Tennessee, evolution and Cinco de Mayo


 

From a PBS post on Facebook yesterday:

“On May 5, 1925, Dayton, Tennessee high school teacher John Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution.

 

“It all began when the state of Tennessee passed a law making it a crime to teach evolution in public schools. The newly-organized American Civil Liberties Union responded immediately, placing an ad inviting a teacher to help test the law in the courts.

 

“A group of local businessmen selected Scopes to provoke the indictment, both to challenge the law and to draw publicity to Dayton during an economic slump.

 

“But once the trial got under way, a pair of big-name lawyers—Clarence Darrow for the defense and William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution—overshadowed Scopes' role.”

I took Biology II as a senior in a public high school in Tennessee, 1972-73. When we reached a section on evolution, the teacher asked if there were any concerns. Nobody voiced any, so we moved on.

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