Scopes Monkey Trial on Evolution
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The 1925 Monkey Trial
The “Monkey Trial” March 1925. • On 21st March 1925 Tennessee passed the Butler Act which stated: • That it shall be unlawful for any teacher in any of the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of the State which are supported in whole or in part by the public school funds of the State, 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. Proposer of the act: John Washington Butler. Religion vs. Science. • (State Representative) John W. Butler, a Tennessee farmer and head of the World Christian Fundamentals Association, lobbied state legislatures to pass the anti-evolution law. The act is challenged. • John Thomas Scopes' involvement in the so-called Scopes Monkey Trial came about after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced that it would finance a test case challenging the constitutionality of the Butler Act if they could find a Tennessee teacher willing to act as a defendant. • Photograph of John Scopes taken one month before the trial. Opportunistic Bush Lawyers? • A band of businessmen in Dayton, Tennessee, led by engineer and geologist George Rappleyea, saw this as an opportunity to get publicity for their town and approached Scopes. • Rappleyea pointed out that while the Butler Act prohibited the teaching of human evolution, the state required teachers to use the assigned textbook, Hunter's Civic Biology (1914), which included a chapter on evolution. • Rappleyea argued that teachers were essentially required to break the law. -
The Scopes Trial, Antievolutionism, and the Last Crusade of William Jennings Bryan
University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2012 Six Days of Twenty-Four Hours: the Scopes Trial, Antievolutionism, and the Last Crusade of William Jennings Bryan Kari Lynn Edwards Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Edwards, Kari Lynn, "Six Days of Twenty-Four Hours: the Scopes Trial, Antievolutionism, and the Last Crusade of William Jennings Bryan" (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 96. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/96 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SIX DAYS OF TWENTY-FOUR HOURS: THE SCOPES TRIAL, ANTIEVOLUTIONISM, AND THE LAST CRUSADE OF WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN A Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Southern Studies The University of Mississippi by KARI EDWARDS May 2012 Copyright Kari Edwards 2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT The academic study of the Scopes Trial has always been approached from a traditional legal interpretation. This project seeks to reframe the conventional arguments surrounding the trial, treating it instead as a significant religious event, one which not only altered the course of Christian Fundamentalism and the Creationist movement, but also perpetuated Southern religious stereotypes through the intense, and largely negative, nationwide publicity it attracted. Prosecutor William Jennings Bryan's crucial role is also redefined, with his denial of a strictly literal interpretation of Genesis during the trial serving as the impetus for the shift toward ultra- conservatism and young-earth Creationism within the movement after 1925. -
©2015 Kristoffer M. Shields ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
©2015 Kristoffer M. Shields ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CULTURE ON TRIAL: LAW, MORALITY, AND THE PERFORMANCE TRIAL IN THE SHADOW OF WORLD WAR I by KRISTOFFER M. SHIELDS A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School—New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in History Written under the direction of T.J. Jackson Lears And approved by _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey OCTOBER 2015 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Culture on Trial: Law, Morality, and the Performance Trial in the Shadow of World War I By KRISTOFFER M. SHIELDS Dissertation Director: T.J. Jackson Lears This dissertation analyzes three specific American trials, each taking place between 1921 and 1926: the State of Tennessee v. John T. Scopes; the murder trial of Frances Stevens Hall; and the murder trial(s) of silent film star Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. Despite the trials’ disparate facts, each became prominent nationally, covered by a variety of media and heavily attended by live audiences. This was not unprecedented. Throughout American history, trials have often been subjects of public fascination. At times, individual cases have become cultural phenomena, followed and discussed by onlookers across the country, reaching a point of national cultural relevance. I call these types of trials “performance trials” and argue that they are valuable and overlooked resources for historians. The three trials analyzed in this dissertation are especially instructive. The 1920s are a fertile time for performance trials, evidenced in part by this cluster of three such trials taking place within five years of each other. -
Notable Trade Book Lesson Plan: Monkey Town: the Summer of the Scopes Trial
