DOCSLIB.ORG

The People V. Clarence Darrow

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The People V. Clarence Darrow In a mostly forgotten piece of Americana, 95 years ago in Los Angeles, arguably one of this country’s greatest lawyers was tried on a charge of bribery—bribery of jurors in a murder case. If his defense and history are any indi- cators, it was that lawyer’s controversial legal career—as much as jury tampering— that were being judged in that California courtroom in 1912.1 By the time Clarence Darrow headed west to represent defendants in a notorious murder case, he was already famous for representing those whom others would not represent. History would remember Darrow as the man who defended the right of John Thomas Scopes to teach Darwin’s theory of evolution—dramatized in the play and eventual movie Inherit the Wind; for his plea for clemency for Richard Loeb, who, with Nathan Leopold, tried to commit the perfect crime by murdering a classmate— made into the novel and film Compulsion; and as the “greatest champion of labor and the poor, the ‘attorney for the damned.’”2 It is no hyperbole to say that Darrow was the most famous lawyer of his time. Most lawyers in the early 1900s were not courtroom artists, but he was. Starting as a railroad lawyer, he later went on to defend unpopular people and causes. Darrow rep- resented the coal miners during their 1902 The People v. Clarence Darrow BY HON. ROBERT L. GOTTSFIELD strike. He was against the death penalty, Hon. Robert L. Gottsfield is a organized religion and social discrimination retired but called-back full-time (Id. at 443). judge of the Superior Court, In fact, he switched sides to defend his Maricopa County. first great client, Eugene Debs. Debs was a union organizer who had established the rail- road worker’s union and the Socialist Party, becoming its presidential candidate in five elections beginning in 1900. And it was Debs who generated intense public pressure to free John and James McNamara, two brothers 28 ARIZONA ATTORNEY NOVEMBER 2007 www.myazbar.org accused of blowing up a newspaper plant, an was charged with using his chief jury inves- The prosecution carried out this person- action that led to the death of 20 men. tigator, Burt Franklin, to bribe two jurors al attack throughout the trial. But it aided It was his representation of the brothers in the trial. in Darrow’s strategy at trial as well as his McNamara that would lead to charges Darrow was alleged to have arranged, closing argument. Darrow’s aim was to against Darrow himself. How he reached through Franklin, the bribery of two show his damnation by the prosecution was that pass says much about the times in McNamara jurors. The first was George “not so much because he was a ‘jury which Darrow lived and the commitment Lockwood, a Civil War veteran and retired briber,’ but because he had been for years he felt to the plight of working people. county employee whom, it was alleged, was the champion of labor” (Id. at 412). to be paid $4,000 for his acquittal vote. As Darrow began his closing argument, The second juror was Robert Bain, another all conversation ended among the huge Civil War veteran, down on his luck and crowd of spectators. The 12 jurors, all men, Early-1900s America was an age of indus- employed as a carpenter, though already in eyed him intently. Present were his trade- trial violence. As the means and methods of his seventies; much was made of his need to mark unkempt hair and unruly lock falling production changed and consolidated, make payments on a new house (Id. at 25). over his forehead. His voice was low, his workers confronted sometimes shocking The police arrested Burt Franklin at the hands in his pockets. He looked from juror working conditions and a declining stan- scene of the alleged payoff. It appears that to juror as he spoke3: dard of living. For many, a solution lay in Lockwood had been outraged by the offer, the unity of organized labor. and he had notified the police in advance Gentlemen of the jury, it is not easy to In that tempest of labor strife, an auxil- (Id. at 231-233, 236-237). Spotted near argue a case of importance, even when iary plant of the Los Angeles Times was the payoff scene—but not arrested—was you are talking about someone else. An blown up by dynamite, killing 20. This Clarence Darrow. experience like this never came to me would be a tragedy and high-profile case in Franklin’s arrest was made prior to the before. Of course, I cannot say how I any age; in that tinderbox, the ensuing trial McNamara guilty pleas. Therefore, will get along with it. But I have felt, was called the greatest labor case, murder Darrow’s motives in having them plead gentlemen, by the patience you have case and political trial in the country’s his- guilty thereafter have always been chal- given this case for all these weeks, that tory (Id. at 3). Accused of the deed were lenged, by both allies and enemies. He you would be willing to listen to me. I James Barnabas McNamara and his brother always maintained he did it to save their lives might now argue it as well as I would John Joseph McNamara, treasurer of the and not to save his own skin from a possible some other case, but I felt that I ought Bridge and Structural Iron Worker’s Union. bribery indictment. Nonetheless, that indict- to say something to you twelve men John Joseph was a lawyer, a respected labor ment eventually was handed down. besides what I said on the witness stand. leader and a devout Catholic. He was a hero The Lockwood bribery