Term paper on Scopes Trial

Scopes Trial (1925)

During the 1920s, the battle between religious fundamentalism and secularism focused most dramatically on Darwinism. In 1925 Tennessee outlawed the teaching of evolution in the state’s public schools and colleges. John T. Scopes, a biology teacher in a Dayton high school, challenged the law. Clarence Darrow, the nation’s most eminent defense lawyer, helped to defend Scopes, as did the American Civil Liberties Union. William Jennings Bryan, a leading fundamentalist, aided the prosecution. Found guilty, Scopes was fined $100, although a higher state court dismissed the case. Bryan died a few days after the original verdict was announced. The struggle between evolutionists and creationists continues to this day.

Suggestions for Term Papers

1. Why was religious fundamentalism strong in the 1920s?

2. Compare the roles played by Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan in the trial.

3. Discuss the consequences of the Scopes trial.

4. Discuss the contemporary battle between evolutionists and creationists.

5. Compare the actual Scopes trial with a later depiction, such as the drama Inherit the Wind (1955), by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, which was made into a film in 1960.

REFERENCE SOURCES

Clarence Darrow: A Bibliography . Willard D. Hunsberger. Metuchen , NJ : Scarecrow, 1981. An extensive bibliography on the important lawyer and the law.

GENERAL SOURCES

Hofstrop, Richard W. The Scopes Trial; Dropping the Atomic Bomb on Japan; United States Versus Alger Hiss; Mississippi–Summer 1964 . Palm

Springs, CA: ETC Publications, 1990. Attempts to simulate these events in modern U.S. history, and provides a guide to using simulation in studying and teaching. From the publisher’s United States History Simulations, 1925–1964 set.

SPECIALIZED SOURCES

Blake, Arthur. The Scopes Trial: Defending the Right to Teach . Brookfield , CT : Milbrook, 1994. An easy-to-read sixty-four-page tract on the trial. Emphasis on the teaching prerogatives. Contains an index and a brief bibliography.

Larson, Edward J. Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America ‘s Continuing Debate over Science and Religion . New York : Basic Books, 1997. Up-to-date examination of the Scopes trial in terms of the lingering question of teaching evolution in public schools. Index and extensive bibliography.

The Monkey Trial and the Rise of Fundamentalism . Carol Stream , IL : Christianity Today, 1997. Issue 55 (volume 16, no. 3) of the periodical, Christianity Today . Forty-six-page treatment of the rise of fundamentalist-modernist controversy highlighting the role of the trial. Published as a separate monograph.

Nardo, Don. The Scopes Trial . San Diego : Lucent Books, 1997. An easy-to-read treatment of the Scopes trial, with a brief bibliography and an index.

Scopes, John Thomas, defendant. The Scopes Trial. (World’s most Famous Court Trial . (1925). Reprint. Birmingham : Notable Trials Library, 1990. An important resource with a verbatim report of the trial with speeches, including Bryan ‘s final speech, arguments, and testimony. Introduction by Alan Dershowitz.

Settle, Mary Lee. The Scopes Trial: The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes . New York : B. F. Watts, 1972. An easy-to-read history with brief bibliography.

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

Ashby, LeRoy. William Jennings Bryan : Champion of Democracy . Boston : Twayne, 1987. Good study of Bryan with a useful bibliography. Part of the publisher’s Twentieth-Century American Biography series.

Weinberg, Arthur, and Lila Weinberg. Clarence Darrow, a Sentimental Rebel . New York : Putnam, 1980. Sympathetic portrait of Darrow and his quest for justice.

AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES

The Monkey Trial . New York : History Channel/A&E Home Video, 1998. Videocassette. 50-minute presentation that examines the people and the agendas. Rintels, David W. Clarence Darrow . Wilkes-Barre , PA : Karol Video, 1978. Videocassette. Much talent in this 81-minute production and acting (Henry Fonda) of the original 1974 NBC television play.

WORLD WIDE WEB

The Scopes Monkey Trial—July 10, 1925–July 25, 1925 . 1997. http://xroads.virginia.edu/ UG97/inherit/1925home.html Overview of the conditions in which the play, Inherit the Wind , is cast. Provides an informative analysis of the background, conduct, and outcome of the trial.