100 years ago--the Scopes trial

On July 21, 1925, high school teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty by Judge John T. Raulston of violating the Butler Act, a statute forbidding the teaching of human evolution in public school in Tennessee. The act had been signed into law by Tennessee Governor Austin Peay on March 21, 1925. Several notable people in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee thought it would be a great publicity stunt for the law to be challenged, with the trial to be held in Dayton. Mr. Scopes, a substitute teacher who wasn't sure if he had actually taught evolution, agreed to serve as the accused in challenging the law. The trial, which became popularly known as the "Scopes Monkey Trial," began in Dayton on July 10, 1925. District Attorney Tom Stewart led the prosecution, assisted by three-time Democratic Party U.S. presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, who hadn't tried a case in 36 years. The defense, financed by the American Civil Liberties Union, was led by Clarence Darrow, one of America's most famous lawyers and a member of the ACLU.

The trial attracted national and international publicity, covered by journalists such as noted American muckraker H.L. Mencken. The climax occurred on the trial's seventh day when Mr. Darrow, an agnostic, called Mr. Bryan to the stand to quiz him on the Bible. The exchange between the two men went on for two hours, but Judge Raulston eventually ruled the testimony irrelevant and that it should be expunged from the record. Mr. Bryan was planning to put Mr. Darrow on the stand and question him on his beliefs, but Judge Raulston's ruling prevented that, and hastened the end of the trial. Prevented from entering further evidence, Mr. Darrow rested his case without a summation, and requested a verdict from the jury, who took just nine minutes to find the defendant guilty.

Mr. Scopes was fined $100, and filed an appeal. On January 15, 1927, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the guilty verdict and fine against Mr. Scopes, ruling that Judge Raulston had usurped the role of the jury. The Butler Act, however, was upheld, and wasn't repealed until 1967. The Scopes trial was regarded as a major event in the battle between fundamentalism and modern science, with "science" winning the public relations battle despite losing the case.

I don't have the time for a lengthy analysis of the Scopes trial, but here are a few resources that the reader may find informative:

Scopes at 100: Cross-examining the “Monkey Trial” by Subby Szterszky of Focus on the Family Canada (this article contains numerous links to other useful articles)

100 Years Later: How The Scopes Trial Resulted In Generations Of Judicially Imposed Public Secularism by Judge Darrell White of Answers in Genesis (July 14, 1925)

Tired of put-downs, Tennessee town corrects the record with play about the Scopes trial it hosted by Kristin M. Hall of Associated Press (July 11, 2025)



They Did This 100 Years Ago, and We’re Still Living with the Consequences--Ken Ham, Answers in Genesis (June 28, 2025)