trial was tried In the first place, I am a defendant, to the working man. first, in Los Angeles. Darrow’s defense charged with a serious crime. I have Darrow traveled west from Chicago to team consisted of four lawyers including been looking into the penitentiary for Los Angeles to represent the brothers. He Darrow. His chief counsel was Earl Rogers, six or seven months, waiting for you was the acknowledged leader of a “band of allegedly the most brilliant criminal lawyer twelve men to say whether I shall go or radicals, intellectuals, workers and in Los Angeles. Rogers gave the first clos- not. In the next place, I am a stranger in reporters, who were prepared to follow ing argument at the conclusion of the trial, a strange land, two thousand miles away him anywhere” (Id. at 22). but Darrow also was permitted to speak in from home and friends, although I am At Darrow’s urging and just before trial, his own defense following Rogers’ summa- proud to say here, so far away, there the brothers pleaded guilty. John Joseph tion. And Darrow’s closing was a dramatic have gathered around me as good and was sentenced to life and James, the least one, transforming the trial for the loyal and faithful friends as any man culpable and under the control of his Lockwood jurors into far more than a case could ever have upon the face of the brother, to 15 years. Fifteen-thousand men about jury tampering. earth. Still I am unknown to you. and women lined the streets outside the I think I can say that no one in my courthouse, “many whose hopes and ideals native town would have made to any had been so deeply invested in the broth- jury any such statement as was made of ers’ innocence” (Id. at 268). Eventually, Joseph Ford, a prosecutor, had opened the me by the assistant district attorney in the brothers were released from San trial with a stunning and venomous person- opening his summation. I will venture to Quentin within 10 years. al attack on Darrow. His words were punc- say he could not afterward have found a tuated by his vociferous use of a handy spit- companion except among detectives and toon (Id. at 410-412). Ford compared crooks and sneaks in a city where I live if Darrow to Judas Iscariot and Benedict he had dared to open his mouth in the Out of this scenario came the 1912 trial of Arnold—with the only qualification being infamous way that he did in this case. the bribery charge against Darrow. that Darrow’s crime was even more despi- But I am in his hands. Think of it! In a Specifically, Darrow, lead defense counsel, cable. position where he can call me a coward. www.myazbar.org NOVEMBER 2007 ARIZONA ATTORNEY 29 The People v. Clarence Darrow CELEBRITY TRIAL, Circa 1912 Clarence Darrow, defendant, was far from the only remarkable figure to distinguish his bribery trial. A fascinating cast of characters populated the stage of the legal drama, many of whom are still recognizable almost 100 years later1: Eugene Debs Edgar Lee Masters William J. Burns Samuel Gompers Lincoln Steffans Jerry Gelsler E.W. Scripps As noted, Edgar Lee Masters, William J. Burns, Samuel Gompers, Lincoln Steffans Jerry Geisler And finally, Eugene Debs a lawyer and poet, of Burns Detective who built the was the was a young E. W. Scripps, created great best known later for Agency fame, was at American “muckraking” lawyer– newspaper public interest Spoon River Anthology, the time “the most Federation of Labor journalist who researcher for publisher and in the murder was Darrow’s law celebrated (and into a nationally uncovered stories Darrow and one owner of trial of the two partner at the time of self-promoting) credible union, was of bribery and of Darrow’s United Press, brothers that both prosecutions.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Q&A with Sheppard Mullin's Andre Cronthall
    Portfolio Media. Inc. | 860 Broadway, 6th Floor | New York, NY 10003 | www.law360.com Phone: +1 646 783 7100 | Fax: +1 646 783 7161 | [email protected] Q&A With Sheppard Mullin's Andre Cronthall Law360, New York (April 10, 2013, 12:27 PM ET) -- Andre Cronthall of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP is a trial lawyer specializing in complex commercial litigation and has experience as lead counsel in civil jury trials involving business disputes. He has litigated matters from inception through appeal, with expertise in insurance-related litigation, products liability, commercial contract disputes and professional liability. Cronthall served two terms on the board of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers and also serves on the board of Public Counsel. Q: What is the most challenging case you have worked on and what made it challenging? A: My partner Scott Sveslosky and I handled a complex marine insurance coverage case that required extensive travel to several countries that are not signatories to the Hague Convention. It was a supreme challenge to arrange and take the depositions of dozens of third-party and party-affiliated witnesses located halfway around the globe, especially since our adversaries moved to quash all depositions that were potentially adverse. On two occasions, motions to quash and thereby prevent key depositions were brought on the eve of our departure overseas, which created uniquely challenging legal and practical dilemmas. For example, one of the depositions was to occur at an Indonesian prison. After numerous discovery motions and appellate proceedings, we prevailed on these issues and were permitted to use all of the testimony we obtained overseas.
