Jun 142020
Read Andrew Leopold's presentation on the 1925 ‘monkey trial’ (pdf – 16 slides).
In 1925, Tennessee passed a law that “That it shall be unlawful for any teacher in of the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of the State which are supported in whole or part by the public school funds of State, to teach any theory that denies the Story of Divine Creation as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.”
A teacher called John Scopes was accused of breaking this law. The resulting trial was a major media event.