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The Monkey Trial

John Butler: The Unlikely Catalyst for the Scopes Trial

As we approach the centennial of the Scopes “Monkey” Trial, it’s worth revisiting the man whose legislation ignited this landmark case: John Washington Butler. Butler, a Tennessee farmer and state representative, drafted the Butler Act, which made teaching evolution in Tennessee public schools illegal. This law set the stage for Dayton, Tennessee’s dramatic confrontation between […]

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Darwin and His Detractors

1859 – Charles Darwin Publishes “On the Origin of Species” https://youtu.be/w56u2gv8XLs?si=aSrXBR_rMnf7yJDG 1860 – The Great Debate At Oxford University The Great Debate between Thomas Henry Huxley and Samuel Wilberforce occurred on June 30, 1860, at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. This debate was part of the British Association for the Advancement of Science […]

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William Jennings Bryan

William Jennings Bryan – Progressive Or Demagogue?

He was a progressive. He advocated for economic reforms, including the free coinage of silver, which he believed would help farmers and working-class Americans. As a leader of the Populist movement, he supported regulatory welfare state policies and stood for human rights. Bryan fought against monopolies, banks, and corruption, positioning himself as a defender […]

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Clarence Darrow

How Clarence Darrow Came To Join John Scopes’ Defense Team

Clarence Darrow was already one of the most famous defense attorneys in America by the time he joined the Scopes Trial. Born in 1857 in rural Ohio, he grew up in a household that valued free thought and intellectual inquiry. His father, a freethinker and skeptic, influenced Darrow’s lifelong distrust of organized religion and dogma. […]

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H.L. Mencken

Why H.L. Mencken Became the Iconic Voice of the Scopes Trial

Among the hundreds of journalists who descended upon Dayton, Tennessee, in July 1925 to cover the Scopes Monkey Trial, one name has endured above the rest: H.L. Mencken. While national newspapers and wire services sent seasoned correspondents, and even famous writers like Dorothy Parker and John Dos Passos observed the spectacle, it was Mencken’s razor-sharp […]

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Inherit The Wind

Gene Kelly Portrays H.L. Mencken – ‘Inherit The Wind’

https://youtu.be/of5-UrqhtXA?si=oa5VOQd7krgp-3kH Gene Kelly as E.K. Hornbeck: Bringing H.L. Mencken to Life in Inherit the Wind When Inherit the Wind (1960) was released, audiences met E.K. Hornbeck, a sharp-tongued journalist covering the Scopes Monkey Trial. Played by Gene Kelly, Hornbeck was a thinly disguised version of H.L. Mencken, the real-life reporter who covered the actual […]

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Scopes Centennial – Legacy and Reflection

The Scopes Trial In A Nutshell: Why Are We Still Talking About It?

The Scopes Trial, often dubbed the “Scopes Monkey Trial,” stands as one of the most iconic legal battles in American history. This 1925 courtroom showdown wasn’t just about a high school teacher and a science lesson—it became a pivotal moment in the clash between modern science and traditional beliefs. But what exactly transpired during this […]

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