    [Show full text]
  • 2. the Scope~ Kial Transcripts (1925)
    2. THE SCOPE~ ~KIAL TRANSCRIPTS (1925) The spread of the fundamentalist movement during the 1920s led many states to pass laws specifically banning or restricting the teaching of evolution in public schools. In 1925, a Tennessee high-school teacher named John Scopes (1900-1970) was convinced by several like-minded evolutionists to test the legit- imacy of his own state's prohibition of evolution in its classrooms. The result was one of the most celebrated trials of the century, the so-called Monkey Trial held in Dayton, Tennessee. In the following excerpts from the trial transcripts, the main antagonists attempt to frame the question in terms of monumental so- cial and religious choices. For Scopes's defense attorney, Clarence Darrow (1857-1938), the case represented a showdown between the forces of progres- sive enlightenment and backward religious bigotry. As a famous criminal and labor attorney, Darrow reveled in courtroom confrontation and seized this op- portunity to go after fundamentalist lawmakers in one of their strongholds. The I state's case was prosecuted by perhaps the other most famous American lawyer of the day, three-time populist candidate for the presidency, William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925). In Bryan's opening speech he portrayed Darrow and other evolutionists as outside agitators, bent on overturning the will of the people of Tennessee. Though Bryan did not live to deliver the closing speech he com- posed, it is clear that he too saw the conflict in epic terms. The compatibility of science and religion proposed by the Modernist theologian Kirby Mather, whose testimony is excerpted in the third reading, did not seem to strike either the atheist Darrow or the fundamentalist Bryan as even a remote possibility, thereby ) The ScopesTrial TranscriPts(1925) 439 indicating the depth of the antagonism the issue inspired.
    [Show full text]
  • There Was a Great Fear of Communism That Swept Through the United States in the Years Following the Russian Revolution of 1917
    Academic Literacy Skills Sample (ALST) Sample Constructed Response Item Passage A Argument of Clarence Darrow in the Case of the Communist Labor Party There was a great fear of Communism that swept through the United States in the years following the Russian Revolution of 1917. As a result, several states passed espionage acts that restricted political discussion, and radicals of all descriptions were rounded up in so-called Red Raids conducted by the attorney general’s office. Some were convicted and imprisoned; others were deported. This is the background for this particular reading passage about a trial in Chicago that took place in August, 1920. This trial involved twenty men charged under Illinois’s espionage statute with advocating the violent overthrow of the government. The charge rested on the fact that all of the defendants were members of the newly formed Communist Labor Party. The accused in the case were represented by Clarence Darrow, one of the foremost defense attorneys in the country. Throughout his career, Darrow had defended the poor and the despised against exploitation and prejudice. He defended the rights of labor unions, for example, at a time when many sought to outlaw the strike, and he was resolute in defending constitutional freedoms. The following are excerpts from Darrow’s summation to the jury. 1. Members of the jury: I have for a good many years been arguing cases in court and in my own way, as a lawyer, asking jurors to forget their prejudices and their feelings and deliver a verdict according to the evidence, uninfluenced by fear or passion or heat.
