Across America people continue to debate about whether the theory of evolution should be taught in schools. In the year 1925, a trial was held in Tennessee in which a substitute teacher was being tried for teaching human evolution in a state funded school. The man, John Scopes, was found guilty and fined, but this brought about a question that has plagued the country for years. Should teachers in public schools teach about human evolution, and if so how does this interfere with the religious side of people’s beliefs? Although many people believe that it is beneficial for evolution to be taught in schools, it is not necessary at all. As scientists continue to discover more evidence of the humans that lived before us, the information they find
The 1920’s witnessed social change dramatically change the common culture of the United States. Sinful speakeasies, flappers, and jazz were sweeping the nation, and religious conservatives were not happy with it. The scientific theory of evolution founded by Charles Darwin was spreading throughout the world, and into the classrooms of America (Margulies, et al. 70). In 1925, Tennessee passed the Butler Law, prohibiting the teaching of evolution in the state. The law would’ve been passed unnoticed if not for Lucile Milner, executive secretary of the ACLU discovering it. The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, was created in 1920 to defend men who refused to fight in World War I (Margulies, et al.74). Upon recognition of the Butler Law, the ACLU decided to fight the law by advertising for teacher who taught evolution to represent the case. Dayton, Tennessee was where they found the teacher to testify against the law. Dayton was economically struggling, and needed the boost from a major event to help benefit it. Under George Rappelyea’s leadership, the town and John Thomas Scopes agreed to represent the case.
Imagine feeling disappointed from what seemed to be an extremely suspenseful story, but turned out to be exactly what was expected, all because it was written in the point of view of the wrong character. Stephen King’s thriller, “The Raft” begins with a group of young college kids returning to their old swimming lake in the fall. They each swim to the raft and the quietest of the group, Randy, quickly realizes the object in the water isn’t as harmless as it looks. When the thought-to-be “oil slick” begins to kill off his friends, Randy’s mind races, trying to find solutions to his predicament. King allows readers to travel through the bizarre, yet frightening encounter through the perspective of an outside narrator who is also able to be inside of Randy’s
Through the 1920s, conflicts regarding the teachings of religious values versus Evolution, along with the increasing fight for women’s independence, caused a great deal of tension within America. Prior to the ‘20s schools taught the Bible and Christianity’s principles were stressed. It was in 1925 when Clarence Darrow defended John Scopes, a biology teacher, who was put on trial in the court for teaching the theory of Evolution (Doc C). This document illustrates the dialogue of
John Scopes was born on August 3, 1900, in Paducah, Kentucky. In 1924 he started to teach at Rhea County Central High School in Dayton, Tennessee. At that time there was a national debate about whether evolution should be taught in schools. It was then later decided that evolution would not be taught in publicly funded schools. The American Civil Liberties Union thought differently and wanted to challenge the Butler Act. John Scopes volunteered to be tried under this new law. He admitted to using a textbook that contained evolution while serving as a substitute biology teacher. He wanted to stand up for academic freedom. He once said, “What goes on in the classroom is up to the student and the teacher. Once you introduce the power of the state telling what you can and cannot do you’ve become involved in propaganda.” John Scopes was found guilty, but his conviction was later overturned.
The Scopes trial, writes Edward Larson, to most Americans embodies “the timeless debate over science and religion.” (265) Written by historians, judges, and playwrights, the history of the Scopes trial has caused Americans to perceive “the relationship between science and religion in . . . simple terms: either Darwin or the Bible was true.” (265) The road to the trial began when Tennessee passed the Butler Act in 1925 banning the teaching of evolution in secondary schools. It was only a matter of time before a young biology teacher, John T. Scopes, prompted by the ACLU tested the law. Spectators and newspapermen came from allover to witness
Can you imagine not learning how to multiply or divide or anything else that you find necessary to help you succeed in school? Then maybe you can visualize living in the state of Tennessee, where public schools could not teach Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. It all started when the teachers Butler Act was passed, it banned the teaching of the Evolution. Most people were indignant because of how the law favored those who acclaimed the bible. The conviction of John Scopes in the Scopes Trial was caused by political factors like the laws passed and the trial itself, the geographic factors such as the location also known as the Bible Belt and lastly the primary factor is social factors, such as religious beliefs.
