Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion

by Edward Larson

  5 Fred E. Robinson, in Warren Allem, “Backgrounds of the Scopes Trial at Dayton, Tennessee,” Master’s thesis, University of Tennessee, 1959, p. 58.

  6 Untitled typed statement of S. K. Hicks replying to charges before the Tennessee state bar association, in Hicks Papers.

  7 John T. Scopes, The Center of the Storm: Memoirs of John T. Scopes (New York: Holt, 1967), 58-59; Juanita Glenn, “Judge Still Recalls ‘Monkey Trial’—50 Years Later,” Knoxville journal, 11 July 1975, p. 17; Allem, “Backgrounds of the Scopes Trial,” 60—61.

  8 T. W. Callaway, “Father of Scopes Renounced Church,” Chattanooga Times, 10 July 1925, p. 1.

  9 Arthur Garfield Hays, Let Freedom Ring (New York: Liveright, 1928), 33.

  10 Sue K. Hicks in Glenn, “Judge Still Recalls,” 17. Other firsthand versions reported Scopes saying, “I’ll be willing to stand trial,” or “I don’t care. Go ahead.” Indeed, Scopes recalled it both ways himself at different times and said that he was given two opportunities to “back down.” John T. Scopes, in “Chance Conversation Started Scopes Case,” Knoxville Journal, 30 May 1925, p. 1; Scopes, Center of the Storm, 60. See also Sue K. Hicks quoting Scopes in Allem, “Backgrounds of the Scopes Trial,” 60.

  11 Walter White, in Allem, “Backgrounds of the Scopes Trial,” 61.

  12 “Arrest Under Evolution Law,” Nashville Banner, 6 May 1925, p. 1.

  13 “Cheap Publicity,” Nashville Tennessean, 23 June 1925, p. 4.

  14 “Darwin Bootlegger Arrested by Deputy,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 7 May 1925, p. 1.

  15 John P. Fort, “Final Resolution Demands Chattanooga Cease Move to Bring New Case,” Chattanooga News, 19 May 1925; “One Evolutionist Out of Hundred,” Chattanooga Times, 11 July 1925, p. 1; H. L. Mencken, “The Monkey Trial: A Reporter’s Account,” in Jerry R. Tompkins, ed., D-Days at Dayton: Reflections on the Scopes Trial (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1965), 44 (reprint Of 15 July 1925 article).

  16 The 1920 federal census reported that only 6.5 percent of the Rhea County population was “Negro,” precisely one-third the Tennessee state percentage. U.S. Census Bureau, 1920 Census: Population, vol. 3 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1922), 961, 167.

  17 Mencken, “Monkey Trial,” 36—37 (reprint of 9 July 1925 article).

  18 “Rebuke to the ‘Antis’,” Chattanooga Times, 4 June 1925, p. 4; Edwin Mims, “Address to Southern Conference on Education,” in Mims Papers; “Peay Not to Visit Dayton for Trial,” Nashville Banner, 16 June 1925, p. 1; “Doubts Legality of Special Term,” Chattanooga Times, 24 May 1925, p. 9; “J. Will Taylor’s Comments,” Nashville Banner, 26 May 1925, p. 1.

  19 “Cheap Publicity,” p. 4; “Hungered and Thirsted for Publicity,” Knoxville Journal, 18 July 1925, p. 6; “A Humiliating Proceeding,” Chattanooga Times, 8 July 1925, p. 4; “Dayton Now Famous,” Nashville Banner, 26 May 1925, p. 8; “Tennessee’s Opportunity,” Nashville Banner, 12 July 1925, p. 1.

  20 “The Dayton Serio-Comedy,” Chattanooga Times, 24 June 1925, p. 4.

  21 “Southerners Open the Exposition,” New York Times, 12 May 1925, p. 11.

  22 “The South and Its Critics,” Chattanooga Times, 8 May 1925, p. 1.

  23 “Come South,” Nashville Banner, 6 May 1925, p. 8, and “Arrest Under Law,” p. 1.

