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Evolution:
Scopes trial
Predecessors of modern man.
Go to the Think Quest page.
During July 10-25, 1925, a 24-year-old teacher and football coach was prosecuted for teaching Darwinian evolution, which was prohibited by Tennessee law. John T. Scopes went to trial and after 15 days, the judge found this teacher guilty and fined him $100, the minimum fine. Scopes uttered these last words to the judge as he left the courtroom, "Your Honor, I feel that I have been convicted of violating an unjust statute. I will continue in the future ... to oppose this law in any way I can. Any other action would be in violation of my idea of academic freedom."
The Scopes Trial is largely symbolic of a larger debate: creationism vs. evolution. Today, the fear of the knowledge that humans have evolved from monkeys is sadly still pertinent.