Editing Scopes trial

{{Short description|1925 US legal case in Tennessee}} 
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox court case
| name = Tennessee v. Scopes
| image = Tennessee v. John T. Scopes Trial- Outdoor proceedings on July 20, 1925, showing William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. (2 of 4 photos) (2898243103) crop.jpg
| imagesize = 300px
| caption = On the trial's seventh day, proceedings were moved outdoors because of excessive heat. [[William Jennings Bryan]] (seated, left) is being questioned {{nobr|by [[Clarence Darrow]].}}
| court = Criminal Court of Tennessee
| full name = The State of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes
| date decided = July 21, 1925
| citations = None
| judges = [[John Tate Raulston]]
| prior actions = 
| subsequent actions = ''[[#Appeal to the Supreme Court of Tennessee|Scopes v. State]]'' (1926)
| verdict = [[Guilt (law)|Guilty]] (''[[Vacated judgement|overturned]] on technicality'')
| opinions = 
| italic title = no
}}
'''''The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes''''', commonly known as the '''Scopes trial''' or '''Scopes Monkey Trial''', was an American [[legal case]] from July 10 to July 21, 1925, in which a high school teacher, [[John T. Scopes]], was accused of violating the [[Butler Act]], a [[Tennessee]] state law which outlawed the teaching of [[human evolution]] in public schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/tennstat.htm|title=Tennessee Anti-evolution Statute—UMKC School of Law|work=umkc.edu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520091924/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/tennstat.htm|archive-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref> The trial was deliberately [[Staged trial|staged]] in order to attract publicity to the small town of [[Dayton, Tennessee]], where it was held. Scopes was unsure whether he had ever actually taught evolution, but he [[Self-incrimination|incriminated himself]] deliberately so the case could have a defendant.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mark Paxton|title=Media Perspectives on Intelligent Design and Evolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ff0Gv_w4Fm0C&pg=PA105|year=2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=105|isbn=9780313380648}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Charles Alan Israel|title=Before Scopes: Evangelicalism, Education, and Evolution in Tennessee, 1870–1925|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5l4DBjpvLpgC&pg=PA161|year=2004|publisher=U of Georgia Press|page=161|isbn=9780820326450}}</ref> Scopes was represented by the [[American Civil Liberties Union]], which had offered to defend anyone accused of violating the Butler Act in an [[Test case (law)|effort to challenge the constitutionality of the law]]. 

Scopes was found guilty and was [[Fine (penalty)|fined]] $100 ({{inflation|US|100|r=-2|1925|fmt=eq}}), but the [[verdict]] was overturned on a technicality. [[William Jennings Bryan]], a three-time presidential candidate and former [[United States Secretary of State|secretary of state]], argued for the prosecution, while famed labor and criminal lawyer [[Clarence Darrow]] served as the principal defense attorney for Scopes. The trial publicized the [[fundamentalist–modernist controversy]], which set [[Christianity in the 19th century#Modernism in Christian theology|modernists]], who believed evolution could be consistent with religion,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Reluctant Modernism: American Thought and Culture, 1880–1900|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5T0l6BQc2kkC&q=christian+modernism+evolution&pg=PA7|isbn=978-0-7425-3746-0|first=George|last=Cotkin|year=2004|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|location=Lanham, MD|pages=7–14|access-date=October 5, 2013|orig-year=1992}}</ref> against [[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalists]], who believed the word of God as revealed in the [[Bible]] took priority over all human knowledge. The case was thus seen both as a theological contest and as a trial on whether evolution should be taught in schools. The trial became a symbol of the larger social anxieties associated with the cultural changes and modernization that characterized the decade of the 1920s in the United States. It also served its purpose of drawing intense national publicity and highlighted the growing influence of [[mass media in the United States|mass media]], having been covered by news outlets around the country and being the first trial in American history to be nationally broadcast by radio.

== Background and origins ==
===Butler Act===
Tennessee 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 signed into law in Tennessee, on March 21, 1925.<ref>Ferenc M. Szasz, "William B. Riley and the Fight against Teaching of Evolution in Minnesota." ''Minnesota History'' 1969 41(5): 201–216.</ref> Butler later stated, "I didn't know anything about evolution{{nbsp}}... I'd read in the papers that boys and girls were coming home from school and telling their fathers and mothers that the Bible was all nonsense." Tennessee governor [[Austin Peay]] signed the bill to gain support among rural legislators, but believed the law would neither be enforced nor interfere with education in Tennessee schools.<ref>{{cite book|first=Randall|last=Balmer|title=Thy Kingdom Come|url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_s5i3|url-access=registration|publisher=Basic Books|year=2007|isbn=9780465005192|page=111}}</ref> [[William Jennings Bryan]], who had been campaigning against the teaching of evolution in public schools, thanked Peay enthusiastically for the bill, stating "The Christian parents of the state owe you a debt of gratitude for saving their children from the poisonous influence of an unproven hypothesis."<ref>{{harvnb|Larson|1997|p=59}}</ref> In response, the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU) financed a [[test case (law)|test case]] by offering to defend anyone accused of teaching the theory of evolution in defiance of the Butler Act. 

<!--The two sides brought in the biggest legal names in the nation, Bryan for the prosecution and [[Clarence Darrow]] for the defense, and the trial was followed on radio transmissions throughout the United States.<ref>Edward J. Larson, ''Summer for the Gods: And America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion'' (2006) {{ISBN?}} {{page?|date=July 2024}}</ref><ref name="statcase" />-->

===Planning===
[[File:John t scopes.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[John T. Scopes]] in 1925]]
On April 5, 1925, [[George Rappleyea]], the local manager for the Cumberland Coal and Iron Company, arranged a meeting with county superintendent of schools [[Walter White (Tennessee politician)|Walter White]] and local attorney [[Sue K. Hicks]] at Robinson's Drug Store in Dayton, convincing them that the controversy of such a trial would give Dayton much needed publicity. According to Robinson, Rappleyea said "As it is, the law is not enforced. If you win, it will be enforced. If I win, the law will be repealed. We're game, aren't we?" The men then summoned 24-year-old [[John T. Scopes]], a Dayton high school science and math teacher. The group asked Scopes, who had substituted for the regular biology teacher, to admit to teaching the theory of evolution.<ref name=TN_Library>{{cite web | title=A Monkey on Tennessee's Back: The Scopes Trial in Dayton | work=Tennessee State Library and Archives | url=http://www.tn.gov/tsla/exhibits/scopes/index.htm | access-date=November 13, 2011 | archive-date=April 9, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409042530/http://www.tn.gov/tsla/exhibits/scopes/index.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|de Camp|1968}} 

Rappleyea pointed out that, while the Butler Act prohibited the teaching of the theory of evolution, the state required teachers to use [[George William Hunter]]'s textbook, ''[[Civic Biology|Civic Biology: Presented in Problems]]'', which explicitly described and endorsed the theory of evolution, as well as [[scientific racism]] and [[eugenics]]; and that teachers were, therefore, effectively required to break the law.<ref name="Linder Introduction">[http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/evolut.htm An introduction to the John Scopes (Monkey) Trial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114063239/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/evolut.htm |date=January 14, 2011 }} by Douglas Linder. UMKC Law. Retrieved April 15, 2007.</ref> Scopes mentioned that while he could not remember whether he had actually taught evolution in class, he had, however, gone through the evolution chart and respective chapter with the class. He told the group that he would be  willing to stand trial if they could prove that he had taught evolution and could qualify as a defendant.{{sfn|Scopes|Presley|1967|p=60}} 

Scopes urged students to testify against him and coached them in their answers.<ref>{{harvnb|Larson|1997|p=108}} "Scopes had urged the students to testify against him, and coached them in their answers."</ref> Judge [[John T. Raulston]] accelerated the convening of the grand jury and "...{{nbsp}}all but instructed the grand jury to indict Scopes, despite the meager evidence against him and the widely reported stories questioning whether the willing defendant had ever taught evolution in the classroom".<ref>{{harvnb|Larson|1997|p=108}}</ref> Scopes was charged on May 5<!--Still working; Summer for the Gods--> and indicted on May 25 for teaching from the chapter on evolution to a high school class in violation of the Butler Act, after three students testified against him to the grand jury. One student afterwards told reporters: "I believe in part of evolution, but I don't believe in the monkey business."<ref>{{harvnb|Larson|1997|pp=89, 107}}</ref> Scopes was nominally arrested, though he was never actually detained. Paul Patterson, owner of ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', put up $500 in bail for Scopes.<ref>''The New York Times'' May 26, 1925: pp. 1, 16</ref>{{sfn|de Camp|1968|p=410}} The original prosecutors were Herbert E. and Sue K. Hicks, two brothers who were local attorneys and friends of Scopes, but the prosecution was ultimately led by [[Tom Stewart (politician)|Tom Stewart]], the [[district attorney]] for the 18th Circuit who later became a U.S. Senator from Tennessee.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.bookofdaystales.com/scopes-monkey-trial/|title=Scopes Monkey Trial|date=July 21, 2015|work=Book of Days Tales |access-date=February 28, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> Stewart was aided by Dayton attorney Gordon McKenzie, who supported the anti-evolution bill on religious grounds, and described evolution as "detrimental to our morality" and an assault on "the very citadel of our Christian religion."<ref>{{harvnb|Larson|1997|p=107}}</ref>

Hoping to attract major press coverage, Rappleyea went so far as to write to British novelist [[H. G. Wells]] asking him to join the defense team. Wells replied that he had no legal training in Britain, let alone in America, and declined the offer. [[John Randolph Neal, Jr.|John R. Neal]], a law school professor from [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]], announced that he would act as Scopes' attorney whether Scopes liked it or not, and he became the nominal head of the defense team.{{citation needed|date = July 2015}} [[Baptist]] pastor [[William Bell Riley]], the founder and president of the World Christian Fundamentals Association, was instrumental in calling lawyer and three-time [[Democratic Party of the United States|Democratic]] [[President of the United States|presidential]] nominee, former [[United States Secretary of State]], and lifelong [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] [[William Jennings Bryan]] to act as that organization's counsel. Bryan had originally been invited by Sue Hicks to become an associate of the prosecution and Bryan had readily accepted, despite the fact he had not tried a case in thirty-six years. As Scopes pointed out to James Presley in the book ''Center of the Storm'', on which the two collaborated: "After [Bryan] was accepted by the state as a special prosecutor in the case, there was never any hope of containing the controversy within the bounds of constitutionality."{{sfn|de Camp|1968|pp=72–74, 79}}{{sfn|Scopes|Presley|1967|pp=66–67}}

