*The+Scopes+Trial

//*Claimed by Margaret N. Pd 5// = **The Scopes Trial﻿ ** =


 * ~It all began on March 21, 1925 when the governor of Tennessee, Austin Peay, signed the Butler bill (see below) into law. With a 71 to 5 approved vote, the bill prohibited any and all kinds of teaching of evolution in all schools across the state.**

**~It is so stated in this bill that any teacher found guilty of teaching evolution or denying God's creation as written in the Bible, shall be convicted and fined between $100 and $500 for each individual offense.** **~The ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union, saw this new change as an opportunity. It was a chance to challenge the law, and in their hopes end up being successful. Such "a scheme will generate publicity and jump-start the town's economy." (npr.org) All they needed now was a teacher willing enough to commit the offense and brave enough to face the prosecution.**

= **﻿﻿Who shows up? ** = **<<<<None other then the substitute teacher, John Thomas Scopes. ** **~John T. Scopes was nothing more than a substitute Biology teacher. When offered the opportunity to challenge Tennessee's state law, he gladly accepted.**


 * ~Darrow (top left) agreed to take up Scope's cause and be his main defense attorney. Bryan (top right) on the other hand, leader of the anti-evolution movement, is the top prosecutor**.

...And so the trial begins!

**~On May 25, Scoped was indicted by the grand jury for violating the Butler Bill by teaching evolution to his students. As the official trial comes closer, unbelievable public attention gets drawn. Six blocks from the courthouse get swattered with people, tourist camps are put together, and telegraphs get setup to inform the world of what is going on.** **~ Jury selection is made and judge John Raulston is appointed on July 10.** **__DARROW__: Argues the law violates freedom of religion! Declares it as unconstitutional.** **__JUDGE__: Overrules the declaration made by Darrow. States, "**** gives no preference to any particular religion or mode of worship. Our public schools are not maintained as places of worship, but, on the contrary, were designed, instituted, and are maintained for the purpose of mental and moral development and discipline". (npr.org) ** **__SCOPES__: Pleads not guilty.** **__SCOPES'S STUDENTS__: Testify Scopes did in fact teach evolution.** __**DARROW**__**: Hopes the jury finds Scopes guilty. This would enable them to make an appeal to a higher court.** **~ After nine minutes of constant deliberation, the jury's verdict is guilty and the judge fines Scopes with a $100 penalty. Both the attorney and ACLU offer to to pay this fine for Scopes.** **~ About ten days later, the appealed case takes place in the Tennessee Supreme Court. They still find the Butler law constitutional, however overturned the verdict for the jury should have set the fine rather than the judge.**

__Overall Outcome __ **~Two more states, Mississippi and Arkansas, officially passed a law banning the teaching of evolution in public schools in the 1920s.** **~Eleven others began to consider doing the same.** **~A new updated biology book was published, that avoided explicitly stating the theory of evolution.** **~More creationists' attention was brought to the trial causing them to seek anti-evolution laws for other states as well.** Today
 * **~Controversy over the teaching of evolution is still a major issue in schools across the nation.**
 * **~People argue that not being able to teach evolution is a crime that violates their freedom of speech and religion.**
 * **~Biology books still talk about evolution vs. creationism, although referring to them as intelligent design and creative design.**
 * **~Despite separation of church and state, I believe schools should be able to teach us about evolution and creationism. They're not forcing us to believe in something that is against our own will. They are just informing us about the past and the different ways of life formation. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with that.**

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//Margaret N. Pd 5//