blog number two

The Scopes Monkey Trial was probably the highlight of 1925. In the state of Tennesse, it was illegal to teach evolution under the Butler Law. However, the trial came about when a biology teacher, John Scopes decided to teach the chapter on evolution from the biology textbook. The chapter was about Charles Darwin theory of evolution and work, Origin of Species. What made the trial interesting was that William Jennings Bryan, a three time presidential candidate was the persecutor, and he was representing the state of Tennessee. He was up again the most prominent lawyer of the time, Clarence Darrow. The American Civil Liberties Union also supported John Scopes because the organization felt that the teacher’s individual rights were being violated.
The trial was highly publicized through approximately two hundred newspaper that cobered the trial for days. The whole point of the trial was science vs. religion in terms of how humans were created or about their existence. It was called the Monkey Trial, because chimpanzees were found outside the courtroom lawn dancing, while the trial was proceeding. In the end, this trial had frustrated Americans to the point where thirteen states, such as Oklahoma and South Carolina, carried out anti-evolution laws.