[[File:Clarence Darrow during Scopes Trial cph.3a44036.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|[[Clarence Darrow]] in 1925, during the trial]]
Following the recruitment of Bryan, [[Clarence Darrow]] approached John Neal of the defense team and offered his services.<ref>{{harvnb|Larson|1997|p=73}}</ref>  Neal accepted, without consulting the rest of the team or the defendant himself. The ACLU had been seeking out an addition to the defense that would parallel Bryan's political experience, but had previously indicated that they did not want Darrow involved out of concern that his staunch  [[agnosticism]] would imperil the defense team's case.<ref>{{harvnb|Larson|1997|p=73}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Larson|1997|p=100}}</ref> Darrow later claimed he was motivated to join the defense after he "realized there was no limit to the mischief that might be accomplished unless the country was aroused to the evil at hand".<ref>{{harvnb|Larson|1997|p=101}}</ref> After many changes back and forth, the defense team consisted of Darrow; ACLU attorney [[Arthur Garfield Hays]]; [[Dudley Field Malone]], an international divorce lawyer who had worked at the [[United States Department of State|State Department]]; W.&nbsp;O. Thompson, who was Darrow's law partner; and F.&nbsp;B. McElwee.<ref name="The Scopes Trial">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bryan.edu/about/college-history/scopes-trial/|title=The Scopes Trial|website=Bryan College|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-18}}</ref> The defense was also assisted by librarian and Biblical authority Charles Francis Potter, who was a modernist [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] preacher.<ref name="The Scopes Trial"/>

== Proceedings ==
[[File:The Washington times. (volume), July 20, 1925, Image 1.pdf|thumb|The trial was front-page news all over the country, including this newspaper in Washington, D.C. Darrow was cited for contempt (at the time) and details on the many scientists that weren't allowed to testify.]]
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 between evolution and the creation account in the Bible; later, this viewpoint would be called [[theistic evolution]]. In support of this claim, they brought in eight experts on evolution. But other than [[Maynard M. Metcalf|Maynard Metcalf]], a zoologist from [[Johns Hopkins University]], the judge would not allow these experts to testify in person. Instead, they were allowed to submit written statements so their evidence could be used at the appeal. In response to this decision, Darrow made a sarcastic comment to Judge Raulston (as he often did throughout the trial) on how he had been agreeable only on the prosecution's suggestions. Darrow apologized the next day, keeping himself from being found in [[contempt of court]].<ref>"Evolution in Tennessee". ''Outlook'' 140 (July 29, 1925), pp. 443–44.</ref>
[[File:H-L-Mencken-1928.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[H. L. Mencken]] in 1928]]

The presiding judge, John T. Raulston, was accused of being biased towards the prosecution and frequently clashed with Darrow. At the outset of the trial, Raulston quoted [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] and the Butler Act. He also warned the jury not to judge the merit of the law (which would become the focus of the trial) but on the violation of the Act, which he called a 'high misdemeanor'. The jury foreman himself was unconvinced of the merit of the Act but he acted, as did most of the jury, on the instructions of the judge.{{sfn|Larson|1997|pp=109-109}}

Bryan chastised evolution for teaching children that humans were but one of 35,000 types of mammals and bemoaned the notion that human beings were descended "Not even from American monkeys, but from old world monkeys".<ref name="Transcript">{{Citation
|last=Scopes
|first=John Thomas
|title=The world's most famous court trial, State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes; complete stenographic report of the court test of the Tennessee anti-evolution act at Dayton, July 10 to 21, 1925, including speeches and arguments of attorneys
|pages=174–78
|location=New York
|publisher=Da Capo Press
|year=1971
|isbn=978-1-886363-31-1
}}</ref>

Darrow responded for the defense in a speech that was universally considered the oratorical climax of the trial.{{sfn|de Camp|1968|p=335}} Arousing fears of "inquisitions", Darrow argued that the Bible should be preserved in the realm of theology and morality and not put into a course of science. In his conclusion, Darrow declared that Bryan's "duel to the death" against evolution should not be made one-sided by a court ruling that took away the chief witnesses for the defense. Darrow promised there would be no duel because "there is never a duel with the truth."{{efn|This quote, and indeed this speech, was delivered by Darrow's co-counsel, Dudley Field Malone. Contemporary author Anna Marcet Haldeman specifically states, in "Impressions of the Scopes Trial" (1925), "Never, for instance, would Darrow be betrayed, even by his own eloquence, into saying as did Malone: 'There is never a duel with the truth.{{'"}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Digital History |url=https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=1069 |access-date=2022-10-05 |website=www.digitalhistory.uh.edu}}</ref>}} The courtroom went wild when Darrow finished; Scopes declared Darrow's speech to be the dramatic high point of the entire trial and insisted that part of the reason Bryan wanted to go on the stand was to regain some of his tarnished glory.{{sfn|Scopes|Presley|1967|pp=154-156}}

=== Examination of Bryan ===

On the sixth day of the trial, the defense ran out of witnesses. The judge declared that all the defense testimony on the Bible was irrelevant and should not be presented to the jury (which had been excluded during the defense). On the seventh day of the trial, the defense asked the judge to call Bryan as a witness to question him on the Bible, as their own experts had been rendered irrelevant; Darrow had planned this the day before and called Bryan a "Bible expert". This move surprised those present in the court, as Bryan was a counsel for the prosecution and Bryan himself (according to a journalist reporting the trial) never made a claim of being an expert, although he did tout his knowledge of the Bible.{{sfn|de Camp|1968|p=412}} This testimony revolved around several questions regarding Biblical stories and Bryan's beliefs (as shown below); this testimony culminated in Bryan declaring that Darrow was using the court to "slur the Bible" while Darrow replied that Bryan's statements on the Bible were "foolish".<ref>{{Citation|last=Scopes|first=John Thomas|title=The world's most famous court trial, State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes; complete stenographic report of the court test of the Tennessee anti-evolution act at Dayton, July 10 to 21, 1925, including speeches and arguments of attorneys|page=304|location=New York|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=1971|isbn=978-1-886363-31-1}}</ref>

[[File:WJBryan.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|[[William Jennings Bryan]] in 1925]]

On the seventh day of the trial, Clarence Darrow took the unorthodox step of calling William Jennings Bryan, counsel for the prosecution, to the stand as a witness in an effort to demonstrate that belief in the historicity of the Bible and its many accounts of miracles was unreasonable. Bryan accepted, on the understanding that Darrow would in turn submit to questioning by Bryan. Although Hays would claim in his autobiography that the examination of Bryan was unplanned, Darrow spent the night before in preparation. The scientists the defense had brought to Dayton—and [[Charles Francis Potter]], a modernist minister who had engaged in a series of public debates on evolution with the fundamentalist preacher [[John Roach Straton]]—prepared topics and questions for Darrow to address to Bryan on the witness stand.<ref>Arthur Garfield Hays, ''Let Freedom Ring'' (New York: Liveright, 1937), pp. 71–72; Charles Francis Potter, ''The Preacher and I'' (New York: Crown, 1951), pp. 275–76.</ref> [[Kirtley Mather]], chairman of the geology department at [[Harvard]] and also a devout Baptist, played Bryan and answered questions as he believed Bryan would.{{sfn|de Camp|1968|pp=364–65}}<ref>Kirtley F. Mather, "Creation and Evolution", in ''Science Ponders Religion'', ed. Harlow Shapley (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1960), pp. 32–45.</ref> Raulston had adjourned court to the stand on the courthouse lawn, ostensibly because he was "afraid of the building" with so many spectators crammed into the courtroom, but probably because of the stifling heat.{{sfn|Scopes|Presley|1967|p=164}}

==== Adam and Eve ====

An area of questioning involved the book of Genesis, including questions about whether [[Eve]] was actually created from Adam's rib, where [[Cain and Abel|Cain]] got his wife, and how many people lived in [[Ancient Egypt]]. Darrow used these examples to suggest that the stories of the Bible could not be scientific and should not be used in teaching science, telling Bryan, "You insult every man of science and learning in the world because he does not believe in your fool religion."{{sfn|Moran|2002|p=150}} Bryan's declaration in response was "The reason I am answering is not for the benefit of the superior court. It is to keep these gentlemen from saying I was afraid to meet them and let them question me, and I want the Christian world to know that any atheist, agnostic, unbeliever, can question me anytime as to my belief in God, and I will answer him."{{sfn|Moran|2002|p=157}}

<!-- Plagiarized text -->
Stewart objected for the prosecution, demanding to know the legal purpose of Darrow's questioning. Bryan, gauging the effect the session was having, snapped that its purpose was "to cast ridicule on everybody who believes in the Bible". Darrow, with equal vehemence, retorted "We have the purpose of preventing bigots and ignoramuses from controlling the education of the United States."<ref>p. 299</ref>

<!-- Plagiarized text -->
A few more questions followed in the charged open-air courtroom. Darrow asked where Cain got his wife; Bryan answered that he would "leave the agnostics to hunt for her".<ref><!-- what book? -->pp. 302–03</ref> When Darrow addressed the issue of the [[Eve#Temptation, fall, and expulsion from the garden|temptation]] of Eve by the [[Serpent (Bible)|serpent]], Bryan insisted that the Bible be quoted verbatim rather than allowing Darrow to paraphrase it in his own terms. However, after another angry exchange, Judge Raulston banged his gavel, adjourning the court.{{sfn|de Camp|1968|p=410}}