    [Show full text]
  • Spring / Summer 2003 Newsletter
    THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT Historical Society_ NEWSLETTER S PRI NG/SU MM E R 200} A Trailblazer: Reflections on the Character and r l fo und Justice Lillie they Career efJu stice Mildred Lillie tended to stay until retire­ ment. O n e of her fo rmer BY H ON. EARL JOH NSON, JR. judicial attorneys, Ann O ustad, was with her over Legal giant. Legend. Institution. 17'ailblazer. two decades before retiring. These are the words the media - and the sources Linda Beder had been with they quoted - have used to describe Presiding Justice her over sixteen years and Mildred Lillie and her record-setting fifty-five year Pamela McCallum fo r ten career as a judge and forty-four years as a Justice on the when Justice Lillie passed California Court of Appeal. Those superlatives are all away. Connie Sullivan was absolutely accurate and richly deserved. l_ _j h er judicial ass istant for I write from a different perspective, however - as a some eighteen years before retiring and O lga Hayek colleague of Justice Lillie for the entire eighteen years served in that role for over a decade before retiring, she was Presiding Justice of Division Seven. I hope to too. For the many lawyers who saw her only in the provide some sense of what it was like to work with a courtroom, Justice Lillie could be an imposing, even recognized giant, a legend, an institution, a trailblazer. intimidating figure. But within the Division she was Readers will be disappointed if they are expecting neither intimidating nor autocratic.
    [Show full text]
  • For Sale: Historic Bridge in Jackson Park
    For sale: Historic bridge in Jackson Park chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-darrow-bridge-for-sale-20171214-story.html Lolly Bowean There’s a historic bridge for sale in Jackson Park. And it’s not a con game. The Columbia Bridge, widely known as the Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge, is to be rebuilt in 2019. But before the Chicago Department of Transportation can start construction on the new pedestrian bridge, the agency has to offer the old one to the public for possible reuse, said Mike Claffey, a spokesman for CDOT. It’s all part of the federal government’s National Environment Policy Act and Section 106 process. But recently, the issue of the bridge being sold sparked some curiosity when an advertisement offering it for sale ran in a local newspaper. “The Darrow Bridge is an important community landmark because (Clarence) Darrow was a fixture in our community,” said Louise McCurry, president of the Jackson Park Advisory Council. When she learned of the ad, she immediately jumped into activist mode to spread information in her Hyde Park community about the sale. “That bridge is the biggest link to Jackson Park, so it’s a sacred landmark,” she said. “So now to see it’s being sold? Truly fascinating.” 1/3 The Darrow Memorial Bridge, which has unique abutment walls and a storied history, is crumbling and unusable. It has been closed to cars since 2009 and to pedestrians since 2015. The structure isn’t actually going to be sold for a price, Claffey said. Rather, interested parties have to provide a proposal by 4 p.m.
    [Show full text]
  • Loyola Lawyer Law School Publications
    Loyola Lawyer Law School Publications Winter 1-1-1981 Loyola Lawyer Loyola Law School - Los Angeles Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/loyola_lawyer Repository Citation Loyola Law School - Los Angeles, "Loyola Lawyer" (1981). Loyola Lawyer. 46. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/loyola_lawyer/46 This Magazine is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School Publications at Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Loyola Lawyer by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. • Loyola's Deans in Court • Cable Cars and Canals • 1979-80 Donor Honor Roll FROM THE DEAN Loyola Law School is pleased to join Before we started construction last in honoring the City of Los Angeles on June on our downtown campus, much its Bicentennial Anniversary. In doing consideration was given to moving the so, we are also honoring ourselves, for School to the Loyola Marymount Uni­ we are indeed a resource of the Los versity grounds in Westchester. The Angeles connnunity. And, we're final analysis and decision clearly proud to be a part of this fine city. affirmed our close association with the Our first Law School class, in 1920, courts, government offices, and major began with a scant eight students. law firms of the city. We decided to Since then, we've graduated more stay here. than 5,000 lawyers, more than half of Enthusiastically, we look forward to whom are actively practicing law.
    [Show full text]
  • Clarence Darrow on Religion, Law, and Society
    Introduction Clarence Darrow (1857–1938), whose decades-long championing of the despised and powerless earned him the sobriquet of “The Great Defender,” was born four years before the beginning of the Civil War and died a year before the beginning of World War II. These eighty years could well be considered the most transformative in United States his- tory—years that saw America expand from a fledgling and sparsely populated nation of farmers and small businessmen to an emerging super- power. Darrow witnessed and, in no insignificant way, participated in the multifaceted growing pains incident to this transformation: on such issues as the relations between capital and labor, the role of women in society, the place of religion in a diverse population, and, particularly, the theoretical and practical status of crime and punishment, Darrow made signal contributions that endured far beyond the span of his own life. A lawyer first and a writer second, he nonetheless left behind a succession of treatises whose provocative content still challenges us. Darrow, a self-proclaimed rebel who sided, both intellectually and emo- tionally, with the minority, remains a figure to contend with. Throughout his writings, whether they be on crime, religion, or morals, Darrow expressed the conviction that our views of life are fun- damentally and unalterably shaped by childhood experience. In this as- sertion he may well have been considering his own upbringing, for the kernels of many facets of his thought can be found in the events of his youth and adolescence. He was born on April 18, 1857, in the village of vii Kinsman, in northeast Ohio, the fifth of eight children born to Amirus and Emily (Eddy) Darrow.
