The Scopes Trial and Rural America

One hundred years ago, in July 1925, a high school teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, was arrested for teaching evolution. John Scopes' guilt was never in doubt, but his sensational trial was the center of national attention, pitting modernists against traditionalists, the defenders of Darwin's science against Christian fundamentalists. In this episode, historian Michael Kazin recounts what happened inside the courtroom and why it still matters. The culture wars of the early twentieth century echo in our society today, as the Democratic Party has lost rural America. Further reading: The Trial of the Century is 100. Its Lessons Could Save the Democrats by Michael Kazin (New York Times) A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan by Michael Kazin (2006)