- Tennessee's 1925 Butler Act banned evolution teaching, sparking the historic Scopes trial
- Celebrity attorneys Bryan and Darrow clashed over science vs. biblical creationism
- Ruling set precedent for ongoing battles over religion in public education
When Tennessee lawmakers passed the Butler Act in March 1925, they ignited a cultural firestorm that would make Dayton, Tennessee, ground zero for America's education wars. The law's prohibition on teaching any theory that denies the Divine Creation of mantransformed substitute teacher John Scopes into a reluctant defendant and his trial into a national referendum on modernity.
The American Civil Liberties Union's strategic challenge to the statute gained unexpected momentum when three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan joined the prosecution. Defense attorney Clarence Darrow's unorthodox decision to call Bryan as a witness produced trial fireworks, with the agnostic lawyer grilling the fundamentalist statesman about biblical literalism. Reporters from 100+ newspapers amplified every exchange, turning specialized legal arguments into front-page drama.
Though Scopes received a $100 fine (later overturned), the trial's true impact emerged in subsequent decades. Over two dozen anti-evolution bills failed in state legislatures by 1930, while the 1968 Supreme Court ruling in Epperson v. Arkansas permanently invalidated such bans. Modern parallels appear in Texas' 2023 curriculum updates requiring analysis of biblical creation narratives alongside scientific theories—a policy protested by 94% of state science teachers in a recent survey.
Three critical insights emerge from this century-long debate: Media sensationalism often distorts complex educational issues, legislative attempts to mandate viewpoints frequently backfire, and classroom conflicts reveal deeper societal tensions about authority and progress. As 21st-century lawmakers propose bills limiting discussions of climate science or systemic racism, the Scopes trial reminds us that schools remain battlegrounds for America's soul.