The Scopes Monkey Trial

Images of America: Tennessee

by Randy Moore, William McComas, Tom Davis (Foreword)

The 1925 case against high school coach and science teacher John Scopes, arrested for teaching evolution in defiance of a Tennessee state law, was America’s original “Trial of the Century.” The proceedings began as a publicity stunt but grew into a landmark event in the nation’s history. The trial featured three-time presidential candidate and fundamentalist leader William Jennings Bryan, who argued on behalf of the prosecution, and famed agnostic attorney Clarence Darrow, who helped defend Scopes. Although the Scopes case produced no legal precedent, the trial has been analyzed by historians, praised and vilified by politicians and preachers, cited in countless legal, political, and theological skirmishes, and retold in plays, movies, museum exhibits, and television documentaries. Images of America: The Scopes Monkey Trial examines the events that captured the attention of the world and still have much to teach us today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography, History

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 13, 2016

Reviews

[Eric_W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always been fascinated by the Scopes "Monkey" trial, especially after watching the brilliant performances of Spencer Tracy, Gene Kelly, and Frederic March in the classic Inherit the Wind (1960). (The 1988 film starring Kirk Douglas and Jason Robards is God awful and should be destroyed.) As we've been reading Marion Rogers biography of Mencken for my reading club, I thought I'd review some of the more salient features of the trial. This is a terrific book for that with supporting photographs.

I was not aware that Mencken had already left Dayton before the climactic interrogation of Bryan by Darrow. I knew it was hot, but did not know that that famous event was also outside the courtroom on a platform under the shade of the trees. The courtroom itself, was the largest in Tennessee, and pictures taken during the trial reveal just how large the crowd was. Scopes himself went on the study geology and worked in South America for an oil company. Ironically, the jury was barely in attendance during the trial, having been sent out repeatedly while the lawyers wrangled over procedural issues. The fine itself was never collected and the Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of evolution, remained on the books until 1967 when it was successfully challenged. It was followed in 1968 by Epperson v Arkansas when the Supreme Court unanimously invalidated an Arkansas law of similar ilk.

Bryan was a tragic figure. An immensely popular populist he was nominated to run for president on the Democratic ticket three times ,and had he not associated himself with the anti-science movement would have gone down in history as far less of a buffoon. Darrow himself had supported Bryan in his quest for the presidency. Dayton ruined what was left of their former friendship and Bryan died six day later following his usual gluttonous repast. (He was diabetic.)

In his defense, much of Bryan's antipathy toward evolutionary theory was its misuse by natural selection advocates who then made the leap to eugenics. The textbook that was being used in the school was filled with racist statements and its portrayal of evolution (there are pictures of the page in question in this book) was worse than simplistic. "The author, George William Hunter, not only asserted the biological difference of races, he insisted on the vital importance of what he called “the science of being well born”—eugenics. Like most progressives of the time, Hunter believed in “the improvement of man” via scientific methods. That meant promoting personal hygiene, proper diet, and reproductive control. A Civic Biology also has suggestions for what to do with “bad-gened” people, in a section called “The Remedy.”

A prophetic paragraph from Bryan's never delivered speech: Science is a magnificent material force, but it is not a teacher of morals. It can perfect machinery, but it adds no moral restraints to protect society from the misuse of the machine. It can also build gigantic intellectual ships, but it constructs no moral rudders for the control of storm-tossed human vessels. It not only fails to supply the spiritual element needed, but some of its unproven hypotheses rob the slip of its compass and thus endanger its cargo. (https://newrepublic.com/article/12814....)

If you are looking for a compact review of the events and characters of the trial, this one is perfect. 

[Paul Lunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1925, Rhea County Tennessee became the center of the world with what could become known as the trial of the century with the Scopes Monkey Trial. Randy Moore & William McComas do a decent job of explaining things in an overview fashion with "The Scopes Monkey Trial" out of the "Images of America: Tennessee" from 2016. The book itself goes through the setup of things through the trial as well as its aftermath. What I as a reader wasn't entirely aware of was that this was all a tourist set-up for the county despite the fact that no one really was surprised by the outcome that did happen both then & in the future down the line. This is still a chapter in American history that is worth revisiting nearly a century after the fact.

[Beth Abbott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing

The book consists b primarily of pictures and information about people with little or no connection to the issues of the trial. There is NO discussion of the trial itself or how the issues were presented at the trial.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting!

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this book out of the library as a reference for a book I was writing. It was written for a younger audience, but it did give a great overview of the title's subject and included a great many photographs from different aspects of the trial. It was an interesting book, but not substantial enough for my purposes. What will become the preeminent book on this topic, The Trial of the Century by Gregg Jarrett is still about six weeks from release as I write this review. I tried desperately to get an advanced reading copy, but was unable to do so.

[MKF · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a few editing mistakes but this is still a good book.