100 Years of Monkey Business
It is fascinating that so many people do not know the longstanding impact of the Scopes Trial that took place in the town of Dayton, TN in 1925. This month marks the centennial anniversary of one of the most impactful trials to have occurred in the history of the United States. Ultimately, the trial had its genesis as a publicity stunt, but would end with a schism that has not managed to heal a century later. A fair amount of stereotypical thinking still flows through society today that has its roots in the famed “trial of the century” in a non-descript railroad town in Eastern Tennessee. The current culture war, as many would call it, is nothing new. It is a continued offshoot of the trial and its media portrayal of all involved.
In May 1925, the legislature of Tennessee enacted the Butler Act. Within the text of the act was a strict forbiddance of public-school teachers from teaching anything that denies the creation story of the Bible and suggest that man is descended from a lower order animal, i.e., monkeys. In other words, teachers could not teach students the new-ish scientific theory of Darwinian Evolution. Tennessee was the first state to enact such legislation and it was far from common support for it. A small-town mining operation owner named George Rappleyea seized on his own lack of support for the bill and his desire to see tourism increase for the town, and decided to put the act on trial.
Assembling a group of community leaders, Rappleyea found a local high school teacher named John Scopes. Scopes taught social studies and math, but had also taught a biology class at times. He could not really recall if any of his teaching, or lectures, had actually violated the act but admitted that the biology textbook used for the class included evolution as a theory. He thereby agreed to incriminate himself for the purpose of going to trial, but likely did not anticipate the circus it would become. Three teens were coached to testify against him and the indictment came. A somewhat new and young organization called the American Civil Liberties Union paid bail and committed to defend Scopes at trial.
The trial itself was hardly a conversation on the Butler Act. It rapidly became a commentary of the difference between biblical creation and evolutionary theory. It became a widely reported story that rarely saw the rural members of the area portrayed as intelligent citizens. The trial featured big names, 200 plus reporters, and even a trained chimpanzee to pose for staged photos. It was a circus. And a fine publicity stunt by a select few. Scopes would be found guilty and be fined. The conviction would be eventually overturned. The law itself stayed on the books in Tennessee for 40 years or so until 1967.
The aftermath of the trial and its portrayal across various media spectrums is primary. What was exposed and stoked was a deep distrust between the “urban intellectual elite” and the “rural ignorant faithful.” At least, that was the regular portrayal of those who supported the legislation. Hardly a truthful representation of the people of Dayton. Now, to be fair, there was plenty of scornful things perpetuated against Scopes by the other side of things as well. Things have never really been the same. Perhaps the most known portrayal of the event is the screenplay Inherit the Wind that was a defense of free speech and a veiled shot at the current McCarthyism taking place in the nation. It would debut in 1955 and be turned into a movie in 1960. However, the film took the rift farther by arguing that without science (read that as the intellectual elite’s understanding of science) society would regress backward and return to an “unconstrained bigotry.”
In a broad sense, much of the same basic conflict remains today if not amplified in the past 100 years. As Solomon deduced from his wise observations of humanity - there is nothing new under the sun. The Scopes Trial created deep divides and distrust that is still alive and well today. The rural faithful gained a growing dislike of the higher educational system, if not the public system as a whole. Urban dwellers came to view the other side of the aisle as ignorant people who were intellectually incapable of believing anything other than what they were told in church. In reality, the culture wars of today and all of their vitriol are just another phase of the ongoing differences that were exposed at Scopes, but persisted for centuries before that. Reflecting on 100 years of Scopes should challenge all of society to be better. More civil. More humble about life, culture, and relationships. The inability to learn from the past and its consequences lead to the same mistakes, problems, and ignorant behavior being repeated in present day. Jesus calls for so much more than that and His people should lead the way.