What was the Scopes Trail?
Tennessee enacted a law prohibiting the teaching of evolution in the public schools. In 1925, a group in Dayton decided to test the new state law in the courts. One of the members, John Scopes, was a biology teacher in the high school, and he agreed to violate the law and teach evolution in his class, in front of adult witnesses. Scopes hoped that the new law would be struck down. Others wanted to see it confirmed (those who believed in the theory of creation), and some businessmen didn’t care either way, they just wanted to see the town of Dayton “put on the map” and the economy would be the winner. The so called “Monkey Trial” became a national and worldwide event.
