The Scopes Monkey Trial Case

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The “Scopes Monkey Trial” was a case that convicted John T. Scopes guilty of teaching the theory of evolution illegally in classrooms. The Butler Act was a law stating, “prohibiting the teaching of evolution theory in all the universities, and all public schools in Tennessee and was to provide penalties to those who taught it.”(The Butler Act.) Even though John T. Scopes lost the trial, the state of Tennessee won the case because Scopes taught evolution illegally, the butler act prohibits teaching evolution in classrooms, and the parents and the public didn’t want their children learning it.
To start off, the story of Scopes started in the little town of Dayton, TN where the substitute biology’s career ended. He was a teacher who taught Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to a public classroom. When it came down to there being a case of what had happened, surprisingly he volunteered to be tried under the new Butler Act. He admitted he used a textbook that supports …show more content…
The Monkey Trial made headlines with reporters from coast to coast camped out in Dayton, TN. Someone said, “the town filled with men and women who considered the case a duel to the death.” Over 2 weeks nobody paid attention to John, the attorneys hogged the spotlight in the overheated courtroom. Kevin Tierney stated, “Scopes was being used. He was completely willing to be used.” The trial was so over publicized that millions of guesses kept being swarmed together. People were thinking of how bad a person John was, they said things like, “I’m taking my children out of this school system!” The verdict did have a chilling effect on teaching evolution in classrooms for it didn’t reappear in textbooks until the 1960’s! This case also was named the “Monkey Trial” because most people believed that the theory of evolution dealt with the evolution of humans being monkeys in early

Scopes Monkey Trial In American History

The Scopes Monkey Trial is one of the biggest trials in American history. It was the first trial to ever be broadcasted on radios, and hundreds of reporters came to watch the trial. The conflict of the Monkey Trial was that one of Dayton, Tennessee’s public school teachers taught his students about people evolving from monkeys. The issue was that Tennessee had recently made a law, called the butler law, saying that teachers were not allowed to teach about evolution from monkeys, but instead teach…

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The Scopes Monkey Trial

The ACLU’s plan for the Scopes Monkey Trial was to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court, and have a decision that would be beneficial to themselves. In the book, “Summer for the Gods” by Edward J. Larson discusses the case in its totality. Initially the goal of the organization was to not to criticize any particular religious groups, but wanted to argue for academic freedom. Larson writes, “During the twenties, the ACLU executive committee was never openly hostile toward religion per se…”…

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Scopes Monkey Trial Research Paper

How The Scopes Monkey Trial Impacted Our Education "What goes on in a classroom is up to the student and the teacher. Once you introduce the power of the state—telling you what you can and cannot do—you've become involved in propaganda." -John Scopes. As many people know, the 1920’s was a time in which new ideas were often met with uneasiness and fear. Some ideas that led to these feelings included the idea of women’s rights, acceptance of the African American community and culture, and the rise…

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The Scopes Monkey Trial Summary

is the right action to take? This was the dire decision which John T. Scopes, an educator, was required to make. Ever since English naturalist Charles Darwin theorized evolution, conflicts arguing whether evolution or Creationism took place have been ubiquitous; However, the conflict raged during the trial of Scopes (Johnson). The Scopes “Monkey” Trials lasted from July 10 to the 21st, 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, (“Scopes Trial”). The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, agreed to pay for anyone…

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The Scopes Evolution Trial

The Scopes’ Trial The Scopes Trial, commonly referred to as the Scopes Evolution Trial or the Scopes Monkey Trial, began on July 10th, 1925. The defendant, John Thomas Scopes, was a high school coach and substitute teacher who had been charged with violating the Butler Act by teaching the theory of evolution in his classes. The Butler Act forbid the teaching of any theory that denied the biblical story of Creationism. By teaching that man had descended from apes, the theory of evolution, Scopes was…

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The Importance Of Scopes Trial

The Scopes Trial, a trial for history. Although it doesn’t sound like much, it was extremely important. The state of Tennessee passed a bill called the butler act. The butler act banned the teaching of evolution. This was viewed as an attack on the freedom of speech by a group of people called the ACLU, and the planned to end this “attack”. John T. Scopes was a school coach surprisingly, and he knew nothing of evolution. If you wish to know more about Scopes, click on the link here American Experience…

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Causes And Effects Of The Scopes Trial

The Scopes Trial of 1925 was a court case involving a teacher by the name of John Scopes who was caught teaching evolution in Dayton, Tennessee after it was made illegal. (DiLascio) The fiasco began whenever the state of Tennessee passed the Butler Act, which made it illegal to teach about evolution in public schools. The American Civil Liberties Union was a group that offered financial support to any teacher that would challenge this law. The ACLU wanted to take the law to the Supreme Court so that…

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John T. Scopes Essay

story of divine creation as taught by the Bible and to teach that man was descended from a lower order of animals,” as written by the staff of history.com. Shortly after, John T. Scopes, a high school biology teacher, was charged with teaching the theory of evolution within his class. In the trial, State v. John Scopes, the jury could convict the accused with a fine between $100-500, but they ruled not guilty. Although, the theory of the creation of man is a part of the United States’ history and…

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20 s essay

religion happening in the United States. The Scopes Monkey trial was the main headline for religious tension throughout the era. Modernists like Scopes challenged the notion that everything in the bible should be literally interpreted, this lead to anti-evolutionist groups like the Anti-Evolution League, petitioning against the conflict of hell in the high school (Doc 4). Unfortunately for evolutionists the Scopes Monkey trial ended with a guilty verdict and Scopes failed to get an appeal. However many…

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Scopes Trial Essay

that humans are descended from monkeys. These different theories on creation have been debated many times since they were introduced; some believe evolutionism is correct, while others think creationism is the correct theory, and neither side can agree with the other. The debate between these theories came to a head in the 1920s when a teacher, John Scopes, was arrested and tried for teaching evolution in school. The ACLU, or American Civil Liberties Union, defended Scopes and declared the charges unconstitutional…

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