Scopes Trial
Dayton evolution showdown
The Scopes Trial was a 1925 American court case in which a Tennessee high school teacher, John Scopes, was prosecuted for teaching evolution in violation of state law.
The trial became a national spectacle, pitting fundamentalist Christianity against modern science, with prominent lawyers William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow arguing opposing sides.
Scopes was convicted, though the verdict was later overturned on a technicality.
The case remains a touchstone in debates over religion, science, and public education: The controversy echoed the Scopes Trial.
Official court decision
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- defenseProtection against harm
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
- cross-examinationOpposing party questions witness
defendant · courtroom · judge · attorney · ACLU · appeal · fine · misdemeanor
Ohio city, aviation birthplace
- 1925Year in twentieth century
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
- fundamentalismStrict adherence to core tenets
- modernismFavoring contemporary approaches
jazz age · radio · tabloid · media circus · publicity · spectacle · rural America · urbanization
Advocacy group for constitutional protections
- defendantParty facing charges
- prosecutorGovernment's trial lawyer
- defense attorneyLawyer representing the accused
- expert witnessProfessional providing specialized testimony
First biblical book
- fundamentalismStrict adherence to core tenets
- inerrancyTotal freedom from mistakes
- Adam and EveBiblical original humans
- young earthRecently created world belief
divine creation · antievolution · orthodoxy · evangelicalism · scripture · intelligent design · religious authority · Garden of Eden
Natural selection theory
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- common descentAll organisms share forebears
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- speciesFinest taxonomic rank
Charles Darwin · fossils · biology · science education · human ancestry · ape · mutation · survival of the fittest
Protected scholarly inquiry rights
- church and stateReligious and governmental powers
- culture warConflict over societal values
- secularismSeparation of faith, state
- public educationCommunal, tax-funded schooling
verdict
Official court decision
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- defenseProtection against harm
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
cross-examination · defendant · courtroom · judge · attorney · ACLU · appeal · fine · misdemeanor · statute
Dayton
Ohio city, aviation birthplace
- 1925Year in twentieth century
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
- fundamentalismStrict adherence to core tenets
modernism · jazz age · radio · tabloid · media circus · publicity · spectacle · rural America · urbanization · Roaring Twenties
ACLU
Advocacy group for constitutional protections
- defendantParty facing charges
- prosecutorGovernment's trial lawyer
- defense attorneyLawyer representing the accused
Genesis
First biblical book
- fundamentalismStrict adherence to core tenets
- inerrancyTotal freedom from mistakes
- Adam and EveBiblical original humans
young earth · divine creation · antievolution · orthodoxy · evangelicalism · scripture · intelligent design · religious authority · Garden of Eden
Darwinism
Natural selection theory
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- common descentAll organisms share forebears
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
Charles Darwin · species · fossils · biology · science education · human ancestry · ape · mutation · survival of the fittest · paleontology
academic freedom
Protected scholarly inquiry rights
- church and stateReligious and governmental powers
- culture warConflict over societal values
- secularismSeparation of faith, state
- Famous TrialsTed Bundy
- TennesseeNashville, Great Smoky Mountains, Nashville hot chicken, Grand Ole Opry, Graceland
Scopes Trialcreation science
Pseudoscience supporting scriptural literalism
Scopes TrialBrown v. Board of Education
Landmark desegregation decision
trial, telescope, trials, microscope, telescopic, trialed, microscopes, telescoping, trialling