Outcome of The Scopes Monkey Trial
by Lillian Bonar
Essay: Outcome of The Scopes Monkey Trial
Pages: 11
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The Scopes Trial, formally known as The State of Tennessee vs. Scopes but given the nickname “The Monkey Trial”,
has been credited as starting the popular legal dispute between evolution and creationism in the court, and its
impact in the 20’s was immeasurable.
The interpretation of the case is just as popular, if not more, than the actual result of the case. The worldwide
attention and media coverage the case received produced many opinions. Scholar’s opinions range from
describing the case as an irrelevancy and a good show to describing it as a “Watershed in American religious
history” (Ronald L. Numbers, 1998, p. 76). A large factor in why the Scopes trial has received so much attention in
an insignificant town is because of the stage that the trial was played out on.
To begin with, The Butler Act made the Scopes trial all possible. To state it simply, The Butler Act prohibited public
schools in Tennessee from teaching Evolution, or to falsify the Biblical story of Creationism.
The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill making it unlawful for state-supported schools to teach any
theory that denies the story of divine creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has
descended from a lower order of animals (Numbers, 1998, p. 77).
Put in place in 1925 with virtually no opposition in Tennessee’s Congress, breaking the law resulted in a
misdemeanor offense with a fine of $100 to $500. The American Civil Liberties Union – a union that fought for
every citizen’s constitutional rights – offered to defend anyone in court who was accused of teaching evolution.
The bill was no shock to Tennesseans, “A fellow legislator estimated at the time that no fewer than 95 percent of
all Tennesseans oppos...
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