The Monkey Trial: John Scopes and the Battle over Teaching Evolution – An Award-Winning True Story of the 1925 Trial for Kids

by Anita Sanchez

Revealing little-known facts about the fight to teach evolution in schools, this riveting account of the dramatic 1925 Scopes Trial (aka “the Monkey Trial”) speaks directly to today’s fights over what students learn, the tension between science and religion, the influence of the media on public debate, and the power of one individual to change history.  Arrested? For teaching? John Scopes’s crime riveted the world, and crowds flocked to the trial of the man who dared to tell students about a forbidden topic—evolution. The year was 1925, and discussing Darwin’s theory of evolution was illegal in Tennessee classrooms. Lawyers wanted to challenge the law, and businessmen smelled opportunity. But no one imagined the firestorm the Scopes Trial would ignite—or the media circus that would follow. As reporters, souvenir-hawking vendors, angry protestors, and even real monkeys mobbed the courthouse, a breathless public followed the action live on national radio broadcasts. All were fascinated by the bitter duel between science and religion, an argument that boiled down to the question of who controls what students can learn—an issue that resonates to this day. Through contemporary visuals and evocative prose, Anita Sanchez vividly captures the passion, personalities, and pageantry of the infamous “Monkey Trial,” highlighting the quiet dignity of the teacher who stood up for his students’ right to learn.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Middle Grade, Science, Historical, Audiobook, Religion

192 pages, Hardcover

Published March 21, 2023

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever feel like your K-12 education missed a spot, chances are there’s a really good childrens or teen book on the subject.

Last month I learned about hookworm and its effects on the American South in American Murderer by Gail Jarrow... and this month I’m reading the chilling and very familiar sounding battle over teaching evolution in public schools in The Monkey Trial by Anita Sanchez.

Mencken: "The most ignorant man, when he is ill, may enjoy whatever boons and usufructs modern medicine may offer... The literature of the world is at his disposal in public libraries. He may look at works of art. He may hear good music. He has at hand a thousand devices for making life less wearisome and more tolerable: the telephone, railroads, bichloride tablets, newspapers, sewers, correspondence schools, delicatessen. But he had no more to do with bringing these things into the world than the horned cattle in the fields, and he does no more to increase them today than the birds of the air.
On the contrary, he is generally against them, and sometimes with immense violence. Every step in human progress, from the first feeble stirrings in the abyss of time, has been opposed by the great majority of men. Every valuable thing that has been added to the store of man's possessions has been derided by them when it was new, and destroyed by them when they had the power. They have fought every new truth ever heard of, and they have killed every truth-seeker who got into their hands."

Anita Sanchez does not fail to draw a connecting line between the rise of Fundamentalism that happened in the teens and 20s - and the corresponding beginnings of the schism between rural folk and city "elites," (by the way 100% exacerbated by people like Mencken calling em all yokels and morons while slinging terms like 'usufructs' around like the pompous dickwiggler he was) - and the deep ideological and social gulfs that characterize 21st century political and cultural rhetoric. She was writing in the summer of 2021, sounds like, so she talks about climate change deniers and anti-vaxxers, but just one year later and we're deep in crisis mode over what books people want to allow our children to read and which ideas we will allow them to be exposed to.

I cannot think of a more timely lesson from history. Essential in every school.

[Richie Partington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richie’s Picks: THE MONKEY TRIAL: JOHN SCOPES AND THE BATTLE OVER TEACHING EVOLUTION by Anita Sanchez, Clarion, March 2023, 192p., ISBN: 978-0-35-845769-5

“But at stake was something John believed in very deeply: the rights of his students to study whatever they wanted to, and to make their own decisions about what they believed…’I did not think the state of Tennessee had any right to keep me from teaching the truth.’”

“School librarians in Florida will have to undergo training on choosing, removing, and curating books for school and classroom libraries to comply with a state law passed last year.
They are prohibited from using any instructional materials that include critical race theory, culturally responsive teaching, social-emotional learning, social justice, ‘and any other unsolicited theories that may lead to student indoctrination are prohibited,’ according to the training.
They also have to seek input from parents before buying books and have to defend their choices in case of objections.
Librarians and education experts told Education Week that the training is going to contribute to self-censorship on the part of librarians, because they’re fearful of violating the rules. That, in turn, could lead to students losing access to diverse perspectives, especially historically marginalized students who find themselves represented by many of the banned books and instructional materials.”
– Education Week (1/18/2023)

“In man's evolution he's created the city
And the motor traffic rumble
But give me half a chance and I'd be taking off my clothes
And living in the jungle
'Cause the only time that I feel at ease
Is swinging up and down in the coconut trees
Oh what a life of luxury to be like an apeman”
– Ray Davies (1970)

In 1925, hoping the publicity would put their little burg on the map, to the benefit of the local economy, the town fathers of Dayton, Tennessee persuaded popular high school science teacher and part-time football coach John Scopes to participate in a test court case regarding a new state law banning the teaching of evolution.

