith of our fathers, and modernism, the idea that we test faith with our intellect. And it had what the New York Times called the most memorable event in Anglo-Saxon court history: Darrow's calling of William
The Scopes Trial, formally known as The State of Tennessee vs. Scopes but given the nickname “The Monkey Trial”, has been credited as starting the popular legal dispute between evolution and creationism in the court, and its impact in the 20’s was immeasurable. The interpretation of the case is just as popular, if not more, than the actual result of the case. The worldwide attention and media coverage the case received produced many opinions. Scholar’s opinions range from describing the case as
the “trial of the century” (Moran 2). What began as a test case to challenge the recently passed Butler Bill by the Tennessean legislature would quickly become about so much more than anyone would have imagined, especially high school biology teacher John Thomas Scopes. Religion versus science, Bryan versus Darrow, modernism versus fundamentalism, the Jazz Age, culture, urbanism, regionalism; all of the conflicts and issues present during this time would each have a major impact on The Scopes “Monkey”
Media's Impact on the Scopes Monkey Trial The 1920’s were a period of transition for America. The culture of society was quickly adapting to many new ideas and beliefs. Traditional schools of thought were gradually being replaced with new technology and knowledge. The changes taking place were the source of much conflict, as many historical events of the twenties can illustrate. One such event is the Scopes “Monkey” Trial. From our research we discovered that the trial pitted Modernists against
would be willing to stand trial for having taught evolution in a public school so that a test case could be mounted to challenge the constitutional validity of the Act. Encouraged by George Rappelyea, (a mining engineer who managed six local coal and iron mines owned by the Cumberland Coal Company), a group of leading citizens in the small town of Dayton* - the "drug store conspirators" - decided to accept the ACLU's offer, in the hope that the publicity surrounding the trial would help to reverse the
in The Scopes Monkey Trial The stage was set in Dayton, Tennessee. The leading actor in this show was a twenty five-year-old science teacher named John T. Scopes. Scopes was under the direction of advancing America. The playbill read The Scopes “Monkey” Trial. In 1925 John T. Scopes was encouraged to challenge the Butler Law. This law had been passed by a small town in Dayton, Tennessee to prohibit teaching contra to those in the Bible. Teaching from an evolutionary text, Scopes broke the