What do you think?
Rate this book
The Scopes Trial: A Photographic History
It was a big story in a small place. During the summer of 1925, the tiny hamlet of Dayton, Tennessee, became the setting for one of the most controversial trials in American history. In a move designed partly as a publicity scheme and partly as a means to test a newly enacted anti-evolution law, a young teacher named John Thomas Scopes agreed to be arrested for teaching Darwin’s theory of natural selection in the public schools. The resulting courtroom showdown pitted Clarence Darrow, the brilliant trial lawyer and self-proclaimed agnostic, against Williams Jennings Bryan, three-time presidential candidate and fundamentalist Christian. For twelve days all eyes focused on Dayton as a spirited public debate unfolded.
Published on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Scopes trial, this book vividly recalls that famous episode through an array of fascinating archival photographs, many of them never before published. Images of the circus-like atmosphere that overtook Dayton during the trial alternate with candid photos of the key players. The accompanying text and captions summarize the events and clarify the underlying issues of the trial. While the legal consequences of the trial were minuscule—it ended in Scopes’s conviction, which was later overturned on a technicality—its symbolic importance was enormous, defining the science-religion debate in the twentieth century.
In addition to revisiting the Scopes trial, the book also examines its continuing legacy in Tennessee history, politics, religion, and education. Although the 1925 law was finally repealed in 1967, state legislators have made subsequent efforts to challenge the teaching of evolution. “Like life itself,” notes Edward Caudill in his introduction, “the controversy does not simply stop, but keeps evolving.”
The Edward Caudill is associate dean for graduate studies and research in the College of Communications at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is the author of Darwinian The Uses and Misuses of a Theory.
Edward J. Larson is Richard B. Russell Professor of History and professor of law at the University of Georgia. His book Summer for the The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate over Science and Religion won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for history.
Jesse Fox Mayshark is senior editor of Metro Pulse, a weekly newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Published on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Scopes trial, this book vividly recalls that famous episode through an array of fascinating archival photographs, many of them never before published. Images of the circus-like atmosphere that overtook Dayton during the trial alternate with candid photos of the key players. The accompanying text and captions summarize the events and clarify the underlying issues of the trial. While the legal consequences of the trial were minuscule—it ended in Scopes’s conviction, which was later overturned on a technicality—its symbolic importance was enormous, defining the science-religion debate in the twentieth century.
In addition to revisiting the Scopes trial, the book also examines its continuing legacy in Tennessee history, politics, religion, and education. Although the 1925 law was finally repealed in 1967, state legislators have made subsequent efforts to challenge the teaching of evolution. “Like life itself,” notes Edward Caudill in his introduction, “the controversy does not simply stop, but keeps evolving.”
The Edward Caudill is associate dean for graduate studies and research in the College of Communications at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is the author of Darwinian The Uses and Misuses of a Theory.
Edward J. Larson is Richard B. Russell Professor of History and professor of law at the University of Georgia. His book Summer for the The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate over Science and Religion won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for history.
Jesse Fox Mayshark is senior editor of Metro Pulse, a weekly newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee.
- GenresHistory
112 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2000
4 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 9, 2024
AN EXCELLENT COLLECTION OF PHOTOS, WITH INTRODUCTION & CAPTIONS
This collection---published in 2000, the 75th anniversary of the trial---contains an introduction by Edward Caudill (author of 'Darwinian Myths: The Legends and Misuses of a Theory' and 'Darwinism in the Press: The Evolution of An Idea,' with photo captions by Edward Larson (author of 'Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion').
They recount the origin of the trial: "A few local citizens contrived the event in the drugstore... They asked John Thomas Scopes to come to the drug store. The twenty-four year old teacher... was a popular young man about town, and a good candidate for the scheme, as he was unlikely to alienate local people with radical views or activities... In addition, [his] being single meant he did not have a family that might suffer unforeseen fallout from the trial... Scopes did not like the idea of being arrested, and he believed the Bible and evolution could be reconciled. But he finally relented... Scopes then left to play tennis." (Pg. 5-6)
Defense counsel Clarence Darrow "saw a grand opportunity to debunk Christianity, and he later wrote that his intention was to focus the nation's attention on Bryan and fundamentalism... [he] saw Darwin's theory as a useful tool in his own mission against religion... It was, for him, the pinnacle of his lifelong war on religious intolerance." (Pg. 7)
Although there was a media scene staged reported by some to show Scopes meeting Darrow for the first time, "the two had actually met in both New York City and Dayton prior to the trial. Further, Scopes had been on hand when Darrow had first driven into town, several hours before this staged greeting." (Pg. 31)
The book also notes, "[Scopes] later confirmed the persistent rumor that he had never actually violated the law. He simply agreed to test it at the request of Dayton civic leaders... To avoid any further questions on this point, Scopes never testified at trial and the defense never raised the issue. The law itself, rather than the defendant, was really on trial. Violating it only carried a small monetary penalty anyway, which others paid on Scopes' behalf. Scopes was never jailed or threatened with jail and could have remained a teacher in Dayton after the trial, but instead accepted a scholarship to study geology at the University of Chicago." (Pg. 33)
Although one always could have wished for a few more "favorite" photos to be included (that one has already seen in smaller copies in other books), those presented in this collection are excellent. This book will be a "must have" acquisition for anyone fascinated with the Scopes trial.
This collection---published in 2000, the 75th anniversary of the trial---contains an introduction by Edward Caudill (author of 'Darwinian Myths: The Legends and Misuses of a Theory' and 'Darwinism in the Press: The Evolution of An Idea,' with photo captions by Edward Larson (author of 'Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion').
They recount the origin of the trial: "A few local citizens contrived the event in the drugstore... They asked John Thomas Scopes to come to the drug store. The twenty-four year old teacher... was a popular young man about town, and a good candidate for the scheme, as he was unlikely to alienate local people with radical views or activities... In addition, [his] being single meant he did not have a family that might suffer unforeseen fallout from the trial... Scopes did not like the idea of being arrested, and he believed the Bible and evolution could be reconciled. But he finally relented... Scopes then left to play tennis." (Pg. 5-6)
Defense counsel Clarence Darrow "saw a grand opportunity to debunk Christianity, and he later wrote that his intention was to focus the nation's attention on Bryan and fundamentalism... [he] saw Darwin's theory as a useful tool in his own mission against religion... It was, for him, the pinnacle of his lifelong war on religious intolerance." (Pg. 7)
Although there was a media scene staged reported by some to show Scopes meeting Darrow for the first time, "the two had actually met in both New York City and Dayton prior to the trial. Further, Scopes had been on hand when Darrow had first driven into town, several hours before this staged greeting." (Pg. 31)
The book also notes, "[Scopes] later confirmed the persistent rumor that he had never actually violated the law. He simply agreed to test it at the request of Dayton civic leaders... To avoid any further questions on this point, Scopes never testified at trial and the defense never raised the issue. The law itself, rather than the defendant, was really on trial. Violating it only carried a small monetary penalty anyway, which others paid on Scopes' behalf. Scopes was never jailed or threatened with jail and could have remained a teacher in Dayton after the trial, but instead accepted a scholarship to study geology at the University of Chicago." (Pg. 33)
Although one always could have wished for a few more "favorite" photos to be included (that one has already seen in smaller copies in other books), those presented in this collection are excellent. This book will be a "must have" acquisition for anyone fascinated with the Scopes trial.
Displaying 1 of 1 review