In July 1925, the historic Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee, hosted what was dubbed the “trial of the century” against teacher John Scopes for violating a state law that prohibited teaching evolution in public schools.
The three-story brick courthouse is flanked by statues of Clarence Darrow, who defended Scopes, and prosecutor William Jennings Bryan. Much of the original furniture — including the judge’s bench — still occupy the courtroom where the Scopes monkey trial took place.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary, around 50 people gathered inside the room Wednesday for a symposium about the trial and its lingering relevance in debates over public education.
“In this room, lawyers argued great questions,” said Tom Davis, vice president of the Rhea Heritage Preservation Foundation. “Who are we? Where did we come from? How did we get here? Where do we go? What rights do parents have to be involved in the education of their children?”
Among the speakers at the symposium were two historians who discussed the relationship between science and religion. During his talk, Chattanooga-based lawyer Jerry Summers read from Scopes’ autobiography.
“The basic freedoms of speech, religion, academic freedoms to teach and to think for oneself defended at Dayton are not so distantly removed,” he said. “Each generation, each person must defend those freedoms or risk losing them forever.”
Next to him was Harry Lawrence, a retired ophthalmologist and Episcopal pastor whose parents met at the trial. He recalled the impacts of the trial on his education, decades after Scopes was found guilty and fined $100.
“When I was in medical school in the 1950s … you still could not teach evolution in the state of Tennessee,” he said. “So there was still that carryover of legality about using the word evolution.”
Origins of the Scopes trial
The trial centered around Tennessee’s Butler Act, signed by Gov. Austin Peay in 1925. It was the first law in the United States to ban the teaching of evolution in public schools and institutions. Violators could face a misdemeanor charge and up to a $500 fine.
It was named after state Rep. John Butler, who believed teaching evolution in classrooms would undercut the teachings of the Bible. The law quickly gained national attention, prompting the American Civil Liberties Union to seek teachers willing to be a defendant in court to challenge the law. Dayton resident George Rappleyea saw the ACLU’s offer in a newspaper advertisement.
Ed Larson, who analyzed the trial in his book “Summer for the Gods,” said Rappleyea pitched the idea to local leaders as a way to bring attention to Dayton, whose population numbers were on the decline.
“Why don’t we indict one of our school teachers and have a test case? Because this is big news,” Larson said. “Passage of the anti-evolution law was front page news around the country because it was part of the culture wars.”
Local leaders agreed and recruited the 24-year-old Scopes. He was arrested, though never jailed, and indicted.
Despite the less-than-organic origins of the case and the Butler Act being repealed in 1967, echoes of the Scopes trial can still be found in the present-day battles over what’s taught in public classrooms.
The advocacy group EdTrust-Tennessee formed in 2020 in response to a rise in censorship legislation. Alexza Barajas Clark pointed to the recent efforts of President Donald Trump to further restrict how public schools function.
“I think what’s interesting about this moment right now is there’s a lot of national attention on these issues now because of federal actions,” she said.
Scopes’ persistent relevance in classroom culture wars
At the federal level, the Trump administration has called for public schools to dismantle any diversity, equity and inclusion programs. States have passed restrictive laws, like Tennessee’s 2022 Age Appropriate Materials Act that requires schools to ensure library materials are appropriate for the intended grade level, judging them in part on their inclusion of certain topics like nudity, excessive violence or prurient interest.
“Many of the books that have been banned have literary value,” said Xan Lasko, a retired elementary school librarian and member of the Tennessee Association of School Librarians.
According to a survey of more than 140 public school librarians published by TASL last fall, respondents said the vagueness of the Tennessee law makes them avoid ordering certain books out of legal uncertainty.
Lasko said that practice — called “shadow banning” — results in schools losing tens of thousands of dollars worth of books.
“All of these banning attempts are just because people don’t agree with what’s in the book … and that’s fine,” Lasko said. “But by law, that is not a reason to take it out of the library. It’s a First Amendment right.”
In 2021, Tennessee passed a similarly restrictive law that prohibits teaching certain concepts related to gender or race. The Tennessee Education Association brought a lawsuit against it in 2023, arguing it put educators at risk.
“Educators must be allowed just to teach,” said TEA president Tanya Coats. “Sometimes poorly crafted laws handcuffs teachers.”
Though a century has passed, advocates say they are carrying on the spirit of the Scopes trial by continuing to fight for freedom of education. And in today’s political climate, Clark with EdTrust-Tennessee said it’s particularly important.
“I think it’s a perfect storm that’s brewing,” she said. “I think the rest of the country is catching up to what’s already been happening in Tennessee. This is what it looks like to have a legislative body dictate what’s happening in classrooms.”
This week’s symposium in Dayton was part of a series of celebrations marking the Scopes centennial. More events — including a dramatization of the trial — are scheduled through this weekend.
This story was produced by the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, a collaboration between West Virginia Public Broadcasting, WPLN and WUOT in Tennessee, LPM, WEKU, WKMS and WKU in Kentucky and NPR.