Scopes trial

a famous US court case in 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee. A teacher, John Scopes, was put on trial because he taught Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, which was illegal under local law. The case was informally called the ‘monkey trial’. The American Civil Liberties Union got Clarence Darrow to defend Scopes, and William Jennings Bryan helped to argue the case against him. Scopes was judged guilty but freed for technical reasons. The law was only changed in 1967.

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(July 10–21, 1925) Widely publicized trial (called the "Monkey Trial") in Dayton, Tenn.

John T. Scopes (1900–70), a high-school teacher, was charged with teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, which violated a state law prohibiting the teaching of any doctrine that denied the divine creation of humans. The trial was broadcast live on radio and attracted worldwide interest. The prosecutor was William Jennings Bryan; the defense attorney was Clarence Darrow. The judge limited arguments to the basic charge to avoid a test of the law's constitutionality and a discussion of Darwin's theory. Scopes was found guilty and fined $100; he was later acquitted on the technicality that he had been fined excessively. The law was repealed in 1967.

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▪ United States law case

  (July 10–21, 1925, Dayton, Tennessee, U.S.), highly publicized trial (known as the “Monkey Trial”) of a Dayton, Tennessee, high-school teacher, John T. Scopes, charged with violating state law by teaching Charles Darwin (Darwin, Charles)'s theory of evolution. In March 1925 the Tennessee legislature had declared unlawful the teaching of any doctrine denying the divine creation of man as taught by the Bible. World attention focused on the trial proceedings, which promised confrontation between fundamentalist literal belief and liberal interpretation of the Scriptures. William Jennings Bryan (Bryan, William Jennings) led for the prosecution and Clarence Darrow (Darrow, Clarence) for the defense. The judge ruled out any test of the law's constitutionality or argument on the validity of the theory, limiting the trial to the single question of whether John T. Scopes had taught evolution, which he admittedly had. He was convicted and fined $100. On appeal, the state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the 1925 law but acquitted Scopes on the technicality that he had been fined excessively. The law was repealed in 1967.

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