scopes trial
TRANSCRIPT
The Battle Over Teaching Evolution
The issue: Evolution Tennessee law passed
earlier that year banned teaching evolution
The Law
Illegal for any teacher in public school “to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.”
John Scopes, teacher and coach in Dayton, TN
Taught evolution from Hunter’s Civic Biology, the official biology text for state of TN
Intentional protest against new law
Town leaders conspired to bring the case to town
Defense Attorney
CLARENCE DARROW
Most famous attorney of his time
Prosecuting Attorney
WILLIAMJENNINGSBRYAN
Most famous orator of his time
Case argued by the two most famous figures possible: a showdown of rivals
Darrow represented modernity
Bryan represented tradition
Opening statements pictured the trial as a titanic struggle between good and evil or truth and ignorance.
Bryan claimed that “If evolution wins, Christianity goes." Darrow argued, "Scopes isn't on trial; civilization is on trial."
Vs.
In response to new social patterns of modernism, a wave of revivalism developed
Trial emerged as a conflict between social and intellectual values
Journalists looking for a showdown—who would dominate American culture? Traditionalists or modernists?
OR
Fundamentalists came from hundreds of miles
Passed out pamphlets
Hung banner “Read Your Bible”
Songs, “You Can’t Make a Monkey of Me”, “I’m No Kin to a Monkey” etc.
Dressed up chimpanzee each day of the trial
Gorillas in cages brought in by train
Joe Merti, Chimpanzee
Judge refused to rule law unconstitutional, so trial went forth
Opened with a prayer Banner: “Read Your
Bible”
"Fires have been lighted in America to kindle religious bigotry and hate," Darrow said. "If today you can take a thing like evolution and make it a crime to teach it in the public schools, tomorrow you can make it a crime to teach it in the private schools. And after awhile, your Honor, it's man against man and creed against creed until we're marching backward to the time when bigots burned the men who dared to bring any intelligence and enlightenment and culture to the human mind!”
The national media applauded Darrow's speech
TN newspapers had a different reaction. Memphis Commercial Appeal printed cartoon of Darrow as the Anti-Christ
Baltimore journalist Very critical of Bryan
and creationists Brought descriptions
of trial to national audience
Portrayed Southerners as illiterate and ignorant
Knew Scopes would be convicted
Wanted to use trial as a national science lesson on evolution
Hoped to turn public opinion against creationists
Journalists on his side
Judge decided not to let any experts on evolution testify
Darrow called Bryan to the stand as an expert on the Bible
At first said everything in the Bible should be taken literally
After Darrow’s relentless questioning, finally conceded that Bible should not always be taken literally
Reported by the press as a defeat for Bryan "As a man and as a legend, Bryan was
destroyed by his testimony that day.“ Bryan died 6 days later
Trial changed the way many people thought about evolution, which eventually changed laws
Before trial 15 states had proposed anti-evolution laws
After trial only 2 states ended up passing laws Anti-evolution laws finally overturned
nationwide in 1968 in Epperson v. Arkansas
CHORUS:I'm no kin to the monkey no no no,The monkey's no kin to me yeahyeah yeah,I don't know much about hisancestorsBut mine didn't swing from a tree.
It seems so unbelievable,And yet they say that it's true,They're teaching us about it in school now,That humans were monkeys once too.
CHORUS
Although it's so ridiculous,They're teaching us now that it's true,The teachers that came from a monkey,
Would be better off in a zoo.
CHORUS
It seems so much more believable,And surely, surely it's true,That God made Man in His image,No monkey story will do.
CHORUS
This monkey business has to go,Because it just isn't true,It's such a disgrace to the monkey,A disgrace to the human race too.
CHORUS
1. Tell me at least two reasons why was this song written.
2. What does this song reflect about American culture in the 1925 and who would be most likely to sing it?