“John Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution on May 5, 1925, but he wasn’t handcuffed and thrown in jail. He wasn’t marched off to stand before a judge. When he agreed to plead guilty to the offense of teaching evolution, nothing about his life changed–at least not right away. After being informed by a hastily summoned constable that he was officially under arrest, John was allowed to finish his soda and go back to the tennis court for another game. But his quiet answer had set powerful forces in motion, like the tiny pebble that starts an avalanche.
The enterprising group of businessmen immediately started spreading the word. George Rappleyea raced off to send a telegram to the ACLU informing them that Dayton had a teacher willing to stand trial. Meanwhile, Fred Robinson, delighted by the success of the idea that had been born in his drugstore, dashed to the telephone and called a local newspaper, the Chattanooga News. ‘This is F.E. Robinson in Dayton,’ he announced. ‘I’m a chairman of the school board here. We’ve just arrested a man for teaching evolution.’ Superintendent White contacted a reporter he knew from Nashville. News was spreading fast…
Soon the name John Scopes would be famous all around the globe–which John began to realize with dread.”

There was plenty of fear behind passage of Tennessee's Butler Anti-Evolution Act. Racists feared that teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution would lead to people believing that Black and white people came from the same origins. And fundamentalist Christians believed that Darwin’s theory would stop people from believing the literal meaning of the Bible and Christian tenets. The Bible-related issues motivated perennial presidential candidate and legendary orator William Jennings Bryan to volunteer to join the team prosecuting the case. Soon after, Clarence Darrow, then the country's most famous lawyer, joined the defense team. Despite the fact that Scopes was only being charged with a misdemeanor, the resulting “Monkey Trial” shaped up to be a Super Bowl sort of affair.

In crafting this notable piece of middle-grade nonfiction, Anita Sanchez does a stellar job of describing the colorful setting, the famous characters, the legal issues, and the action in and out of the courtroom, as the “Trial of the Century” takes place. It’s a fascinating look at America 100 years ago: Airplanes were a new invention; radio broadcasting was in its infancy; movies were silent; women couldn’t go to college or work in most fields and professions, and the Civil War was still in the rear mirror.

The book’s extensive backmatter includes “An Evolutionary Timeline,” which ends with a 2019 entry: “A Gallup poll shows that 40 percent of adult Americans believe in ‘a strictly creationist view of human origins, believing that God created them in their present form within roughly the past 10,000 years.’” Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. That’s quite an indictment of American education today.

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book for two reasons: (1) it was a super fast entertaining read and (2) it talks in detail about issues that still plague America today … people blindly believing something without fully understanding it. I mean yes the story is actually about how a young teacher was arrested because it was illegal to teach about evolution in schools BUT this book touches on the fire topic: separation of church and state, more specifically should religion drive what we teach in schools! Boy do I feel a certain way about this topic so I was pretty happy to listen to an accurate retelling of the trial of John Scopes that kick started the “controversy” over teaching Evolution!
•
Personal opinions aside, this was interesting to listen to since it really wasn’t that long ago and feels like a fun piece of information to learn from our history (that’s still relevant today)!

[Kristen M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book features the legal case that pitted Creationism vs. Darwin's Evolution! The Scopes Trial, or 'The Monkey Trial' as it is more popularly known, took place in 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee.

The Butler Act of 1925 was a state law passed to prevent teachers in public schools from teaching evolution, or stating that the Earth was not made by God in 7 days, etc. Fundamentalist Christians believed in a literal interpretation of the Bible and this scientific, evolutionary theory contradicted the Bible. They believed teaching evolution would lead school children down a wayward path towards sin. Thus began the showdown between religion and science.

In the 1920s, most people only attended school through 5th or 6th grade to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. Public schools through Grade 12 did not appear universally until much later. During this time, automobiles were slowly overtaking the use of horses in Dayton, TN.

