Evolution

In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in which he proposed the theory of evolution. His findings changed science but also sparked a debate in 1925.

May 5, 1925, John T. Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution in a Tennessee public school when this was illegal according to the Butler Act. What followed was a show trial that Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Grafton Green described as "bizarre."

The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes (more commonly known as the Scopes Monkey Trail)  became a debate between the science of evolution against Biblical creationism. In the end, Scopes was found guilty of teaching evolution and was fined $100. Scopes later stated that he had not actually taught evolution in class, but he had agreed to plead not guilty in order for the trial to take place. 

                (John T. Scopes)                                             (Clarence Darrow, Scopes' attorney) 

 (William Jennings Bryan, prosecution attorney)

In the wake of the trial, many states attempted to put anti-evolution laws on the books but a majority of them failed. Eventually, public opinion favored science, especially with the Space Age.