William J. Bryan

The World's Most Famous Court Trial William J. Bryan

Complete stenographic transcript of the controversial "Scopes Monkey Trial" which tested the law that made it illegal for public school teachers in Tennessee to teach Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Originally published: Cincinnati: National Book Company, [1925]. [4], 339 pp. This is the complete transcript of the 1925 case of the State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, a 24-year old high school teacher accused of violating a recently enacted state law that banned the teaching of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Perhaps the first modern media event, the trial attracted enormous national and international attention. A star-studded cast of trial attorneys included the great orator and three time Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan and the brilliant trial lawyer and champion of the downtrodden, Clarence Darrow, among others. The climax of the trial came on the seventh day when the defense put the senior Bryan on the stand as an expert on the Bible and he was ruthlessly interrogated by Darrow. As a milestone in the American struggle between modernity and the forces of Protestant fundamentalism, and a vivid manifestation of the clash between two valid principles, academic freedom and democratic control of the public schools, the Scopes case has tremendous historical significance. This edition also includes statements by scientists entered at the defense's request, and the text of a lengthy concluding speech that Bryan prepared but never delivered. Illustrated with photographs from the trial.

William Jennings Bryan died a few days after the trial ended.