==== End of the trial ====
[[File:Scopes trial.jpg|thumb|Darrow (left) and Bryan (right) during the trial]]
The confrontation between Bryan and Darrow lasted approximately two hours on the afternoon of the seventh day of the trial. It is likely that it would have continued the following morning but for Judge Raulston's announcement that he considered the whole examination irrelevant to the case and his decision that it should be "expunged" from the record. Thus Bryan was denied the chance to cross-examine the defense lawyers in return, although after the trial Bryan would distribute nine questions to the press to bring out Darrow's "religious attitude". The questions and Darrow's short answers were published in newspapers the day after the trial ended, with ''The New York Times'' characterizing Darrow as answering Bryan's questions "with his agnostic's creed, 'I don't know,' except where he could deny them with his belief in natural, immutable law".<ref>{{cite news |title=Evolution Battle Rages out of Court |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/07/22/archives/evolution-battle-rages-out-of-court-bryan-denounces-opponent-as.html |url-access=subscription |date=July 22, 1925 |page=2}}.</ref>

After the defense's final attempt to present evidence was denied, Darrow asked the judge to bring in the jury only to have them come to a guilty verdict:
<blockquote>We claim that the defendant is not guilty, but as the court has excluded any testimony, except as to the one issue as to whether he taught that man descended from a lower order of animals, and we cannot contradict that testimony, there is no logical thing to come except that the jury find a verdict that we may carry to the higher court, purely as a matter of proper procedure. We do not think it is fair to the court or counsel on the other side to waste a lot of time when we know this is the inevitable result and probably the best result for the case.</blockquote>

After they were brought in, Darrow then addressed the jury:
<blockquote>We came down here to offer evidence in this case and the court has held under the law that the evidence we had is not admissible, so all we can do is to take an exception and carry it to a higher court to see whether the evidence is admissible or not{{nbsp}}... we cannot even explain to you that we think you should return a verdict of not guilty. We do not see how you could. We do not ask it.</blockquote>

Darrow closed the case for the defense without a final summation. Under Tennessee law, when the defense waived its right to make a closing speech, the prosecution was also barred from summing up its case, preventing Bryan from presenting his prepared summation.

Scopes never testified since there was never a factual issue as to whether he had taught evolution. Scopes later admitted that, in reality, he was unsure of whether he had taught evolution (another reason the defense did not want him to testify), but the point was not contested at the trial.<ref>Scopes 1967: pp.&nbsp;59–60</ref>

William Jennings Bryan's summation of the Scopes trial, which was distributed to reporters but not read in court, read:
<blockquote>Science is a magnificent force, but it is not a teacher of morals. It can perfect machinery, but it adds no moral restraints to protect society from the misuse of the machine. It can also build gigantic intellectual ships, but it constructs no moral rudders for the control of storm-tossed human vessel. It not only fails to supply the spiritual element needed but some of its unproven hypotheses rob the ship of its compass and thus endanger its cargo. In war, science has proven itself an evil genius; it has made war more terrible than it ever was before. Man used to be content to slaughter his fellowmen on a single plane, the earth's surface. Science has taught him to go down into the water and shoot up from below and to go up into the clouds and shoot down from above, thus making the battlefield three times as bloody as it was before; but science does not teach brotherly love. Science has made war so hellish that civilization was about to commit suicide; and now we are told that newly discovered instruments of destruction will make the cruelties of the late war seem trivial in comparison with the cruelties of wars that may come in the future. If civilization is to be saved from the wreckage threatened by intelligence not consecrated by love, it must be saved by the moral code of the meek and lowly Nazarene. His teachings, and His teachings alone, can solve the problems that vex the heart and perplex the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beliefnet.com/News/1999/12/Faith-Of-Our-Fathers.aspx#|title=Faith of Our Fathers|work=Beliefnet}}</ref></blockquote>

After eight days of trial, it took the jury only nine minutes to deliberate. Scopes was found guilty on July 21 and ordered by Raulston to pay a $100 [[Fine (penalty)|fine]] ({{Inflation|US|100|1925|fmt=eq|r=-2}}). Raulston imposed the fine before Scopes was given an opportunity to say anything about why the court should not impose punishment upon him and after Neal brought the error to the judge's attention the defendant spoke for the first and only time in court:
<blockquote>Your honor, I feel that I have been convicted of violating an unjust statute. I will continue in the future, as I have in the past, to oppose this law in any way I can. Any other action would be in violation of my ideal of academic freedom—that is, to teach the truth as guaranteed in our constitution, of personal and religious freedom. I think the fine is unjust.<ref>''World's Most Famous Court Trial'', p. 313</ref></blockquote>

Bryan died suddenly five days after the trial's conclusion.<ref>Kazin, M. ''A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan''. Anchor Press (2007), p. 134. {{ISBN|0385720564}}</ref> The connection between the trial and his death is still debated by historians.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

== Appeal to the Supreme Court of Tennessee ==

Scopes's 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:
<blockquote>Evolution, like [[Prohibition in the United States|prohibition]], is a broad term. In recent bickering, however, evolution has been understood to mean the theory which holds that man has developed from some pre-existing lower type. This is the popular significance of evolution, just as the popular significance of prohibition is prohibition of the traffic in intoxicating liquors. It was in that sense that evolution was used in this act. It is in this sense that the word will be used in this opinion, unless the context otherwise indicates. It is only to the theory of the evolution of man from a lower type that the act before us was intended to apply, and much of the discussion we have heard is beside this case.</blockquote>

Second, the lawyers argued that the statute violated Scopes' [[constitutional right]] to [[free speech]] because it prohibited him from teaching evolution. The court rejected this argument, holding that the state was permitted to regulate his speech as an employee of the state:
<blockquote>He was an employee of the state of Tennessee or of a municipal agency of the state. He was under contract with the state to work in an institution of the state. He had no right or privilege to serve the state except upon such terms as the state prescribed. His liberty, his privilege, his immunity to teach and proclaim the theory of evolution, elsewhere than in the service of the state, was in no wise touched by this law.</blockquote>

Third, it was argued that the terms of the Butler Act violated the [[Tennessee State Constitution]], which provided that "It shall be the duty of the [[Tennessee General Assembly|General Assembly]] in all future periods of this government, to cherish literature and science." The argument was that the theory of the descent of man from a lower order of animals was now established by the preponderance of scientific thought, and that the prohibition of the teaching of such theory was a violation of the legislative duty to cherish science. The court rejected this argument,<ref>''Scopes v. State'', 154 Tenn. 105, 1927</ref> holding that the determination of what laws cherished science was an issue for the legislature, not the judiciary:
<blockquote>The courts cannot sit in judgment on such acts of the Legislature or its agents and determine whether or not the omission or addition of a particular course of study tends to cherish science.</blockquote>

Fourth, the defense lawyers argued that the statute violated the provisions of the Tennessee Constitution that prohibited the establishment of a state religion. The Religious Preference provisions of the Tennessee Constitution (Section{{nbsp}}3 of Article{{nbsp}}I) stated, "no preference shall ever be given, by law, to any religious establishment or mode of worship".<ref>The [[Establishment Clause]] of the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution]] was not, at the time of the ''Scopes'' decision in the 1920s, deemed applicable to the states. Thus, Scopes' constitutional defense on establishment of religion grounds rested—and had to rest—solely on the state constitution, as there was no federal Establishment Clause protection available to him. ''See'' [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/statcase.htm Court's opinion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128231809/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/statcase.htm |date=January 28, 2011 }}. ''See generally'' [[Incorporation doctrine]] and ''[[Everson v. Board of Education]]'' (a seminal U.S. Supreme Court opinion finally applying the Establishment Clause against states in 1947).</ref>

Writing for the court two sittings and one year after receiving the appeal,<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1927-01-24 |title=Education: Bizarre |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,786708,00.html |access-date=2023-01-14 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> Chief Justice [[Grafton Green]] rejected this argument, holding that the Tennessee Religious Preference clause was designed to prevent the establishment of a state religion as had been the experience in [[Church of England|England]] and [[Church of Scotland|Scotland]] at the writing of the Constitution, and held:
<blockquote>We are not able to see how the prohibition of teaching the theory that man has descended from a lower order of animals gives preference to any religious establishment or mode of worship. So far as we know, there is no religious establishment or organized body that has in its creed or confession of faith any article denying or affirming such a theory. So far as we know, the denial or affirmation of such a theory does not enter into any recognized mode of worship. Since this cause has been pending in this court, we have been favored, in addition to briefs of counsel and various amici curiae, with a multitude of resolutions, addresses, and communications from scientific bodies, religious factions, and individuals giving us the benefit of their views upon the theory of evolution. Examination of these contributions indicates that Protestants, Catholics, and Jews are divided among themselves in their beliefs, and that there is no unanimity among the members of any religious establishment as to this subject. Belief or unbelief in the theory of evolution is no more a characteristic of any religious establishment or mode of worship than is belief or unbelief in the wisdom of the prohibition laws. It would appear that members of the same churches quite generally disagree as to these things.</blockquote>

Further, the court held that while the statute ''forbade'' the teaching of evolution (as the court had defined it) it did not ''require'' teaching any other doctrine and thus did not benefit any one religious doctrine or sect over others.