  24 Scopes, Center of the Storm, 63.

  25 “Scopes Held for Trial Under Evolution Law,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 10 May 1925, p. 1; “Scopes Held to Grand Jury in Evolution Test,” Nashville Tennessean, 10 May 1925, p. 1; Scopes, Center of the Storm, 63-65.

  26 “Evolution Taught at Central High,” Chattanooga Times, 19 May 1925, P. 5.

  27 “Dayton to Raise Advertising Fund,” Chattanooga Times, 23 May 1925, p. 15; “Dayton Seeks Pup Tents and Loud Speakers for Scopes Trial Crowd,” Nashville Tennessean, 23 May 1925, p. 1; “Set Stage for Evolution Case,” Nashville Banner, 24 May 1925, p. 1; “Preparations Begin for Evolution Trial,” Knoxville Journal, 6 June 1925, p. 1; “Nation Divided on Darwinism as Trial Looms,” Nashville Tennessean, 29 May 1925, p. 1.

  28 “Trial Can Be Held in June, Says Judge,” Chattanooga Times, 21 May 1925, p. 2; “H. G. Wells May Fight Bryan in Scopes Case,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 15 May 1925, p. 35.

  29 “You May Not Be for Him, but, Nevertheless, There He Is,” Columbus Dispatch, 14 July 1925, p. 4; W. J. Bryan to Cartoonist, Columbus Dispatch, 27 July 1925, p. 1.

  30 “Material Criticism Decries Supernatural,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 5 May 1925, p. 1.

  31 “Commoner Believes Evolution Tommyrot,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 11 May 1925, p. I.

  32 Ibid., p. 1; “Radical Enemies of Evolution Forced to Acknowledge Defeat,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 15 May 1925, p. 1; W. B. Riley, “The World’s Christian Fundamentals Association and the Scopes Trial,” Christian Fundamentals in School and Church 7 (October-December 1925), 37; “Bryan May Be in Case,” Nashville Banner, 12 May 1925, p. 1.

  33 The Memphis Press to Rhea County, 14 May 1925, in Hicks Papers.

  34 Sue K. Hicks to the Memphis Press, 14 May 1925, in Hicks Papers; Sue K. Hicks to William J. Bryan, 14 May 1925, reprinted in William Jennings Bryan and Mary Baird Bryan, The Memoirs of William Jennings Bryan (Philadelphia: United, 1925), 483.

  35 W. J. Bryan to Sue Hicks, 20 May 1925, in Hicks Papers.

  36 “Darrow Falls Back on Omar,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 18 April 1925, p. 6.

  37 Clarence Darrow, The Story of My Life (New York: Grosset, 1932), 249.

  38 “Darrow Ready to Aid Prof. Scopes,” Nashville Banner, 16 May 1925, p. 1. Bryan’s daughter Grace later blamed the participation of Malone in the Scopes defense on his desire to “get even’ because of the severe rebuke father gave him which resulted in his dismissal from the State Department” when Bryan served as Secretary of State. Grace Dexter Bryan to Sue K. Hicks, 12 April 1940, in Hicks Papers.

  39 “Make It Bryan vs. Darrow,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 14 May 1925, p. 20.

  40 Forrest Bailey to Walter Lippmann, 12 June 1926, in ACLU Archives, vol. 311.

  41 American Civil Liberties Union, Minutes of 6/8/25 Executive Committee Meeting, in ACLU Archives, vol. 279.

  42 Scopes, Center of the Storm, 70-72.

  43 Bailey to Lippmann, 12 June 1926.

  44 W. H. Pitkin to Felix Frankfurter, 10 November 1926, in ACLU Archives, vol. 299.

  45 “Scopes Dined, Says Fight Is for Liberty,” New York Times, 11 June 1925, p. 1; “Malone Will Not Be Goat,” Nashville Banner, 11 June 1925, p. 1; “Jazz Faction Puts Malone Back in Case,” Chattanooga Times, 11 June 1925, p. 1.

