who was the defense attorney in the scopes-monkey trial of the 1920s

by Delilah Schumm 4 min read

Clarence Darrow

Who was the defense attorney for the Scopes Monkey Trial?

Both the prosecution and the defense hired big names in the legal world for the trial: Scopes was represented by hotshot defense attorney Clarence Darrow, whilst the prosecution was led by William Jennings Bryan, who ran for President as Democratic nominee 3 times.

Who was the defense attorney for John Scopes?

John Scopes, a month before the beginning of the trial. Both the prosecution and the defense hired big names in the legal world for the trial: Scopes was represented by hotshot defense attorney Clarence Darrow, whilst the prosecution was led by William Jennings Bryan, who ran for President as Democratic nominee 3 times.

What are the most important events in the Scopes Monkey Trial?

1 Butler Act. ... 2 John Scopes. ... 3 William Jennings Bryan. ... 4 Clarence Darrow. ... 5 William Jennings Bryan Arrives. ... 6 Scopes Monkey Trial Begins. ... 7 Clarence Darrow’s Speech. ... 8 Clarence Darrow’s Plan. ... 9 William Jennings Bryan on the Stand. ... 10 After the Scopes Trial. ... More items...

What did William Jennings Bryan do in the Scopes Monkey Trial?

William Jennings Bryan led for the prosecution and Clarence Darrow for the defense. The judge ruled out any test of the law’s constitutionality or argument on the validity of the theory, limiting the trial to the single question of whether John T. Scopes had taught evolution, which he admittedly had. He was convicted and fined $100.

image

Who were the lawyers in the Scopes case?

Summary. Photograph shows William Jennings Bryan (seated, left, with fan) and Clarence Darrow (standing, center, with arms folded) at an outdoor courtroom during Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee.

Who was the lawyer who prosecuted Scopes?

William Jennings BryanThe prosecution was led by William Jennings Bryan, a former Secretary of State, presidential candidate, and the most famous fundamentalist Christian spokesperson in the country. His strategy was quite simple: to prove John Scopes guilty of violating Tennessee law.

What happened Clarence Darrow?

Death. Darrow died on March 13, 1938, at his home, in Chicago, Illinois, of pulmonary heart disease.

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 Scopes trial begin?

The trial began – somewhat ironically – with a lengthy prayer. The first day saw the grand jury being reconvened and repeating testimony from Scopes’ students who had appeared in that trial and jury selection.

How did Bryan and Darrow set the tone?

Bryan and Darrow set the tone by immediately attacking each other in the press. The ACLU attempted to remove Darrow from the case, fearing they would lose control, but none of these efforts worked.

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).

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.

How long did it take for the jury to pronounce Scopes guilty?

The jury took nine minutes to pronounce Scopes guilty. He was fined $100.

What was the controversy over teaching science and evolution?

In 2005, the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District battled over the constitutionality of teaching “intelligent design” in Pennsylvania schools alongside evolution.

Who were the two lawyers who were in the monkey trial?

Into the tempest that was soon to become a cause célèbre stepped famed attorneys William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. Clarence Darrow, left, and William Jennings Bryan speak with each other at the "monkey trial" in Dayton, Tennessee, in 1925. Darrow was one of three lawyers sent to Dayton by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Why did the scopes monkey trial start?

The Scopes Monkey Trial started as an effort by the ACLU to challenge the constitutionality of a Tennessee law that forbade teaching the theory of evolution in public schools. The Tennessee Supreme Court found the law forbidding the teaching of evolution to be constitutional.

Why did Bryan join the prosecution team?

Yet Bryan volunteered to join the prosecution team because he opposed the theory of evolution for its association with eugenics and with social Darwinism.

How long did it take to find Scopes guilty?

Reporters assembled from as far away as London and Hong Kong. H. L. Mencken chronicled the trial for the Baltimore Sun. The jury needed only nine minutes to find Scopes guilty.

What did Scopes challenge?

Scopes challenged Tennessee law forbidding the teaching of evolution. The case arose when, seeking to test the constitutional validity of the Butler Act, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) placed advertisements in Tennessee newspapers offering to pay the expenses of any teacher willing to challenge the law.

What was the Supreme Court's decision in Scopes v. State?

State (1925), Scopes was found guilty and fined $100, but, on appeal, the Supreme Court of Tennessee, pointing to a technicality in the issuance of the fine, overturned Scopes’s conviction, while finding the Butler Act constitutional.

How many spectators were in the courtroom in 1925?

(AP Photo, used with permission from the Associated Press) More than six hundred spectators shoehorned themselves into the courtroom.

Scopes Monkey Trial

The Scopes Monkey trial was a battle over the right to teach Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in Tennessee public schools. The trial was named after the mistaken belief of many creationists that Darwinists believe humans directly evolved from monkeys.

