The Scopes Monkey Trial

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Jeff Poulin

The Scopes Monkey Trial

        The John T. Scopes trial was one that has changed the scales of justice. No case has ever caused as much of frenzy for such a small fine or punishment. The “Scopes monkey trial” affected a nation’s views on religion, politics, rights of speech, and their thought’s about one man being able to defeat and reform certain laws. The Scopes trial has been called the trial of the 20th century; I will research the trial to find out what all the frenzy was about.  

        To really get a grip of trial you must understand why the trial took place and the circumstances surrounding it. At the time of the trial America was in a state of reform; there were the traditionalists, known nowadays as Victorians who took the bible at its word, and would not believe any thing but the bible. There were also the modernists, who are now known to have lived in the Jazz age, they were eager to prove their intellect by almost any means necessary, even if it meant discrediting the bible that their parents cherished so very much.

        This is one of the reasons why the Scopes trial became the media frenzy that it did, America wanted to find out which group would come out on top, the Victorians and their religion, or the modernists and their academics.

        On the one side was William Jennings Bryan three times candidate for president. It is unclear why he took the position, one theory is that he took the position because he was part of a crusade to stop Darwin’s theory, and was worried that the beliefs that he supported were going to be changed. Some have also said that Jennings just wanted to remain in the limelight.

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        The whole concept of Scopes trial was born in Fred Robinson’s drug store when George Rappalyea arrived with a piece of paper containing an American Civil Liberties Union announcement. It contained the information that it was willing to offer its services to anyone challenging the Tennessee anti-evolution statute. He figured that this would bring the town back onto the map.

        On the day of the starting of the trial Dayton Tennessee was in frenzy, lemonade stands were set up, banners lined the streets, and reporters were everywhere. There were also chimpanzees brought in, they were allegedly for evidence at the ...

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