scopes's defense lawyer who was a professed agnostic

Who are the lawyers in the Scopes Trial?

On July 10, 1925, the Scopes trial opened in the Rhea County Court House in Dayton and dragged on for 12 days in the sweltering heat. The Scopes trial’s significance is that it fueled the public debate over creation and evolution that has continued into the 21 st century. The debate has far-reaching implications in our increasingly secular society, since evolution has helped …

Who was the defense counsel for John T Scopes?

Clarence Darrow, the “sophisticated country lawyer,” was, when the Scopes trial opened in Dayton, Tennessee, at the same time one of the best loved and most hated men of his time—a status that it is hard to imagine a trial attorney achieving today. The Scopes case was a dream-come-true for Clarence Darrow.

Why was John Scopes arrested for teaching evolution?

John Thomas Scopes , and commonly referred to as the Scopes Monkey Trial , was an American legal case from July 10 to July 21, 1925 in which a high school teacher, John T. Scopes , was accused of violating Tennessee 's Butler Act , which had made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school. [1]

How did Clarence Darrow find out about the Scopes Trial?

About this Item. Title. Scopes trial lawyers. Summary. Photograph shows William Jennings Bryan (seated, left, with fan) and Clarence Darrow (standing, center, with arms folded) at an outdoor courtroom during Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee.

What was the Scopes trial?

John Thomas Scopes and commonly referred to as the Scopes Monkey Trial, was an American legal case in July 1925 in which a high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee 's Butler Act, which had made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any ...

How much was Scopes fined?

Scopes was found guilty and fined $100 (equivalent to $1,500 in 2020), but the verdict was overturned on a technicality. The trial served its purpose of drawing intense national publicity, as national reporters flocked to Dayton to cover the big-name lawyers who had agreed to represent each side.

Why did the ACLU oppose the Butler Act?

The ACLU had originally intended to oppose the Butler Act on the grounds that it violated the teacher's individual rights and academic freedom , and was therefore unconstitutional. Principally because of Clarence Darrow, this strategy changed as the trial progressed. The earliest argument proposed by the defense once the trial had begun was that there was actually no conflict between evolution and the creation account in the Bible; later, this viewpoint would be called theistic evolution. In support of this claim, they brought in eight experts on evolution. But other than Dr. Maynard Metcalf, a zoologist from Johns Hopkins University, the judge would not allow these experts to testify in person. Instead, they were allowed to submit written statements so their evidence could be used at the appeal. In response to this decision, Darrow made a sarcastic comment to Judge Raulston (as he often did throughout the trial) on how he had been agreeable only on the prosecution's suggestions. Darrow apologized the next day, keeping himself from being found in contempt of court.

Who was William Jennings Bryan?

On the seventh day of the trial, Clarence Darrow took the unorthodox step of calling William Jennings Bryan, counsel for the prosecution, to the stand as a witness in an effort to demonstrate that belief in the historicity of the Bible and its many accounts of miracles was unreasonable.

What was the Dayton trial?

The trial escalated the political and legal conflict in which strict creationists and scientists struggled over the teaching of evolution in Arizona and California science classes. Before the Dayton trial only the South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Kentucky legislatures had dealt with anti-evolution laws or riders to educational appropriations bills.

How long did the confrontation between Bryan and Darrow last?

The confrontation between Bryan and Darrow lasted approximately two hours on the afternoon of the seventh day of the trial. It is likely that it would have continued the following morning but for Judge Raulston's announcement that he considered the whole examination irrelevant to the case and his decision that it should be "expunged" from the record. Thus Bryan was denied the chance to cross-examine the defense lawyers in return, although after the trial Bryan would distribute nine questions to the press to bring out Darrow's "religious attitude". The questions and Darrow's short answers were published in newspapers the day after the trial ended, with The New York Times characterizing Darrow as answering Bryan's questions "with his agnostic's creed, 'I don't know,' except where he could deny them with his belief in natural, immutable law".

How did the Scopes trial affect science?

