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BY MIKE VINSON
The headline read: "Historic courthouse needs $200k preservation work: 125-year-old building was 1925 venue for Scopes Monkey Trial" (reference: "Chattanooga Times Free Press" newspaper, page B1, Jan. 3, 2017 edition). I read the accompanying article, found it informative, and agreed with the restoration proposal being pushed by State Representative Ron Travis (Republican-Dayton): A historic landmark such as the Rhea County/Dayton Courthouse should be preserved.
(NOTE: The City of Dayton is the county seat for Rhea County, near Chattanooga.)
Par for the norm, I conducted a fact-finding survey with several males and females in the 18-35 age range. Not one had ever heard of the Scopes Monkey Trial. One particular exchange went like this:
ME: "Have you ever heard of the 'Monkey Trial' that was held in Dayton, Tennessee?"
RESPONDENT: "How can they put a monkey on trial?"
I sighed, shook my head in disbelief, and proceeded to give the young lady, 26-years-old, a short summary, similar to what follows in the paragraphs below.
***
Known commercially as the "Scopes Monkey Trial," and legally as "The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes," it, arguably, is the most significant court-held trial in Tennessee History, having been cited by noted writers and historians as the "Trial of the Century" (20th Century).
For sure, it helped cement the phrase "separation of church and state," generally accredited to Thomas Jefferson in a letter he wrote to the Danbury Baptists in 1802, in which Jefferson stated that the First Amendment to the Constitution created "a wall of separation" between church and state.
Irrefutable data confirms that in July 1925, in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, John T. Scopes, a single, 24-year-old, part-time science teacher at Rhea County High School, stood trial for teaching "evolution," a theory that, essentially, says humans and apes share a common ancestor.
Though other attorneys were involved, two of the more famed legal minds of that era met head-on at the trial. Highly acclaimed criminal attorney Clarence Darrow, a brilliant orator, served as lead defense counsel for Scopes, and William Jennings Bryan, a life-long politician who had served as secretary of state under U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, headed up the prosecution.
Both media and scholars from all parts of the world crowded into the small Dayton Courthouse to, respectively, listen to and report on the history-making proceedings. It's well documented that during the course of the trial, which lasted approximately two weeks, several thousand people attended on a daily basis.
Darrow challenged the literal interpretation of the Bible, supporting the defense that Scopes had committed no crime by teaching evolution. Bryan denounced the notion that man sprang from ape, and Scopes had committed a crime by teaching evolution. Ultimately, Scopes was found guilty and fined $100, but the guilty verdict eventually was set aside by the Tennessee Supreme Court on a technicality.
Concerning the Scopes Monkey Trial, though, here are some interesting tid-bits of information often omitted in some American History class lectures:
The Butler Act had passed in Tennessee legislation in March 1925 (enacted as Code Annotated Title 49 (Education); Section 1922). This act/law prohibited public school teachers in Tennessee from denying the Holy Bible's account of man's origin, the "Adam & Eve" theory, some called it. Logically, the Butler Act, too, forbade public school teachers from teaching the theory of evolution in the classrooms.
In direct defiance of the Butler Act, the American Civil Liberties Union, a coalition of attorneys that focused -- still focuses -- on First Amendment rights, had put out the word they would defend anyone with enough courage to buck the law and teach evolution in the classroom.
As history tells it, George Rappleyea, who was in the mining business in Dayton, convinced other Dayton businessmen the "controversy of such a trial" would give their small town a big boost in all areas of business. Though reluctant at first, John T. Scopes did agree to align himself with Rappleyea and the others, and the rest is American History at its edifying best!
While I'm hammering away to drive home my point on the Scopes Monkey Trial, here's an extra couple pieces of data for you:
*Did you know William Jennings Bryan, who headed the prosecution in the Scopes Monkey Trial, ran for president of the United States three times and lost all three times?
*Did you know that in 1924, a year before the Scopes Monkey Trial, Clarence Darrow defended Leopold & Loeb in the kidnapping - murder trial of Bobby Franks? Prior to the Scopes Monkey Trial the Leopold & Loeb murder trial was referred to as the "Trial of the Century." Before this column, had you ever heard of Leopold & Loeb? That's what I figured. Don't fret, though, because we'll talk about Leopold & Loeb in the near future.
I'll close with this: I am "dumbfounded" a majority of Middle Tennesseans in the 18-35 age range, some in high school, some in college, have nary a clue about the Scopes Monkey Trial, a defining moment that took place in Tennessee and forever altered American culture! That stated, one has to wonder just what is being taught in Tennessee's American History classes these days.(?)
