what impact did the scopes trial have crash course

What was the Scopes Trial?

Jun 08, 2015 · Monkey Business: The Scopes Monkey Trial and its Impact on American Fundamentalism. June 8, 2015. December 30, 2017. Seth Dunn Evolution, Monkey Trial, Scope Trial. THE STATE OF TENNESSEE VS. SCOPES. In front of the Rhea County courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee there is a plaque that reads: “Here, from July 10 to 21, 1925 John Thomas Scopes, …

What was the result of the Darrow v Scopes case?

Nov 17, 2017 · The Scopes Trial, also known as the Scopes Monkey Trial, was the 1925 prosecution of science teacher John Scopes for teaching evolution in a Tennessee public school, which a recent bill had made ...

What happened to evolution after John Scopes was convicted?

Jul 01, 2005 · 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 ...

Why was John Thomas Scopes tried in court?

By analyzing the overall impact and the resulting disparate perspectives on Scopes’s actions in the infamous State of Tennessee vs John Thomas Scopes trial, also known as the “Monkey Scopes trial,” a better understanding of this censorship, and whether it …

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 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.

What was the Butler Act?

It was to a packed courthouse on Monday that arguments began by the defense working to establish the scientific validity of evolution, while the prosecution focused on the Butler Act as an education standard for Tennessee citizens, citing precedents.

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.

What was the significance of the Scopes trial?

The Scopes trial’s significance is that it fueled the public debate over creation and evolution that has continued into the 21 st century.

Did Scopes teach evolution?

It is not commonly known that Scopes was not even a biology teacher and he had never taught evolution. Scopes had filled in for the regular biology teacher for two weeks during an illness and used the state-approved biology text, which contained a section on human evolution.

The Scopes Trial was a monumentally important event in American history

The major effect this court case had on religion in America, was that it pointed out the blatant refusal by many States (particularly in the South) to follow the guideline of "Separation of Church and State" set by the Founding Fathers.

Some effects were short-term, some were long-term

The major effect this court case had on religion in America, was that it pointed out the blatant refusal by many States (particularly in the South) to follow the guideline of "Separation of Church and State" set by the Founding Fathers.

What happened to evolution after John Scopes was convicted?

After John Scopes was convicted in 1925, textbook publishers and school boards throughout the country became reluctant to deal with evolution. Simultaneously, the amount of evolution taught in public schools decreased dramatically ( Larson 1989 ), and virtually all publishers removed Darwin's ideas about evolution as the unifying theme of life from their biology books ( Troost 1967, Grabiner and Miller 1974 ). Within a few months after Scopes' trial, Texas Governor Miriam Ferguson—the first female governor in the South—ordered her state's textbook commission to cut out (with scissors) the pages containing discussions of the theory of evolution from its high school biology textbooks (for years, this ban forced publishers to produce special, sanitized books for use in Texas). Ferguson, a stand-in for her husband James (a former governor who had been impeached in 1917 as a result of a road-contract scandal; de Camp 1968 ), approved Truman J. Moon's Biology for Beginners only after publishers such as Henry Holt, Macmillan, and Allyn and Bacon agreed to delete three chapters that mentioned evolution ( Ginger 1958 ). Ferguson justified the deletion of evolution by proclaiming that “I'm a Christian mother who believes Jesus Christ died to save humanity, and I am not going to let that kind of rot go into Texas textbooks” ( de Camp 1968 ). The commission threatened to fire any teacher using books that had not been approved. The following year, the Louisiana superintendent of education took a similar step.

Who was John Scopes?

In 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, John Scopes was a coach and substitute science teacher at Rhea County High School. Students in a biology class that he taught used a textbook entitled A Civic Biology: Presented in Problems by George William Hunter ( Hunter 1914 ).

Where is Randy Moore?

Randy Moore (e-mail: RMoore@umn.edu) is editor of The American Biology Teacher and professor of biology at General College, University of Minnesota, 128 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Moore's book Evolution in the Courtroom: A Reference Guide will be published soon by ABC-CLIO Publishers.

What textbooks did not mention evolution?