John T. Scopes was a 24-year old science teacher who was the defendant in this sensational trial. He was defended by none other than Clarence Darrow, a hard charging and widely known defense attorney, and prosecuted by William Jennings Bryan, a Presbyterian minister and lawyer who ran for President several times. Both men had clout in their respective circles and specialties.

The trial was a town spectacle and the first broadcast on radio. Darrow ended up besting Bryan in the courtroom by calling him as an expert witness on the Bible; but Scopes WAS actually convicted of the crime. However, Scopes' conviction brought national notoriety to the topic and advanced the conversation in ways no one could have foreseen. The Butler Act was still the law of the land in Tennessee.

This seemingly North vs. South battle arrived in the area of textbooks too - any textbooks used in public schools must not mention the 'e word': evolution. Evolution was then edited to be described as 'development' and referred to as a sketchy, unproven, scientific theory.

The chronology goes on to share out the panic in the late 1950s when the Russians launched Sputnik into orbit. American students were lagging behind in math and science. With the Cold War in full swing, science curriculum in the US was completely overhauled by 1961 to feature evolution as the cornerstone of biology. However, the Butler Act in TN remained.

In 1967, a parent filed a lawsuit over their child's limited science education and demanded that the Butler Act be repealed. TN legislators brought it to a vote and it was UPHELD! Another science teacher, Gary Scott, was then fired for teaching evolution and the ACLU, the NEA and the National Science Teachers Association went to court. Three days after this science teacher protested his firing, the TN legislature repealed the Butler Act. Another anti-evolution case made it to the Supreme Court out of Arkansas by science teacher Susan Epperson. In 1968, it was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

I loved this book and the debate still rages. Legislation is proposed every year all over the US that intelligent design be taught alongside evolution in our nation's classrooms. The parallels to current attempts at book banning across the country are hard to deny. As the author asserts at the end of the book, the Monkey Trial is far from over!

I salute the science teachers featured in this book: John Scopes, Gary Scott, and Susan Epperson.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Butler Act of 1925 forbid the teaching of evolution in Tennessee public schools, claiming that Darwin’s theories of evolution undermined the teachings of Christianity. At the same time, the small-town of Dayton, Tennessee, once a successful coal-mining town, was on the decline. When an article in the local newspaper claimed that the ACLU would be willing to pay the legal fees for any teacher who would stand trial against the Butler Act, a local Dayton business owner saw this as an opportunity to bring notoriety (and economy) to the town. It turns out, he was correct as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes trial drew attention from around the world in the first live radio broadcast of a trial in history. Throughout the eight days of the trial, the defense was thwarted at every turn in their attempt to prove that 1) the Butler Act was unconstitutional, 2) the theory of evolution and the Bible are not mutually exclusive, and 3) the Bible is a document meant to be read with some level of metaphor and is therefore open to multiple interpretations. Ultimately, Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution - a fact which even his own defense attorneys weren’t trying to deny. (In fact, the ACLU assumed Scopes would lose at the local level, which could then lead to an appeal at the Tennessee Supreme Court level, and a subsequent appeal at the United States Supreme Court.) Many states avoided anti-evolution legislation, but textbook distributors shied away from the topic at the risk of losing customers and money. It wasn’t until the Cold War, when the Russian satellite Sputnik successfully completed an orbit around Earth that Americans began questioning whether the American education was inferior (compared to the Russians who routinely studied five years of advanced science). Tennessee’s Butler Act was eventually repealed in 1967.

[Alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating exploration of a unique event in American and Tennessee history. Even living nearby and being somewhat familiar with the story, I was genuinely surprised by many of the details and was captivated by how we are repeating this same history 100 years later, especially in our history classrooms. This is a brief, narrative examination of the history and subject, filled with photos and lots of back matter. I think students interested in this type of nonfiction will be engaged throughout.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whichever view you espouse, this, in my opinion, is an exceptionally well written account of a famous trial. Although the author tries to portray the facts without bias, which I appreciate, it is still clear which "side" she believes, although my opinion of that may be colored by the narrator of the audio book and the back matter. Too bad I didn't just read a hard copy first.

[DaNae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping and well laid-out. Sanchez give the right amount of context for young readers to grasp this eerily prescient episode in our history.

[Terri London Mabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good summary of the story, similar to the excellent PBS American Experience episode. But it goes further, describing what happened to evolution teaching the decades after the trial.

[Nicole]

The truth always wins.

