Darwinism vs. Creationism the Scopes Trial of 1926 free essay sample

The trial brought upon two outstanding lawyers of the time, William Jennings Bryan (three-time Democratic candidate for President and a populist) in prosecution and Clarence Darrow (leading member of American Civil Liberties Union and famous for world renown criminal defense) in defense. It was believed by most scientists that biology could not be taught without making some sort of reference to the theory of evolution, but being that the people of Tennessee were such strong believers of the bible, many of the Christian Fundamentalist saw that the theory of evolution denied their religious beliefs. This trial was definitely a conflict between religion and science; hence the people of Tennessee were gravely angered by the teachings of Darwin’s theory because it contradicted the creation of man that was stated in the bible. This case was a watershed in this religion-science conflict that eventually led to three major following the trial: The Butler Act was discontinued, the Scopes Trial upheld defeat of religion over science, and the trial reflected the social conflict that took place in the American Society during the 1920s. We will write a custom essay sample on Darwinism vs. Creationism: the Scopes Trial of 1926 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Eventually schools would start to teach the theory of evolution which indicates the abolishment of the Butler Act (which was officially eliminated in the late 1960s. ) It became quite clear that teaching science without making reference to Darwin’s theory was a difficult, it not impossible task. The Butler Act was a bill that was enforced in 1925 which made it unlawful for any school teacher in any state to teach anything other then the biblical explanation for the coming of man, but after the Scopes Trial it became apparent that the Butler Act could no longer be enforced. This act interfered with the teacher’s individual rights, which was unconstitutional and so it the Act was later depleted. Similar laws were also abolished, and the Supreme Court stated that such acts violated the US Constitution’s Establishment Clause because their main reason for existence was solely religious. Triumph of Science over religion was also another big occurrence. The defense of the trial argued that â€Å"Fundamentalists were suppressing new ideas out our fear. † â€Å"We feel we stand with progress†¦we feel we stand with fundamental freedom in America. We are not afraid†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Great American Court Cases pg. 0) For the prosecution, William Jennings Bryan thought that moral standards were weakening due to the fact that Darwinism produced agnostics and atheists. At the Climax of the case, Bryan contradicted his beliefs about the earth being created in six 24 hour days as did the bible suggest. This was meaningful since literalism was a standing point of Fundamentalist beliefs. The trial also represented the social conflict that was present in the 1920s American society. â€Å"God vs. Science. † It was the scientific view of the coming of man (Darwin’s theory) that challenged the Christian belief that the earth was created by God within six days. Traditional vs. Modern. † The traditional generation consisted of people that were much more conservative, who also then started to worry that everything valuable was coming to an end. It was them against the young and modern generation that didn’t care much for society’s approval towards them, but rather only if their actions met the acceptance of their intellect. â€Å"Big cities vs. Small cities. † Because of the trial it displayed the great difference between the big cities and the smaller ones. The big city newspapers ridiculed the Butler Act, saying it was â€Å"small minded and archaic. Also, in many big cities Scopes was a hero, but in small towns like Dayton, Tennessee Scopes was looked down upon and seen as a criminal. At the end of the trial, it did not end the debate of the teaching of evolution, but it did symbolize an impediment of anti-evolution forces. Arkansas and Mississippi were the only two states (out of fifteen) that still enacted laws restricting Darwin’s theory to be taught in schools. This trial was by far one of the greatest watershed trials, and a great example of conflict (relgion vs. science) and compromise.