Though often portrayed as influencing public opinion against fundamentalism , the victory was not complete. Though the ACLU had taken on the trial as a cause, in the wake of Scopes' conviction they were unable to find more volunteers to take on the Butler law and, by 1932, had given up. The anti-evolutionary legislation was not challenged again until 1965, and in the meantime, William Jennings Bryan's cause was taken up by a number of organizations, including the Bryan Bible League and the Defenders of the Christian Faith.

Who is Norman Angell?

Politics and law. Norman Angell (1872–1967): English lecturer, journalist, author, and politician; member of parliament for the Labour Party in England; awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1933. Jacinda Ardern (born 1980): New Zealand politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand, 2017–present.

Who was Herbert Spencer?

Herbert Spencer (1820–1903): English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era. Theophrastus (c. 371 BC – 287 BC): Greek philosopher; a native of Eresos in Lesbos; the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school.

What is Salvador Dali's most famous work?

His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. His arguably best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in 1931. Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire included film, sculpture, and photography, in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media.

Who is Henry Cadbury?

Henry Cadbury (1883–1974): English biblical scholar and Quaker who contributed to the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881): Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.

What is Dr. John C. Lewis known for?

In physiology and psychology, he is known for his mathematics of the eye, theories of vision, ideas on the visual perception of space, color vision research, and on the sensation of tone, perception of sound, and empiricism.

Who is Frederick Furnivall?

Frederick James Furnivall (1825–1910): English second editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. John Galsworthy (1867–1933): English novelist and playwright; The Forsyte Saga (1906–1921) and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter; won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932.

What is the emergence of life?

That’s what emergence means. Life can emerge from physics and chemistry, plus a lot of accidents. The human mind can arise from neurobiology, and a lot of accidents. The way the chemical bond arises from physics and certain accidents.

What was the Scopes trial?

John Scopes. What became known as the Scopes Monkey Trial began as a publicity stunt for the town of Dayton, Tennessee. A local businessman met with the school superintendent and a lawyer to discuss using the ACLU offer to get newspapers to write about the town.

What was the purpose of the Scopes trial?

The trial was viewed as an opportunity to challenge the constitutionality of the bill, to publicly advocate for the legitimacy of Darwin’s theory of evolution, and to enhance the profile of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

How did the trial day start?

The trial day started with crowds pouring into the courthouse two hours before it was scheduled to begin , filling up the room and causing onlookers to spill into the hallways. There was applause when Bryan entered the court and further when he and Darrow shook hands.

When did the grand jury meet?

The grand jury met on May 9, 1925. In preparation, Scopes recruited and coached students to testify against him. Three of the seven students attending were called to testify, each showing a sketchy understanding of evolution. The case was pushed forward and a trial set for July 10.

Who proposed the theory of evolution?

The theory of evolution, as presented by Charles Darwin and others, was a controversial concept in many quarters, even into the 20th century. Concerted anti-evolutionist efforts in Tennessee succeeded when in 1925, the Tennessee House of Representatives was offered a bill by John W. Butler making teaching evolution a misdemeanor.

Who was Clarence Darrow?

Clarence Darrow – a famous attorney who had recently acted for the defense in the notorious Leopold and Loeb murder trial – found out about the Scopes trial through journalist H.L. Mencken, who suggested Darrow should defend Scopes.

Who gave expert testimony on the evolution of the human body?

Witnesses followed, establishing that Scopes had taught evolution and zoologist Maynard M. Metcalf gave expert testimony about the science of evolution, a signal that Scopes himself would not take the stand during the trial. Subsequent days saw prosecutors argue about the validity of using expert witnesses.

Why was John Scopes arrested?

John Scopes arrested for teaching evolution, May 5, 1925. On this day in 1925, Tennessee authorities arrested John Scopes, a substitute high school teacher, for teaching evolution. They charged him with having violated a newly enacted law that criminalized the teaching of human evolution in the state’s public schools.

How long did it take for the jury to return a guilty verdict?

The jury took nine minutes to return a guilty verdict. Scopes was fined $100. The Tennessee State Supreme Court, however, acquitted him on a technicality while upholding the constitutionality of the state law.

Origins

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Dayton, Tennessee

Proceedings

Appeal to The Supreme Court of Tennessee

Aftermath

Publicity

Courthouse

Humor

in Popular Culture

References