Clarence Darrow
What was Bryan Darrow's goal?
Darrow’s goal in getting involved was to debunk fundamentalist Christianity and raise awareness of a narrow, fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible. It was the only time in his career he offered to give free legal aid. Bryan and Darrow set the tone by immediately attacking each other in the press.
What was the purpose of the Scopes trial?
The trial was viewed as an opportunity to challenge the constitutionality of the bill, to publicly advocate for the legitimacy of Darwin’s theory of evolution, and to enhance the profile of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
What did Bryan do before the trial?
Bryan arrived in Dayton three days before the trial, stepping off a train to the spectacle of half the town greeting him. He posed for photo opportunities and gave two public speeches, stating his intention to not only defend the anti-evolution law but to use the trial to debunk evolution entirely. Recommended for you.
What was the Scopes trial?
John Scopes. What became known as the Scopes Monkey Trial began as a publicity stunt for the town of Dayton, Tennessee. A local businessman met with the school superintendent and a lawyer to discuss using the ACLU offer to get newspapers to write about the town.
How did the trial day start?
The trial day started with crowds pouring into the courthouse two hours before it was scheduled to begin , filling up the room and causing onlookers to spill into the hallways. There was applause when Bryan entered the court and further when he and Darrow shook hands.
Why was the Darwin trial important?
The trial was viewed as an opportunity to challenge the constitutionality of the bill, to publicly advocate for the legitimacy of Darwin’s theory of evolution , and to enhance the profile of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
What was the Butler Act?
It was to a packed courthouse on Monday that arguments began by the defense working to establish the scientific validity of evolution, while the prosecution focused on the Butler Act as an education standard for Tennessee citizens, citing precedents.
Origins
State Representative John Washington Butler, a Tennessee farmer and head of the World Christian Fundamentals Association, lobbied state legislatures to pass anti-evolution laws. He succeeded when the Butler Act was passed in Tennessee, on March 25, 1925. Butler later stated, "I didn't know anything about evolution... I'd re…
Dayton, Tennessee
- The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) offered to defend anyone accused of teaching the theory of evolution in defiance of the Butler Act. On April 5, 1925, George Rappleyea, local manager for the Cumberland Coal and Iron Company, arranged a meeting with county superintendent of schools Walter White and local attorney Sue K. Hicks at Robinson's Drug Store…
Proceedings
- The ACLU had originally intended to oppose the Butler Act on the grounds that it violated the teacher's individual rights and academic freedom, and was therefore unconstitutional. Principally because of Clarence Darrow, this strategy changed as the trial progressed. The earliest argument proposed by the defense once the trial had begun was that there was actually no conflict betwee…
Appeal to The Supreme Court of Tennessee
- Scopes' lawyers appealed, challenging the conviction on several grounds. First, they argued that the statute was overly vague because it prohibited the teaching of "evolution", a very broad term. The court rejected that argument, holding: Second, the lawyers argued that the statute violated Scopes' constitutional right to free speechbecause it prohibited him from teaching evolution. Th…
Aftermath
- Creation versus evolution debate
The trial revealed a growing chasm in American Christianity and two ways of finding truth, one "biblical" and one "evolutionist".Author David Goetz writes that the majority of Christians denounced evolution at the time. Author Mark Edwards contests the conventional view that in th… - Anti-evolution movement
The trial escalated the political and legal conflict in which strict creationists and scientists struggled over the teaching of evolution in Arizona and California science classes. Before the Dayton trial only the South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Kentucky legislatures had dealt with anti-evo…
Publicity
- Edward J. Larson, a historian who won the Pulitzer Prize for History for his book Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion (2004), notes: "Like so many archetypal American events, the trial itself began as a publicity stunt." The press coverage of the "Monkey Trial" was overwhelming. The front pages of newspapers like The New …
Courthouse
- In a $1 million restoration of the Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, completed in 1979, the second-floor courtroom was restored to its appearance during the Scopes trial. A museum of trial events in its basement contains such memorabilia as the microphone used to broadcast the trial, trial records, photographs, and an audiovisual history. Every July, local people re-enact key mom…
Humor
- Anticipating that Scopes would be found guilty, the press fitted the defendant for martyrdomand created an onslaught of ridicule, and hosts of cartoonists added their own portrayals to the attack. For example: 1. American Experience has published a gallery of such cartoons, and 14 such cartoons are also reprinted in L. Sprague de Camp's The Great Monkey Trial. 2. Timemagazine's …
in Popular Culture
- Stage, film and television
1. Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee's play Inherit the Wind (1955), fictionalizes the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial as a means to discuss the then-contemporary McCarthy trials. It portrays Darrow and Bryan as the characters who are named Henry Drummond and Matthew Brady. In a … - Art
1. Gallery: Monkey Trial shows cartoonsmade in reaction to the trial.
References
- General bibliography
1. de Camp, L. Sprague (1968), The Great Monkey Trial, Doubleday, ISBN 978-0-385-04625-1 2. Clark, Constance Areson (2000), "Evolution for John Doe: Pictures, The Public, and the Scopes Trial Debate", Journal of American History, 87 (4): 1275–1303, doi:10.2307/2674729, ISSN 0021 …
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