Social Studies Research and Practice http://www.socstrp.org Notable Trade Books Judy D. Butler Contributing Editor Notable Trade Book Lesson Plan Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial by Ronald Kidd Michael G. Lovorn The University of Alabama State of Tennessee v. John T. Scopes tested the legality of the Butler Act which made it unlawful for public school teachers “to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible.” The media event became known as the “Monkey Trial” and brought a flood of publicity to rural Dayton, Tennessee, turning the creation vs. evolution debate into a national conversation. This dialog and debate caused Americans to consider the powerful influence of traditional religious beliefs and to examine how ideology fares when challenged by modernism and the advancement of scientific theory. Accordingly, the Scopes Trail is included in national curriculum standards for middle grades to foster historical inquiry and encourage students’ contemplation of concepts and factors associated with human thinking, feeling, and behavior. The historical fiction in Monkey Town presents the trial and related hysteria through the observations of a 15-year-old local girl trying to discover what she believes. This lesson encourages learners to critically analyze the relationships between ideas and practices. It enables students’ cursory exploration into issues and conflicts, allowing them to develop discussion and critical thinking skills by considering different perspectives in a historical setting. Book Title Kidd, R. (2006). Monkey Town: The summer of the Scopes Trial. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 978-1416905721 Suggested age level: 10 - 15 Volume 4 Number 2 99 July 2009 Social Studies Research and Practice http://www.socstrp.org Book Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial by Ronald Kidd is a work of Summary historical fiction centered on the original “Trial of the Century” which took place in July 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee. -
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 -
Selected Tennessee Historic Sites* Johnson
*Descriptions andphotographsofthesitesappearonfollowing pages. 454 Hancock Sullivan Johnson Pickett Clay Claiborne Macon Hawkins n to Sumner Scott Campbell g Stewart Montgomery Robertson in e Fentress h Carter al Grainger s ousd Jackson Overton Union n a C Tr ble i he am Greene W o Lake Obion Henry ath H ic Weakley Houston am Smith n Anderson U Wilson Putnam Morgan Jefferson Dickson Davidson Benton Cocke Selected TennesseeHistoricSites* Dyer Humphreys DeKalb Cumberland Gibson Carroll White Williamson Roane n Sevier e Cannon o al Rutherford d d ou er Crockett Hickman ren L Blount d Bu au Warren n L Henderson Va Bledsoe Madison Perry Maury Rhea S Haywood e s Monroe Decatur Lewis Bedford Coffee q ig u e McMinn Tipton Grundy at Chester ch M Marshall ie Moore Bradley TENNESSEE BLUEBOOK Fayette Hardeman Wayne Lawrence Giles Hamilton Shelby McNairy Hardin Polk Lincoln Franklin Marion 1. Victorian Village, Memphis 19. Mansker's Station & Bowen-Campbell House, 2. Hunt/Phelan House, Memphis Goodlettsville 3. Graceland, Memphis 20. Jack Daniel's Distillery, Lynchburg 4. Chucalissa Prehistoric Indian Village, Memphis 21. Cordell Hull Birthplace and Museum, Byrdstown 5. Beale Street Historic District, Memphis 22. Chickamauga/Chattanooga National Military Park, 6. Alex Haley Home and Museum, Henning Chattanooga 7. Reelfoot Lake, Tiptonville 23. Rhea County Courthouse, Dayton 8. Ames Plantation, Grand Junction 24. York Grist Mill/Home of Alvin C. York, Pall Mall 9. Pinson Mounds State Park, Pinson 25. Rugby 10. Shiloh National Military Park, Shiloh 26. The Graphite Reactor (X-10) at Oak Ridge National 11. Natchez Trace Parkway, Hohenwald Laboratory, Oak Ridge 12. -
William Silverman Photographs, 1925
William Silverman Photographs, 1925 Finding aid prepared by Smithsonian Institution Archives Smithsonian Institution Archives Washington, D.C. Contact us at [email protected] Table of Contents Collection Overview ........................................................................................................ 1 Administrative Information .............................................................................................. 1 Descriptive Entry.............................................................................................................. 1 Names and Subjects ...................................................................................................... 1 Container Listing ............................................................................................................. 2 William Silverman Photographs https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_arc_287623 Collection Overview Repository: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C., [email protected] Title: William Silverman Photographs Identifier: Accession 10-042 Date: 1925 Extent: 0.26 cu. ft. (1 half document box) (0.01 non-standard size box) Creator:: Silverman, William Language: Language of Materials: English Administrative Information Prefered Citation Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 10-042, William Silverman Photographs Descriptive Entry This accession consists of photographs and negatives taken by William Silverman at the 1925 Tennessee v. John T. Scopes anti-evolution trail in Dayton, Tennessee. Silverman, a Georgia Tech -
The American Mercury March 1936
Mencken's Autopsy on Roosevelt ---- - WHY SHOULD I READ THE SUN? Because The Sun is New York's finest ,evening newspaper. Because it presents the complete and unbiased news of current OUTSTANDING MEN WHO happenings,written in the dis tinct'ive Sun style for which WRITE FOR THE SUN this newspaper is famous. GEORGE VAN SLYKE S~n's Politics Because of The provoca tive editorials, itS" interesting BOB DAVIS features, liv~ly spgrts stories, Travel dependable financial news and CARLETON A. SHIVELY its thorough coverage of sub, Finance jects that, appeal to mett and FRANK GRAHAM women of in,telligence.' Sports DAVID LAWRENCE If you are not already· a Sun Politics reader, why not try this New York ,newspaper? You'll like H. I. PHILLIPS Hunlor its balance', its completeness and the stories, articles and col RICHARD LOCKRIDGE umns of its many distinguisht:d Theater writers. GEORGE TREVOR Sports WILLIAM J. HENDERSON Music The Newspaper 0/ Disti,lclion ;n;ts Readers, ;1$ News atld its Advertising WARD MOREHOUSE N'EW YORK Broadway THE AMERICAN MERCURY This Box • Contained · .. Napoleonic "most eXCItingf ur tIme· "'· discovery 0 0 - -cealment for fear of libel, of bons the book as one of the Best Napoleon's odd, gay behavior Books published during 1935 when only 1,000 of the Old Guard that hundreds are discovering it returned to Paris, of 600,000 who as the one great collateral-narra tive, of complete accuracy, to Tolstoy's WAR AND PEACE? DON'T MISS THIS TREAT !-biog Critics - scholars -librarians raphy, memoirs, history, mystery and thousands of individual read all in one great book that belongs ers are discovering this Trans in every tastefully selected per Century Flash as history's "exclu sonal library. -
