Rarely had a trial attracted such drama, amusement and frenzy as the 1920s Scopes Trial. Few had ever produced more column inches. July 21st marks the centenary of the end of the trial. It created a storm.
The trial involved the prosecution of a Dayton, Tennessee teacher, John Scopes, for breaching the Butler Act, prohibiting teaching of evolutionary theory in the state’s public schools. Events in Dayton gripped the public imagination well beyond Tennessee. It was the first US trial ever broadcast live on radio, a new and expanding medium. With the adversarial and emotive nature of the evolution vs creationism debate at the heart of the case, the trial exuded theatricality.
William Jennings Bryan, three-time candidate for President, committed Christian and staunch supporter of rural American values, acted for the prosecution. Opposite him was Clarence Darrow, the Chicago defence lawyer, famed for many high-profile cases. Urbane and secular, he was the perfect foil for Bryan and his high moral tone. They both reflected two competing cultures- traditionalism and modernism- which did battle in an evolving 1920s America.
Together with the huge media coverage, throngs from across the US descended on the sleepy town of Dayton. It became a cross between a religious revivalist gathering and a fairground circus attraction. Among the participants was the renowned journalist and satirist, H.L. Mencken who aptly entitled his account of the trial, ‘Religious Orgy in Tennessee.’
Interestingly, Scopes never denied he had taught evolutionary theory. His aim was to expose the absurdity and unconstitutionality of the Butler Act on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Assertion of First Amendment rights was the prize for the ACLU, while Dayton saw the trial as potential for outside interest in its small town.
Bryan agreed to give evidence on the merits of the creationist case (despite leading the prosecution). This played into the defence’s hands as he was decimated by Darrow’s surgical questioning and by flaws in his own argumentation.
After eight sweltering days in the Tennessee courthouse, the jury delivered the not unexpected verdict of guilty. Scopes was fined $100. Only after the verdict did Scopes first speak, by making a robust defence of his position. Exhausted by the trial, Bryan died five days after its conclusion.
Scopes’ team appealed to the state Supreme Court. It upheld the Butler Act, but held the lower court was wrong in imposing the fine of $100, as state law only allowed juries and not judges to impose fines of more than $50. Scopes’ guilty verdict was also annulled.
The trial’s aftermath reinforced the significance of the case for posterity. Scopes became synonymous with the clash between traditional Christian values and secularism. It mirrored 1920s America, emerging from the First World War as a new political and economic power.
Bryan’s populist, religious views held such sway in Dayton that some years after his death, a local college was dedicated in his name. However, the movement supporting creationism went into decline after the trial, as popular opinion swayed towards science-based explanations to similar issues. Established faiths also began to accept the many affinities between religion and science. It took until the 1970s before the traditionalists made a resurgence in the guise of the Christian Right.
It is not hard to see parallels between 1920s Tennessee and current cultural conflicts. Those issues dividing the US now are more numerous than in the 1920s. At their heart, however, is the strong tension between progressive secularism and religious conservatism.
Current attacks on the university sector are direct assaults on knowledge and education, not unlike the strong anti-science bias in rural 1920s America. They raise serious First Amendment issues, as did Scopes.
The adversarial debate in Tennessee made for good theatre, if for bad politics. The creationists’ initial success was only a Pyrrhic victory. With the passage of time and in the court of public opinion, it was eventually overwhelmed by the evolutionists.
The media played a significant role in the trial. Both print journalism and radio clearly assisted the evolutionists case. Radio particularly was made for the evolving modern age, capable of exposing rigid, doctrinaire positions more easily than print.
In current times, social media has played its part in distorting and simplifying the culture debates. People are willing to believe the most absurd things despite reason, logic and science- another connection with Scopes. The average bystander could be forgiven for thinking that the human capacity for self- delusion is universal and unchanging. Truth seems to be a negotiable entity.
A more confrontational form of politics under President Trump suggests that current cultural battles will rumble on. Some accommodation is to be hoped for, but a culturally divided nation becomes a toxic possibility.
Supporters of theocratic and traditional stances now expect to be listened to by a US political establishment (Administration, Congress and courts) more amenable to their interests. Critically, the strong, legitimate opposition should not betray its many supporters by giving in without a fight. So far, the ‘official opposition’ has yet to bare its teeth fully. They should not leave their riposte too late as the costs are too high. The times ahead look rocky.
By Paul McElhinney