Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth for the Colson Center. I'm John Stone Street. 100 years ago this week was a court case that was known as the trial of the century, at least until the trial of O.J. Simpson. It was in July of 1925 that hundreds of reporters descended on the small fledgling town of Dayton, Tennessee to cover Tennessee v.
John Scopes, which has been immortalized since as the Scopes monkey trial. For eight days, that small community was at the center of the media world and a focus of national and international attention. And afterwards, it even became a bit of a staple of popular culture. For example, Johnny Cash's song, A Boy Named Sue. was inspired by the prosecuting attorney for the state of Tennessee, Sue Hicks.
Now according to popular myth, the Scopes trial was a climactic battle in the ongoing war between religious fundamentalism and science. At least that's how the story was told by the loosely based playturn movie Inherit the Wind. But in reality, The whole thing was a set-up. Dayton was not a hotbed of fundamentalist zealotry persecuting courageous teachers who championed science over religion. The previous year, the state of Tennessee had passed an ordinance that made it illegal to, and I quote, teach any theory that denies the story of the divine creation of man as taught in the Bible, end quote.
The ACLU, a fledgling legal organization at the time that employed a strategy of suing laws in high profile cases, had advertised in newspapers across the state. that they were looking for a defendant to challenge this law. Dayton City leaders saw that ad and, hoping to save their dying town through tourism, basically voluntold John Scopes, a local gym teacher who once substituted in a biology class. It's not clear that Scopes even ever taught Darwinism. But still, he became the defendant.
Now, supporters of the law saw evolution as an affront to human dignity, a means of undermining the faith of young people. Parents, not teachers, they thought, should determine what children learn. The ACLU hoped to undermine religious litmus tests in education like this one.
So they planned to actually lose this local trial so that the law could then be challenged at a higher court. William Jennings Bryan, known as the Great Commoner, joined the prosecution to defend the law. The three-time Democratic presidential nominee was, according to historian Edward Larson, a strange mix of left-wing politics and right-wing religion. He was the former Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson, also a pacifist, a champion of popular causes such as women's rights, a populist opponent of big business, and an incredible public speaker. Though not a strict six-day creationist, he was a staunch opponent of Darwinism.
and a champion of parental rights. Clarence Darrow was the most popular defense attorney in the country and also an ardent atheist. When he heard that Bryan had joined the prosecution, he volunteered for the defense.
Now, Inherit the Wind portrays Darrow as a hero of free thought and science, but really what Darrow hoped to do was bury religion on a national stage and also religion's great champion, William Jennings Bryan. Joining this colorful cast of characters was Judge John Ralston. who clearly enjoyed all the publicity. In fact, on what would be the final day of the trial, Rawston allowed Darrow, the defense attorney, to call Brian, the prosecuting attorney, to the witness stand. Brian agreed on the condition that he could then call Darrow to the stand.
So many reporters and spectators crowded in the room they moved the examination outside in the scorching July heat. And the two men did not disappoint. Darrow asked his village atheist questions. Brian confidently responded before fumbling a few questions about whether the Genesis account was literal. The morning after Brian's grilling, the defense pled guilty, and that prevented Darrow from ever being cross-examined by Brian.
And it also prevented Brian, the great orator, from delivering his closing argument.
So Scopes was convicted of a misdemeanor and fined $100, which Brian then offered to pay. Brian spent the next few days traveling to nearby cities and towns, delivering his closing argument as a public speech. The following Sunday afternoon, after speaking that morning, Brian laid down for a nap. He never woke up. His body was taken by train to Washington, D.C., where he was lauded as a hero for his public service.
Winston Churchill once quipped that history would be kind to him because he intended to write it. Bryan never had that opportunity.
Soon, in fact, the details of the trial were lost to the public imagination, and a new narrative took hold. No one shaped that narrative more than H. L. Mencken, the most famous reporter at the trial, who described the whole thing as a battle between religious fundamentalism and progress. In his telling of the story, Darrow had embarrassed Brian to death on the stand.
and exposed his religious beliefs as nothing but fables that could only be defended by intolerance and ignorance. That whole account was then cemented by the popularity of Inherit the Wind.
Now of course today, it's theories of creation that are banned from the classroom, as well as references to biblical morality. Today, in the name of academic freedom, students are taught all kinds of dangerous and radical ideologies, while parents are left completely in the dark. And today, it's widely assumed and taught. That throughout history, religion has stood in opposition to science and progress. All of that is the legacy of the Scopes trial.
And so, in the end, the Scopes trial and its cast of colorful characters is really the story of the power of narratives to shape public perception. Thankfully, there are those committed to correcting this record, not only about the Scopes trial. But also about the history of supposed conflicts between faith and reason, between the Bible and science, between Christianity and freedom. Like all of those conflicts, the real truth about the Scopes trial. is far more interesting than the narrative.
For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. Today's Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Timothy Padgett. If you're a fan of Breakpoint, please leave us a review wherever you download your podcast. And for a version of this commentary that you can print out or share with others, go to Breakpoint.org.
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