Facts from the Scopes Monkey Trial Quiz

The Scopes Monkey Trial helped crystallize many peoples view of teaching evolution in public schools. What is surprising about the "Trial of the Century" is that 80 years later, historians are still not sure who really won.

A multiple-choice quiz by tralfaz. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What law did John Scopes allegedly violate?

Answer: The Butler Act

The Butler Act was a Tennessee law that forbade teaching "any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals." At this time (1920s), many states had similar statutes.

2. Who was the lead prosecutor?

Answer: A.T. Stewart

Stewart was the 18th judicial district's attorney-general. As such, he was chief counsel for the prosecution. Bryan volunteered to be an associate counsel.

3. Which of these defense attorneys were hired by the ACLU?

Answer: Arthur Garfield Hays

Arthur Garfield Hays was the lead defense attorney and the only person the ACLU sent to Dayton, TN. Dudley Field Malone and Clarence Darrow were volunteers - in fact, the ACLU tried to keep Malone and Darrow out of the trial. However, Scopes demanded that they remain part of the team.

4. What city in Tennessee did the trial take place in?

Answer: Dayton

A city of 2000 in Rhea County. Some leading citizens of Dayton asked Scopes to stand trial for teaching evolution so that there city would garner attention. The ACLU volunteered their services to try to get The Butler Act declared unconstitutional.

5. Who was the judge?

Answer: Raulston

He was obsessed with the publicity the trial received and never passed up an opportunity to have his picture taken. Some feel that his religious views (he opened the court with a prayer) affected his many rulings for the prosecution, but it is more likely that it was Raulston's admiration of Bryan and the fact that the defense wanted to be found guilty that made more of an impact on his rulings.

6. What was Scopes' full-time job at the school?

Answer: Football coach

Scopes was a football coach and a sustitute teacher. This fact would be very important as you see in question #8.

7. How were the defense's eight expert witnesses allowed to give their testimony?

Answer: By affidavit

Judge Raulston would not allow the experts to testify in court. The testimony pertained to evolution as a scientific fact, but Raulston ruled that their testimony was not germane to whether or not Scopes violated the Butler Act. Since the defense wanted their testimony in evidence for the appellate court, Raulston allowed their testimony to be entered into the record via affidavit.

8. After his now famous examination of Bryan, what did Clarence Darrow ask the Judge to do?

Answer: Direct the jury to find Scopes guilty

It was the defense's intention to have Scopes found guilty so that the appellate court could declare the Butler Act unconstitutional. The defense did not want to have the case proceed further since they did not want the fact brought out that Scopes NEVER taught evolution. Remember, he was a substitute teacher.

He taught a different lesson on the day he was supposed to teach the evolution section of the book.

9. Scopes was convicted and fined $100. The conviction was overturned on a technicality. What was that technicality?

Answer: The fine was set by the judge

A violation of the Butler Act carried a fine of $100 to $500. Under Tennessee law, any fine over $50 had to be set by the jury but Judge Raulston set the fine instead. In the decision, the appellate court implied that the Butler Act was constitutional, but since they could not legally remedy the fine, they had to overturn the entire conviction.

The state declined to retry Scopes. In 1968, The US Supreme Court ruled in Epperson v. Arkansas that statutes prohibiting the teaching of evolution violated the 1st Amendment.

10. Which of these is a play based on the events of the Scopes Monkey Trial?

Answer: Inherit the Wind

"Inherit the Wind" is similar to "The Crucible" in that it took a historical event and dramatized it to protest against the McCarthy Communist Hunt.

Source: Author tralfaz

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Facts from the Scopes Monkey Trial Quiz

The Scopes Monkey Trial helped crystallize many peoples view of teaching evolution in public schools. What is surprising about the "Trial of the Century" is that 80 years later, historians are still not sure who really won.

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