The Scopes Monkey Trial

The theory of evolution has been a magnet for controversy since Charles Darwin first published The Origin of Species in 1859. It challenged the long held concepts of creation in 6 days and a Creator who created all living things within that time period. This controversy came to a head in the United States during the trial of Tennessee biology teacher John Scopes in 1925. Scopes was charged with violating an anti-evolution law relating to teaching in public schools. The events that took place within the trial and its outcome would have a lasting impact on the debate over evolution and would force many to recognize a new player in the study of the origins of all life on Earth.

William Jennings Bryan, the prosecuting attorney, had a long history of attacking the teaching of evolutionary theory and this gave him the ammunition he needed in this case. The prosecutions case focused on the fact that the teaching of evolution contradicted the commonly held belief in creationism. Bryan's background shows that "As a young man, he had "looked into evolution". He found the theory improbable..." (William Jennings Bryan, Biography). His Christian background was evident in his strong rhetoric on the infallibility of the Bible's account of creation. One of the strongest points that Bryan made was in something that he never got to say:

"Science is a magnificent 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 vessel" (Bryan's Summation, Trial Excerpts).

The teaching of evolution in public schools was illegal according to the law of the state of Tennessee. The prosecution did make this an important part of their case, but Bryan's belief in the importance of the Bible in understanding the origins of the world and its significance as a "moral compass" led him to use those ideas to bring the public to his side.