    [Show full text]
  • March 2003, Vol.26, No.1 / $3.00
    SPECIAL 125th BIRTHDAY ISSUE MARCH 2003, VOL.26, NO.1 / $3.00 - 125 Years - LOS ANGELES COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION INSIDE The face of the legal profession: legendary trials, increasing diversity, legal landmarks, leading the way in serving the public, and more. ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL... especially in insurance protection! Aon Insurance Solutions Sponsored by the Los Angeles County Bar Association • High quality insurance plans designed for your professional and personal needs • Comprehensive risk management program • Personalized attention from your local broker/administrator • Attorneys’ Advantage® • Homeowners Insurance Professional Liability Insurance • Auto Insurance • Businessowners Insurance • Life Insurance • Workers Compensation Insurance • Small Commercial Auto Insurance • Health Insurance • Personal Umbrella Liability Insurance • Long Term Care Insurance For more information on any Aon Insurance Solutions product or to complete a no-obligation application for quotation visit us online. Visit www.aonsolutions.com/ais6 Call 800-634-9177 • Fax 800-977-1112 CA License #0795465 4B0AQ002 Let’s Celebrate the Soul in Solo Other lawyers say you’re a maverick. Maybe they have you figured right: You go your own way, make your own decisions — blaze your own law practice. lexisONE® likes your style. It’s why we offer LexisNexis™ research priced by the day, week or month for solos. With our research pack- ages, you’re free to access the LexisNexis research tools and materials you need, for the times you need them. Access: • LexisNexis™ Enhanced Case Law • Annotated Rules and Statutes • Shepard’s® Citations Service • Public Records • Administrative Materials • Journals and Law Reviews • News • Matthew Bender® Analytic Content • Expert Witness Directories • Verdicts and Settlements The price won’t hold you back.
    [Show full text]
  • Haymarket: Whose Name the Few Still Say with Tears
    HAYMARKET: WHOSE NAME THE FEW STILL SAY WITH TEARS A DRAMATIZATION IN ELEVEN SCENES MICHAEL E. TIGARt BACKGROUND lawyer who defends the movement for social change. His attitudes toward his own work The dialogue in this play is taken from are made up of his hopes, a fighting faith the trial record of the Haymarket trial,' that keeps him going, and a more tempered writings of Darrow' and Altgeld,3 poems view based on his experiences. Lucy of Vachel Lindsay,4 speeches of the Parsons' writings show her to have formed defendants,' and an article by Judge Gary.6 the views that she expresses in the play quite I created other dialogue based upon the early. Indeed, there is evidence that she biographies and autobiographies of the greatly contributed to forming her husband's participants.' In some instances, I political and social outlook. combined several characters into one and Albert Parsons was a complex rearranged the order of events. However, character. He saw Civil War service for the the key speeches of each participant are Confederacy. After the war, he met and their actual words. married Lucy, a woman of color. They The bombing, trial, executions, and were driven out of Waco, Texas and settled pardon of the survivors were such a in Chicago in late 1873, where both became complex series of events that a simple leaders in the movement that led to the chronological retelling would lack dramatic Haymarket events. intensity. Therefore, I chose to tell this May 1, 1886 was an important day in story through a series of flashbacks, American labor history.
