The Scopes Trial

The Scopes Trial 

The Scopes Trial was probably one of the most famous trials of the 20th century.  It was known as The State of Tennessee V.S. John Thomas Scopes

It refers to a legal case in which John Scopes was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school.

Scopes was found guilty and fined 100 dollars but the verdict was overturned on a technicality.

The case funded the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy regarding what was appropriate to be taught in school. 

During the 1920s, America was very conservative.  America was very church going. I think the Scopes Trial was simply a way for America to start talking about something else.  The 1920s were filled with The Red Scare and the idea that Communists were going to take over the United States.

Being that America was so conservative, I think the Scopes trial really was the one case that kind of lit everyone into a stir of sorts because a lot of people during that time were church going, very religious people. 

The Scopes Trial got people talking again about something after The Red Scare.

I almost feel like the United State purposefully blows things out of proportion to create a stir. The Scopes Trial wouldn't have made such a stir if it had occurred today due to so much else going on. But there needed to be something after The Red Scare for America to talk about and debate about and The Scopes Trial was the perfect thing for this.