On January 20, 1925, a Tennessee state senator named John A. Shelton proposed a bill to make the teaching of evolution in the state’s public schools a felony, or a criminal act. Fundamentalists had been supporting and pushing the passage of laws such as this for years, because the teaching of evolution and Darwinism contradicts the religious beliefs of creation in Christianity. Popular evangelist, Billy Sunday, undertook an eighteen-day crusade in Memphis in support of the prospective bill. Night after night, Sunday’s audiences grew until more than two-hundred thousand people heard him preach against the evils of evolution. The bill, known as the Butler Act, was officially passed on March 21, 1925, just 3 months after its proposal. Just as state legislators suspected, the ink had hardly dried on the Butler Act before its first challenger emerged.
Facts: The parties in this case are the appellant, Susan Epperson an Arkansas public high school teacher, and the State of Arkansas. Ms. Epperson brought legal action against the State of Arkansas in order to challenge the Constitutional legitimacy of the State’s “Anti-evolution” law. The “Anti-evolution” law made it illegal for any teacher in a state supported school to teach evolution or to use a book, which included the theory. Ms. Epperson believed the State’s prohibition of teaching evolution violated her Constitutional rights and thus initiated legal action in the courts.
The Scopes Trial Project... Evolution vs. Creationism John Scopes: He was a teacher in Tennessee who went on trial for teaching evolution in his classroom. This is a big deal because at this time the were many religious people. He saw this case as a chance to stand up for academic freedom. After days on the trial, the jury only took a few minutes to decide that Scopes was guilty. Later on, he conviction was overturned.
“In 1925, Tennessee outlawed teaching the theory of human evolution in public schools.” This ban of evolution was taken to court and was named the Scopes Monkey Trial, since the Tennessee teacher John Scopes was the defendant in the case. However, as Ronald Numbers states in his book, Galileo Goes to Jail: and other myths about science and religion, this was a response “to the invitation of the American Civil Liberties Union, which opposed the statute on free-speech grounds, [so] town leaders in Dayton, Tennessee, decided to test the new statute in court by arranging a friendly indictment of a local science teacher named John Scopes.” In this trial many celebrities in politics and law presided over this trial, in the end it was more of a publicity stunt than anything else. Yet for many years, this trial was believed to be entirely about how the very Christian based community of Tennessee didn’t agree with the teachings of evolution. This event was misconstrued so much that it was even printed in school books that give examples of Sciences fight against the tyranny of Christianity. Newspapers printed headlines about this trial for years to come and it lead the public to believe that this was not just about publicity but about the actual fight of science vs
Starting with the Scopes Trial, many more cases have occurred concerning the teaching of evolution. “By 1928 every southern state except Virginia had debated or was considering legislation banning the teaching of evolution in the
Throughout the twentieth century, there have been many mass/serial killers. One killer who may be over-shadowed by the likes of Ted Bundy or Paul Bernardo, is Richard Speck. To some, Speck may be considered a "lightweight" in the mass murder world but to his victims and their families, he is a man of sub-human character. To prove his poor character, on that frightful night, while he was raping one of his victims he calmly said to her, "Would you mind putting your legs on my back?"(www.flashback.net/~slayer/speck.htm).
The theory of creationism versus the theory of evolution is a controversial topic worldwide. The topic delves further into whether creationism should or should not be taught in public schools. While evolution is a theory that says modern plants and animals evolved by a natural process over time, creationism is the belief that the universe and living organisms originated from specific acts of divine creation. Because evolution and creationism are both theories, creationism should be taught with as much validity as the teaching of evolution in public school. Since the early 1990’s creationism has become more and more a plausible theory. The historical events of creationism dates back all the way to the creation of mankind and the universe. Various evidence, such as the universe, point towards an intelligent designer and should therefore be taught in public schools.
Evolution has been taught in all public schools for as long as many can recall. Though the process of evolution is not the only theory, schools have been teaching it as if it is the complete truth, ignoring other aspects and only focusing and targeting on Darwin's theory of Evolution. However, there are still many other ideas that the students should be informed of as well because all are theories, all are hypothetic. Teaching of the evolution theory have yet to be proven reliable and confirmed by all scientists, thus it should not be taught in schools and should be left for students to wonder and discover by themselves.
The riddle of the origin of man has been subject to many ponderings and theories for thousands of years. In America, two theories concerning this timeless question have driven a spike through the general populace. These two beliefs, Evolution and Christianity, have driven a riff through the American populace and fueled several debates and conflicts over which is the truer theory. Incidents such as the decision of the Kansas school board to ban schools from including the Evolution Theory from their curriculum are becoming a tragically frequent and threaten to escalate if not checked soon. However, there is a growing belief in America today in the possibility of believing that evolution is an inescapable fact while still