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On May 5, 1925, John Thomas Scopes, a high school science teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, was arrested for violating the Butler Act. This was a Tennessee law that made it illegal to teach human evolution in public schools. Scopes’ arrest marked the beginning of the famous Scopes “Monkey” Trial, one of the most significant legal and cultural battles in early 20th-century America. This trial was moved outside at one point due to the heat indoors.

The Butler Act had been passed in March 1925. It specifically prohibited teachers in Tennessee’s public schools from denying the Biblical account of human creation and from teaching that humans evolved from lower forms of animals. The law was part of a broader push by religious and political leaders who opposed the growing influence of Darwin’s theory of evolution, which they believed contradicted Christian teachings.

Scopes, who was 24 years old at the time and a part-time teacher and football coach, agreed to be charged with violating the Butler Act in order to test the law’s constitutionality. Local civic leaders, including members of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), supported the idea and helped organize the case. Scopes admitted to teaching from a state-approved biology textbook “Civic Biology” by George William Hunter, which included a chapter on evolution.

His arrest was not the result of a traditional police investigation but was instead staged with his cooperation to bring the issue into the courtroom. On May 25, 1925, a grand jury indicted Scopes. The trial began on July 10 and attracted national attention, with prominent figures such as William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution and Clarence Darrow for the defense.

Though Scopes was found guilty and fined $100, the case sparked a nationwide debate on science, religion, education, and the role of government in regulating classroom content. The verdict was later overturned on a technicality, but the legal and cultural impact of the case endures.

Bonus if you get the title’s cultural reference!