Modernists Vs Scopes

Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion concentrates on the Scopes trial, otherwise called the "Monkey Trial," which happened in Dayton, Tennessee in the mid year of 1925. The trial occurred in excess of a Tennessee law that banned the educating of human development out in the open schools. The American Civil Liberties Union needed to test the law, and a junior instructor named John Scopes, consented to help them. The alleged "trial of the century" united the well known government official and speaker, William Jennings Bryan, who headed the opposition to development campaign; and Clarence Darrow, who was viewed as the best criminal protection legal advisor of the time. The two men, plus their individual direction, clashed in the trail with the indictment in the end ready to maintain the law.

Edward J. Larson introduces the world to a very detailed account of the Scopes trial with a book called Summer for the Gods. Larson himself has a law degree, Ph.D. in history, and is a history and law professor at the University of Georgia making him more than qualified to elaborate on the accounts of this historical trial. Summer for the Gods describes the events leading up to the Scopes trial, trial itself, and the aftermath that takes place in 1925. This trial is based whether or not evolution should be taught in schools, a controversy that very much plagues the United States. The trial will put an infamous criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow and the famous fundamentalist religiosity politician William Jennings Bryan against each other in a

Through the 1920s, conflicts regarding the teachings of religious values versus Evolution, along with the increasing fight for women’s independence, caused a great deal of tension within America. Prior to the ‘20s schools taught the Bible and Christianity’s principles were stressed. It was in 1925 when Clarence Darrow defended John Scopes, a biology teacher, who was put on trial in the court for teaching the theory of Evolution (Doc C). This document illustrates the dialogue of

Darrow, an atheistic man, believed that science should rule America and didn’t like that people who weren’t scientists were trying to control science and dictate what could and could not be done. His former friend, and opponent, on the side of religion was Bryan. Bryan believed that creation was the way humans came to be and was appalled by evolution and people’s desire to learn it. This conflict cut Americans to their souls and in July of 1925, it was given to the courts to decide once and for all which side was right, Darwin and his evolution, or the bible and creation. However, the courts could not decide which side was right, and instead stuck to its decision of whether or not Scopes broke the law, which he was indeed guilty of. This trial definitively proved that the tension between faith and reason might never be resolved by a jury’s verdict. The Scopes trial also galvanized fundamentalists and scientists alike, changed children’s education, and revealed a deep division within our nation. After Bryan’s wishes,

On March 13, 1925 the state of Tennessee passed the Butler Act. This law prohibited teaching the Theory of Evolution in Tennessee public schools. Any teacher who taught a theory that denied the story of the Divine Creation would be punished by a fine. The American Civil Liberties Union offered legal defense to any Tennessee teacher who would break the law and fight it in court. John Thomas Scopes was a teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, and he intentionally taught his class about the theory of evolution, which led to his arrest and trial.

In the 1920's, many people became familiar with religions that are known today. Religions would follow what is so-called “ planned for them” written in the books. The Butler Act made it illegal to teach about religions from the textbooks. This included that teachers as any school were allowed to teach and about the science of evolution. The conflicts that the Butler Act made were between tradition and modernity. This act was worrying parents that it would change, and make a big effect for their children's education. These are reasons why people cared about the Butler Act. It also questioned the simple debate between evolution and creation. John Scopes was the first to argue about the importance of teaching science. Later on, there was a Scopes trial in Dayton,Tennessee.

The Scopes Trial is a standout amongst the most well-known trials in American history. The trial was a lawful case in 1925 in which a substitute high school teacher, John Scopes, was charged with violating Tennessee 's Butler Act, which made it illegal to teach Darwinism in any state-financed school. This trial was a gathering between various polar opposites, for example, Fundamentalism and Modernism. The clash between fundamentalism and modernism during the Scopes Trial had a significant impact on the American education system.

In the “Monkey Trial” William Jennings Bryan spoke as the leader of the Christian fundamentalist, what him and his followers wanted to do was for the people and court to find out how unfair it was for something that they perceived as “materialistic and anti-religious be taught in the very same classrooms from which all religious instruction had been banned” (Thomas, 2009 p. 25). This situation created a lot of debates among the people. Many things changed in the American public schools that arise because of the evolution theory and religion.

The Scopes trial is a standout amongst the most well-known trials in American history. The trial was a lawful case in 1925 in which a substitute high school teacher, John Scopes, was charged with violating Tennessee 's Butler Act, which made it illegal to teach Darwinism in any state-financed school. This trial was a gathering between various polar opposites, for example, Fundamentalism and Modernism. The fundamentalism and modernism conversion during the Scopes Trial had an extreme impact on the American Education System.

The geographic factors such as the location, history and climate influenced the conviction in many ways. The trial’s location had a major effect because the people who live Tennessee and the extensive area are religious. Tennessee, the location where the trial was held was in the Bible Belt, The Bible Belt region stretches from Northern Texas to Western North Carolina. In the Bible Belt region, more conservative Christians live there than other places in the

Starting with the Scopes Trial, many more cases have occurred concerning the teaching of evolution. “By 1928 every southern state except Virginia had debated or was considering legislation banning the teaching of evolution in the

The Scopes trial, writes Edward Larson, to most Americans embodies “the timeless debate over science and religion.” (265) Written by historians, judges, and playwrights, the history of the Scopes trial has caused Americans to perceive “the relationship between science and religion in . . . simple terms: either Darwin or the Bible was true.” (265) The road to the trial began when Tennessee passed the Butler Act in 1925 banning the teaching of evolution in secondary schools. It was only a matter of time before a young biology teacher, John T. Scopes, prompted by the ACLU tested the law. Spectators and newspapermen came from allover to witness

in no God is your faith. The belief that fish formed out of amoebas and that

Public schools are a place to learn proven facts and some very well—known and accepted theories. These schools have been led this way for a long time and show no signs of changing. Many states around the country have rejected the teaching of creationism in public schools, since the subject is so controversial among teachers and parents. In Ohio, a bill to develop new science content standards was not successfully passed. Many creationists were upset when they discovered that the first drafts of the standards were filled with evolutionary content, without any allowance for alternative explanations of life’s origins. In the uproar, the state board held a special meeting to investigate the process that the writing team and advisory committee used to draft the science standards (Matthews, Answering Genesis). This is why learning the facts about evolution should be taught at school. By doing this, there would be much less confrontation between teachers, students, and parents. If one has the desire to learn about creationism or any other beliefs of how the world came to be, one should learn it at a place outside of school, such as church or at home.

In the centuries leading up to the “Jazz and the Machine Age”, the nineteen-twenties was in a major dispute over religious beliefs between the traditionalist and the modernists. In 1925, a trial was held that was known as the Scopes trial. John scopes, a high school teacher, taught the theory of evolution in a Tennessee public high school. At the time, Tennessee had a state law they made it illegal to teach evolution in schools. The modernists had believed that the teachings of evolution gave the public another perspective through science but not religion. The traditionalist however, feared that the teaching of the Bible would be lost along with religious morals if Scope had won the trial. Traditionalist had