Nevertheless, having found the statute to be constitutional, the court set aside the conviction on appeal because of a [[legal technicality]]: the jury should have decided the fine, not the judge, since under the state constitution, Tennessee judges could not at that time set fines above $50, and the Butler Act specified a minimum fine of $100.<ref name="statcase">See Supreme Court of Tennessee [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/statcase.htm John Thomas Scopes v. The State] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128231809/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/statcase.htm |date=January 28, 2011 }}, at end of opinion filed January 17, 1927. The court did not address the question of how the assessment of the minimum possible statutory fine, when the defendant had been duly convicted, could possibly work any prejudice against the defendant.</ref>

Justice Green added a totally unexpected recommendation:
<blockquote>The court is informed that the plaintiff in error is no longer in the service of the state. We see nothing to be gained by prolonging the life of this bizarre case. On the contrary, we think that the peace and dignity of the state, which all criminal prosecutions are brought to redress, will be the better conserved by the entry of a ''[[nolle prosequi]]'' herein. Such a course is suggested to the Attorney General.</blockquote>

Attorney General L. D. Smith immediately announced that he would not seek a [[retrial]], while Scopes' lawyers offered angry comments on the stunning decision.<ref>''The New York Times'' January 16, 1927: 1, 28.</ref>

In 1968, the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled in ''[[Epperson v. Arkansas]]'' 393 U.S. 97 (1968) that such bans contravene the [[Establishment Clause of the First Amendment]] because their primary purpose is religious.<ref name="Linder Introduction" /> Tennessee had repealed the Butler Act the previous year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.todayinsci.com/S/Scopes_John/ButlerActRepeal.htm|title=Butler Act Repeal – Tennessee House Bill No. 48 (1967)|work=todayinsci.com}}</ref>

== Aftermath and legacy==

=== Creation versus evolution debate ===
{{further|Rejection of evolution by religious groups}}
The trial revealed a growing chasm in American Christianity and two ways of [[Epistemology|finding truth]], one "biblical" and one "evolutionist".<ref name=goetz>David Goetz, "The Monkey Trial". ''Christian History'' 1997 16(3): pp. 10–18. 0891-9666</ref> Author David Goetz writes that the majority of Christians denounced evolution at the time.<ref name=goetz />

Author Mark Edwards contests the conventional view that in the wake of the Scopes trial, a humiliated fundamentalism retreated into the political and cultural background, a viewpoint which is evidenced in the 1955 play ''[[Inherit the Wind (play)|Inherit the Wind]]'' (and subsequent [[Inherit the Wind (1960 film)|1960 film]]), which fictionalized the trial, as well as in the majority of contemporary historical accounts. Rather, the cause of fundamentalism's retreat was the death of its leader, Bryan. Most fundamentalists saw the trial as a victory rather than a defeat, but Bryan's death soon after it created a leadership void that no other fundamentalist leader could fill. Bryan, unlike the other leaders, brought name recognition, respectability, and the ability to forge a broad-based coalition of fundamentalist and mainline religious groups which argued in defense of the anti-evolutionist position.{{sfn|Edwards|2000}}

Adam Shapiro criticized the view that the Scopes trial was an essential and inevitable conflict between [[Relationship between religion and science|religion and science]], claiming that such a view was "self-justifying". Instead, Shapiro emphasizes the fact that the Scopes trial was the result of particular circumstances, such as politics postponing the adoption of new textbooks.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Trying Biology: The Scopes Trial, Textbooks, and the Antievolution Movement in American Schools|last=Shapiro|first=Adam R.|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2014|pages=4–5}}</ref>

=== 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-evolution laws or riders to educational appropriations bills. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Anti-Evolution Movement {{!}} The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=AN011 |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Oklahoma Historical Society {{!}} OHS |language=en-us}}</ref> After Scopes was convicted, creationists throughout the United States sought similar anti-evolution laws for their states.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Trollinger |first=William V. |title=God's Empire: William Bell Riley and Midwestern Fundamentalism |date=1991 |ol=1888673M}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Laats |first=Adam |date=2011 |title=Monkeys, Bibles, and the Little Red Schoolhouse: Atlanta's School Battles in the Scopes Era |journal=Georgia Historical Quarterly |volume=95 |issue=3 |pages=335–355 |jstor=41304304}}</ref> 

By 1927, there were 13 states, both in the [[Northern United States|North]] and in the [[Southern United States|South]], that had deliberated over some form of anti-evolution law. At least 41 bills or resolutions were introduced into the state legislatures, with some states facing the issue repeatedly. Nearly all these efforts were rejected, but [[Mississippi]] and [[Arkansas]] did put anti-evolution laws on the books after the Scopes trial, laws that would outlive the Butler Act, which was repealed in 1967.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Halliburton |first=R. Jr. |title=The Adoption of Arkansas' Anti-Evolution Law |journal=Arkansas Historical Quarterly |date=1964 |volume=23 |issue=Autumn 1964 |page=280 |doi=10.2307/40038058|jstor=40038058 }}</ref><ref name="Christopher K. Curtis 1926">{{Cite journal |last=Curtis |first=Christopher K. |date=1986 |title=Mississippi's Anti-Evolution Law of 1926 |journal=Journal of Mississippi History |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=15–29}}</ref> In 1968, the [[United States Supreme Court]] ruled in ''[[Epperson v. Arkansas]]'' that laws prohibiting the teaching of evolution violated the [[Establishment Clause|Establishment Clause of the First Amendment]].<ref>{{ussc|name=Epperson v. Arkansas|link=|volume=393|page=97|pin=|year=1968}}. {{usgovpd}}</ref> 

In the Southwest, anti-evolution crusaders included ministers R. S. Beal and Aubrey L. Moore in Arizona and members of the Creation Research Society in California. They sought to ban evolution as a topic for study in the schools or, failing that, to relegate it to the status of unproven hypothesis perhaps taught alongside the biblical version of creation. Educators, scientists, and other distinguished laymen favored evolution. This struggle occurred later in the Southwest than elsewhere, finally collapsing in the [[Sputnik]] era after 1957, when the national mood inspired increased trust for science in general and for evolution in particular.<ref name="Christopher K. Curtis 1926" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Webb |first=George E. |date=1991 |title=The Evolution Controversy in Arizona and California: From the 1920s to the 1980s |journal=Journal of the Southwest |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=133–150, 0894-8410 |jstor=40169811}}</ref>

The opponents of evolution made a transition from the anti-evolution crusade of the 1920s to the [[creation science]] movement of the 1960s. Despite some similarities between these two causes, the creation science movement represented a shift from overtly religious to covertly religious objections to evolutionary theory—sometimes described as a [[Wedge Strategy]]—raising what it claimed was scientific evidence in support of a literal interpretation of the Bible. Creation science also differed in terms of popular leadership, rhetorical tone, and sectional focus. It lacked a prestigious leader like Bryan, utilized pseudoscientific rather than religious rhetoric,{{sfn|Gatewood|1969}} and was a product of [[California]] and [[Michigan]] instead of the South.{{sfn|Gatewood|1969}}

=== Teaching of science ===

The Scopes trial had both short- and long-term effects in the teaching of science in schools in the United States. Though often portrayed as influencing public opinion against fundamentalism, the victory was not complete.<ref name="Effects of the Scopes Trial">Grabiner, J.V. & Miller, P.D., Effects of the Scopes Trial, Science, New Series, Vol. 185, No. 4154 (September 6, 1974), pp. 832–837</ref> Though the ACLU had taken on the trial as a cause, in the wake of Scopes' conviction they were unable to find more volunteers to take on the Butler law and, by 1932, had given up.<ref name="Creationism in the United States: II. The Aftermath of the Scopes Trial">Moore, Randy, The American Biology Teacher, Vol. 60, No.{{nbsp}}8 (Oct. 1998), pp. 568–577</ref> The anti-evolutionary legislation was not challenged again until 1965, and in the meantime, William Jennings Bryan's cause was taken up by a number of organizations, including the Bryan Bible League and the Defenders of the Christian Faith.<ref name="Creationism in the United States: II. The Aftermath of the Scopes Trial" />

The effects of the Scopes Trial on high school biology texts has not been unanimously agreed by scholars. Of the most widely used textbooks after the trial, only one included the word ''evolution'' in its index; the relevant page includes biblical quotations.<ref name="Effects of the Scopes Trial" /> Some scholars have accepted that this was the result of the Scopes Trial: for example Hunter, the author of [[Civic Biology|the biology text which Scopes was on trial for teaching]], revised the text by 1926 in response to the Scopes Trial controversy.<ref name="Effects of the Scopes Trial" /> However, George Gaylord Simpson challenged this notion as confusing cause and effect, and instead posited that the trend of anti-evolution movements and laws that provoked the Scopes Trial was also to blame for the removal of evolution from biological texts, and that the trial itself had little effect.<ref>George Gaylord Simpson, Evolution and Education, Science February 7, 1975: Vol. 187, Issue 4175, pp. 389</ref> The fundamentalists' target slowly veered off evolution in the mid-1930s. Miller and Grabiner suggest that as the anti-evolutionist movement died out, biology textbooks began to include the previously removed evolutionary theory.<ref name="Creationism in the United States: II. The Aftermath of the Scopes Trial" /> This also corresponds to the emerging demand that science textbooks be written by scientists rather than educators or education specialists.<ref name="Effects of the Scopes Trial" />

This account of history has also been challenged. In ''Trying Biology'' Robert Shapiro examines many of the eminent biology textbooks in the 1910–1920s, and finds that while they may have avoided the word ''evolution'' to placate anti-evolutionists, the overall focus on the subject was not greatly diminished, and the books were still implicitly evolution based.<ref name=":1" /> It has also been suggested that the narrative of evolution's being removed from textbooks due to religious pressure, only to be reinstated decades later, was an example of "[[Whig history]]" propagated by the [[Biological Sciences Curriculum Study]], and that the shift in the ways biology textbooks discussed evolution can be attributed to other race and class based factors.<ref>Ella Thea Smith and the Lost History of American High School Biology Textbooks, Ronald P. Ladouceur, Journal of the History of Biology, Vol. 41, No. 3, 2008, pp. 435–471</ref>

In 1958 the [[National Defense Education Act]] was passed with the encouragement of many legislators who feared the United States education system was falling behind that of the Soviet Union. The act yielded textbooks, produced in cooperation with the American Institute of Biological Sciences, which stressed the importance of evolution as the unifying principle of biology.<ref name="Creationism in the United States: II. The Aftermath of the Scopes Trial" /> The new educational regime was not unchallenged. The greatest backlash was in Texas where attacks were launched in sermons and in the press.<ref name="Effects of the Scopes Trial" /> Complaints were lodged with the State Textbook Commission. However, in addition to federal support, a number of social trends had turned public discussion in favor of evolution. These included increased interest in improving public education, legal precedents separating religion and public education, and continued urbanization in the South. This led to a weakening of the backlash in Texas, as well as to the repeal of the Butler Law in Tennessee in 1967.<ref name="Effects of the Scopes Trial" />

