# Canonical recap data for Scopes Trial: Evolution in American Courts (1925)
# Source: https://recap.at/1925/scopes-evolution-trial
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: scopes-evolution-trial
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1925/scopes-evolution-trial"
title: "Scopes Trial: Evolution in American Courts"
subtitle: The trial of John Scopes for teaching evolution in Tennessee crystallized the cultural clash between scientific modernism and religious fundamentalism in 1920s America.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1925-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1925
decade: 1920
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, commonly known as the Scopes trial or Scopes Monkey Trial, was an American legal case from July 10 to July 21, 1925, in which a high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of violating the Butler Act, a Tennessee state law which outlawed the teaching of human evolution
summaryLong: The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, commonly known as the Scopes trial or Scopes Monkey Trial, was an American legal case from July 10 to July 21, 1925, in which a high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of violating the Butler Act, a Tennessee state law which outlawed the teaching of human evolution in public schools. The trial was deliberately staged in order to attract publicity to the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, where it was held. Scopes was unsure whether he had ever actually taught evolution, but he incriminated himself deliberately so the case could have a defendant. Scopes was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, which had offered to defend anyone accused of violating the Butler Act in an effort to challenge the constitutionality of the law.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Tennessee_v._John_T._Scopes_Trial-_Outdoor_proceedings_on_July_20%2C_1925%2C_showing_William_Jennings_Bryan_and_Clarence_Darrow._%282_of_4_photos%29_%282898243103%29_crop.jpg/1280px-Tennessee_v._John_T._Scopes_Trial-_Outdoor_proceedings_on_July_20%2C_1925%2C_showing_William_Jennings_Bryan_and_Clarence_Darrow._%282_of_4_photos%29_%282898243103%29_crop.jpg"
heroImageCredit: "Smithsonian Institution from United States; Beyond My Ken ( talk ) 01:35, 4 August 2017 (UTC) · via Wikipedia"
importance: 72
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopes_trial"
  title: Scopes trial
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- protest
metaDescription: The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, commonly known as the Scopes trial or Scopes Monkey Trial, was an American legal case from July 10 to July 21, 192
wikidataQid: Q642342
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260702145654/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopes_trial"
  capturedAt: 2026-07-02
  label: Scopes trial
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopes_trial"
