Scopes Trial What was the Scopes Trial? In the summer of 1925, John Scopes went to trial on grounds of teaching evolution, which was against the law in Dayton, TN. There were many factors involved to make this event so very publicly known.
The Scopes Monkey trial was one the biggest and most influential court cases of all time. John Scopes was a public high school teacher in dayton tennessee who was arrested and tried for breaking the butlers law. Passed in 1925 it made teaching evolution in any schools and colleges in the state of Tennessee illegal. This was because evolution challenges the idea of creationism which was the popular religion in the tennessee. this was a huge problem because it was written in the constitution that you must separate church and state.
The court case I have selected is the Roper vs. Simmons case. Christopher Simmons (17) came up with the idea to murder Shirley Cook. Simmons brought this brought this idea to his two friends Charles Benjamin (15) and John Tessmer (16) and
The Scopes Trial began on July 10th, 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee when John Thomas Scopes was charged with violating the Butler Act by teaching the theory of evolution in his class by saying men have descended from apes claiming that was the theory of evolution. The prosecuting attorney William Bryant was flooded with questions from the bible by defending attorney Clarence Darrow, several he could not answer. William Bryant, a Christian, could not defend the Bible nor his beliefs and the point of being a certain religion is to understand what you believe and why you believe it. Furthermore, what makes this trial significant is that till this day we still have that debate of how were we created, whether it’s from the religion we possess or from
The book “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee and the article “Scottsboro Boys Trial” both contain controversial court cases. For “To Kill a Mockingbird” a black male named Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. In the “Scottsboro Boys Trial” nine young black men and teenagers are accused of raping two white females named Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. Both cases transpired in the 1930s in Alabama. This is bad for the accused as racism was at an all-time in the 1930s especially in the deep south. This was around the time when the Jim Crow Laws were still intact and black people were not still considered people and they would still lynch black people. If a black man was accused of any crime involving a white person the jury would take the white man's word over the black man’s word. These exact things
“This man wishes to be accorded the same privilege as a sponge! He wishes to think!” (Lawrence & Lee, 1955, p. 94). This quote from Inherit the Wind represents the heart of the controversy known as the Scopes Trial in 1925. This historical court proceeding still affects us today, yet few know much about it. Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee helps to remedy this. Inherit the Wind is a fictional drama, but it is clearly based on the Scopes Trial. Thus, this play can help the reader not only understand what was going on when the actual case was debated ninety-one years ago, but also what the implications of it are today. The authors of Inherit the Wind transformed the historical account of the Scopes Trial into a work of fiction by changing the setting, genre, and language usage.
The nation was afraid of such a thing to happen that no one knew what to impose on the people. The Red Scare caused the trial to be different in respect of teaching ideas that could possibly create violence for imposing laws on people. The education was not controlled in fears that the U.S. may become
The Scopes Trial John Scopes, a high school biology teacher, who found himself at the center of one of the 20th century’s most famous life-changing court hearings; The Scopes Trial. It was also known as the Monkey Trial, where biology teacher John Scopes was prosecuted for teaching evolution in a public school located in Tennessee (Kemper). Prior to the trial, there was a anti-evolution law that was passed making Scopes actions illegal, this was known as The Butler Act. As a matter of fact, when Scopes went against this law it was the first step in moving towards modernism. As well as, causing America to move away from traditional values.
Even though the justice system has evolved, people such as African Americans are still judged based on the color of their skin, their country of origin, or their religion. This book has thrived through the 1930’s and the 1960’s and continues to portray an important message today which is why it is so successful. The Eighth Amendment in To Kill A Mockingbird highlights important issues such as putting a stop to cruel and unusual punishments, and dictating excessive fines and excessive bail. Will there ever be a day where the Tom Robinsons in the world will see the Eighth Amendment apply to
In conclusion, after contemplating the cases’ distinctive historical background, the sharply divided arguments that prompted the courts’ ruling, and the wide-reaching impact of that ruling, it is evident that this case was a turning point in American history. Despite differing opinions, the Supreme Court stuck to the Constitution in their decision that the government is not responsible for protecting children from their
On July 10th of 1925, in the heated town of Dayton, Tennessee, a great debate culminated in the greatest joke of the year. At the onset of Dayton’s Scopes Trial, now laughably referred to as the “Monkey Trail” the cause for conflict was quite real. John Scope had been charged with “illegally teaching the theory of evolution” (dd)
In the 1930s, if a black man was on trial there was a ample chance he would be convicted even if evidence proved he was innocent. Throughout history humans being prejudice and bias have affected the lives of thousands of people; some ending with favorable outcomes while others weren’t so fortunate. Within the book To Kill a Mockingbird the readers learn that prejudice and bias people outnumber the understanding and kind. One decision or in this case twelve decisions decide the fate for an unfortunate man. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee reveals that people often follow their biases and prejudices rather than the truth.
Most characters in this story ignore opinions and facts that are true. This is shown when the judge says, “The Reverend Brown has asked me to make this announcement. There will be a prayer meeting tonight on the courthouse lawn, to pray for justice and guidance. ”(Lawrence and Lee 48). Brown wants a religious meeting which shows how ignorant he is to Drummond and evolution.
This essay will be about two injustices the Scottsboro trial and Tom Robinson’s trial. A few similarities are that they were treated unfairly and they were all accused of a repulsive crime, raping a white woman. In the Scottsboro trial though, two women were supposedly raped. Both trials happened in the same time period, while also noting that the women in both trials came from poor backgrounds. Atticus gave his all to his case while the nine young men’s lawyer also tried his best. Overall these innocent men deserved more than what they recieved, an unfair treatment in and out of the courtroom.
The jury members and judge were not normal either. They all came from hell and were traitors to America. It was a very biased trial, but with the help of Daniel Webster he won the trial and was rid of selling his