=== Other implications ===
Historian [[Randall Balmer]] argues that the Scopes trial and Bryan's death resulted in a decline in the influence of Christian fundamentalists in American politics. While a subculture of evangelical organizations developed over the succeeding decades, conservative Protestants were not mobilized into a distinct [[voting bloc]] and were in effect politically inactive. It was not until the rise of the [[Christian right]] in the late 1970s that conservative fundamentalists became politically active and powerful again.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kee|first=Howard Clark|title=Christianity: A Social and Cultural History|year=1998|publisher=Prentice Hall|location=Upper Saddle River, NJ|isbn=0-13-578071-3|pages=484|author2=Emily Albu |author2-link= Emily Albu |author3=Carter Lindberg |author4=J. William Frost |author5=Dana L. Robert }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Balmer |first=Randall |author-link=Randall Balmer |date=August 10, 2021 |title=Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kcuAEAAAQBAJ |location=Grand Rapids, Michigan |publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]] |page=<!--Pages are unnumbered--> |isbn=9781467462907 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Balmer |first=Randall |date=December 29, 2024 |title=Jimmy Carter: The Last Progressive Evangelical |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/12/29/jimmy-carter-progressive-evangelical-00084165 |work=Politico |location= |access-date=January 8, 2025}}</ref>

=== Commemoration ===
[[File:Rhea county courthouse usda.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|The [[Rhea County Courthouse]], the site of the Scopes trial, is a [[National Historic Landmark]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2013a|dateform=mdy|accessdate=April 28, 2025|refnum=72001251|name=Rhea County Courthouse}}</ref>]]
[[Bryan College]] is a private Christian college in Dayton that was established in 1930 in honor of William Jennings Bryan. Bryan had long expressed a desire for the establishment of a fundamentalist Biblical higher educational institution, and during the trial suggested that such a school be established in Dayton.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ketchersid |first=William L. |date=March 1, 2018 |title=Bryan College |url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/bryan-college/ |location=Nashville |publisher=Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture|access-date=April 28, 2025}}</ref>

The [[Rhea County Courthouse]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1972 and was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] by the [[National Park Service]] in 1976 for its role in the trial.<ref name="nris"/><ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=<!--Not given--> |title=List of NHLs by State |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/list-of-nhls-by-state.htm |website=nps.gov |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=April 28, 2025}}</ref> Between 1977 and 1979 a rehabilitation project was undertaken on the 1891-built courthouse, which had fallen into disrepair. This included restoring the second-floor courtroom to its appearance during the Scopes trial and the establishment of the Rhea County Heritage and Scopes Trial Museum, which opened on May 11, 1979.<ref>{{unbulleted list citebundle|{{cite news |last=Yarbrough |first=Willard |date=February 4, 1977 |title=Courthouse of Scopes Trial Fame Renovated To Restore Its 1925 Look |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-courthouse-o/171258200/ |page=C-1 |work=The Knoxville News-Sentinel |access-date=April 28, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}}|{{cite news |last=Yarbrough |first=Willard |date=April 9, 1978 |title=NS Trip-of-the-Month Season Opener To Visit Site of Scopes 'Monkey Trial' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-ns-trip-of-t/171258596/ |pages=A-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-ns-trip-of-t/171258636/ A-2] |work=The Knoxville News-Sentinel |access-date=April 28, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}}|{{cite news |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=May 6, 1979 |title=Play based on '25 'Monkey Trial' Opens Friday in Home Courtroom |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-play-based-o/171258519/ |page=G-2 |work=The Knoxville News-Sentinel |access-date=April 28, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}}|{{cite news |last=Holman |first=Connie |date=July 19, 1979 |title=Friendly ghost haunts site of famous trial |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-jackson-sun-friendly-ghost-haunts-si/171258313/ |pages=1C, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-jackson-sun-friendly-ghost-haunts-si/171258318/ 2C] |work=The Jackson Sun |access-date=April 28, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}}}}</ref> Located in the basement of the courthouse, this museum contains such memorabilia as the microphone used to broadcast the trial, trial records, photographs, and an audiovisual history.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Scopes Trial Museum & Rhea County Courthouse |url=https://tennesseerivervalleygeotourism.org/entries/the-scopes-trial-museum-rhea-county-courthouse/bd764964-b5ec-4b8d-baed-64a54712dc58 |website=tennesseerivervalleygeotourism.org |publisher=National Geographic |access-date=May 18, 2025 |date=<!--Not given-->}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rhea County Heritage and Scopes Trial Museum |url=https://www.rheacountyheritage.com/ |website=rheacountyheritage.com |publisher=Rhea County Historical Society |access-date=May 18, 2025 |date=<!--Not given-->}}</ref>  

Since 1988, locals have participated in a play called "Destiny in Dayton", a re-enactment of key moments of the trial in that takes place in the courtroom during July. This evolved into the larger Scopes Trial Festival in 1989, which includes vendors, craftsmen, and live music.<ref name="tnmag25">{{cite journal |last=Carey |first=Bill |date=April 1, 2025 |title=Festival has Kept Alive the Story of the Scopes Trial |url=https://www.tnmagazine.org/festival-has-kept-alive-the-story-of-the-scopes-trial/ |journal=The Tennessee Magazine |volume= |issue= |publisher= |pages= |doi= |access-date=May 14, 2025}}</ref> The [[Tennessee Historical Commission]] erected a historical marker in front of the courthouse which commemorates the site of the trial. In 2005, a statue of William Jennings Bryan was dedicated on the courthouse lawn, funded by a donation from nearby Bryan College. In 2017, a statue of Clarence Darrow was unveiled near Bryan's statue, funded by a donation from the [[Freedom From Religion Foundation]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Fausset|first=Richard|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/us/darrow-bryan-dayton-tennessee-scopes-statues.html |date=July 14, 2017|title=At Site of Scopes Trial, Darrow Statue Belatedly Joins Bryan's |work=[[The New York Times]] |accessdate=July 15, 2017}}</ref>

== Media coverage and publicity ==
{{external media | width = 210px | float = left | headerimage= | video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?105855-1/summer-gods ''Booknotes'' interview with Edward Larson on ''Summer for the Gods'', June 28, 1998], [[C-SPAN]]}}
The Scopes trial was covered by journalists from the South and around the world, including [[H.&nbsp;L. Mencken]] for ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', which was also paying part of the defense's expenses. It was Mencken who provided the trial with its most colorful labels such as the "Monkey Trial" of "the infidel Scopes". It was also the first United States trial to be broadcast on national [[Old-time radio|radio]].{{sfn|Clark|2000}} [[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]]."<ref>{{harvnb|Larson|2004|p=211}}</ref> The press coverage of the "Monkey Trial" was overwhelming.<ref name="Larson_2004_p_212_213">{{harvnb|Larson|2004|pp=212–213}}</ref> The trial served its intention to bring publicity to the town of Dayton.<ref name="Larson_2004_p_212_213" /> From ''The Salem Republican'', June 11, 1925:
<blockquote>The whole matter has assumed the portion of Dayton and her merchants endeavoring to secure a large amount of notoriety and publicity with an open question as to whether Scopes is a party to the plot or not.</blockquote>

The front pages of major newspapers including ''[[The New York Times]]'' were dominated by the case for days. More than 200 newspaper reporters from all parts of the country and two from [[London]] were in Dayton.<ref name="Larson_2004_p213">{{harvnb|Larson|2004|p=213}}</ref> Twenty-two [[Telegraphy|telegraphers]] sent out 165,000 words per day on the trial, over thousands of miles of telegraph wires hung for the purpose;<ref name="Larson_2004_p213" /> more words were transmitted to Britain about the Scopes trial than for any previous American event.<ref name="Larson_2004_p213" /> [[Animal training|Trained]] [[Common chimpanzee|chimpanzee]]s performed on the courthouse lawn.<ref name="Larson_2004_p213" /> Chicago's [[WGN (AM)|WGN]] radio station broadcast the trial with announcer Quin Ryan via [[clear-channel station|clear-channel]] broadcasting first on-the-scene coverage of the criminal trial. Two movie cameramen had their film flown out daily in a small plane from a specially prepared airstrip. The event became known as the "[[Trial of the Century]]", and has been described as the most-covered trial in American history, with only the [[murder trial of O. J. Simpson]] some 70 years later receiving comparable coverage.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tant |first=Ed |date=May 1, 2024 |title=O.J. Simpson Was Just One Contender for ‘Trial of the Century’ |url=https://flagpole.com/news/street-scribe/2024/05/01/o-j-simpson-was-just-one-contender-for-trial-of-the-century/ |work=[[Flagpole Magazine]] |location=Athens, Georgia |publisher= |access-date=May 14, 2025}}</ref> 

H.L. Mencken's trial reports were vituperative and [[media bias in the United States|heavily slanted]] against the prosecution and the jury, which he described as "unanimously hot for [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]]". He mocked the town's inhabitants as "[[Babbitt (novel)|Babbits]]", "yokels", "morons", "peasants", "hill-billies", and "yaps", and called Bryan a "buffoon" and his speeches "theologic bilge". He chastised the "degraded nonsense which country preachers are ramming and hammering into yokel skulls". In contrast, he called the defense "eloquent" and "magnificent". Even today, some American [[creationism|creationists]], fighting in courts and state legislatures to demand that creationism be taught on an equal footing with evolution in the schools, have claimed that it was Mencken's trial reports in 1925 that turned public opinion against creationism.<ref>{{cite journal |first=S. L. |last=Harrison |title=The Scopes 'Monkey Trial' Revisited: Mencken and the Editorial Art of Edmund Duffy |journal=[[Journal of American Culture]] |year=1994 |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=55–63 |doi=10.1111/j.1542-734X.1994.t01-1-00055.x }}</ref> The media's portrayal of Darrow's cross-examination of Bryan, and the [[Inherit the Wind (play)|play]] and [[Inherit the Wind (1960 film)|movie]] ''Inherit the Wind'' (1960), have been credited with causing millions of Americans to ridicule religious-based opposition to the theory of evolution.<ref>{{harvnb|Larson|2004|p=217}}</ref>

Mencken, however, did enjoy certain aspects of Dayton, writing
<blockquote>The town, I confess, greatly surprised me. I expected to find a squalid Southern village, with darkies snoozing on the horse-blocks, pigs rooting under the houses and the inhabitants full of hookworm and malaria. What I found was a country town full of charm and even beauty—a somewhat smallish but nevertheless very attractive Westminster or Balair.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mencken |first1=H.L. |title=Scopes: Infidel |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/122109461 |access-date=October 24, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=January 12, 1982 |page=A15 |issn=0362-4331|id={{ProQuest|122109461}} }}</ref></blockquote>

