A Deep Dive into the Scopes Trial

 

A Dangerous Idea: The Scopes Trial, the Original Fight over Science in Schools 

by Debbie Levy 

288 pages; ages 10-14 

Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2025 

This is a book about a science teacher who was simply doing his job when someone pointed out that teaching what was in the text book was now illegal.

This is a book about two lawyers whose words could sway public opinion.

This is a book about a simple idea: that living organisms change over time, in response to environmental pressures, and those changes are passed on to their offspring.

This is a book about an idea so dangerous that it threatened to rip apart the fabric of society, pitting devoutly religious (but scientifically uneducated) people against scientifically literate (and in many cases devoutly religious) people.

And it all started with a meeting at the soda fountain in Robinson’s Drug Store in Dayton, Tennessee on a warm afternoon in May. The mayor wanted to put his town on the map. Two months earlier, the governor had signed into law the Butler Act, which barred teachers from teaching evolution. John Scopes, hired to teach physics and math and – especially – coach football, was filling in for the biology teacher who’d been sick. And the folks at the soda fountain wanted to know: have you been teaching evolution? When Scopes said yes, they asked whether he’d be interested in standing for a test case to challenge the law. With that, the local constable arrested him (then let him go to finish playing tennis with his students), and the rest is … 

... history. Author, Debbie Levy weaves facts gleaned from extensive research and primary sources into a gripping tale that makes you wish all history books were this fun to read. She shows the evolution of Clarence Darrow from baseball player to lawyer to defender of unions and freethinkers. She shows the development of William Jennings Bryan from studious child to debate team to brilliant orator and lawyer. She shows the evolution of the idea of natural selection, highlighting that even though scientists at the time of Darwin were fuzzy on the details (Mendel’s work came to light two years after Darwin’s death), they “were not fuzzy about the fact that evolutionary change happened” and that inherited traits played a role.

Levy pulls together history and science for this deep dive into the 1925 Scopes Trial. She provides insights into the various party’s motivations and also addresses interrelated topics of racism, white supremacy, and eugenics. I particularly like the final chapters. She examines the evolution of thought about Evolution, tracing it through the national politics of 80s up to now. I’ve been asked many times whether I “believe” in evolution – but not once has anyone asked me whether I “believe” in gravity. She also examines the persistence of resistance to science. “Is it because scientific theories aren’t well understood?" she asks. "Is it because they make people uncomfortable?” Is it the same thing that makes people resistant to historical facts?

Back matter includes a timeline, source notes, and an index – all of which make this an extremely handy book to have in your classroom or library. I give it 5 trilobites!

 

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publisher.