John Scopes Trial

Scopes's involvement in the so-called Scopes Monkey Trial came about after the American Civil Liberties Union announced that it would finance a test case challenging the constitutionality of the Butler Act if they could find a Tennessee teacher who was willing to act as a defendant. John Thomas Scopes was this defendant. The prosecutor for the trial pointed out that while the Butler Act prohibited

John Peter Zenger was the publisher of the New York Weekly. He criticized the Governor of New York for fixing an election. Zenger was put in jail. At the trial, Andrew Hamilton claimed that people had the right to speak (write) the truth. Zenge was set free by the jury.

The Biased Trial of Tom Robinson Tom never would've been guilty if it weren't for a biased courtroom. In To Kill a Mockingbird Tom Robinson is accused of raping a young white girl named Mayella. Tom Robinson had lots of evidence that he was not guilty but the community was against Tom Robinson. Here is some evidence that proves that the accusations were motivated because he was black.

I believe George Stinney is innocent . Because first of all he didn’t get a fair trial . Also, his sister claims to be with his the time of the murder, and when this happened it was racism time . Lastly, there were a lot of people that wanted him dead because they thought he killed the two white girls, Betty June Binnicker and Mary Emma Thames. I believe he’s innocent but back then, most of the white people and the Judge , also the Jury thought he was guilty , just because he and his sister were the last to see the girls .

Mr. Giles Corey, one of the most upstanding members of our community, has been allegedly accused of withholding information from the official courts. He “...has six hundred acres, and timber in addition….” (Miller 1316). Mr. Giles Corey is over an astounding eighty years of age and in no condition whatsoever to be held in the jailhouse. His third wife in this lifetime, Goody Martha Corey, has been accused as a witch.

The Scopes Trial John Scopes, a high school biology teacher, who found himself at the center of one of the 20th century’s most famous life-changing court hearings; The Scopes Trial. It was also known as the Monkey Trial, where biology teacher John Scopes was prosecuted for teaching evolution in a public school located in Tennessee (Kemper). Prior to the trial, there was a anti-evolution law that was passed making Scopes actions illegal, this was known as The Butler Act. As a matter of fact, when Scopes went against this law it was the first step in moving towards modernism. As well as, causing America to move away from traditional values.

The reason this trial got so popular was for three reasons, the mystery factor as there was not solid evidence in the case, the fact that the three were prosecuted quite unjustly, and the fact that people got emotionally involved because they felt sympathy for the boys and or feared satanism; satanism was a major fear

The Scottsboro Boys Trial certainly shows dramatic flaws in the United States legal since, besides the fact it took place in the peak of prejudice across the United States. In the year 1931, which was around the same time period that To Kill A Mockingbird took place, nine black teenagers were accused of beating up other white boys on the train, and most importantly blamed for the false rape of Victoria Price and Ruby Bates (Sorenson 5). There was no medical evidence as to whether the girls were raped or boys beaten, just the word of a white person being known as superior to a black person’s just like the trial of Tom Robinson (20). In the end of the three trials that went to the United States Supreme Court, the boys received a quick, speedy, unfair trial with unjust defense lawyers and the punishments that ranged from 75 years in prison to death (25). One boy was shot in prison when attempting to make an escape, which is almost identical to the circumstance of when Tom Robinson is shot to death when attempting to escape prison (48).

Dayton, Tennessee July 1925, The State of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes. One of the most publicized trials in American history that held a great impact on the argument between fundamentalists and modernists. The Scopes Trial is still one of the most significant trials in American history. It was actually a case that had a broader importance, rather than a case about evolution in schools and the case has left a lasting impression on America. The State of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes took place in the hot summer of 1925 Dayton, Tennessee and featured the likes of John Scopes, Clarence Darrow, and William Jennings Bryan.

The American Civil Liberties Union, along with the teacher, John Scopes (Bertram Cates), wanted to challenge the law in Tennessee that banned the teaching of evolution in public schools. The trial got the attention of the famous politician, William Jennings Bryan (Matthew Harrison Brady), and also got the attention of Clarence Darrow (Henry Drummond), who was considered to be the best criminal defense lawyer of his time. Brady and Darrow faced off in the “Monkey Trial”, also considered the “Trial of the Century”, in which the law was

On July 10th of 1925, in the heated town of Dayton, Tennessee, a great debate culminated in the greatest joke of the year. At the onset of Dayton’s Scopes Trial, now laughably referred to as the “Monkey Trail” the cause for conflict was quite real. John Scope had been charged with “illegally teaching the theory of evolution” (dd) Prior to this event, Democratic candidate for President Bryan had succeeded in passing legislation in fifteen states, including Tennessee, which banned the teaching of Evolution in public schools. When the scopes trial came to fruition, Bryan himself chose to Prosecute.

The book “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee and the article “Scottsboro Boys Trial” both contain controversial court cases. For “To Kill a Mockingbird” a black male named Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. In the “Scottsboro Boys Trial” nine young black men and teenagers are accused of raping two white females named Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. Both cases transpired in the 1930s in Alabama. This is bad for the accused as racism was at an all-time in the 1930s especially in the deep south.

The Scopes Trial of 1925 put the Butler Act, passed in 1925 by the State of Tennessee, on the national stage. The Rhea County Courthouse was the center of the trial, situated in Dayton, Tennessee, a small town that wanted to get its name on the map. At the time of the trial, the nation was ending its time with the Progressive Era and beginning a new age called the “Roaring ‘20s”. Nationwide, circumstances and conditions had changed for the better. Calvin Coolidge, a Republican nicknamed “Silent Cal”,was the president at the time of the Scopes Trial.

Religion and science has divided into reflect other social and political divisions of the 1920’s. John Scopes, a science teacher was accused of violating the Tennessee butler act, which made unlawful to teach human evolution in any state funded high school. John Scopes was accused of teaching evolution in and state funded high school. He was a general science teacher at the age of 24. He became famous of the “monkey trial”.

The Salem witch trials was one of the most absurd and tragic events in history of pre-colonial America. A fine example of how believing in accusations and hearsay could affect a lot of people in a short span of time. the justice system is flawed and prejudice was allowed to reign over the people. I found this topic very interesting even though it is one of the most regretted in history. I’ve always been the type of person who likes reading all those weird and peculiar things on the internet.