  46 “Darrow Likens Bryan to Nero,” Nashville Banner, 18 May 1925, p. 1.

  47 For example, Brewer Eddy to John R. Neal, 10 September 1925, in ACLU Archives, vol. 274.

  48 Bryant Harbert, “Darrow an Atheist, Is Bryan’s Answer,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 23 May 1925, p. 1.

  49 “Bryan Hissed and Cheered in Evolution Speech,” Nashville Tennessean, 19 May 1925, p. 1; William Jennings Bryan to James W. Freedman, 10 June 1925, in Bryan Papers. For the New York Times editorial position, see “The End Is in Sight at Dayton,” New York Times, 18 July 1925, p. 12; “Ended at Last,” New York Times, 22 July 1925, p. 18.

  50 “Dayton Jolly as Evolution Trial Looms,” Chattanooga Times, 21 May 1925, p. 1; “Dayton to Raise Advertising Fund,” Chattanooga Times, 23 May 1925, p. 15.

  51 “Clarence Darrow Retires,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 27 April 1925, p. 6.

  52 “Scopes’ Legal Advisors Split on Outside Aid,” Chattanooga Times, 29 May 1925, p. I; “Dayton Jolly,” I; “Darrow-Malone Defense Scopes Riles Dayton,” Knoxville journal, 28 May 1925, p. I; “Evolution Trial Raises Two Sharp Issues,” New York Times, 31 June 1925, sec. 9, p. 4; “The Scopes Defense,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 30 May 1925, p. 8; “Scopes Glad to Have Help of Notables,” Chattanooga Times, 30 May 1925, p. 1.

  53 “Evolution Case Won’t Test Truth of Theory, Says Neal,” Nashvil
le Tennessean, 16 May 1925, p. 1.

  54 “Dr. Neal Swamped by Mail Over Scopes Case,” Knoxville Journal, 28 May 1925, p. 1.

  55 “Two Extreme Views,” Chattanooga Times, I July 1925, p. 4.

  56 “Not in Favor of Extra Term of Rhea Court,” Chattanooga Times, 21 May 1925, p. 2.

  57 “Says Evolution Law Wholesome Statute,” Chattanooga Times, 24 May 1925, p. 9.

  58 Philip Kinsley, “Scopes Indicted for Teaching Evolution,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 26 May 1925, p. I.

  59 “Prompt Action by Grand Jury,” Nashville Banner, 25 May 1925, p. 1; Kinsley, “Scopes Indicted,” p. 1; “Scopes Is Indicted in Tennessee for Teaching Evolution,” New York Times, 26 May 1925, p. 1; “Jury Foreman in Scopes Case Is Evolutionist,” Evening World (New York), 26 May 1925, p. 1.

  60 “Judge’s Own Views,” Nashville Banner, 25 May 1925, p. 5; Kinsley, “Scopes Indicted,” 2.

  61 “Trial July 10 Suits Bryan,” Nashville Banner, 26 May 1925, p. 1.

  62 Kinsley, “Scopes Indicted,” 1.

  CHAPTER FIVE. JOCKEYING FOR POSITION

  1 “Butler Denounces New Barbarians,” New York Times, 4 June 1925, p. 3.

  2 “Antievolution Law Termed Outrageous,” Nashville Banner, 28 June 1925, p. 1; “Tennessee Hit by Dr. Potter,” Nashville Banner, 15 June 1925, p. I.

  3 “Shaw and Coleman on Scopes Trial,” New Leader (New York) 25 July 1925, p. 6 (reprint of Shaw’s pretrial speech); David M. Church, “Net of Dayton Trial Spreads,” Nashville Banner, June 1925, sec. 2, p. 7; Frederick Kuh, “Ape Case Loosens Up Tongue of Einstein,” Pittsburgh Sun, 22 June 1925, p. 10.

  4 “Scopes Dined Says Fight Is for Liberty,” New York Times, 11 June 1925, p. I.

