Scopes Monkey Trial
The 1920s was a time of industrial and urban concentration and shifting moral values. People began exploring and accepting new ideas, such as the theory of evolution. Evolution contradicted the belief that God created the world in six days and made man in his own image. Instead the theory of evolution claimed that men evolved from animals of a lower order then humans and this outraged fundamentalists. In the eyes of the fundamentalists evolution was an attack against God and Christianity, which is why they "mounted an all-out campaign against Darwinism," (Oates 190).It all began outside of Doc Robinson's drugstore in Dayton, Tennessee. On a hot May afternoon in 1925 John T. Scopes, a local high-school football coach and science teacher who was a local at the small town's gathering spot, was approached by George Rappelyea. Rappelyea, an outspoken businessman, asked Scopes if he could teach Biology without including the theory of evolution. Not really, was Scopes' response. Scopes then picked up a copy of George Hunter's Civic Biology on a nearby shelf of the drugstore. Scopes opened to a page in the book showing a chart of the evolution of man, which also explained Darwinism, and showed it to Rappelyea. When Rappelyea asked Scope
A-I don't know what they thought" (http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/scopes.htm). The following day Judge Raulston ruled that Bryan's testimony was to be stricken from the record because it was not relevant to the case. The judge then told the jury that all they were to decide was if or if not Scopes had violated the Butler Act. In closing arguments Darrow asked the jury to find Scopes guilty of the charges against him so that they could appeal the case and have it ruled unconstitutional by a supreme court (if the jury were to find Scopes not guilty the Butler Act would still be enforced and the defense would not be able to appeal the case in an attempt to get it repealed). After a few more questions and answers, and a brief objection, Darrow asked, "Q-Now, Mr. Bryan, have you ever pondered what would have happened to the earth if it had stood still? The trial began on July 10th with the selection of the jury. On the second day of deliberation Darrow argued that the Butler Act was unconstitutional because it did not separate church and state. Darrow claimed that, "You cannot jail a man just because his opinions are different from your own," and then went on to talk about what would happen if the Butler Act was strongly enforced (Kraft 35). As the trial moved forward in the following days the prosecution tried to prove that the Butler Act was constitutional while Darrow argued with Judge Raulston about the jury listening to testimony that would prejudice them. By the seventh day of the deliberation, the excitement over the case was waning, however the trial was reaching its climax. It was on the seventh day that the defense surprised the prosecution by calling William Bryan to the stand. Darrow began questioning Bryan with a series of easy questions. Darrow then went on to ask Bryan about whether he believed that a whale swallowed Jonah and if he believed Joshua made the sun stand still. When Bryan responded that, "I believe what the Bible says," Darrow's next question was, "Do you believe at that time the entire sun went around the earth?" Bryan then responded with the accepted scientific answer that, "I believe the earth goes around the sun."
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1790
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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