The Scopes Trial A Brief History with Documents

by Moran, Jeffrey P.

• ISBN13: 9780312249199
• ISBN10: 0312249195
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-06
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

The Scopes trial shocked America. Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes brought the question of teaching evolution in schools to every dinner table, and it remains an essential topic in any course on American History, the History of Education, and Religious History. This volume's lively interpretative introduction provides an analysis of the trial and its impact on the moral fiber of the country and the educational system, and examines the race and gender issues that shook out of the debate. The editor has excerpted the crucial exchanges from the trial transcript itself, and includes these along with reactions to the trial, taken from newspaper reports, letters, and magazine articles. Telling political cartoons and evocative photographs add a colorful dimension to this collection, while a chronology of events, questions for consideration, and a bibliography provide strong pedagogical support.

Author Biography

Jeffrey P. Moran has taught at Harvard and Brown Universities and is currently a member of the history department at the University of Kansas. A specialist in modern American social and cultural history, he is the author of Teaching Sex: The Shaping of Adolescence in the 20th Century (2000) and a clutch of popular and scholarly articles. He is also a recipient of the Louis Pelzer Memorial Award.

Table of Contents

Foreword	iii
Preface	iv
PART ONE Introduction: The Scopes Trial and the Birth of Modern America	1	(72)
Evolution before the 1920s	3	(5)
The Struggle against ``Modernity'' and Modernism	8	(5)
William Jennings Bryan and the Antievolution Argument	13	(7)
The Bulter Bill and the Fight for the Public Schools	20	(4)
Making a Test Case	24	(4)
Opening Day: The Attorneys and Their Strategies	28	(5)
Days Two through Four: Religious Freedom vs. Legislative Authority	33	(6)
Days Five and Six: Experts and Outsiders	39	(7)
And on the Seventh Day, Bryan Took the Stand	46	(4)
Aftermath: From Scopes to Creationism	50	(6)
South vs. North or Country vs. City? Region and Ruralism in the Antievolution Conflict	56	(3)
The Role of the Schools: Academic Freedom vs. Majority Rule	59	(7)
Race and Evolution	66	(4)
Women and Gender in the Scopes Trial	70	(3)
PART TWO The Scopes Trial Day by Day: Transcript and Commentary	73	(98)
First Day's Proceedings: Friday, July 10, 1925	74	(5)
Partial Text of the Butler Law (Transcript)	74	(1)
Clarence Darrow Examines a Potential Juror (Transcript)	75	(2)
Jury Pious, Dayton Hot, July 11, 1925	77	(2)
Henry M. Hyde
Second Day's Proceedings: Monday, July 13, 1925	79	(15)
Court Opened with a Prayer by Reverend Moffett of Rhea County (Transcript)	80	(1)
Indictment Read (Transcript)	80	(1)
Defense and Prosecution Dispute Butler Law's Constitutionality (Transcript)	81	(6)
Darrow's Major Speech in Defense of Religious Liberty (Transcript)	87	(6)
Darrow's Speech Great but Futile, July 14, 1925	93	(1)
H. L. Mencken
Third Day's Proceedings: Tuesday, July 14, 1925	94	(5)
Defense Objects to Prayers; Prosecution Defends Practice (Transcript)	94	(4)
Courtroom Prayers Defended, July 21, 1925	98	(1)
Nashville Tennessean
Fourth Day's Proceedings: Wednesday, July 15, 1925	99	(8)
Darrow Proud of Agnosticism (Transcript)	99	(1)
Raulston Rules on Motion to Quash Indictment; Cases Outlined (Transcript)	100	(2)
Defense Pleads Not Guilty; Cases Outlined (Transcript)	102	(1)
Examination of Howard Morgan, One of Scopes's Students (Transcript)	103	(2)
Trial Shows Wisdom of Youth, October 1925	105	(2)
W. O. McGeehan
Fifth Day's Proceedings: Thursday, July 16, 1925	107	(29)
Defense Pleads for Expert Testimony (Transcript)	108	(4)
