What effect did the Scopes trial have?

The Scopes "Monkey" Trial was an American legal trial in Dayton, Tennessee, during the summer of 1925. Also known as The State of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes, the case tried high school substitute science teacher John Scopes for violating Tennessee's ban on the teaching of evolution in all public and state-funded Tennessee schools. The ban, formally the Butler Act, was passed in March of 1925, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The trial lasted eight days. John Scopes was found guilty but the verdict was overturned on a technicality. The true importance of the trial was not the verdict, however; the Scopes trial increased American awareness and interest in the issue of teaching theology and/or modern science in public schools. It also drew attention to the divide between religious Fundamentalists and Modernists who took a less literal approach to the Bible and supported modern science, as well to the schism between urban and rural American values.

According to the Philadelphia Independence Hall's US History website, despite the ruling, the public saw Scopes and supporters of evolutionary theory as the victors in the case. Though the debate over teaching evolution in American public schools continues today, the Scopes trial proved to be highly influential in American culture. "It is, for better or for worse, emblematic of the creationism/evolution controversy," said Glenn Branch, an author, philosopher and deputy director of the National Center for Science Education. "It showcased the enduring themes of creationist rhetoric and provided a template through which many continue to understand the controversy."

The Scopes trial inspired the 1960 film "Inherit the Wind." The film is not a documentary and contains several exaggerations and historical inaccuracies.

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