The Scopes Trial: The State of Tennessee V. John Thomas Scopes

Mary Lee Settles teaches at a college and writes novels and history books. This book summarizes the famous Scopes Trial. Chapter 1 tells of Charles Darwin in the Galapagos islands and his theories derived from his visit. Darwin claimed that the beaks of finches were modified according to their food. If these islands were created from volcano eruptions then the terrestrial life must have migrated from the distant land. Birds could fly, lizards could swim. The seeds for vegetation were carried by the birds. Evolution was assumed to be the cause for differences in species. Scientists did not know about genes and the information they carried, or of mutations that could affect the genes. Darwinian evolution requires taking these beliefs on faith. But "acquired characteristics" can not be inherited, and this overturns Darwin's foundation. Who benefits from this 'Official Truth'? "The followers of Darwin were ... more like a political party than a school of scientific thought" (p.10). The ultra-conservative Herbert Spencer adopted this "science" to excuse anything that was done by "competitive industrial capitalism". William Jennings Bryan said Darwin's "The Descent of man" would "weaken the cause of democracy and strengthen class pride and the power of wealth" (p.11). So that explains this 'Official Truth'! It is to justify the "most brutal and irresponsible antisocial economic philosophy" (Chapter 2). Chapter 3 tells how laborers and middle-class farmer were impoverished by the banks and railroads in the late 19th century (p.13). But a political leader emerged for their political battles, one who showed a belief in home and church and country: "an utterly sincere man", William Jennings Bryan, the Great Commoner (pp.14-16). His honor and principle required his resignation as Secretary of State to protest the coming of World War I (p.17). Bryan represented small town and rural white Protestants. The "loss of faith" among college students was not an accident (p.23). The National Educational Association worked for the multi-millionaires who controlled the university system by the hiring and promotion of teachers (p.23). [Upton Sinclair's "The Goose-Step" explains this take-over of higher education.] Chapter 5 describes the sectional and class politics of that era (pp.25-26), and the results (p.27). After laws against teaching evolution were passed the ACLU lobby ran a press release saying they would provide financial support and a legal defense to any teacher arrested for teaching evolution (p.36). So a few people in Dayton Tenn hatched a plot to gain publicity. The official textbooks explained the Darwinian theory since 1919 (p.43). And so Scopes was indicted (p.45) and forces gathered for each side (Chapter 10). It was a political battle for Bryan: are the people the rulers or the subjects (p.47)? Clarence Darrow was a product of the same small towns (p.49). Darrow had campaigned for Bryan (p.52) but disagreed over Fundamentalism. Scopes didn't want a