The Scopes trial in 1925 prosecuted John Scopes for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act. The trial had political implications and was widely publicized as an example of the conflict between science and religion. Scopes was well-liked and had a skilled legal defense team, including Clarence Darrow. The trial ended with a guilty verdict and a $100 fine, which was later reduced. The Supreme Court upheld the decision but sent the case back to a lower court due to the fine being too high.
The Scopes trial, often called the “Scopes Monkey Trial,” occurred in 1925 when the state of Tennessee prosecuted John Thomas Scopes for violating the Butler Act, which prohibited public school educators from teaching about human evolution. The Scopes trial had strong political implications, so much so that it was widely publicized. Furthermore, the trial has been consistently presented as an example of the conflict between science and religion.
Specific teachings involved included the use of George W. Hunter’s book Civic Biology in high school. The purpose of the Scopes process and the Butler Act was to protect against the teaching of “eugenics.” Coined by Charles Darwin’s cousin, Sir Francis Galton, eugenics was an application of Darwin’s theory of evolution which was the active manipulation of the human gene pool based on the assumption that some human races were superior to others. Hitler later used eugenics to justify his extermination of millions of Jews.
Scopes taught math and coached football in Dayton, Tennessee. From time to time he filled in for the high school biology teacher. He claimed he never taught a lesson about evolution, but took the charge to fight the Butler Act. He was arrested by Sue Hicks, the Dayton city attorney, who was also friends with him. Renowned poet Shel Silverstein used Hicks as inspiration for his poem “A Boy Named Sue” which was later recorded by famed musician Johnny Cash.
Scopes was well liked in the community and never went to jail, as often recounted in accounts of the Scopes trial. He has formed a highly skilled legal defense team including Clarence Darrow, Dudley Field Malone, a law professor and an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney. Tennessee was represented by William Jennings Bryan, a famous politician who had not practiced law for more than 30 years.
The Scopes trial began on June 10, 1925 and ended on June 21 after all the evidence was presented to the court. In an effort to bar Bryan, famed for his oratory skills, from speaking, Darrow asked the jury to find his client guilty. The jury voted once and returned a guilty verdict in nine minutes. Scopes was ordered to pay a $100 fine, which he never paid because judges were not allowed to set fines higher than $50.
Scopes and his team appealed the decision several times. The lower court’s decision was upheld each time until the case reached the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held that the decision was constitutional, but sent the case back to a lower court because the original judge had set the fine too high.
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