Inherit the Wind is a play based on a trial that took place in 1925. The trial it is based on is the John Scopes "Monkey" Trail. John Scopes was arrested for teaching his students Evolution or Darwinism, which is where the trail got it's nickname. The trial was held in a town called Dayton, Tennessee, but the play takes place in a town called Hillsboro. Bertram Cates is the plays counterpart for John Scopes. It is said that only a handful of quotes were taken from the transcript of the trial, but there were some events in the play that actually took place in the John Scopes Trial.
The play starts when a young boy named Howard is looking for worms for fishing bait when his friend starts to argue with him about the origin of the human spec
ies. Henry was taught by Cates that humans evolved from worms. This argument between Henry and his friend gives the idea of what this play is about, the argument of Creation or Evolution. In this time it was illegal to teach about evolution or Darwinism. People believed that if you believed in evolution then you didn't believe in God.
In the end Cates is ordered to pay only a fine. Rachel, Rev. Browns daughter was a good friend of Cates. She worried about Cates being in jail. In fact she even wanted Cates to admit he was wrong so they could move on with their lives. Rev. Brown damned Rachel to hell because she believed that Cates did nothing wrong. After the trial is over Cates and Rachel leave town together.
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