Controversy: The Scopes Monkey Trial

The Scopes “Monkey” Trial The year was 1925 and our country was recovering from brutal World War I. People desired for the country to return to normalcy and found comfort in religion. Peace and quiet was returning to main street, but not everyone enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Was Darwin Wrong David Quammen Analysis

Over the eras, many scientists have expressed concerns with Darwin's evolution theory and in "Was Darwin Wrong?" by David Quammen one can learn about the proof behind the theory of evolution. Many people do not believe in evolution due to an overall unawareness about the theory and religious upbringing.

John Thomas Scopes Monkey Trial

John Thomas Scopes, a teacher in Dayton Tennessee, with a hopeful mind in teaching children about Charles Darwin. Scopes was never a full time teacher, he was an occasional substitute and the high school’s football coach. In Tennessee, they have a law where it is illegal to teach children about Charles Darwin and evolution.

How To Write An Essay On The Tuskegee Experiment

The Tuskegee Experiment The Tuskegee experiment was a mind blowing experiment that was conducted by the Public Health Service (PHS). This experiment took place between 1932 and 1972 in Tuskegee, Alabama and lasted for forty-years.

What Was The Scopes Trial In The 1920s

Scopes Trial What was the Scopes Trial? In the summer of 1925, John Scopes went to trial on grounds of teaching evolution, which was against the law in Dayton, TN. There were many factors involved to make this event so very publicly known.

Scopes Monkey Trial Report

I am John Scopes, I am famous for the Scopes Monkey Trial. It’s a common misconception that I actually taught evolution but I truly didn’t. I am 24, and I was born August 3rd, 1900 in Paducah, Kentucky. I attended the University of Illinois and graduated with a degree in Law and minor in Geology.

What was the purpose of the Scopes Trial?

The trial’s proceedings helped to bring the scientific evidence for evolution into the public sphere while also stoking a national debate over the veracity of evolution that continues to the present day. Scopes Trial.

Who led the Butler case?

William Jennings Bryan led for the prosecution and Clarence Darrow for the defense. Jury selection began on July 10, and opening statements, which included Darrow’s impassioned speech about the constitutionality of the Butler law and his claim that the law violated freedom of religion, began on July 13. Judge John Raulston ruled out any test of the ...

How much was Scopes fined?

With Raulston limiting the trial to the single question of whether Scopes had taught evolution, which he admittedly had, Scopes was convicted and fined $100 on July 21.

What was the climax of the trial?

The trial’s climax came on July 20, when Darrow called on Bryan to testify as an expert witness for the prosecution on the Bible. Raulston moved the trial to the courthouse lawn, citing the swell of spectators and stifling heat inside.

What was the Butler Act?

In March 1925 the Tennessee legislaturehad passed the Butler Act, which declared unlawful the teaching of any doctrine denying the divine creation of man as taught by the Bible. World attention focused on the trial proceedings, which promised and delivered confrontation between fundamentalist literal belief and liberal interpretation of the Scriptures. William Jennings Bryanled for the prosecution and Clarence Darrowfor the defense.

When did the jury selection begin in the Butler case?

Jury selection began on July 10 , and opening statements, which included Darrow’s impassioned speech about the constitutionality of the Butler law and his claim that the law violated freedom of religion, began on July 13. Judge John Raulston ruled out any test of the law’s constitutionality or argument on the validity of evolutionary theory on the basis that Scopes, rather than the Butler law, was on trial. Raulston determined that expert testimony from scientists would be inadmissible.

Who ruled out the validity of evolutionary theory?

Judge John Raulston ruled out any test of the law’s constitutionality or argument on the validity of evolutionary theory on the basis that Scopes, rather than the Butler law, was on trial. Raulston determined that expert testimony from scientists would be inadmissible.

Scopes Trial

The Scopes Trial, a Tennessee legal case involving the teaching of evolution in public schools, induced a pivotal point in American history. This world-famous trial symbolizes the conflict between science and theology, faith and reason, individual liberty, and majority rule.

The Great Impact On Tom Robinson's Trial

This had a great impact on Tom Robinson's trial because he was seen as inferior to the jury, Bob Ewell, and his daughter, Mayella Ewell. The jury decided to take the words of the superior even though Tom was not guilty. The results of the trial were biased because of the unfair laws that even influenced the decisions of the jury during the

Cultural Clash In The 1920s

During the 1920s, Word War I had just ended and people were ready to celebrate. Although 1920 had its good times and perks, some bad things were going on, like cultural clashes. The first major cultural clash was the Great Migration.

Who was the attorney for the Scopes trial?

Both the prosecution and the defense hired big names in the legal world for the trial: Scopes was represented by hotshot defense attorney Clarence Darrow, whilst the prosecution was led by William Jennings Bryan, who ran for President as Democratic nominee 3 times. Whilst it may technically have been a trial on a particular piece of anti-evolution legislation in small town Tennessee, many saw it as representing a wider divide between traditional America and modern science. A victory would be much bigger than just this case: particularly if it resulted in a Supreme Court verdict on the subject.

What did the Scopes trial reveal?

It did, however, reveal the widening gulf between creationism and evolution debates in 1920s America. After Scopes’ conviction, states across America tried to push through anti-evolution legislature en masse – prior to this, only South Carolina, Kentucky, Oklahoma and of course Tennessee had had legislature in place.