Mencken described Rhea County as priding itself on a kind of tolerance or what he called "lack of Christian heat", opposed to outside ideas but without hating those who held them.<ref>Mencken, H.L., "Sickening Doubts About Value of Publicity", ''The Baltimore Evening Sun'', July 9, 1925.</ref> He pointed out that the [[Ku Klux Klan]] did not have a foothold locally, despite is power throughout much of the state.<ref>Edgar Kemler, ''The Irreverent Mr. Mencken'' (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1948), pp. 175–90. For excerpts from Mencken's reports see William Manchester, ''Sage of Baltimore: The Life and Riotous Times of H.L. Mencken'' (New York: Andrew-Melrose, 1952) pp. 143–45, and ''D-Days at Dayton: Reflections on the Scopes Trial'', ed. Jerry R. Tompkins (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univ. Press, 1965) pp. 35–51.</ref> Mencken attempted to perpetrate a hoax, distributing flyers for the "Rev. Elmer Chubb", but the claims that Chubb would drink poison and preach in lost languages were ignored as commonplace by the people of Dayton, and only ''[[Commonweal (magazine)|Commonweal]]'' magazine bit.<ref>H.L. Mencken, ''Heathen Days, 1890–1936'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1943) pp. 231–34; Michael Williams, "Sunday in Dayton", ''Commonweal''{{nbsp}}2 (July 29, 1925): pp. 285–88.</ref> Mencken continued to attack Bryan, including in his withering obituary of Bryan, "In Memoriam: W.J.B.", in which he charged Bryan with "insincerity"—not for his religious beliefs but for the inconsistent and contradictory positions he took on a number of political questions during his career.<ref>"In Memoriam: W.J.B." was first printed in ''The Baltimore Evening Sun'', July 27, 1925; rpt. by Mencken in the ''American Mercury''{{nbsp}}5 (October 1925) pp. 158–60 in his ''Prejudices (Fifth Series)'', pp. 64–74; and in https://archive.org/details/mencken017105mbp Cooke, Alistair, ''The Vintage Mencken'', Vintage Books, pp. 161–167.</ref> Years later, Mencken did question whether dismissing Bryan "as a quack pure and unadulterated" was "really just".<ref>Mencken, ''Heathen Days'', pp. 280–87.</ref> Mencken's columns made the Dayton citizens irate and drew general indignation from the Southern press.<ref>"Mencken Epithets Rouse Dayton's Ire", ''The New York Times'', July 17, 1925, 3.</ref> After Raulston ruled against the admission of scientific testimony, Mencken left Dayton, declaring in his last dispatch "All that remains of the great cause of the State of Tennessee against the infidel Scopes is the formal business of bumping off the defendant."<ref>"Battle Now Over, Mencken Sees; Genesis Triumphant and Ready for New Jousts", H.L. Mencken, ''The Baltimore Evening Sun'', July 18, 1925, http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/menck04.htm#SCOPES9 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061118195330/http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/menck04.htm |date=November 18, 2006 }}, URL accessed April 27, 2008.</ref> Consequently, the journalist missed Darrow's cross-examination of Bryan on Monday.

[[File:Rollin Kirby Scopes Trial Cartoon.jpg|thumb|Cartoonist [[Rollin Kirby]] depicts fundamentalist education in Tennessee taken to an extreme]]

Anticipating that Scopes would be found guilty, the press fitted the defendant for [[martyr]]dom and created an onslaught of ridicule, and hosts of cartoonists added their own portrayals to the attack. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's initial coverage of the trial focused on Dayton as "the fantastic cross between a circus and a holy war". ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine adorned its masthead with monkeys reading books and proclaimed "the whole matter is something to laugh about."<ref>E.S. Martin, ''Life'' 86 (July 16, 1925): p. 16.</ref> Both ''[[Literary Digest]]'' and the popular humor magazine ''Life'' (1890–1930) ran compilations of jokes and humorous observations garnered from newspapers around the country.<ref>"Life Lines", ''Life'' 85 (June 18, 1925): 10; 85 (June 25, 1925): 6, 86 (July 2, 1925): 8; 86 (July 9, 1925): 6; 86 (July 30, 1925): 6; "Life's Encyclopedia", ''Life'' 85 (July 25, 1925): 23; Kile Croak, "My School in Tennessee", ''Life'' 86 (July 2, 1925); 4; Arthur Guiterman, "Notes for a Tennessee Primer", ''Life'' 86 (July 16, 1925): 5; "Topics in Brief", ''Literary Digest'', for 86 (July 4, 1925): 18; 86 (July 11, 1925): 15; 86 (July 18, 1925): 15; 86 (July 25, 1925): 15, 86 (August 1, 1925): 17; 86 (August 8, 1925): 13.</ref> [[American Experience]]'' has published a gallery of such cartoons written about the trial,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/monkeytrial/gallery/index.html |title=Gallery: Monkey Trial|publisher=PBS|website=American Experience}} A gallery of cartoons produced in reaction to the trial, from PBS' ''[[American Experience]]''.</ref> and 14 such cartoons are also reprinted in [[L. Sprague de Camp]]'s ''[[The Great Monkey Trial]]''.

Overwhelmingly, the butt of these jokes was the prosecution and those aligned with it: Bryan, the city of Dayton, the state of Tennessee, and the entire South, as well as fundamentalist Christians and anti-evolutionists. Rare exceptions were found in the Southern press, where the fact that Darrow had saved [[Leopold and Loeb]] from the death penalty continued to be a source of ugly humor. The most widespread form of this ridicule was directed at the inhabitants of Tennessee.<ref>"Tennessee Goes Fundamentalist", ''New Republic'' 42 (April 29, 1925): pp. 258–60; Howard K. Hollister, "In Dayton, Tennessee", ''Nation'' 121 (July 8, 1925): pp. 61–62; Dixon Merritt, "Smoldering Fires", ''Outlook'' 140 (July 22, 1925): pp. 421–22.</ref> ''Life'' described Tennessee as "not up to date in its attitude to such things as evolution".<ref>Martin, ''Life'' 86 (July 16, 1925): p. 16.</ref> Attacks on Bryan were also frequent and acidic. ''Life'' awarded him its "Brass Medal of the Fourth Class" for having "successfully demonstrated by the alchemy of ignorance hot air may be transmuted into gold, and that the Bible is infallibly inspired except where it differs with him on the question of wine, women, and wealth".<ref>''Life'' 86 (July 9, 1925): p. 7.</ref> ''Time'' magazine related Bryan's arrival in town with the disparaging comment "The populace, Bryan's to a moron, yowled a welcome."<ref>"The Great Trial", ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''{{nbsp}}6 (July 20, 1926): p. 17.</ref>

== In popular culture ==
[[File:Inherit the wind trailer (1) Spencer Tracy Fredric March.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|[[Spencer Tracy]] (left) as Darrow surrogate Henry Drummond, and [[Fredric March]] (right) as Bryan surrogate Matthew Harrison Brady in the [[trailer (promotion)|trailer]] for the film [[Inherit the Wind (1960 film)|''Inherit the Wind'']]; [[Harry Morgan]] (in the background) plays the judge.]]