    [Show full text]
  • A Critical Analysis of the Stage Work Inherit the Wind Regarding Its Deviation from the Historic Scopes'
    A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STAGE WORK INHERIT THE WIND REGARDING ITS DEVIATION FROM THE HISTORIC SCOPES’ TRIAL OF 1925 AND SUBSEQUENT IMPACT UPON THE DEBATE OF HUMAN ORIGINS A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty of The University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Jeffrey S. Miller May 2008 A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STAGE WORK INHERIT THE WIND REGARDING ITS DEVIATION FROM THE HISTORIC SCOPES’ TRIAL OF 1925 AND SUBSEQUENT IMPACT UPON THE DEBATE OF HUMAN ORIGINS Jeffrey S. Miller Thesis Approved: Accepted: Advisor Dean of the College James Slowiak James M. Lynn Faculty Reader Dean of the Graduate School Durand L. Pope George R. Newkome Faculty Reader Date Kevin Priest School Director Neil Sapienza ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER Page I. THE STAGE WORK’S ORGINAL INTENT AS A PRODUCT OF THE TIMES…………………………………..…………….………….…..………………….01 II. THE STAGE WORK’S GRADUAL DEVIATION FROM ITS ORIGINAL INTENT………………………………………………………………..……………..…06 III. THE STAGE WORK’S DEVIATION FROM THE HISTORICAL PERCEPTION OF THE CHARACTER OF WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN…..…14 IV. THE STAGE WORK’S DEVIATION FROM THE HISTORICAL PERCEPTION OF THE CHARACTER OF CLARENCE DARROW……………...24 V. THE STAGE WORK’S DEVIATION FROM A HISTORICAL PERCEPTION OF DAYTON, TENNESSE’S RELIGIOUS POPULATION……..............…..….…..35 H. L. Mencken…………………………………………………………….……47 Concluding thoughts on the religious of Dayton, Tennessee……...…..….53 VI. THE PHENOMENON OF ART’S ABILITY TO INFLUENCE SOCIETY AS SEEN IN THE STAGEWORK INHERIT THE WIND………….…….…..….……....55
    [Show full text]
  • “Rock of Ages”: Naturalism, Social Darwinism, and Fundamentalism in the Scopes Monkey Trial
    The “Age of Rock” versus the “Rock of Ages”: Naturalism, Social Darwinism, and Fundamentalism in the Scopes Monkey Trial 1 Bess Blackburn is a history graduate student at Liberty University, and she also serves as an Editor-In-Chief of the Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship and Public Policy. Prior to entering graduate studies, she earned a BS in Documentary Filmmaking, a BA in Classical Studies, and a minor in Koine Greek at Liberty. Her work focuses on the intersection of policy and academia, with a focus on natural law, liberty of conscience, and human flourishing. 2 Greek mythology once predominated the highest forms of culture known to man. Myths of how fire came to be in the hands of humans, or how the peacock got its spotted feathers were beloved cultural tales of origins.1 With the decline of the ancient cultures, new ones blossomed in their place. However, the question of origin has remained a pertinent, central question of each culture, no matter how modern. The question of origin dictates who a person believes himself to be, where he believes himself to be going, and what he believes himself to be doing. The question of origin is perhaps the most important question of culture itself because it is the question of τελος itself.2 It has been a natural inquiry of Man since the beginning of time. This inquiry, because it is all-encompassing, is ultimately an inquiry of truth. Truth can be found in several disciplines and practical applications—through theology, through science, through musical notation. However, in the Scopes trial, truth was sacrificed for the sake of political and scientific narrative.
    [Show full text]
  • Scopes Trial
    Scopes Trial Lesson plans for primary sources at the Tennessee State Library & Archives Author: Kristy Sproles, Sullivan Central High School Grade Level: High School Date Created: May 2015, standards updated 2019 Visit www.tn.gov/tsla/educationoutreach for additional lesson plans. Introduction: Without a doubt, the question, “where do humans come from?” was asked long before Charles Darwin published Origin of Species in 1859. Yet throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty- first century, the debate amongst members of the scientific and religious communities has continued to be a divisive and widely debated topic. The Scopes “Monkey” Trial is perhaps one of the critical events of this controversy and one of the landmark legal decisions of the twentieth century. Guiding Questions: Who were the major figures of the Scopes Trial? What were the main arguments on both sides of the Scopes Trial? What was the outcome and the legacy of the Scopes Trial? Learning Objectives: The students will write a letter to the editor of the Chattanooga Daily Times based on the article, Plan Assault on State Law on Evolution. The students will make predictions on the outcome of the ACLU wanting to test the anti-evolution legislation in Tennessee in 1925. The students will research and create mock interviews of participants in the Scopes Trial to be per- formed in front of the class. The students will tell the story of the Scopes Monkey Trial through the use of primary sources. The students will be assessed through an essay test consisting of the three guiding questions directly linked to the Tennessee standard US.38.
    [Show full text]