``Plain Sense'' of Law Makes Experts Unnecessary, Argues Prosecution (Transcript)	112	(4)
William Jennings Bryan's First Speech (Transcript)	116	(10)
Dudley Field Malone Replies to Bryan (Transcript)	126	(5)
Attorney General Stewart Answers Malone (Transcript)	131	(3)
Fairness Lies on the Defense's Side, July 29, 1925	134	(2)
Joseph Wood Krutch
Sixth Day's Proceedings: Friday, July 17, 1925	136	(3)
Raulston Rejects Expert Testimony; Darrow Offends (Transcript)	136	(1)
New Republic, Courts Should Not Rule over Legislature, July 8, 1925	137	(2)
Seventh Day's Proceedings: Monday, July 20, 1925	139	(23)
Darrow Objects to ``Read Your Bible'' Banner (Transcript)	139	(4)
Darrow Questions William Jennings Bryan on the Stand (Transcript)	143	(2)
Did the Whale Swallow Jonah? (Transcript)	145	(1)
Could Joshua Command the Sun to Stand Still? (Transcript)	146	(3)
Did the Flood Wipe Out Civilization? (Transcript)	149	(4)
Darrow Questions Bryan on Genesis (Transcript)	153	(7)
New York Times, Laughter at Bryan's Expense, July 21, 1925	160	(2)
Eighth Day's Proceedings: Tuesday, July 21, 1925	162	(9)
Court Strikes Bryan's Testimony (Transcript)	162	(2)
Jury Reaches a Verdict; Scopes Speaks (Transcript)	164	(2)
Farewell Remarks (Transcript)	166	(2)
Battle Now Over; Genesis Triumphant and Ready for New Jousts, July 18, 1925	168	(3)
H. L. Mencken
PART THREE The Scopes Trial and the Culture of the 1920s: The Documents	171	(51)
Cartoonists Draw the Scopes Trial	171	(9)
Dorman, No Wonder the Monkeys Are Worried, June 29, 1925	172	(1)
Rogers, Disbelievers in the Evolution Theory, June 20, 1925	173	(1)
Cross, Unduly Excited, June 25, 1925	174	(1)
Cargill, Education in the Higher Branches, 1925	175	(1)
Alley, The Light of Economic Liberty, May 7, 1925	176	(2)
Baltimore, Waiting, July 17, 1925	178	(1)
Alley, What Manner of Material So Enduring? May 3, 1925	179	(1)
Race and the Scopes Trial	180	(9)
Chicago Defender, If Monkeys Could Speak, May 23, 1925	180	(2)
Dayton Is America, September 1925	182	(2)
W. E. B. Du Bois
African Methodist Episcopal Church Minister Stands with Bryan, October 1925	184	(1)
Reverend John W. Norris
Racial Hierarchy Proves Evolution, July 13, 1925	185	(1)
P. W. Chamberlain
Race and Eugenics in A Civic Biology, 1914	186	(3)
George W. Hunter
Educational Freedom and the Scopes Trial	189	(10)
Who Shall Control Our Schools? June 1925	189	(3)
William Jennings Bryan
American Civil Liberties Union, Postwar Threats to Academic Freedom, 1931	192	(1)
American Federation of Teachers, Concern over Intolerance, July 18, 1925	193	(2)
American Association of University Professors, University Faculty Define Academic Freedom, 1915	195	(2)
Tennessee Can Dictate Curriculum, Not Answers, August 29, 1925	197	(2)
R. S. Woodworth
The Scopes Trial and the ``New Woman''	199	(6)
A Catholic Priest Argues Women Are Surrendering Their Moral Duty, October 1927	199	(2)
Father Hugh L. McMenamin
A Flapper Responds to Attacks on Youths, July 1926	201	(1)
Regina Malone
A Tennessee Woman Calls for Battle against Evolutionist Outsiders, June 29, 1925	202	(2)
Mrs. E. P. Blair
A Tennessee Mother Writes to Support the Butler Act, July 3, 1925	204	(1)
Mrs. Jesse Sparks
Religious Alternatives in the 1920s	205	(5)
Performing for the Lord: Sister Aimee Semple McPherson, December 1927	205	(3)
Sarah Comstock
Jesus as Business Executive, 1925	208	(2)
Bruce Barton
An Invasion of ``Outsiders''?	210	(12)
A Fundamentalist Defends Tennessee against Outside Invasion, December 26, 1925	210	(2)
Reverend John Roach Straton
A Modern Native American Scholar Decries the Invasion of European Science, 1995	212	(3)
Vine Deloria Jr.
APPENDIXES
A Chronology of Events Related to the Scopes Trial (1859-1999)	215	(3)
Questions for Consideration	218	(2)
Selected Bibliography	220	(2)
Index	222