The Scopes Trial, nicknamed the Monkey Trial, and formally known as The State of Tennessee versus John Thomas Scopes, stands to be one of the most significant court cases in American history. This trial has been credited as what started the dispute between creationism and evolution, as it showed the debate between two very strongly opposed parties: the faithful fundamentalists and the newly created group known as evolutionists. While this court case was really only intended to determine whether John Thomas Scopes had broken the law or not, it turned out to be something so much more than that.
Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution in attempt to explain the history and diversity of life here on Earth. This theory of evolution by natural selection was presented by Charles Darwin in the early 19th century. In 1925, however, The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a law on March 13th where it would be made a misdemeanor punishable by fine to “teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.” In other words, the law stated that evolution was not to be brought …show more content…
He was seen as very unintelligent, and everyone felt the need to give him a piece of their mind. Later, on appeal, the constitutionality of the law was upheld by the Tennessee supreme court. Many observers proclaimed the Scopes Trial as the turning point in the struggle between the mostly illiterate but hardcore bible goers and the educated scholars and scientists who were in favor of evolution. In 1967, the Butler Act was repealed. Scopes was also offered a new teaching contract. However, he decided to leave Dayton to study geology at the university of Chicago graduate school instead. Eventually, he became a petroleum
Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution in attempt to explain the history and diversity of life here on Earth. This theory of evolution by natural selection was presented by Charles Darwin in the early 19th century. In 1925, however, The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a law on March 13th where it would be made a misdemeanor punishable by fine to “teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.” In other words, the law stated that evolution was not to be brought …show more content…
He was seen as very unintelligent, and everyone felt the need to give him a piece of their mind. Later, on appeal, the constitutionality of the law was upheld by the Tennessee supreme court. Many observers proclaimed the Scopes Trial as the turning point in the struggle between the mostly illiterate but hardcore bible goers and the educated scholars and scientists who were in favor of evolution. In 1967, the Butler Act was repealed. Scopes was also offered a new teaching contract. However, he decided to leave Dayton to study geology at the university of Chicago graduate school instead. Eventually, he became a petroleum