The Monkey Trial
John Scopes and the Battle over Teaching Evolution
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
Revealing little-known facts about the fight to teach evolution in schools, this riveting account of the dramatic 1925 Scopes Trial (aka “the Monkey Trial”) speaks directly to today’s battles over what students learn, the tension between science and religion, the influence of the media on public debate, and the power of one individual to change history.
Kirkus Best Book * School Library Journal Best Book * New York Public Library Best Book for Kids * Chicago Public Library Best of the Best
Arrested? For teaching? John Scopes’s crime riveted the world, and crowds flocked to the trial of the man who dared to tell students about a forbidden topic—evolution. The year was 1925, and discussing Darwin’s theory of evolution was illegal in Tennessee classrooms. Lawyers wanted to challenge the law, and businessmen smelled opportunity. But no one imagined the firestorm the Scopes Trial would ignite—or the media circus that would follow.
As reporters, souvenir-hawking vendors, angry protestors, and even real monkeys mobbed the courthouse, a breathless public followed the action live on national radio broadcasts. All were fascinated by the bitter duel between science and religion, an argument that boiled down to the question of who controls what students can learn—an issue that resonates to this day.
Through contemporary visuals and evocative prose, Anita Sanchez vividly captures the passion, personalities, and pageantry of the infamous “Monkey Trial,” highlighting the quiet dignity of the teacher who stood up for his students’ right to learn.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sanchez (Save the...Whale Sharks) brings a sense of immediacy to a 1925 watershed event that still echoes in American politics and discourse. Education, religion, and nascent media came together in a narrative nonfiction telling of the trial of John Scopes, a Dayton, Tenn., educator who taught Darwin's theory of evolution, violating a state law that criminalized such actions. Scopes had been asked to "stand for a test case" by local businessmen hoping to profit from national attention around the engineered trial. The ordeal pitted the American Civil Liberties Union, which sought to defend educators prosecuted under the law, against fundamentalist Christians concerned about the impact of teaching evolution in lieu of creation. Through photographs and conversational prose, Sanchez shows how sleepy Dayton became a "circus," experiencing throngs of visitors, chimpanzees promoting local businesses, and crowds eager for the main event: a highly publicized courtroom face-off between defense lawyer Clarence Darrow and prosecuting lawyer William Jennings Bryan, both previously regarded as men of the people. "Media in the Spotlight" sections contextualize the role of newspapers, newsreels, and radio in spreading information. It's a lively, solidly researched tale that delivers enduring truths about the lure of controversy. Ages 8–12.