The Scopes Trial
Evolutionary Anthropology 16:126–131 (2007) CROTCHETS & QUIDDITIES The Scopes Trial ‘‘People, this is no circus. There are no monkeys up here. This is a lawsuit, let us have order.’’ Court Officer Rice KENNETH M. WEISS In 1925, the Dayton businessmen Would he be willing to stand trial to were not happy. Nothing ever hap- test the law? He agreed, though he pened in their sleepy town of less than couldn’t remember whether he had 2 2,000 souls. They wondered what actually taught the evolution sections they could do to get a little action or of Hunter (Fig. 2). They put ‘‘the Pro- maybe even a little notoriety, and the fessor’’ on trial for this offense, which money that came with it. Earlier in the carried a fine of between $100 and year, the state legislature had passed a $500. new law called the Butler Act; the To make the most of the occasion, townsmen seized an opportunity to they brought in a celebrity prosecutor turn the law into manna from heaven. who had been a leader in the struggle of The Butler Act, passed by the Ten- religion against evolution, the former nessee legislature, stated ‘‘That it shall Presidential candidate and Secretary of be unlawful for any teacher in any of State, William Jennings Bryan (Fig. 3). the Universities, Normals and all other That would ensure a conviction and public schools of the State which are would attract national media attention supported in whole or in part by the as well. In defending Scopes, the Ameri- public school funds of the State, to can Civil Liberties Union brought in a teach any theory that denies the story celebrity of their own, Clarence Darrow of the Divine Creation of man as (Fig. -
Scopes Trial Didn't Quite Happ
HISTORY.JULY.06.qxp 6/8/06 2:39 PM Page 24 HISTORY LESSON by Bill Carey, the Tennessee History Guy Scopes Trial didn’t quite happ By Bill Carey, assisted by Tom Davis, director of public information at Bryan College Photographs courtesy of Bryan College Archives ayton is a quiet town. But there was Butler proposed a bill that would make it Done summer when it was everything illegal to teach evolution in the public but quiet. A long time ago, in 1925, Day- schools. Originally the bill died in the ton was the scene of one of the most Senate Judiciary Committee. But it famous trials of all time, usually referred passed at the last minute, under circum- to as the Scopes Trial. Today there is a stances that hint that Gov. Austin Peay small museum there that tells you all may have made a deal to arrange its about what happened. approval. “The governor was really This is what the trial was about: Back opposed to the bill and told me so him- in 1859, English scientist Charles Dar- self, but he simply didn’t have the win came out with the theory of evolu- courage to veto it,” Cecil Sims, a state tion. Among other things, Darwin argued senator in 1925, later said in a speech. By that human beings slowly descended from another species of animals over John Scopes, above center, stands during millions of years. sentencing. He was fined $100. The Rhea County Courthouse, left, as it appeared in In 1925, a Tennessee state represen- 1925,now houses the Scopes Museum in its tative from Macon County named John basement. -
Rhea County, First Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church Final
United States Department of the Interior National Register Listed National Park Service SG100005790 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form 11/16/2020 This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. 1. Name of Property Historic name First Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church Other names/site number Trinity Chapel; Trinity United Methodist Church Name of related multiple property listing N/A (Remove “N/A” if property is part of a multiple property listing and add name) 2. Location Street & Number: 240 1st Ave City or town: Dayton State: TN County: Rhea Not For Publication: N/A Vicinity: N/A Zip: __37321_______ 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this X nomination ___ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property _X__ meets ___ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: national statewide X local Applicable National Register Criteria: A B X C D Signature of certifying official/Title: Date Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, Tennessee Historical Commission State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. -
UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations
UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The nation invisible : American civil religion and the American political tradition 1838- 1925 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5cx450x4 Author Gómez, Adam Joseph Publication Date 2010 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO THE NATION INVISIBLE: AMERICAN CIVIL RELIGION AND THE AMERICAN POLITICAL TRADITION 1838-1925 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the Requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science by Adam Joseph Gómez Committee in charge: Professor Tracy B. Strong, Chair Professor Harvey S. Goldman, Co-Chair Professor John Evans Professor Richard Madsen Professor Victor Magagna 2010 Copyright Adam Joseph Gomez, 2010 All rights reserved. The Dissertation of Adam Joseph Gomez is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Co-Chair Chair UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO 2010 iii DEDICATION For Kate iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature page................................................................................................................................. iii Dedication......................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents..........................................................................................................................