I DO NOT THINK ABOUT….. THINGS I DON’T THINK ABOUT! Do you think about things you do think about?

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Fascinating look at this historical event, and a little funny, too. Perfect to go with Roland Kidd's Monkey Town. Lots of great photographs.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a free eARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I picked this one up because I always intend to read more nonfiction, and then I get overwhelmed by the fact that so much nonfiction ends up either being a doorstop or a terrible slog (or both). Narrative nonfiction is my jam, but it’s hard to find. Good narrative nonfiction for kids is an even more difficult needle to thread - you want it to be approachable for a young audience, but you don’t want to patronize them. I feel like Sanchez does this pretty well. It’s hard to tell in ebook form, but I’m guessing there are charts and visuals interspersed with the actual narrative (some of the graphics were incomplete in the version I read - and some would just appear seemingly at random in the middle of a paragraph. It’s also hard to lay out something like this in electronic form. I’m excited to get my hands on the library copy I ordered to see how it looks in print).

The writing style is informative, but compelling. It reads like a narrative rather than a textbook. And although it would be SO easy to soapbox about how similar this case is to problems we are somehow STILL facing nearly 100 years later, Sanchez resists that impulse until the very end. (And it’s not really soapboxing, but she does point out the irony of having written about a famous case where people denied science during the height of Covid). There’s also so much about this case that I didn’t know. My background was “something something, evolution and Clarence Darrow”. I remembered nothing about William Jennings Bryan being involved, and I actually didn’t realize that Scopes volunteered for the trial as a test case. The hope was that he would be found guilty, so that the appeals process could go all the way to the Supreme Court and find the actual law unconstitutional. Scopes and his students weren’t even 100% certain that he had used the word “evolution” in class. I guess I had always assumed this was a case of parents stirring things up and putting him on trial. I had no idea he went (semi)willingly!

It’s truly eerie to read about the arguments for and against teaching actual science, as well as the arguments for “protecting children” from inappropriate material. Seeing all of the school and public libraries that are currently under attack in the name of “protecting children,” it’s sad to see how far we haven’t come. There were multiple quotes in this book that could have been about current events - particularly Dudley Field Malone’s speech.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a perfectly fine account of the Scopes Trial almost exactly a hundred years ago. The highlight of the book, for me, was the ending: “Who won the Monkey Trial? The jury is still out.” One of the things that impressed me were the extensive quotations from the textbook John Scopes used to “teach evolution” (it actually is uncertain if he actually did indeed read the evolutionary paragraphs to his students at all, or the specific date he did so!). It seems that the initial reason why Scopes was ASKED if he would volunteer to be a test case for challenging the law against teaching evolution. The people asking were hoping to bring attention and money to the town and perhaps got more than they bargained for! Scopes himself wasn’t so happy later on that he had agreed to this.

One problem I had with this was the way the Bible was presented as a single uniform edition. When I tried to find out which edition was being quoted, there was no information! There were however, great excerpts from current editorials on the Scopes Trial. There also were tons of interesting photos on the subject. Lots of humor in the account, including that Scopes himself missed some of his own trial swimming too long in the local river during lunch break!

Recommended as a thoughtful account of the infamous trial, including the depressing info that 40% of adult Americans believe in the literal account of the story of creation.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A straight-forward, fact-based account of the infamous "Monkey Trial" regarding teaching evolution in the classroom. The trial was a sensation at the time, but really it wasn't as dramatic as I always assumed it was. Sanchez sticks to the reality and paints a full picture of the events and people involved.

A lot of the arguments could be said today in regards to the debate around books featuring sex, LGBTQIA, history, and other social justice topics. It all comes down to the fight between religion and government, it seems, and that hasn't changed in almost a hundred years.

As Sanchez says at the end - the children are smarter than we give them credit for and they can and should have voice in education.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Scopes was a young teacher in Tennessee just following the curriculum in the biology textbook in 1925. However, it contained some information about Darwin's theory of evolution and certain people sensed an opportunity to bring attention to the town (businessmen) and others wanted to challenge the law in place at the time (lawyers). Scopes was approached while sitting in a restaurant and asked if he would participate. No one had any idea how big of an issue this trial would become - definitely not Scopes! This is a huge story and a huge issue. It has the potential to be super fascinating and engaging - but unfortunately this book failed that. (Which is sad because this author has written other books which I have thoroughly enjoyed). This one was dry and did not do the subject justice.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The resources at the back of the book are what really make this a class friendly text for teaching our Evidence of Evolution unit. As a HS biology teacher, I appreciated how the topic was written about in student friendly language with relatively little bias (for or against the idea) from Sanchez. Wonderful text for helping students draw their own conclusions while hitting home why its an important topic.