===Stage, film and television===

* Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee's play [[Inherit the Wind (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.<ref>[http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/SCO_INHE.HTM Notes on Inherit the Wind] UMKC Law School. Retrieved April 15, 2007.</ref> In a note at the opening of the play, the playwrights state that it is not meant to be a historical account,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug97/inherit/l&lnote.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990221084002/http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7EUG97/inherit/l%26lnote.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 21, 1999|title=''Inherit the Wind'': The Playwrights' Note|website=xroads.virginia.edu}}</ref> and there are numerous instances where events were substantially altered or invented.<ref name=drama>{{cite web|title=''Inherit the Wind'', Drama for Students |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2692700013.html#|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610060706/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2692700013.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 10, 2014|publisher=Gale Group|access-date=August 31, 2012|date=January 1, 1998}}</ref><ref name=AEHJ>{{cite web|last1=Riley|first1=Karen L.|last2=Brown|first2=Jennifer A.|last3=Braswell|first3=Ray|title=Historical Truth and Film: Inherit the Wind as an Appraisal of the American Teacher|work=American Educational History Journal |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1670106791.html#|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105225156/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1670106791.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2013|access-date=August 31, 2012|date=January 1, 2007}}</ref> Despite the disclaimer in the play's preface that the trial was its "genesis" but it is "not history",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug97/inherit/l&lnote.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990221084002/http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7EUG97/inherit/l%26lnote.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 21, 1999|title=Inherit the Wind|work=virginia.edu}}</ref> the play has largely been accepted as history by the public.<ref name="AEHJ" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Benen|first=Steve|author-link=Steve Benen|title=Inherit the Myth? |publisher=Church and State|date=July 1, 2000}}</ref><ref>Ronald L. Numbers, ''Darwinism Comes to America'' (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998), p. 85, 86.</ref><ref name="Larson">{{cite web|title=Evolution of a Scholar|url=http://www.pepperdine.edu/calling/evolution.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121215085556/http://www.pepperdine.edu/calling/evolution.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 15, 2012|publisher=Pepperdine Law|access-date=September 2, 2012}}</ref> (Lawrence and Lee later said that it was written in response to [[McCarthyism]] and was chiefly about [[intellectual freedom]].)<ref>{{harvnb|Larson|1997|p=240}}</ref><ref name="controversy">{{cite web| url = http://www.cjonline.com/stories/030201/wee_inherit.shtml| title = Inherit the controversy| access-date = September 2, 2012| archive-date = November 13, 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141113051143/http://cjonline.com/stories/030201/wee_inherit.shtml| url-status = dead}}</ref>
** Adaptations:
*** ''Inherit the Wind'' was made into a [[Inherit the Wind (1960 film)|1960 film]] directed by [[Stanley Kramer]], with [[Spencer Tracy]] as Drummond and [[Fredric March]] as Brady. Although there are numerous changes in the plot, they include more of the actual events which are recorded in the trial transcript, such as when Darrow implies that the court is prejudiced, being cited for [[contempt of court]] for his comments and his subsequent statement of [[contrition]] that persuaded the judge to drop the charge. 
*** There have also been three television versions of the play, with [[Melvyn Douglas]] and [[Ed Begley]] in [[Inherit the Wind (1965 film)|1965]], [[Jason Robards]] and [[Kirk Douglas]] in [[Inherit the Wind (1988 film)|1988]], and [[Jack Lemmon]] and [[George C. Scott]] in [[Inherit the Wind (1999 film)|1999]].
* [[Peter Goodchild]]'s play, ''The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial'' (1993), was based on original sources and transcripts of the Scopes trial, because it was written with the goal of being historically accurate.<ref>{{cite book|isbn=9781580813525|title=''The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial'': Details|date=2006|oclc = 77554199}}</ref> It was produced as part of [[L.A. Theatre Works]]' Relativity Series, which features science-themed plays and receives major funding from the [[Alfred P. Sloan Foundation]], which seeks "to enhance public understanding of science and technology in the modern world".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial|author=Goodchild, Peter|publisher=L.A. Theatre Works|date=2006|isbn=9781580813525}}</ref> According to ''[[AudioFile (magazine)|Audiofile]] Magazine'', which pronounced this production the 2006 D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award: "Because there are no recordings of the actual trial, this production is certainly the next best thing."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.audiobooksync.com/books/the-great-tennessee-monkey-trial/|title=''The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial'': AudioFile Review|work=AudioFile Magazine|date=December 2006|location=Portland, ME}}</ref> The [[BBC]] broadcast ''The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial'' in 2009, in a radio version starring [[Neil Patrick Harris]] and [[Ed Asner]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nwz36 | title=BBC Radio 4—Saturday Drama, the Great Tennessee Monkey Trial}}</ref>
* Gale Johnson's play ''Inherit the Truth'' (1987) was based on the original transcripts of the case.<ref>[http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2010/01/21/982302/inherit-the-wind-opens-tonight.html 'Inherit the Wind' opens at the Springer Opera House] Ledger-Enquirer</ref> ''Inherit the Truth'' was performed yearly during the Dayton Scopes Festival until it ended its run in 2009.<ref>[http://www.wate.com/global/story.asp?s=10067872 Play based on Scopes trial ending 20-year run] Wate.com</ref> The play was written as a rebuttal of the 1955 play and the 1960 film, which Dayton residents claim did not accurately depict either the trial or William Jennings Bryan.<ref name=Timesnews>[http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9012707 Play based on Scopes trial ending 20-year run] TimesNews.net</ref> In 2007 [[Bryan College]] purchased the rights to the production and began work on a student film version of the play, which was screened at that year's Scopes Festival.<ref>[http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2007/jul/05/Scopes-trial-film-begins-July-14/?print Scopes trial film begins July 14] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020181841/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2007/jul/05/Scopes-trial-film-begins-July-14/?print |date=October 20, 2013 }} Times Free Press</ref><ref>Associated Press. ''College plans own version of movie on evolution trial''. Times Daily, July 7, 2007, p48</ref>
* The 1997 ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Lisa the Skeptic]]" drew inspiration from the trial, along with the [[Cardiff Giant]] and [[Piltdown Man]] hoaxes. 
* The film ''Alleged'' (2010), a romantic drama which is set around the Scopes Trial, starring [[Brian Dennehy]] as Clarence Darrow and [[Fred Thompson]] as William Jennings Bryan, was released by Two Shoes Productions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allegedthemovie.com/pages/synopsis.html |title=Synopsis > Alleged |access-date=May 1, 2012}}</ref> While the main storyline is fictional, all the courtroom scenes are accurate according to the actual trial transcripts. Coincidentally, Dennehy had played Matthew Harrison Brady, the fictionalized counterpart of Bryan, in the 2007 Broadway revival of ''Inherit the Wind''.
* In 2013, the [[Comedy Central]] series ''[[Drunk History]]'' retold portions of the trial in the "[[Nashville]]" episode, with [[Bradley Whitford]] portraying Bryan, [[Jack McBrayer]] as Darrow, and [[Derek Waters]] as Scopes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comedycentral.com/video-clips/lh1ta6/drunk-history-the-scopes-monkey-trial |title= Comedy Central: Drunk History: Clip}}</ref>

===Art===

* ''Gallery: Monkey Trial'' shows [[cartoon]]s made in reaction to the trial.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/monkeytrial/gallery/index.html |title=Gallery: Monkey Trial|publisher=PBS|website=American Experience}}</ref>

===Literature===

* Ronald Kidd's 2006 novel, ''[[Monkey Town (novel)|Monkey Town]]: The Summer of the Scopes Trial'', set in summer 1925, in [[Dayton, Tennessee]], is based on the Scopes Trial.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ronaldkidd.com/Novels/ArtMID/656/ArticleID/20/CategoryID/10/CategoryName/Novels/Monkey-Town-The-Summer-of-the-Scopes-Trial|title=Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial|website=RonaldKidd.com|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130102817/https://www.ronaldkidd.com/Novels/ArtMID/656/ArticleID/20/CategoryID/10/CategoryName/Novels/Monkey-Town-The-Summer-of-the-Scopes-Trial|archive-date=January 30, 2020|access-date=2020-01-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.audiobooksync.com/books/the-great-tennessee-monkey-trial/|title=''The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial'': Description|author=AudioFile Magazine|website=audiobooksync.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301041520/http://www.audiobooksync.com/books/the-great-tennessee-monkey-trial/|archive-date=March 1, 2016|access-date=January 30, 2020}}</ref>

===Music===

* A series of folk songs produced in reaction to the trial, from PBS' ''[[American Experience]]'', includes:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/monkeytrial/sfeature/sf_music.html# |title=Monkey Music|publisher=PBS|website=American Experience}}</ref>
** "Bryan's Last Fight"
** "Can't Make a Monkey of Me"
** "Monkey Business"
** "Monkey Out of Me"
** "The John Scopes Trial (The Old Religion's Better After All)"
** "There Ain't No Bugs"
** "Monkey Biz-Ness (Down in Tennessee)" by the International Novelty Orchestra with Billy Murray is a 1925 comedy song about the Scopes Monkey Trial.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/TheInternationalNoveltyOrchestraVbillyMurray-MonkeyBiz-nessDownIn |author=The International Novelty Orchestra with Billy Murray|title= Monkey Biz-Ness (Down In Tennessee 1925)|edition=public domain|website=Internet Archive}}<br>{{cite web|website=Music For Maniacs|url=http://musicformaniacs.blogspot.com/2013/06/silly-78s.html|title=Silly 78s: International Novelty Orchestra with Billy Murray "Monkey Biz-ness (Down in Tennessee)" [GOTTA have some Billy Murray in any survey of 78s- he was the early 20th century's biggest recording star, and certainly one of the most prolific]|author=Mr. Fab|date=2013-06-21}}</ref>
* [[Bruce Springsteen]] performed a song called "Part Man, Part Monkey" during his 1988 [[Tunnel of Love Express Tour]], and recorded a version of it in 1990 that was first released as a 1992 [[B-side]] and was later released on the 1998 multi-volume ''[[Tracks (Bruce Springsteen album)|Tracks]]'' collection. The song references the Scopes trial ("They prosecuted some poor sucker in these United States / For teaching that man descended from the apes") but says that the trial could have been avoided by merely looking at how men behave around women ("They coulda settled that case without a fuss or fight / If they'd seen me chasing you, sugar, through the jungle last night / They'da called in that jury and a one two three, said / Part man, part monkey, definitely").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brucespringsteen.it/DB/sd3.aspx?sid=428|title=Part Man, Part Monkey|website=The Killing Floor}}</ref>

===Non-fiction===

* It was not until the 1960s that the Scopes trial began to be mentioned in the history textbooks which were used in American high schools and colleges. Such textbooks usually portrayed it as an example of the conflict between [[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalists]] and [[Modernism|modernists]], and it was frequently mentioned in the sections of those same textbooks which also described the rise of the second iteration of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] in the [[Southern United States|South]], which occurred around the same time.<ref>Lawrance Bernabo and Celeste Michelle Condit (1990). "Two Stories of the Scopes Trial: Legal and Journalistic Articulations of the Legitimacy of Science and Religion" in ''Popular Trials: Rhetoric, Mass Media, and the Law'', edited by Robert Hariman. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, pp. 82–83.</ref>

