Scopes "Monkey" Trial

E4973

United States legal history event criminal trial landmark court case legal case

The Scopes "Monkey" Trial was a landmark 1925 American legal case in which high school teacher John T. Scopes was prosecuted for teaching evolution, symbolizing the national clash between modern science and religious fundamentalism.

Aliases (3)

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States legal history event → criminal trial → landmark court case → legal case →
appealCourt	Tennessee Supreme Court →
appealOutcome	conviction overturned on technicality →
country	United States →
court	Criminal Court of Tennessee →
date	1925 →
defendant	John T. Scopes →
defendantOccupation	high school teacher →
defenseAttorney	Arthur Garfield Hays → Dudley Field Malone →
endDate	1925-07-21 →
hasAlternativeName	Scopes Trial → Scopes evolution trial → State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes →
historicalSignificance	key event in the evolution–creationism controversy → landmark in American cultural history →
issue	constitutionality of anti-evolution laws → teaching evolution in public schools →
jurisdiction	State of Tennessee →
lawInvolved	Butler Act →
leadDefenseAttorney	Clarence Darrow →
legalCharge	violating the Butler Act →
legalTheme	academic freedom → separation of church and state →
location	Dayton, Tennessee →
mediaCoverage	extensive national press coverage →
mediaInnovation	one of the first U.S. trials broadcast on radio →
organizedBy	American Civil Liberties Union →
participant	Clarence Darrow → John T. Scopes → William Jennings Bryan →
popularCultureDepiction	1960 film "Inherit the Wind" → play "Inherit the Wind" →
prosecutedPerson	John T. Scopes →
prosecutor	William Jennings Bryan →
sentence	$100 fine →
sponsor	American Civil Liberties Union →
startDate	1925-07-10 →
state	Tennessee →
subjectMatter	interpretation of the Book of Genesis → teaching of human evolution →
symbolizes	conflict between modern science and religious fundamentalism → debate over evolution in education →
verdict	guilty →

Referenced by (21)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
American Civil Liberties Union → Butler Act ("Scopes Monkey Trial") → Criminal Court of Tennessee ("Scopes Trial") → Criminal Court of Tennessee ("Scopes Monkey Trial") →	notableCase
State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes ("Scopes Trial") → State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes ("Scopes Monkey Trial") →	alsoKnownAs
Scopes "Monkey" Trial ("Scopes Trial") → Scopes "Monkey" Trial ("Scopes evolution trial") →	hasAlternativeName
Fundamentalist–modernist controversy ("Scopes Trial") → Fundamentalist–modernist controversy ("Scopes Monkey Trial") →	hasPart
Inherit the Wind ("Scopes Monkey Trial") →	basedOn
Dayton, Tennessee ("Scopes Trial") →	eventLocationOf
creation–evolution controversy ("Scopes Monkey Trial") →	hasHistoricalEvent
Inherit the Wind (1960 film) ("Scopes Monkey Trial") →	inspiredBy
Dayton, Tennessee ("Scopes Monkey Trial") →	knownFor
Criminal Court of Tennessee ("Scopes Trial") →	locationOfEvent
John T. Scopes ("Scopes Monkey Trial") →	notableFor
Clarence Darrow →	notableWork
John T. Scopes ("Scopes Monkey Trial") →	participantIn
Roaring Twenties ("Scopes Trial") →	significantEvent
William Jennings Bryan ("Scopes Trial") →	trial