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N0KFQ > TODAY 21.07.14 17:00l 79 Lines 3879 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Jul 21
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Sent: 140721/1456Z 26829@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.60
Jul 21, 1925:
The "Trial of the Century" draws national attention
Schoolteacher John T. Scopes is convicted of violating
Tennessee's law against teaching evolution in public schools. The
case debated in the so-called "Trial of the Century" was never
really in doubt; the jury only conferred for a few moments in the
hallway before returning to the courtroom with a guilty verdict.
Nevertheless, the supporters of evolution won the public
relations battle that was really at stake.
Despite popular perceptions of the case, fueled in part by the
Broadway play and movie Inherit the Wind, the Scopes trial was
never more than a show trial. On May 4, 1925, the American Civil
Liberties Union published a newspaper advertisement offering to
help any Tennessee schoolteacher challenge the new law that had
outlawed the teaching of evolution. George W. Rappleyea, a New
Yorker who had moved to Dayton, Tennessee, read the ad and
persuaded the local townspeople that Dayton should host a trial
in order to spark interest in the town.
The leaders of the less than 2,000 residents of Dayton quickly
came around to Rappleyea's idea. The school superintendent agreed
with the law but wanted to gain publicity for the town. Even
Dayton's prosecutors were in on the deal. The last piece of the
puzzle was to find a defendant. Twenty-four-year-old John T.
Scopes, a local high school science teacher and football coach,
agreed to fill the roll since he wasn't planning on staying in
Dayton for the long term. No one was really concerned whether he
had actually taught evolution to his students. The fact that he
had been using the state-approved science textbook, which
included a chapter on evolution, was deemed sufficient. A warrant
was made for Scopes' arrest, and word went out that the trial
would begin in the summer.
Although the rest of Tennessee was displeased with Dayton's plan,
500 seats were added to the town's courtroom for press and
spectators, and loudspeakers were set up on the lawn outside and
in four auditoriums around town. This proved necessary when the
nation's leading figures in the evolution debate hijacked the
case from the local attorneys. William Jennings Bryan, a former
congressman who had twice run for president before serving as
secretary of state for Woodrow Wilson, took over the prosecution.
Bryan had personally initiated the campaign against evolution in
the United States; the Tennessee law was his first major success.
Knowing that it would be the perfect forum to debate Bryan on the
evolution and creationism issue, the great liberal lawyer
Clarence Darrow wormed his way into the case as the defense
attorney. While the press flooded into Dayton for the showdown
between these two larger-than-life figures, a Chicago radio
station broadcast the trial live_a first in America.
The trial opened on July 10 with magnificent speeches from both
Bryan and Darrow. However, it soon became evident that the trial
judge was not going to play along: He cut off every attempt by
Darrow to debate the validity of evolution. The trial would have
been completely uneventful except for a creative gambit by
Darrow_he called Bryan as a witness. Although the judge would
never have allowed a prosecutor to be called as a defense
witness, Bryan didn't dare back down to the challenge. In a
famous exchange, Darrow questioned Bryan on the literal
interpretation of the Bible's account of the beginning of the
world. With masterful questioning, Darrow forced Bryan to admit
that a purely literal interpretation was not possible, making him
look very foolish.
Darrow's performance didn't save Scopes from a conviction and
$100 fine (it was later overturned on a technicality), but in the
mainstream press, the theory of evolution clearly won the debate.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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