Why did Scopes offer to defend anyone found in defiance of the Butler Act?

They offered to defend anyone found in defiance of the Butler Act because they’d taught evolution in a school environment. Dayton, Tennessee, where Scopes taught was a small town and the publicity of such a watershed trial, it was hoped, would put the town on the map.

How long did it take for the jury to decide that Scopes was guilty?

It took the jury a speedy 9 minutes to determine that Scopes was guilty, and was ordered to pay a $100 fine as punishment.

How long did the trial of the Bible take?

Despite big claims and lots of publicity, the trial wasn’t quite the event that many had hoped. It took only 8 days in court, and the judge was unsympathetic to the wider arguments that were taking place in his court surrounding the historical validity of the Bible and the accuracy and morality of modern science.

Where did Scopes live?

The trial made Scopes’ life in Tennessee unsustainable. Jobs dried up and it became clear he would never teach again in the state. As a result, he and his wife moved to Kentucky and later Texas, when he began working as an oil expert.

When was the trial of the century?

When proceedings opened in July 1925 , it had already been dubbed the ‘trial of the century’. This wasn’t simply a trial surrounding the violation of law, but putting the authority of the Bible and Christianity on trial against Darwinian science.

How long did John Caverly sentence Leopold and Loeb?

Darrow succeeded. Caverly sentenced Leopold and Loeb to life in prison plus 99 years.

What was the fine for Scopes?

Scopes was found guilty and ordered to pay the minimum fine of $100. A year later, the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Dayton court on a procedural technicality—not on constitutional grounds, as Darrow had hoped. According to the court, the fine should have been set by the jury, not Raulston.

Why did Leopold and Loeb plead guilty?

Darrow stunned the prosecution when he had his clients plead guilty in order to avoid a vengeance-minded jury and place the case before a judge. The trial, then, was actually a long sentencing hearing in which Darrow contended, with the help of expert testimony, that Leopold and Loeb were mentally diseased.

Why did Darrow leave the labor union?

He took the latter because he had become convinced that the criminal justice system could ruin people's lives if they were not adequately represented.

What did the AFL call on Darrow?

In 1911, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) called on Darrow to defend the McNamara brothers, John and James, who were charged in the Los Angeles Times bombing on October 1, 1910, during the bitter struggle over the open shop in Southern California. The bomb had been placed in an alley behind the building, and although the explosion itself did not bring the building down, it ignited nearby ink barrels and natural gas main lines. In the ensuing fire, 20 people were killed. The AFL appealed to local, state, regional and national unions to donate 25 cents per capita to the defense fund, and set up defense committees in larger cities throughout the nation to accept donations.

Who is Ruby Hammerstrom?

( m. 1903) ​. Children. 1. Relatives. J. Howard Moore (brother-in-law) Clarence Seward Darrow ( / ˈdæroʊ /; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial.

Who was Darrow married to?

Darrow married Jessie Ohl in April 1880. They had one child, Paul Edward Darrow, in 1883. They were divorced in 1897. Darrow later married Ruby Hammerstrom, a journalist 16 years his junior, in 1903. They had no children.

Who was the man who dubbed the monkey trial?

Though he took only a single course post high school, he was a noted intellectual in addition to being a journalist, producing a bevy of books. It was Mencken who dubbed this trial that took place in the summer of 1925 “The Monkey Trial.”.

What was the scopes case?

This case was about the role of religion in American public life and culture. The Scopes Case was a clash of worldviews.

What can we learn from 1925?

What can we learn from that moment nearly a century ago? One thing is that the Bible remains on trial. In 1925, the attacks on the Bible came from the hard sciences. Those attacks remain. Today, however, additional attacks come from the social sciences. Same-sex and transgender issues directly contradict the teaching of Genesis 1–3. These opening chapters of the Bible declare that we are created in the image of God, that we are created as male and female, and that marriage is between a man and a woman. We did not evolve. Gender is not a social construct. So-called homosexual marriage is both unnatural — not according to nature — and unbiblical.

What was the 20th century?

The twentieth century would be a century of progress, fueled by an enshrinement of science. The theory of biological evolution itself evolved into the theory of social evolution. There was a near-giddy sense of being on the cusp of mankind’s achievement of greatness.

Who is Stephen Nichols?

Stephen Nichols is President of Reformation Bible College and Chief Academic Officer of Ligonier Ministries . Stephen Nichols is President of Reformation Bible College and Chief Academic Officer of Ligonier Ministries . On July 10, 1925, the eyes of the nation looked upon the Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee, ...

Who was William Jennings Bryan?

William Jennings Bryan was a three-time candidate for the presidency of the United States, sat in the House of Representatives, and served as Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson. He was called “The Great Commoner.”.

Was the ACLU eager to violate the law?

They were eager for an opportunity to violate the newly minted law. The ACLU, equally eager, saw this as a first shot of a long war they were zealous to wage. Much, much more was happening here than the clear-cut violation of a Tennessee law and a misdemeanor offense. Some have said the Bible was on trial.

image