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Scopes Trial Timeline

(July 10–21, 1925)

The Scopes Trial, also known as the Scopes Monkey Trial, was a landmark 1925 legal case in Dayton, Tennessee, in which high school teacher John T. Scopes was tried for violating a state law prohibiting the teaching of human evolution. The trial became a national spectacle, pitting scientific modernism against religious fundamentalism and featuring famous lawyers William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. Less

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Origins and Background

Darwin and Wallace develop theory of evolution by natural selection

1858

In the mid-19th century, English naturalists Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace independently developed the theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection, and that all life on earth is descended from a common ancestor. Their work was jointly published in 1858, and further expanded upon the following year in Darwin's book On the Origin of Species.

Image source: On the Origin of Species

Darwin and Wallace develop theory of evolution by natural selection

Fundamentalist–modernist controversy arises in American Protestantism

1900

In the early 20th century, a schism known as the Fundamentalist–modernist controversy arose within American Protestant Christianity, especially Presbyterianism, in response to the cultural, scientific, and technological developments of the time.

Image source: Fundamentalist–modernist controversy

Fundamentalist–modernist controversy arises in American Protestantism

Tennessee governor Austin Peay signs Butler Act into law

Mar 21, 1925

After reading that boys and girls were coming home from school telling their parents the Bible was nonsense, Tennessee governor Austin Peay signed the bill on March 21, 1925 to gain support among rural legislators, though he believed the law would neither be enforced nor interfere with education in Tennessee schools.

Image source: Butler Act

Tennessee governor Austin Peay signs Butler Act into law

Rappleyea arranges meeting to plan test of Butler Act in Dayton

Apr 5, 1925

On April 5, 1925, George Rappleyea, the local manager for the Cumberland Coal and Iron Company, arranged a meeting with county superintendent of schools Walter White and local attorney Sue K. Hicks to plan a challenge to the new anti-evolution law, beginning what historian Edward Larson called a publicity stunt.

Image source: Scopes trial

Rappleyea arranges meeting to plan test of Butler Act in Dayton

Trial and Verdict

Trial becomes known as the "Trial of the Century"

1925

The event became known as the "Trial of the Century" and has been described as the most-covered trial in American history, with only the murder trial of O. J. Simpson rivaling it in media attention. H. L. Mencken's reports in 1925 are credited by some creationists with turning public opinion against creationism.

Scopes Trial begins in Dayton, Tennessee

Jul 10, 1925

The Scopes Monkey Trial, an American legal case in which high school teacher John T. Scopes was tried for teaching evolution, began on July 10, 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee. The press coverage of the "Monkey Trial" was overwhelming, making it one of the most-covered events in American history.

Life and Literary Digest publish humorous coverage of trial

Jul 10, 1925 - Jul 21, 1925

During the trial, Life magazine adorned its masthead with monkeys reading books and proclaimed that "the whole matter is something to laugh about." Both Literary Digest and Life (1890–1930) ran compilations of jokes and humorous observations garnered from newspapers around the country.

John T. Scopes found guilty and fined $100

Jul 21, 1925

On July 21, 1925, Scopes was found guilty and ordered by Judge Raulston to pay a $100 fine (equivalent to about $1,800 in 2025), but the verdict was later overturned on a technicality.

Aftermath and Legal Impact

Hunter revises biology text in response to trial controversy

1926

Some scholars accept that changes in textbooks resulted from the Scopes trial: Hunter, the author of the biology text which Scopes was on trial for teaching, revised the text by 1926 in response to the trial's controversy.

13 states deliberate over anti-evolution laws

1927

By 1927, there were 13 states, both in the North and in the South, that had deliberated over some form of anti-evolution law. Nearly all these efforts were rejected, but Mississippi and Arkansas did put anti-evolution laws on the books after the Scopes trial.

ACLU gives up efforts against the Butler law

1932

Though the ACLU had taken on the trial as a cause, in the wake of Scopes' conviction they were unable to find more volunteers to take on the Butler law and, by 1932, had given up their campaign against it.

National Defense Education Act passed during Cold War

1958

In 1958, during the height of the Cold War, the National Defense Education Act was passed with the encouragement of many legislators who feared the United States education system was falling behind that of the Soviet Union. This led to a weakening of the backlash in Texas and increased trust for science after the Sputnik era began in 1957.

Image source: National Defense Education Act

National Defense Education Act passed during Cold War

Anti-evolutionary legislation unchallenged until 1965

1965

The anti-evolutionary legislation was not challenged again until 1965, and in the meantime, William Jennings Bryan's cause was taken up by a number of organizations, including the Bryan Bible League and the Defenders of the Christian Faith.

Butler Act repealed in Tennessee

1967

Mississippi and Arkansas' post-Scopes anti-evolution laws would outlive the Butler Act itself, which was repealed in 1967 amid a national climate more favorable to science education.

Supreme Court rules in Epperson v. Arkansas

1968

In 1968, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Epperson v. Arkansas that bans on teaching evolution were unconstitutional, effectively ending legal enforcement of laws like the Butler Act.

Image source: Epperson v. Arkansas

Supreme Court rules in Epperson v. Arkansas

Dayton Memorials

Bryan College established in Dayton in honor of William Jennings Bryan

1930

Bryan College is a private Christian college in Dayton, Tennessee that was established in 1930 in honor of William Jennings Bryan, who had defended the anti-evolution cause at the Scopes Trial.

