On Thursday, February 3, 2011 (that’s tomorrow!), the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of California-Berkeley presents a lecture at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center. The lecture, presented by attorney Curtis Caton, is entitled “Crucible in the Courtroom: TheScopes Monkey Trial and Clarence Darrow.” Caton will explore the social background of the trial and highlight the tactics used by Clarence Darrow, the defense attorney, and William Jennings Bryan, the prosecuting attorney. He will also talk about the relevance of the case in today’s world.
Darwin and Evolution
The Scopes Trial, aka the Scopes Monkey Trial, may not immediately seem relevant to anthropology. However, human evolution is a major topic in the field of biological or physical anthropology and was also the central issue in the Scopes Trial.
Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, published in 1859, presented the scientific theory that populations evolve or change over the course of generations. The volume laid out evidence that the diversity of life observable in the world arose through a branching pattern of evolution. It also postulated that all species were therefore related and had a common origin sometime in the distant past.
Perhaps this doesn’t seem like a big deal now, but at the time, the more commonly-held belief in Western society was that humans had been created by God in His image, just as they were. Darwin’s theory contradicted the Biblical account of the origin of the world, and particularly the “special creation” of humans and was therefore threatening to some religious groups.
The Scopes Trial
In 1925, the Tennessee legislature passed the Butler Act, which stated "That it shall be unlawful for any teacher in…schools of the State which are supporte…by the public school funds of the State, to teach any theory that denies the Story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals."
John T. Scopes, a substitute schoolteacher in Dayton, Tennessee, broke the law and was put on trial. The American Civil Liberties Union, which paid for his defense, argued that the law was unconstitutional because it was designed to benefit a specific religious group. The actual defense mounted by defense attorney Clarence Darrow included an attack on Biblical creationism.
Scopes was convicted of violating the Butler Act and fined $100. The conviction was overturned on a technicality and Scopes was never re-prosecuted. However, the law remained on the books and had an impact on the teaching of science in the 1920s and 1930s that included the removal of evolution from the textbooks of the period.
The Scopes Trial and Evolution Today
The Biblical creationism that fueled the Butler Act and led to the Scopes Trial is still with us. As recently as 2005, a school board in Dover, PA required the teaching of intelligent design creationism. The policy was challenged by parents and teachers at the school in Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al.and was eventually struck down because it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In addition, a recent study in Science indicates that science teachers are reluctant to fully endorse evolution as a scientific concept for fear of inciting controversy.
All of which is to say, the Scopes Trial is very relevant to anthropology and to our modern world. Go to the talk!
“Crucible in the Courtroom: The Scopes Monkey Trial and Clarence Darrow”
February 3, 2011
1:30-3 pm
Lafayette Library and Learning Center
3491 Mount Diablo Blvd, Lafayette, CA
Tickets are $5
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