The Scopes Trial

Foreword
Preface

PART ONE
Introduction: The Scopes Trial and the Birth of Modern America
Evolution before the 1920s
The Struggle against "Modernity" and Modernism
William Jennings Bryan and the Antievolution Argument
The Butler Bill and the Fight for the Public Schools
Making a Test Case
Opening Day: The Attorneys and Their Strategies
Days Two through Four: Religious Freedom vs. Legislative Authority
Days Five and Six: Experts and Outsiders
And on the Seventh Day, Bryan Took the Stand
Aftermath: From Scopes to Creationism
The Role of the Schools: Academic Freedom vs. Majority Rule
Race and Evolution
Women and Gender in the Scopes Trial

PART TWO
The Scopes Trial Day by Day: Transcript and Commentary

1. First Day’s Proceedings: Friday, July 10, 1925
1. Partial Text of the Butler Law (Transcript)
2. Clarence Darrow Examines a Potential Juror (Transcript)
3. Henry M. Hyde, Jury Pious, Dayton Hot, July 11, 1925

2. Second Day’s Proceedings: Monday, July 13, 1925
4. Court Opened with a Prayer by Reverend Moffett of Rhea County (Transcript)
5. Indictment Read (Transcript)
6. Defense and Prosecution Dispute Butler Law’s Constitutionality (Transcript)
7. Darrow’s Major Speech in Defense of Religious Liberty (Transcript)
8. H. L. Mencken, Darrow’s Speech Great but Futile, July 14, 1925

3. Third Day’s Proceedings: Tuesday, July 14, 1925
9. Defense Objects to Prayers; Prosecution Defends Practice (Transcript)
10. Nashville Tennessean, Courtroom Prayer Defended, July 21, 1925

4. Fourth Day’s Proceedings: Wednesday, July 15, 1925
11. Darrow Proud of Agnosticism (Transcript)
12. Raulston Rules on Motion to Quash Indictment; Cases Outlined (Transcript)
13. Defense Pleads Not Guilty; Cases Outlined (Transcript)
14. Examination of Howard Morgan, One of Scopes’s Students (Transcript)
15. W. O. McGeehan, Trial Shows Wisdom of Youth, October 1925

5. Fifth Day’s Proceedings: Thursday, July 16, 1925
16. Defense Pleads for Expert Testimony (Transcript)
17. "Plain Sense" of Law Makes Experts Unnecessary, Argues Prosecution (Transcript)
18. William Jennings Bryan’s First Speech (Transcript)
19. Dudley Field Malone Replies to Bryan (Transcript)
20. Attorney General Stewart Answers Malone (Transcript)
21. Joseph Wood Krutch, Fairness Lies on the Defense’s Side, July 29, 1925

6. Sixth Day’s Proceedings: Friday, July 17, 1925
22. Raulston Rejects Expert Testimony; Darrow Offends (Transcript)
23. New Republic, Courts Should Not Rule over Legislature, July 8, 1925

7. Seventh Day’s Proceedings: Monday, July 20, 1925
24. Darrow Objects to "Read Your Bible" Banner (Transcript)
25. Darrow Questions William Jennings Bryan on the Stand (Transcript)
26. Did the Whale Swallow Jonah? (Transcript)
27. Could Joshua Command the Sun to Stand Still? (Transcript)
28. Did the Flood Wipe Out Civilization? (Transcript)
29. Darrow Questions Bryan on Genesis (Transcript)
30. New York Times, Laughter at Bryan’s Expense, July 21, 1925

8. Eighth Day’s Proceedings: Tuesday, July 21, 1925
31. Court Strikes Bryan’s Testimony (Transcript)
32. Jury Reaches a Verdict; Scopes Speaks (Transcript)
33. Farewell Remarks (Transcript)
34. H. L. Mencken, Battle Now Over; Genesis Triumphant and Ready for New Jousts, July 18, 1925

PART THREE
The Scopes Trial and the Culture of the 1920s: Related Documents

1. Cartoonists Draw the Scopes Trial
35. Alley, The Light of Economic Liberty, May 7, 1925
36. Dorman, No Wonder the Monkeys Are Worried, June 29, 1925
37. Rogers, Disbelievers in the Evolution Theory, June 20, 1925
38. Cross, Unduly Excited, June 25, 1925
39. Memphis Commercial Appeal, Darrow’s Paradise, July, 15, 1925

2. Race and the Scopes Trial
40. Chicago Defender, If Monkeys Could Speak, May 23, 1925
41. W. E. B. Du Bois, Dayton Is America, September 1925
42. Reverend John W. Norris, African Methodist Episcopal Church Minister Stands with Bryan, October 1925
43. P. W. Chamberlain, Racial Hierarchy Proves Evolution, July 13, 1925
44. George W. Hunter, Race and Eugenics in A Civic Biology, 1914

3. Educational Freedom and the Scopes Trial
45. William Jennings Bryan, Who Shall Control Our Schools? June 1925
46. American Civil Liberties Union, Postwar Threats to Academic Freedom, 1931
47. American Federation of Teachers, Concern over Intolerance, July 18, 1925
48. American Association of University Professors, University Faculty Define Academic Freedom, 1915
49. R. S. Woodworth, Tennessee Can Dictate Curriculum, Not Answers, August 29, 1925
 
4. The Scopes Trial and the "New Woman"
50. Literary Digest, Is the Younger Generation in Peril? May 14, 1921
51. Regina Malone, A Flapper Responds to Attacks on Youths, July 1926
52. Mrs. Jesse Sparks, A Tennessee Mother Writes to Support the Butler Act, July 3, 1925

5. Religious Alternatives in the 1920s
53. George Rinhart, Photo of a Dayton Crowd Gathered to Hear a Traveling Evangelist, 1925
54. Bruce Barton, Jesus as Business Executive, 1925
55. Shelton Bissell, Vaudeville at Angelus Temple, May 23, 1928

6. An Invasion of "Outsiders"?
56. Reverend John Roach Straton, A Fundamentalist Defends Tennessee against Outside Invasion, December 26, 1925
57. Vine Deloria Jr., A Modern Native American Scholar Decries the Invasion of European Science, 1995
 
APPENDIXES
A Chronology of Events Related to the Scopes Trial (1859–1999)
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography

Index