Butler Act

planned for them” written in the books. The Butler Act made it illegal to teach about religions from the textbooks. This included that teachers as any school were allowed to teach and about the science of evolution. The conflicts that the Butler Act made were between tradition and modernity. This act was worrying parents that it would change, and make a big effect for their children's education. These are reasons why people cared about the Butler Act. It also questioned the simple debate between

strong opposition against Evolution makes Tennessee an interesting battleground for Creationism and Evolution. The first step of the battle was for the Butler Act to find its opponent. What ended up happening was something that was unknown to the public; Leaders from Dayton, a small town in Tennessee, were conspiring to violate the Butler Act. “Civil leaders of Dayton saw an opportunity to benefit the town by increasing its visibility through publicity” (Singham, 2009, p. 23). The idea was first

1925 Tennessee passed the Butler Act. Making it unlawful in public schools to teach any theory that denies the story of divine creation as taught by the Bible. But to teach instead that man was descended from a lower order of animals. It was in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee where a 24 year old fresh out of college , high school substitute named John Scopes taught the theory of evolution to a biology class. This was just two months after the passing of the Butler Act. John Scopes was then charged

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

creationists, but quickly escalated to a debate of historic proportions. The 1920s were times of change in the United States, from women getting the right to vote to prohibition to changes in education, such as the Butler Act, which created unease and animosity throughout the country. The Butler Act of 1925 prohibited the teaching of evolution and any other theories that deny the story of the divine creation of man as taught in the Bible in all Universities and public schools in Tennessee. John Scopes, a

Cultural Confrontations of the 1920’s The 1920s were a time of change for the United States. Following the First World War there was a rush of new cultural, social, and artistic dynamism, partly fuelled by the Progressivism movement that was cut short when American entered the Great War. This decade was defined by a change from more rural farm life to industrialism in big cities. The shift from the frugality and traditional family values or previous generations to the happy-go-lucky consumerism

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was on the forefront of the challenge against the Butler Act. The ACLU is a non-profit organization founded in 1920 whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It posted an

"new" generations. The 1920's were no exception. In Dayton, Tennessee, 1925, a high school biology teacher was arrested. He was arrested because he taught the theory of evolution. The teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of having violated the Butler Act. This was a Tennessee law that forbade the teaching of the theory of evolution in public schools. The Tennessee legislature felt that teaching evolution was wrong because it contradicted the creation theory of the Bible. The Scopes trial received

the central figure was a twenty five-year-old science teacher named John Scopes. Scopes was under the umbrella of advancing America, and the trial was dubbed The Scopes “Monkey” Trial. In 1925, John Scopes was encouraged to challenge the Butler Law. This law was passed in the state of Tennessee to bar teachings contrary to those in the Bible. Teachings from an evolutionary text, Scopes broke the law and drew the attention of the media. The focus of the media on the Scopes trial

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