The Scopes “Monkey Trial†is widely regarded as the greatest American trial of the Twentieth Century. The issues (evolution versus creation in the public schools), the politics (individual liberty versus populist democracy), the actors (William Jennings Bryan, Clarence Darrow, and H.L. Mencken, among others), and the setting (a small, struggling town in southeastern Tennessee with the ingenuity and confidence to host such a national event), all culminated in twelve remarkable days in the sweltering summer of 1925.
The transcript is a fascinating document despite the many typographical errors which plagued the original version which have been corrected in this version.
In the following pages are some of the most memorable speeches, twists, and turns ever witnessed in American jurisprudential history.