Image source: Bryan College

Bryan College established in Dayton in honor of William Jennings Bryan

"Destiny in Dayton" re-enactment begins in courthouse courtroom

1988

Since 1988, locals have participated in a play called "Destiny in Dayton", a re-enactment of key moments of the trial that takes place in the historic Rhea County Courthouse courtroom during July.

Scopes Trial Festival expands from local re-enactment

1989

In 1989, "Destiny in Dayton" evolved into the larger Scopes Trial Festival, which includes vendors, craftsmen, and live music alongside the yearly re-enactment.

Statue of William Jennings Bryan dedicated on courthouse lawn

2005

In 2005, a statue of William Jennings Bryan was dedicated on the Rhea County Courthouse lawn, funded by a donation from nearby Bryan College.

Image source: Rhea County Courthouse

Statue of William Jennings Bryan dedicated on courthouse lawn

Bryan College produces student film version of Inherit the Truth

2007

In 2007, Bryan College purchased the rights to Gale Johnson's play Inherit the Truth (1987), written as a rebuttal of the 1955 play and 1960 film based on original transcripts, and began work on a student film version screened at that year's Scopes Festival.

Image source: Scopes trial

Bryan College produces student film version of Inherit the Truth

Dayton Scopes Festival ends its run

2009

Gale Johnson's play Inherit the Truth was performed yearly during the Dayton Scopes Festival until the festival ended its run in 2009.

Statue of Clarence Darrow unveiled near Bryan's statue

2017

In 2017, a statue of Clarence Darrow was unveiled near William Jennings Bryan's statue outside the Rhea County Courthouse, funded by a donation from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Cultural Legacy

Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee premiere play Inherit the Wind

1955

Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee's 1955 play Inherit the Wind fictionalizes the Scopes trial as a means of discussing the then-contemporary McCarthy trials. It has been credited with shaping popular perceptions of the trial and of fundamentalism.

Image source: Inherit the Wind (play)

Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee premiere play Inherit the Wind

Inherit the Wind adapted into film directed by Stanley Kramer

1960

The 1955 play Inherit the Wind was adapted into a 1960 film directed by Stanley Kramer, with Spencer Tracy as Drummond and Fredric March as Brady. The play and movie have been credited with causing millions of Americans to ridicule religious-based opposition to the theory of evolution.

Image source: Inherit the Wind (1960 film)

Inherit the Wind adapted into film directed by Stanley Kramer

Television adaptation with Melvyn Douglas and Ed Begley airs

1965

There have been three television adaptations of Inherit the Wind, beginning with one starring Melvyn Douglas and Ed Begley in 1965.

Television adaptation with Jason Robards and Kirk Douglas airs

1988

A second television adaptation of Inherit the Wind aired in 1988, starring Jason Robards and Kirk Douglas.

Bruce Springsteen performs "Part Man, Part Monkey"

1988

Bruce Springsteen performed a song called "Part Man, Part Monkey" during his 1988 Tunnel of Love Express Tour, and recorded a version in 1990 that was first released as a 1992 B-side and later on the 1998 multi-volume Tracks collection.

Image source: Tracks (Bruce Springsteen album)

Bruce Springsteen performs "Part Man, Part Monkey"

The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Skeptic" draws on trial themes

1997

The 1997 The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Skeptic" drew inspiration from the Scopes Trial, along with the Cardiff Giant and Piltdown Man hoaxes, exploring themes of science versus belief.

Image source: Lisa the Skeptic

The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Skeptic" draws on trial themes

Television adaptation with Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott airs

1999

The third television adaptation of Inherit the Wind starred Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott, completing a series of screen versions of the famous 1955 play.

Ronald Kidd publishes novel Monkey Town

2006

Ronald Kidd's 2006 novel, Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial, set in summer 1925 in Dayton, is based on the Scopes Trial and brings its events to life for young readers.

BBC broadcasts The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial radio drama

2009

Peter Goodchild's 1993 play The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial was based on original sources and transcripts with the goal of historical accuracy; it won AudioFile's 2006 D.J.S. Earphones Award and was broadcast by the BBC in 2009 as a radio version starring Neil Patrick Harris and Ed Asner.

Film Alleged released, set around the Scopes trial

2010

The 2010 film Alleged, a romantic drama set around the Scopes trial, starring Brian Dennehy as Clarence Darrow and Fred Thompson as William Jennings Bryan, was released by Two Shoes Productions. Dennehy had coincidentally played Brady, Bryan's counterpart, in the 2007 Broadway revival of Inherit the Wind.

Image source: I'm Still Here (2010 film)

Film Alleged released, set around the Scopes trial

Drunk History retells the trial in "Nashville" episode

2013

In 2013, the Comedy Central series Drunk History retold portions of the Scopes trial in its "Nashville" episode, with Bradley Whitford portraying Bryan, Jack McBrayer as Darrow, and Derek Waters as Scopes.

Image source: Drunk History

Drunk History retells the trial in "Nashville" episode

Key Facts

  1. The trial took place in July 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, after John T. Scopes, a high school teacher, was charged with violating the Butler Act, which banned teaching human evolution in state-funded schools.
  2. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) offered to defend anyone who challenged the Butler Act, leading to Scopes being recruited to test the law's constitutionality.
  3. Famous attorney Clarence Darrow defended Scopes, while three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan assisted the prosecution; it was one of the first trials broadcast live on radio.
  4. Scopes was found guilty and fined $100, though the verdict was later overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court on a technicality.
  5. The trial sparked a lasting national debate over science education, evolution, and the separation of church and state; the Butler Act remained in effect until 1967.

Source

This Scopes Trial timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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