The Monkey Trial: Evolution and history in Tennesse

It wasn’t about homicide. It wasn’t about rampant corruption or misdeeds by a public servant. One of the most publicized trials in U.S. History was over a high school biology teacher who dared teach his students about Charles Darwin’s theory of Evolution.

What came to be called the Scopes Monkey Trial kicked off on July 10, 1925 — a century ago Thursday in Dayton, Tennessee.

The Butler Act

In January of 1925 John Butler — a devout Christian member of the Tennessee state legislature — proposed a bill that would make it illegal 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.”

The bill passed with large margins in both houses, primarily because legislators were fearful of being accused of not believing the Bible. Educators offered little resistance to the bill for fear of jeopardizing state funding. Gov. Austin Peay declined to veto the bill because he didn’t want to lose support for other measures he was pushing. “Probably the law will never be applied,” Peay predicted when he signed it.

The bill became law on March 21, 1925. The measure was a major win for Christian fundamentalists: It was the first law in the United States to ban the teaching of evolution.

There was a catch, however: While teaching evolution in public schools was now against the law in Tennessee, the state required biology teachers to use a textbook: “Civic Biology: Presented in Problems” by George William Hunter. Which not only endorsed the theory of evolution, it also cited white supremacy.

The biology textbook, photo from Amazon

The ACLU spread word that it would fund a test case against the Butler Act, but a willing teacher would need to be found. Local leaders in Dayton, Tennessee, recruited 24-year-old football coach and substitute science teacher John Scopes, who couldn’t even remember if he had ever said the word “evolution” in front of his students.

John T. Scopes, photo from The Smithsonian

The Media Circus

It was clear from the start that the trial wasn’t about religion vs. science or the validity of the Butler Act. It was about tourism and publicity for the small town of Dayton.

William Jennings Bryan, photo from Library of Congress

Three-time presidential candidate and former secretary of state William Jennings Bryan offered to join the prosecution. Famed labor and criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow of Chicago volunteered to lead Scopes’ defense.

Clarence Darrow, photo from Library of Congress

This kicked off a media circus to cover what became known as “the Monkey Trial.” Trainloads of journalists from big cities flocked to Dayton. Hotels upped their rates to an unbelievable $8 a night.

Residents began renting rooms in their homes. A local hardware store converted itself into a dormitory and news center. Signs imploring folks to “Read Your Bible” popped up around town, including on the front of the courthouse and on the courthouse privy.

Telegraph lines were laid and operators hired to handle the workload. Chicago radio station WGN — which was only a year old at the time — paid $1,000 a day to rent telephone lines so it could carry the trial live. The court made allowances for its microphones and for an announcer to narrate events as they happened.

The Unbearable Heat

Scopes was formally charged on May 5 with violating the Butler Act but the start of the trial was rushed to capitalize on the national publicity the case was drawing. The trial began on July 10, 1925, and was not aided in the least by a powerful heat wave that summer.

More than a thousand people squeezed into the courtroom and hundreds more gathered on the lawn. The Rhea County Courthouse of course, had no air conditioning in 1925.

The crowd cheered as Bryan entered the courtroom. He and Darrow greeted each other warmly: They knew each other well and had even worked together at times. However, two years before, they two had exchanged letters to the editor to the Chicago Tribune on the topic of evolution and religious fundamentalism.

It took only two hours to select a jury of local men. It was clear the jury was on the side of Bryan and the prosecution. Darrow was clearly hoping for a decision on the legality of the law itself. He had shipped in a dozen noted biology, geology and zoology professors to testify how a belief in the theory of evolution didn’t necessarily contradict the Bible. They were staying in a crowded boarding house the locals called the “Monkey House.”

But before the first of these witnesses could answer the first question asked of him, a member of the prosecution leapt to his feet, objecting to the line of questioning. The Butler Act, he said, outlawed any teaching of evolution, period.

Over the next few days, with the jury waiting backstage, the legal teams debated the law itself. The judge ruled that expert testimony from the professors would be “wholly irrelevant, incompetent and impertinent to the issues pending.”

Darrow and Bryan in the heat of the courtroom. Photo from Wikimedia Commons

The 'Unjust' Judgement

With his entire case gutted, Darrow improvised. He called prosecution attorney Bryan as an expert witness — not on the subject of evolution, but on the Bible.

That day, the judge had left the crowded, stifling courtroom behind and had convened the trial beneath the trees on the courthouse lawn. Hundreds gathered on bleachers to watch the show while local kids sold lemonade to the gallery. After the defense objected, the judge had a large “Read Your Bible” banner removed.

Darrow didn’t bring up Darwin or evolution or even Scopes. Instead, he spent hours quizzing Bryan on points where the Old Testament disagreed with science — for example, the age of the Earth or how long ago the Great Flood might have happened. He also questioned Bryan on literal interpretations of the Old Testament. Bryan had to concede, finally, that he didn’t believe the Earth was created in just six days. When asked how long the first “day” was, Bryan said “I do not think it means necessarily a 24-hour day.”

This exchange produced more objections from the prosecution and counter-arguments from the defense. Clearly frustrated, the judge adjourned the court for that day. The next day, he declared Bryan’s time on the stand over.

Darrow then called for the jury to be returned and for the case to be sent to them at once. This meant no trial-ending oratory from Bryan, who was livid at being robbed of his time in the spotlight.

It took the jury 10 minutes to return a guilty verdict and to fine Scopes $100. Scopes took the opportunity to say the Butler Act was an unjust statute.

Darrow questions Bryan on the day court was held outside. The next day, the judge cut off questioning.

The Aftermath

With the trial over, the reporters and radio teams left town. Restaurants and lemonade stands closed down.

Five days after the trial ended, Bryan — who was still in Dayton — died of a sudden heart attack in his sleep. He was 65.

The governor of Tennessee proclaimed the day of Bryan’s funeral, July 31, a state holiday. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The words "He Kept the Faith" were inscribed on his tombstone.

In 1927, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the Scopes trial verdict on a technicality and dismissed the case. No further action was recommended by the court because “Nothing is to be gained by prolonging the life of this bizarre case.”

Nineteen states had been considering anti-evolution laws but only two would pass such laws — Mississippi in 1926 and Arkansas in 1928. The latter would be struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1968. The former would be repealed in 1970.

In 1955, “Inherit the Wind,” a play very loosely based on the Scopes Trial, opened on Broadway.

In 1960, a movie version starring Spencer Tracy, Fredrick March and a pre-“Bewitched” Dick York as the young teacher, opened in theaters. It would be nominated for four Academy Awards.

In May 1967, the Tennessee state legislature repealed the Butler Act.

Spencer Tracy, Harry Morgan and Fredric MArch in the movie version of "Inherit the Wind." Photo from United Artists.