  5 Oliver H. P. Garett, “Colby Enters Scopes Case: Darrow Chief,” Chattanooga Times, 10 June 1925, p. 1 (reprint of New York World article).

  6 “Scopes Here Grins, Does Not Know If He Is a Christian,” New York World, 7 June 1925, p. 1; Edward Levinson, “Man and Monkey: An Interview with Scopes,” New Leader (New York), 11 July 1925.

  7 “Scopes Rests Hope in U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court,” Washington Post, 13 June 1925, p. I.

  8 Henry Fairfield Osborn, Evolution and Religion in Education (New York: Scribner‘s, 1925), 34, 90, 96, 117, 122 (reprint of Osborn’s 1925 The Earth Speaks to Bryan, with added chapters); “Science and Showmanship,” New York World, 14 July 1925, p. 10.

  9 “Dr. Osborn Advises Scopes on Defense,” New York Times, 9 June 1925, P. 5.

  10 “Scientists Pledge Support to Tennessee Professor Arrested for Teaching Evolution,” Daily Science News Bulletin, 18 May 1925 (press release), in ACLU Archives, vol. 273.

  11 George Hunter, A Civic Biology (New York: American, 1914), 261.

  12 C. B. Davenport, “Evidences for Evolution,” Nashville Banner, 1 June 1925, p. 6.

  13 Henry Fairfield Osborn, “Osborn States the Case for Human Evolution,” New York Times, 12 July 1925, sec. 8, p. 1; Kenneth Kyle Bailey, “The Anti-Evolution Crusade of the Nineteen-Twenties,” Ph.D. diss., Vanderbilt University, 1953, p. 127; Luther Burbank to John Haynes Holmes, 29 July 1925, in ACLU Archives, vol. 274; Ray Ginger, Six Days or Forever? Tennessee versus John Thomas Scopes (Boston: Beacon, 1958), p. 79.

  14 “‘Monkey Law’ in Limelight,” Nashville Banner, 22 May 1925, p. 1.

  15 “Declares Bryan Befogs the Issue,” New York Times, 18 May 1925, p. 8.

  16 “Says Scopes Trial Will Help Religion,” New York Times, 15 June 1925, p. 18; “Bible and Evolution Conflict, Says Potter,” Chattanooga Times, 2 July 1925, p. 2.

  17 H. L. Mencken, “The Monkey Trial: A Reporter’s Account,” in Jerry R. Tomkins, ed., D-Days at Dayton: Reflections of the Scopes Trial (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1965), 40 (reprint Of 13 July 1925 article).

  18 Transcript, 75.

  19 “Dean Divinity School Thinks Bible Is Not in Conflict with Evolution,” Chattanooga Times, 10 July 1925, p. 14; Transcript, 224—25.

  20 “Sees Bryan as a Pharisee,” New York Times, 18 May 1925, p. 8; “Two Extreme Views,” Chattanooga Times, 1 July 1925, p. 4; “Tennessee Held Up to Scorn by Aked,” Nashville Banner, 12 June 1925, p. 2.

  21 “Evolution Is Discussed by Two Ministers in Knoxville,” Knoxville Journal, 8 June 1925, p. 5.

  22 “V. U. Seniors Hear Theologian Rank Darwin as Saint,” Nashville Tennessean, 8 June 1925, p. 1.

  23 Transcript, 223-24.

  24 Transcript, 229.

  25 William Jennings Bryan, Seven Questions in Dispute (New York: Revell, 1924), 128.

  26 “Real Religion and Real Science,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 26 July 1925, sec. 1, p. 4.

  27 “Tennessee Hit by Dr. Potter,” p. 1; Herbert Sanborn, “Four Species of Evolution,” Nashville Banner, 5 July 1925, p. 2.

  28 “Deny Science Wars Against Religion,” New York Times, 25 May 1923, p. I.

  29 “Evolution Given Hard Jolt,” Knoxville journal, 14 March 1925, p. 1.

  30 “Resolution Aimed at Tennessee Law,” Nashville Banner, 1 July 1925, p. 21; “Educators Taboo Evolution Question,” Nashville Banner, 1 July 1925, p. 21.

