John Thomas Scopes Trial

Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion concentrates on the Scopes trial, otherwise called the "Monkey Trial," which happened in Dayton, Tennessee in the mid year of 1925. The trial occurred in excess of a Tennessee law that banned the educating of human development out in the open schools. The American Civil Liberties Union needed to test the law, and a junior instructor named John Scopes, consented to help them. The alleged "trial of the century" united the well known government official and speaker, William Jennings Bryan, who headed the opposition to development campaign; and Clarence Darrow, who was viewed as the best criminal protection legal advisor of the time. The two men, plus their individual direction, clashed in the trail with the indictment in the end ready to maintain the law.

They resisted the increasing flood of immigration and changing role of Christianity in society by appealing to middle and lower class native-born Americans. Mary Mullet’s admiration of Charles Lindbergh, the first person to fly from New York City to Paris,, also represents the classic American values still fighting for support: “he was…clean in character…strong and fine in body…modest…courageous; …these are the things which we honor most in life” (Doc F). In addition to these values, Prohibition promoted Christian values as alcohol was attacked. Finally, one of the most basic aspects of Christianity, the creation of Earth, faced opposition in 1925 when Tennessee teacher John Scopes went to court for teaching evolution. Though he was found guilty for breaking the law banning evolution in schools, ACLU lawyer Clarence Darrow dealt a blow to a religion already being questions while interviewing a persecuter: “I am examining you on your fool ideas that no intelligent Christian on Earth believes” (Doc C). The Scopes trial embodied the struggle between the old ways and new ideas throughout the 1920s.

Darrow, an atheistic man, believed that science should rule America and didn’t like that people who weren’t scientists were trying to control science and dictate what could and could not be done. His former friend, and opponent, on the side of religion was Bryan. Bryan believed that creation was the way humans came to be and was appalled by evolution and people’s desire to learn it. This conflict cut Americans to their souls and in July of 1925, it was given to the courts to decide once and for all which side was right, Darwin and his evolution, or the bible and creation. However, the courts could not decide which side was right, and instead stuck to its decision of whether or not Scopes broke the law, which he was indeed guilty of. This trial definitively proved that the tension between faith and reason might never be resolved by a jury’s verdict. The Scopes trial also galvanized fundamentalists and scientists alike, changed children’s education, and revealed a deep division within our nation. After Bryan’s wishes,

The book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie, tells of Native American life on the reservation. In the story “The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire” symbolism is used to echo how Native Americans were mistreated by the United States government. Still to this day Native Americans are forced to live on reservations which were originally prisoner of war camps. Alexie uses the symbolism of Thomas Builds-the-Fire’s conviction to show how Native Americans pay the price for injustices committed by the United States of America.

c. Frederick W. Taylor. d. William Jennings Bryan. e. the Southern Baptist Church. 50. The trial of John Scopes in 1925 centered on the issue of a. progressive education.

The mistake had not been that Scopes was guilty because of the judges’ preference over the prosecution, but it was that Scopes has been over-fined. While many resented the law, the government did not withdraw the law, “Despite its far-reaching implications, public universities ignored the bill, and the Governor, whom some expected would veto it, signed it into law...He understood it for what it was, a symbolic protest against the undarmining of religion by science,” (The Scopes). This shows that even though many people did not like the law because of its relation to Christianity the like remained. The Governor did not sign the law for the purpose to better the state, but because he did not like the idea of religion and science overlapping. Like the politic factors, geographic location also played a factor in the conviction of John Scopes.

On April 7, 2017, a colloquium was given by Dr. Ted Davis from Messiah College. It covered the controversy surrounding religion and science during the 1920s. At the beginning of his presentation, he presented and handed out some interesting primary sources. These primary sources were pamphlets commonly used in the 1920s to promote scientific reasoning (mainly evolution) and were written by some influential scholars and preachers of the time. He briefly discussed the Scopes Trial, which is probably the most famous example of science vs religion here in the US, and used it as a jumping off point for the history leading up to this trial. From here he began to discuss how World War I had put a negative connotation on evolution due to the social

Overall, through the thorough analysis of both primary texts as well as several secondary sources regarding the Thomas and Jane Weir trial as well as witch hunting in Scotland as a whole, it can be determined that women were unfairly persecuted due to the gender roles prevalent in early modern Scotland and the lack of separation between the church and the state played an immense role in ensuring this occurred. However, as stated previously, all sources must be analyzed for bias because this could have a drastic impact on the message delivered to the audience versus what was actually happening at the

