Answer: The judge ruled that the only issue before the jury was whether Scopes had taught evolution, and no one had denied that he had, he was found guilty.
Explanation:
In 1925 the state legislature of the state of Tennessee passed a bill outlawing the teaching of evolution in public schools and colleges. The governor signed the bill with the hope that it would never be applied. He was wrong. In the town of Dayton, in eastern Tennessee, citizens excited to benefit from a burst of publicity persuaded a 24 years old high-school science teacher and part-time football coach, John T. Scopes, to accept an offer from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to defend a test case. He was found guilty, but the Tennessee Supreme Court, while upholding the state’s anti-evolution statute, overruled the $100 fine on a technicality. The real question was if the state should pass laws prohibiting the teaching of evolution in public schools and colleges. The Scopes trial did not end the uncivil war between evolutionists and fundamentalists. It continues to this day.
Era of Good Feelings: A period in the political history of the United States during President Monroe's administration that reflected a sense of national purpose and a desire for unity among Americans in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars and War of 1812.