I would actually love to see an educator PD on this book and how we can navigate teaching evolution in our classrooms while being inclusive of all student backgrounds.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

[Alexa Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

In-depth look at this trial that I had heard of but never really knew the details of. I really enjoyed how much the author set the scene--how hot it was, how journalists had to cover it, what technology was like (radio, but no recordings yet).

There is some discussion of the material on trial, both the biblical portions and the textbook portion. There is a very minor discussion of how the championed textbook was actually not the greatest as it did push for evolution and eugenics. Not necessarily the kind of book readers now would want to champion. I think it stands as a snapshot in time of how the ACLU was challenging laws, and is a reminder that there is still work yet to do.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was so much to engage with in this book about the Scopes trial. Sanchez provides a comprehensive but not drawn-out history of evolution and religion and the trial that captivated the nation and provided celebrity-dom to an area where not much happened.

The big name lawyers, the summer heat, the sensationalism could be and is played out time and again to vividly explain the fervor around how people saw and felt the evolution versus religion in schools debate and how Scopes felt throughout the entire process-- a mere spectator most of the time!

Easy to follow, I learned quite a bit.

[Mike Nettleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This landmark court battle in the war between fundamentalist christianity and science is only a passing historical reference to many. This book brings the characters who fought it in Dayton, Tennessee all those years ago to life and reenforces the idea that this conflict is still ongoing. Science-deniers still see research and factual information as a threat to their mythology-based belief system. This is a must-read for history buffs and those mystified by the anti-vax/anti-gay/anti women's rights movements.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was very informative and easy to read (since it is a J non fiction). The writing felt cumbersome at times and I think I would have enjoyed more nuance that might have been found in a more in depth book.

But since I just wanted to know what the Scopes Monkey Trials were about, this book achieved its goal.

I was also fascinated to know that Bryan College in Dayton Tennessee was founded after these trials in honor of William Jennings Bryan, the lawyer for the prosecution who died days after the trial.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommend for adults as well as kids! I think grownups who already have some context will get even more out of it than kids who haven't, for instance, heard of William Jennings Bryant. Left me feeling like I should read more children's nonfiction. The Scopes trial was genuinely an exciting historical event and it's well told here, and I learned all sorts of interesting details that I didn't recall, but all in a time commitment of like an hour. None of this 200 pages of tiny print and padded nonsense that you get with an adult book.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good YA Book about Scopes Trial

This is a great resource for young adults to learn about how a teacher in the Mid-West was arrested in 1925 for teaching evolution. Introduces all the major personages and what their views were. Of course the outcome and reach into how science is taught in the United States is addressed.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This YA book tells of the Scopes trial in Tennessee in 1925. It asked the question, should evolution be taught in public high schools? This still has implications for today (100 years later) as schools, parents and communities as they argue over what should be taught in school. Should parents pick the curriculum or should the board of education?

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good and led to some interesting discussions with the kids, as well as conversations about how much things have or haven't changed in 100 years (yikes). It's definitely middle grade, not particularly complex, but a worthwhile history lesson.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting narrative nonfiction about the 1925 Scopes trial in Tennessee. It was fascinating to read quotes from the trial transcript that echo the religious fundamentalists of today. Many of their arguments haven't changed in almost 100 years.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read about the battle of the bible vs. evolution. I didnt have expectations going into this and it was interesting for the parties to voluntarily agree to this monkey trial to have evolution be known (taught) within schools.

[KATHRYNE STEVENS · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting non-fiction. It is well written and does a good job of setting the scene and explaining why the trial was such a big deal. The main drawback is there isn't a lot of action in a trial so I think as far as non-fiction books go it will have a limited audience for students.

[Michael Swart · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very worthwhile read on a current subject

Well written and riveting account of the Scopes Trial and all the attending hoopla that accompanied it. Also includes an update that we are still suffering from the same arguments of evolutionism vs fundamentalism

[Roger Leonhardt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Paints with too broad strokes. I understand it is written for children, but it makes it look like all Christians are dumb anti-science goofs.

[Bill Philibin · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.0 Stars)

Very informative and interesting... America has never really been "great". We have always been held back by the overly religious and bigoted conservatives...