Scopes “Monkey” Trial

It could have happened yesterday. A devout congressman hears a story about a woman losing her Christian faith after hearing of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. He takes exception to a school textbook mentioning evolution, for its antireligious sentiment, and puts forward a bill in the state House to make teaching the theory a misdemeanor. He argues — eloquently — for his cause, and the bill passes both houses by wide margins. This was the course of events that took place in Tennessee before the passage of the Butler Act.

On this day, March 13, in 1925, the Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill proposed by John Washington Butler, “prohibiting the teaching of the Evolution Theory in all the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of Tennessee, which are supported in whole or in part by the public school funds of the State.” It also imposed a fine on the violators, ranging from $100 to $500.

The case proved the perfect proving ground for a young organization called the  American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU recruited John T. Scopes, a local teacher to voluntarily and knowingly break the rule so that they can defend him in the subsequent trial. The resulting Scopes “Monkey” trial ended in a conviction of the teacher (which was later overturned on a technicality), but brought the first real publicity to the group.