1. The Scopes Monkey Trial

2. Science and Religion Clash
The 1920’s saw these two subjects often at odds with each other.
There was a growing divide between Urban and Rural parts of America, and a large factor was religious views.

3. Fundamentalism
This is the religious movement, popular in the 1920’s, that stresses a literal interpretation of the Bible.
They don’t believe anything is symbolic, they believe it all happened exactly as it is written in the Bible.
This caused conflict when discussing certain scientific theories, mainly Evolution.

4. Tennessee and Evolution
In 1925 Tennessee became the first state to ban the teaching of Evolution.
Fundamentalists did not believe that man had “evolved” from Apes.
They believed in “Creationism,” the story of how man was created in the Bible (Adam and Eve).

5. The American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU promised to represent any teacher who wanted to break this law, and a biology teacher from Dayton, Tennessee, John Scopes, volunteered.
He taught a lesson on Evolution and was arrested.

6. The Two Sides
Clarence Darrow as selected by the ACLU to defend Scopes. He was the most famous defense attorney in the country.
William Jennings Bryan (same guy who stated the Populism movement and ran for President 3 times) a devout fundamentalist, served as the prosecutor.

7. The Country is Captivated!
This was relatively minor deal, criminally speaking, but this trial epitomized the intense debate that the entire country was having at the time.
Thousands of reporters and onlookers flocked to the small town of Dayton to observe the proceedings.

8. The Trial
The Trial was mostly Darrow questioning Bryan about his religious beliefs.
Darrow was taking on the view of science, while Bryan was defending his religious faith.

9. Darrow sort of wins
Darrow finally gets Bryan to admit that maybe the world was not made in 6 days of 24 hours.
This was a shocking admission from Bryan, because he was admitting that the Bible might be interpreted different ways.
In the end, it didn’t matter. Scopes was found guilty and fined 100 bucks.