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Transcript

FONTS

The State Of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes

The Trial

The Defense

The day of the trial had come and the town of Dayton, Tennessee, was buzzing with attention, both local and national. After the beginning remarks and oath-takings, the prosecution and defense each brought to the stand three witnesses of various ages and walks of life. When hours of cross-examination in the hot courtroom had come to a close, the jury left to debate the fate of John Scopes. When the jury returned, the decision was announced.

Defendant John Scopes was a Tennessee school teacher born on August 3, 1900. After teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution in a science class one day, Scopes and the school board chairman saw an ad posted by the ACLU, or American Civil Liberties Union, asking for a teacher to test the constitutionality of the Butler Act in court. Scopes answered the ad, unaware of the national attention that would be brought to the case. In court, 24 year-old Scopes was represented by famous lawyer Clarence Darrow, and lawyers Dudley Field Malone, Arthur Garfield Hays, and John P. Neal.

The Scopes Trial

The State Of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes, or more commonly known as just, "The Scopes Trial", was a court case heard in 1925 in order to determine if teacher John Scopes should be charged for teaching students the Theory of Evolution. At the time, the Theory of Evolution was banned from the classroom under Tennessee's Butler Act. The case was presided over by Judge John T. Raulston.

Guilty

The Prosecution

Defendant John T. Scopes was found guilty in favor of the state of Tennessee. Although, the trial was short, and the outcome was predictable, it stood for something much more complex: the trial brought to the stand the issue of academic freedom, teacher's rights, book censorship and the separation of church and state. The trial was just one of many that would come over the years, questioning teacher's actions in the classroom.

In the trial, the state of Tennessee was represented by famous attorney William Jennings Bryan. Bryan was joined in the prosecution by attorneys A.T. "Tom" Stewart, General Ben McKenzie, and William Jennings Bryan, Jr.. Bryan,Sr. was furious fundamentalist who would do anything to uphold the Bible as a book of authority in a court of law.

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