In the early 1900s, biology textbooks were characterized by a diverse coverage of evolution. A few textbooks did not mention the word evolution (e.g., Hunter's Elements of Biology, published in 1907; Peabody and Hunt's Elementary Biology, published in 1913 ), whereas others devoted entire chapters to the subject. In most textbooks, however, evolution was featured prominently—so much so that William Jennings Bryan complained that he could not find “any text book on biology which does not begin with monkeys” ( Numbers 1992 ). Indeed, one textbook, The Elementary Principles of General Biology ( Abbott 1914 ), dedicated more than 8,000 words to topics related to evolution. Some authors presented evolution with extraordinary assurance. For example, George Atkinson's Botony for High School stated in 1912 that evolution “has been accepted,” and three years later a zoology textbook by Vernon Kellogg and Rennie Doane noted that “organic evolution is a fact, demonstrated and accepted” ( Larson 1989 ). Similarly, H. H. Newman wrote in Outlines of General Zoology ( Newman 1924 ), “There is no rival hypothesis to evolution, except the out-worn and completely refuted one of special creation, now retained only by the ignorant, dogmatic, and the prejudiced.” Newman would learn that many people—some biologists included—disagreed.

When was Charles Darwin's Origin of Species published?

Published: The publication of Charles Darwin'sOn the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859 began a scientific revolution that changed many people's view of the world. Although Darwin's ideas were controversial, in the United States he had a powerful advocate: Harvard's Asa Gray, an evangelical Christian who was America's leading ...

What was Charles Darwin's idea of natural selection?

The publication of Charles Darwin'sOn the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859 began a scientific revolution that changed many people's view of the world. Although Darwin's ideas were controversial, in the United States he had a powerful advocate: Harvard's Asa Gray, an evangelical Christian who was America's leading botanist ...

Who is the producer of Crash Course?

Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller, our script supervisor is Meredith Danko, the associate producer is Danica Johnson, the show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer, Rosianna Rojas and myself, and our graphics team is Thought Café - I nailed that.

What were the major issues in the 1920s?

The 1920s also saw increased tension between science education in the United States and religious beliefs. The best-known example is, of course, the trial of John Scopes in Tennessee in 1925. Scopes was tried for breaking the law against teaching evolution, which he had been encouraged to do by the ACLU as a test case for freedom of speech. Scopes was prosecuted by William Jennings Bryan, whom you will remember as having recently resigned as Secretary of State, and who had become a leader of the fundamentalist movement. And Scopes was defended by Clarence Darrow, that famous defense attorney who contemporary defense attorneys always point to to argue that defense attorneys aren't all scum. Scopes and Darrow actually lost the trial but the case drew national attention and ultimately led to evolution being taught in more American schools. The Scopes trial is often seen as a victory for free thinking and science and modernism and I suppose it was but for me, it's more a symbol of the contradictions of the 1920s.

What was going on in the 1920s?

In the 1920s, America's economy was booming, and all kinds of social changes were in progress. Hollywood, flappers, jazz, there was all kinds of stuff going on in the 20s. But as usual with Crash Course, things were about to take a turn for the worse.

What did the 20s give us?

The 20s gave us jazz, movies, radio , making out in cars, illegal liquor. And the 20s also gave us prosperity, although not for everybody. And gangsters! And a consumer culture based on credit, and lots of prejudice against immigrants, and eventually the worst economic crisis the U.S. has ever seen! Mr. Green!

Who said "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business man"?

The quote of the decade has to go to our famously taciturn president from Massachusetts, Calvin Coolidge, who said "...the chief business of the American people is business.". Jay Z would later update this for the twenty-first century, noting "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man.".

Did the federal government help farmers?

So, in general, the federal government did little to nothing to help farmers or workers. The Supreme Court was the only segment of the government that kept any progressive ideas alive, as they began to craft a system of ideas that we call the "Jurisprudence of Civil Liberties." Now the court still voted to uphold convictions of left wing critics of the government but gradually began to embrace the idea that people had the right to express dissonant views in what Oliver Wendell Holmes called the "marketplace of ideas". In Near v. Minnesota, the Supreme Court struck down censorship of newspapers and by 1927, Justice Brandeis was writing that "freedom to think as you will and to speak as you think are indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth".

What was the government's corruption in the 1920s?

The 1920s were also marked by quite a bit of government corruption, most of which can be pinned to the administration of Warren G. Harding. Now, Harding himself wasn't terribly corrupt but he picked terrible friends. They included Attorney General Harry Daugherty, who accepted money to not prosecute criminals and Interior Secretary Albert Fall, who took half a million dollars from private business in exchange for leases to government oil reserves at Teapot Dome. Fall later became the first cabinet member ever to be convicted of a felony.