Scopes Monkey Trial: Science on the Stand
The Scopes "Monkey" Trial was an American legal trial in Dayton, Tennessee, during the summer of 1925. Also known as The State of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes, the case tried high school substitute science teacher John Scopes for violating Tennessee's ban on the teaching of evolution in all public and state-funded Tennessee schools. The ban, formally the Butler Act, was passed in March of 1925, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). John Scopes and The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from Dayton, Tennessee, were outraged by the new act. Scopes took the decision to teach his pupils about Darwin and evolution in his biology lessons in order to make a political point. He was arrested for breaking the law. Scopes was found guilty of teaching the theory of evolution to his pupils and was fined $100 (approximately $1,400 in today's money).