The Staged Trial of John Scopes

The famous Scopes Monkey Trial was actually a publicity stunt orchestrated by town leaders. The defendant was not even sure if he had taught evolution, but he confessed anyway to spark a national debate.

Local businessmen in Dayton, Tennessee, invited the case to their town specifically to generate media attention and boost the economy. The American Civil Liberties Union eagerly backed the trial as a way to challenge state laws banning evolution in classrooms. Although it is remembered as a fierce legal showdown, the trial was designed from the start to serve as a high-profile stage for the era's biggest cultural tensions.