  31 “Pastor Compares Darrow, Devil,” Knoxville Journal, 1 July 1925, p. 2.

  32 1. Frank Norris to W. J. Bryan, n.d. [June 1925], in Bryan Papers.

  33 “Billy Sunday Not to Go to Dayton,” Nashville Banner, 7 July 1925, p. 9.

  34 Ronald L. Numbers, “Introduction,” in Ronald L. Numbers, ed., Creation-Evolution Debates (New York: Garland, 1995), ix.

  35 W. J. Bryan to John Straton, 1 July 1925, in Bryan Papers.

  36 “S. F. Debate on Evolution Ends in ‘Tie’,” San Francisco Examiner, 15 June 1925, p. 13.

  37 “The San Francisco Debates on Evolution,” in Numbers, ed., Creation-Evolution Debates, 196, 289-90, 364.

  38 George McCready Price to W. J. Bryan, 1 July 1925, in Bryan Papers.

  39 W. J. Bryan to Dorothy MacIver James, 9 May 1925, in Bryan Papers.

  40 “Daily Editorial Digest,” Nashville Banner, 22 May 1925, p. 8; “Weird Adventures of 200 Reporters At Tennessee Evolution Trial,” Editor & Publisher, 18 July 1925, p. 1.

  41 Edward Caudill, “The Roots of Bias: An Empiricist Press and Coverage of the Scopes Trial,” Journalism Monographs 114 (July 1989), 32.

  42 “Novel View in Evolution Row,” Chattanooga Times, 6 July 1925, p. 12.

  43 T. W. Callaway, “One Evolutionist Out of Hundred,” Chattanooga Times, 11 July 1925, p. 1.

  44 Ira Hicks to Sue K. Hicks, n.d. [mid June 1925], in Hicks Papers.

  45 “Baptist Editor Supports Bryan,” Nashville Banner, 13 June 1925, p. 1.

  46 “Evolution in the Public Schools,” The Present Truth, 1 July 1925, p. 1.

  47 “Dayton Keyed Up for Opening Today of Trial of Scopes,” New York Times, 10 July 1925, p. I.

  48 Philip Kinsley, “Invoke Divine Guidance for Evolution Case,” Chicago Tribune, 10 June 1925, p. I.

  49 “Anti-Evolution Leagues Form Over Country,” Chattanooga Times, 2 July 1925, p. 1.

  50 “Bryan Discusses Tennessee Case,” Nashville Banner, 2 June 1925, p. 3.

  51 “Bryan Calls Attention to Decision in Oregon,” Chattanooga Times, 4 June 1925, p. 1.

  52 “Modernist Fires Back at Commoner,” Nashville Banner, 20 May 1925, p. I.

  53 “People Will Settle Question, Says Bryan,” Chattanooga Times, 3 July 1925, p. 1.

  54 “Bryan Gets the Jump on Defense Lawyers,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 9 July 1925, p. 1.

  55 W. J. Bryan to Sue K. Hicks, 28 May 1925, in Hicks Papers.

  56 Sue K. Hicks to Ira E. Hicks, 8 June 1925, in Hicks Papers.

  57 Sue K. Hicks to Reese V. Hicks, 8 June 1925, in Hicks Papers.

  58 Bryan to Hicks (emphasis in original).

  59 “Bryan Outlines Issues,” p. 1.

  60 Sue Hicks to Reese Hicks; Sue Hicks to Ira Hicks.

  61 W. J. Bryan to Dr. Howard A. Kelly, 17 June 1925, in Bryan Papers.

&n
bsp; 62 Sue Hicks to Ira Hicks.

  63 Ira E. Hicks to Sue K. Hicks, 5 June 1925, in Hicks Papers; Sue K. Hicks to W. J. Bryan, 8 June 1925, in Hicks Papers.

  64 W. J. Bryan to George McCready Price, 1 June 1925, in Bryan Papers.