== See also ==

{{portal|Evolutionary biology|Science}}

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[1911 Brigham Young University modernism controversy]]
* [[Creation and evolution in public education]]
* [[Creationism]]
* [[Evolution]]
* ''[[Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District]]''
* [[Charles Lee Smith#Blasphemy conviction|Charles Lee Smith]]
* [[National Center for Science Education]]
* ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'' (1859) by [[Charles Darwin]]
* [[Mildred Seydell]]
* ''[[Edwards v. Aguillard]]''
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{Citation
 | surname     = de Camp
 | given       = L. Sprague
 | author-link  = L. Sprague de Camp
 | year        = 1968
 | title       = The Great Monkey Trial
 | publisher   = Doubleday
 | isbn        = 978-0-385-04625-1
 | author1     = <!-- Please add first missing authors to populate metadata. -->
 | title-link  = The Great Monkey Trial
 }}
* {{Citation |last=Clark |first=Constance Areson |title=Evolution for John Doe: Pictures, The Public, and the Scopes Trial Debate |journal=Journal of American History |year=2000 |pages=1275–1303 |volume=87 |issue=4 |issn=0021-8723|jstor=2674729 |doi=10.2307/2674729 |pmid=17120375 }}
* {{Citation |last=Conkin |first=Paul K. |title=When All the Gods Trembled: Darwinism, Scopes, and American Intellectuals |year=1998 |page=185 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-0-8476-9063-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/whenallgodstremb0000conk/page/185 }}
* {{Citation |last=Edwards |first=Mark |title=Rethinking the Failure of Fundamentalist Political Antievolutionism after 1925 |journal=[[Fides et Historia]]|year=2000 |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=89–106 |issn=0884-5379 |pmid=17120377}}
* {{Citation |last=Folsom | first=Burton W. Jr. |title=The Scopes Trial Reconsidered |journal=Continuity |year=1988 |issue=12 |pages=103–127 |issn=0277-1446}}
* {{Citation |editor-last=Gatewood |editor-first=Willard B. Jr. |title=Controversy in the Twenties: Fundamentalism, Modernism, & Evolution |year=1969}}
* {{Citation |last=Harding |first=Susan |title=Representing Fundamentalism: The Problem of the Repugnant Cultural Other |journal=Social Research |year=1991 |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=373–393}}
* Grabiner, J. V. & Miller, P. D. (September 6, 1974) "Effects of the Scopes Trial", ''Science'', New Series, Vol. 185, No. 4154, pp.&nbsp;832–837
* Ladouceur, Ronald P. (2008) "Ella Thea Smith and the Lost History of American High School Biology Textbooks", ''Journal of the History of Biology'', Vol. 41, No. 3, pp.&nbsp;435–471
* {{Citation
 | surname     = Larson
 | given       = Edward J.
 | author-link  = Edward J. Larson
 | year        = 1997
 | title       = Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion
 | publisher   = BasicBooks
 | isbn        = 978-0-465-07509-6
 | author1     = <!-- Please add first missing authors to populate metadata. -->
 | title-link  = Summer for the Gods
 }}
* {{Citation
 |surname = Larson
 |given        = Edward J.
 |author-link   = Edward J. Larson
 |year         = 2004
 |title        = Evolution
 |publisher    = Modern Library
 |isbn         = 978-0-679-64288-6
 |author1      = <!-- Please add first missing authors to populate metadata. -->
 |url          = https://archive.org/details/evolutionremarka00lars
}}
* {{Citation |last=Lienesch |first=Michael |title=In the Beginning: Fundamentalism, the Scopes Trial, and the Making of the Antievolution Movement |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2007 |pages=350pp |isbn=978-0-8078-3096-3 }}
* {{Citation
 | surname     = Menefee
 | given       = Samuel Pyeatt
 | year        = 2001
 | title       = Reaping the Whirlwind: A Scopes Trial Bibliography
 | journal     = Regent University Law Review
 | volume      = 13
 | issue       = 2
 | pages       = 571–595
 | author1     = <!-- Please add first missing authors to populate metadata. -->
 }}
* {{Citation |last=Moran |first=Jeffrey P. |title=The Scopes Trial: A Brief History with Documents |publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's |year=2002 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/scopestrialbrief00mora/page/240 240pp] |isbn=978-0-312-24919-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/scopestrialbrief00mora/page/240 }}
* {{Citation |doi=10.2307/27648313 |last=Moran |first=Jeffrey P. |title=The Scopes Trial and Southern Fundamentalism in Black and White: Race, Region, and Religion |journal=Journal of Southern History |volume=70 |issue=1 |year=2004 |pages=95–120 |url=https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5005987461 |jstor=27648313 |access-date=September 11, 2017 |archive-date=May 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504085316/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5005987461 |url-status=dead }}
* Shapiro, Adam R. ''Trying Biology: The Scopes Trial, Textbooks, and the Antievolution Movement in American Schools'' (2013) [https://www.amazon.com/Trying-Biology-Textbooks-Antievolution-Movement-ebook/dp/B00CN509SI/ excerpt and text search]
* {{Citation
 | last=Smout |first=Kary Doyle |title=The Creation/Evolution Controversy: A Battle for Cultural Power |year=1998 |pages=210 pp
 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic | isbn=978-0-275-96262-3}}
* {{Citation
 | surname1    = Scopes
 | given1      = John T.
 | author-link1 = John T. Scopes
 | surname2    = Presley
 | given2      = James
 | date        = June 1967
 | title       = Center of the Storm: Memoirs of John T. Scopes
 | publisher   = Henry Holt & Company
 | isbn        = 978-0-03-060340-2
 | author1     = <!-- Please add first missing authors to populate metadata. -->
 }}
* Simpson, George Gaylord (February 7, 1975) "Evolution and Education", ''Science'' Vol. 187, Issue 4175, pp.&nbsp;389
* {{Citation |last=Tompkins |first=Jerry R. |title=D-Days at Dayton: Reflections on the Scopes Trial |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |year=1968|oclc=411836}}

== Further reading ==

* {{cite web|author=Cline, Austin|url=http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/evolution/bldef_scopesmonkeytrial.htm|title=Atheism: Scopes Monkey Trial|website=About.com|access-date=April 15, 2007|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225174455/https://www.thoughtco.com/atheism-and-agnosticism-4133105|url-status=dead}}
* [[Ray Ginger|Ginger, Ray]]. ''Six Days or Forever?: Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes''. London: [[Oxford University Press|OUP]], 1974 [1958].
* [[Marcet Haldeman-Julius|Haldeman-Julius, Marcet]]. "Impressions of the Scopes Trial". ''[[Haldeman-Julius Publications|Haldeman-Julius Monthly]]'', vol. 2.4 (Sept. 1925), pp.&nbsp;323–347 ([http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/haldeman-julius.html excerpt]—included in ''Clarence Darrow's Two Great Trials'' (1927). Haldeman-Julius was an eye-witness and a friend of Darrow's.]
* {{cite journal|author=McKay, Casey Scott|title=Tactics, Strategies, & Battles—Oh My!: Perseverance of the Perpetual Problem Pertaining to Preaching to Public School Pupils & Why it Persists|journal=University of Massachusetts Law Review|volume= 8|issue=2 |date=2013|pages=442–464 |url=http://scholarship.law.umassd.edu/umlr/vol8/iss2/3/ }} Article 3.
* [[Henry Louis Mencken|Mencken, H.L.]] ''A Religious Orgy in Tennessee: A Reporter's Account of the Scopes Monkey Trial''. Hoboken: Melville House, 2006.
* {{cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/monkeytrial/ |work=American Experience |title=Monkey Trial|publisher= PBS}}
* Scopes, John Thomas and William Jennings Bryan. ''The World's Most Famous Court Trial: Tennessee Evolution Case: A Complete Stenographic Report of the Famous Court Test''. Cincinnati: National Book Co., ca. 1925.
* Shapiro, Adam R. ''Trying Biology: The Scopes Trial, Textbooks, and the Antievolution Movement in American Schools''. Chicago: [[University of Chicago Press|UCP]], 2013.
* Shapiro, Adam R. "'Scopes Wasn't the First': Nebraska's 1924 Anti-Evolution Trial". ''Nebraska History'', vol. 94 (Fall 2013), pp.&nbsp;110–119.
* The Church Case between Prof. [[Johannes du Plessis]] and the Dutch Reformed Church in Cape Town, South Africa, on February 27, 1930 – 1931, regarding the biblical chapter of Genesis and evolution, was a similar event. The Church lost its case. {{oclc|85987149}}
* [[Brenda Wineapple|Wineapple, Brenda]]. ''Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial That Riveted a Nation''. New York: Random House, 2024.

== External links ==

{{Commons category|Scopes Trial}}
Original materials from and news coverage of the trial:
* [https://librarycollections.law.umn.edu/darrow/trials_details.php?id=7 Complete trial transcripts and other court documents] at University of Minnesota Law Library
* [https://profjoecain.net/scopes-monkey-trial-1925-complete-trial-transcripts/ ''The World's Most Famous Court Trial''] on the website of Professor Joe Cain from UCL
* [https://archive.org/stream/CoverageOfTheScopesTrialByH.l.Mencken/ScopesTrialMencken.txt Mencken's complete columns on the Scopes Trial] at the Internet Archive
* [http://hdl.handle.net/1903.1/1280 Papers of Warner B. Ragsdale, a reporter covering the trial] in University of Maryland Library
* [http://www.underworldamusements.net/blog/2010/uavh-scopes-june29/ Readings (audio) of H.L. Mencken's reports of the trial from ''The Baltimore Evening Sun''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222050646/http://www.underworldamusements.net/blog/2010/uavh-scopes-june29/ |date=December 22, 2017 }}
* [http://www.famous-trials.com/scopesmonkey/2127-home Scopes Trial Home Page] by Douglas Linder. University of Missouri at Kansas City Law School
* {{cite web|url=http://www.csudh.edu/oliver/smt310-handouts/wjb-last/wjb-last.htm|title=Text of the Closing Statement of William Jennings Bryan at the trial of John Scopes|author=Bryan, William Jennings|location=Dayton, Tennessee|date=1925|website=California State University Dominguez Hills|access-date=July 14, 2006|archive-date=July 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713142608/http://www.csudh.edu/oliver/smt310-handouts/wjb-last/wjb-last.htm|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|url=http://personal.uncc.edu/jmarks/Darrow.html |title=Transcript of Bryan's cross-examination|author=Marks, Jonathan |website= University of North Carolina |location= Charlotte, NC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614035541/https://personal.uncc.edu/jmarks/Darrow.html |archive-date=June 14, 2007}}
* {{cite web|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/research/scopes.html |title=Unpublished Photographs from 1925 ''Tennessee vs. John Scopes'' "Monkey Trial"|website= Smithsonian Archives}}
* [http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-evolution-timeline-interactive Human Timeline (Interactive)] – [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]], [[National Museum of Natural History]] (August 2016).
* [http://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/scopes Scopes Trial], digital collection, Tennessee Virtual Archive.

{{Scopes trial|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Religion vs. evolution cases}}
{{Clarence Darrow}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Scopes Trial| ]]
[[Category:1925 in American law]]
[[Category:1925 in religion]]
[[Category:1925 in Tennessee]]
[[Category:20th-century American trials]]
[[Category:American Civil Liberties Union litigation]]
[[Category:William Jennings Bryan]]
[[Category:Christianity and evolution]]
[[Category:Clarence Darrow]]
[[Category:July 1925 in the United States]]
[[Category:Legal history of Tennessee]]
[[Category:Public education in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Religious controversies in the United States]]
[[Category:Rhea County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Tennessee state case law]]
[[Category:United States creationism and evolution case law]]
[[Category:Academic freedom case law]]