Changes

After witnessing the horrors of World War I, Bryan became convinced that the teaching of evolution was leading society to ruination through war.  “Survival of the fittest” provided an intellectual justification for the brutal killing of other nationalities and races.  Bryan foresaw the ethnic cleansing that grew to its horrible culmination in the Holocaust.

After witnessing the horrors of World War I, Bryan became convinced that the teaching of evolution was leading society to ruination through war.  “Survival of the fittest” provided an intellectual justification for the brutal killing of other nationalities and races.  Bryan foresaw the ethnic cleansing that grew to its horrible culmination in the Holocaust.

To avoid growth of the mistaken belief in “survival of the fittest” among humans, Bryan defended the Tennessee law and its application to Scopes, which imposed a $100 fine as the penalty for teaching that humans had evolved from apes.  Darrow agreed to take the witness stand to testify for teaching human evolution if Bryan also took the witness stand to allow Darrow to ask him questions.  Bryan testified first and performed well.  So well, in fact, that Darrow reneged on his promise and forced Scopes to plead guilty to end the case.  With that the trial ended, and Tennessee’s law remained in effect for another half century.  For nearly 100 more years Tennesee public schools taught little evolution, and George W. Bush won the presidential election in 2000 by carrying this home state of his opponent, Al Gore.

To avoid growth of the mistaken belief in “survival of the fittest” among humans, Bryan defended the Tennessee law and its application to Scopes, which imposed a $100 fine as the penalty for teaching that humans had evolved from apes.  Darrow agreed to take the witness stand to testify for teaching human evolution if Bryan also took the witness stand to allow Darrow to ask him questions.  Bryan testified first and performed well.  So well, in fact, that Darrow reneged on his promise and forced Scopes to plead guilty to end the case.  With that the trial ended, and Tennessee’s law remained in effect for another half century.  For nearly 100 more years Tennessee public schools taught little evolution, and George W. Bush won the presidential election in 2000 by carrying this home state of his opponent, Al Gore.

But the media wrote the history about this trial.  A famous liberal reporter at the trial, H.L. Mencken, published extremely one-sided articles that would make today’s media blush.  He excoriated Bryan at every possible turn, trying to make him look foolish.  When Hollywood got into the act with a movie called “Inherit the Wind,” it imitated Mencken’s bias.  Misinformed, many think Scopes and the evolutionists won the trial, but the real result was the opposite.

But the media wrote the history about this trial.  A famous liberal reporter at the trial, H.L. Mencken, published extremely one-sided articles that would make today’s media blush.  He excoriated Bryan at every possible turn, trying to make him look foolish.  When Hollywood got into the act with a movie called “Inherit the Wind,” it imitated Mencken’s bias.  Misinformed, many think Scopes and the evolutionists won the trial, but the real result was the opposite.