Dayton is a small beautiful Southern town in Tennessee with only a few thousand inhabitants. However, in 1925, Dayton was on the front pages of newspapers all over the United States. Thousands of Americans were arriving to watch the spectacle that happened in this town. Mencken, one of the reporters that came to see the trial unfold, stated that the Scopes Trial was an extraordinary opportunity to put the small town of Dayton on the map (Scopes Trial, Mencken’s Trial Account, July 9, p. 1). Not only that, the trial brought Clarence Darrow, the nation’s greatest defense attorney, and William Jennings Bryan, the nation’s greatest political orator and three-time presidential candidate, into the trial. Due to these factors, New York Times called it “the most

The Scopes Trial was an eight day court case brought up around the issue of teaching evolution within schools, and the morality of it, which ultimately led to the defendant, John Scopes, to be pronounced guilty of teaching evolution within schools. Although it would seem that the Scopes Trial was an issue of legality, it was chiefly a religious conflict between the old generation’s way of thinking, and the new generation’s cultural rebellion. Because of the major focus on William Jennings Bryan’s knowledge of the bible, it would be best to observe and evaluate the seventh day of the trial. As the day starts, Clarence Darrow, the defendant’s lawyer, calls Bryan to the stand, and asks of his “interpretation of the Bible,” (144).

With Darwinism, the poor, weak, or lacking were left behind. According to William Graham Sumner, social Darwinism is “liberty, inequality, and survival of the fittest”. Sumner states these characteristics will carry “society forward and favor all its best members”. William J. Bryan saw these “laws of nature” bringing society away from reform, but these were not his only quarrels with Darwin's ideas. Along with his opposition to social Darwinism, Bryan expressed his distaste and made his stand clear on Darwinian theories of biological evolution. He focused intently on the “theory’s three great crimes” believing it rationalized warfare, “undercut the impulse for political reform”, and lastly, and most importantly, it contradicted the Bible. Standing by his unmovable Presbyterian beliefs, Bryan lectures against these theories, and takes his most prominent stand against them in the Scopes trial in 1925. He is called to stand at points in the trial and is questioned, testing his strength in and the knowledge of his faith, on almost every disrupted story and account in the Bible. He stands true to his religion through the end of the trial, and was rewarded with a win on the side of anti revolutionist opposing

Good afternoon, your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I am Rebecca Li, one of the lead lawyers from the prosecution side. Today, we are charging John Conlan and Lorraine Jensen for contributing to the death of Angelos Pignati. (You honor, for the sake of the jury’s recognition, I will refer to the defendants with their first names. Is that alright with you?) So, Lorraine and John started going to Mr. Pignati’s house a few month before the death of the Mr. Pignati. However, they initially went as the “J&L fund” charity members; even after confessing to Mr. Pignati that they were not actually charity workers, they continued receiving goods from Mr.Pignati without any signs of payment in return. After a day of exhausting activities with

Mayella Ewell, a young white woman was responsible for playing during Tom Robinson's trial. She was the woman of lonesome and lower class who seeked attention. Her lifestyle was as an unstable home in which she grew up to play mama and raise her seven younger siblings. From time to time she was often used as an abused sexual intercourse item by her junkie father. Since Tom was of African American, made of the used to power against time to cover up the fact that she was being physically and verbally abused by her father. Therefore, since Mayella was of white race, her word against Tom was worthy enough to encourage the jury that he had raped and physically abused her. Mayella was a character hidden behind her own father’s shadow. She never had

Tom Robinson is innocent. From the fact that he cannot use his left hand, to the fact he was extremely upset and emotional at the trial, there are numerous things that speak Tom's innocence. Even though this period in American history was not the time of equality, Tom Robinson deserved a fair trial, which he did not get.

The Scopes Trial, or the “Monkey Trial,” took place in 1925, and focused on a man named John T. Scopes. This man broke a law stated in the Butler Act, by teaching students about the Theory of Evolution written by Charles Darwin. Since informing kids the “human” evolved over time from a monkey to a person, was information against or denying what was written in the Holy Bible, many people believed that it was wrong and inhumane. Though, Clarence Darrow brought up this was unconstitutional and restricting the first amendment, which included the Freedom of Religion. Unfortunately Darrow didn’t portray his ideas enough, because the trial ended with William Jenning Bryan (the opposing attorney) winning, and Scopes being charged a $100 fine. Over