Discussion On ‘I’ll Take My Stand and ‘1925 Scopes Monkey in Dayton, Tennessee.’

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The 1925 Scopes Monkey in Dayton, Tennessee, is a tale about the trial of a twenty-four-year-old sports coach named John Scope, who was accused of teaching students the evolution theory. In February 1925, a law prohibiting teachers from teaching evolution in public schools was passed by the legislative council of Tennessee (Davinson et al., 1930). However, the American Civil Liberty Union ACLU did not support the bill and offered to finance the legal defense for any teacher in Tennessee who was willing to go against that law. John scopes, who was also a substitute teacher, volunteered to go on trial. As he was filling in for a biology teacher, he assigned students pages on evolution theory. For this reason, he was arrested and taken to trial.

The ACLU hired Attorney Clarence Darrow to lead the defense team and William Jennings Bryan, also known as the ‘The great commoner”, took the prosecution’s lead. The trial escalated quickly and became a contest between William and Darrow and not about John Scope. For publicity’s sake, leaders of Dayton staged the trial. Over five thousand people attended the trial on the first day hence forcing the trial to be held outside the court. It was the first trial ever to be broadcast on live radio. The local leaders of Dayton loved the turnout because the population of Dayton had been declining for years (Davinson et al., 1930). The Jury was made up of conservative Christians, and the judge decided to start the trial with a prayer to pierce off the prosecution team. This arrangement indicated that this trial was a battle of science against religion and bible-based teachings against the modern scientific theories. The judge further dismissed a testimony by Dr. Maynard Metcalf, a zoologist, that validated the theory of evolution.

Consequently, the defense team decided to challenge and attack Bible stories to offend the prosecution team. It resulted in the judge dismissing the confrontation between Bryan and Darrow. To appeal a verdict from the Tennessee supreme court, Darel requested the Jury to declare John scope guilty. Scope was fined 100 dollars for breaking the law (Davinson et al., 1930). The supreme court revoked the ruling one year later due to a technicality and dismissed the case. Because of this trial, only Mississippi and Akensaw implemented the anti-evolution bill among fifteen states. Bryan then passed away six days after the trial.

The Agrarian versus industrial book was written by a group of northern single men who had similar perspectives on various aspects of life. This particular book contained their responses to the Scope’s trial that happened in 1925. Their book all tend to oppose the American way and support the southern way (Innes, 2020). The group argued that the south was a minority group with its unique social, moral, and economic structure. Southerners should be proud instead of embracing American industrialization, which was the common way. They particularly noted that younger members of the south positively responded to the American way.

The book goes ahead to acknowledge that other minority communities are interested in maintaining their small economy and living by it. It then urges the southern people to form alliances with such groups in solidarity as members of the agrarian movement (Innes, 2020). This book criticizes how industrial apologists ignore the implications of science and call them optimists without direction. Applied science was draining their resources and has enslaved their energies to a point where it has become a burden. They continually channel their economic resources to this course without realizing how negatively it’s impacting their lives. They don’t realize that labor is the most valued human career, yet they are trying to eliminate it with applied science. The importance of applied science, which is to fasten production and make work easier, enjoyable and efficient, is not accomplished as initially anticipated. Instead, applied science is subjecting laborers to more work and less enjoyment. Unemployment levels have risen because of applied science.

In terms of production, applied science enhances the quality and quantity of produce and saves on time. The industrialists don’t realize that applied science is labor-intensive and negatively affects their lives (Innes, 2020). Eventually, they lose more than they’ve earned from it. The authors advocate for agrarian culture by stating their advantages to the people. They argue that humanism, which is a scope of how people live, think and act, is rooted in the agrarian culture of the old south. Agriculture is the main source of wealth, prestige, and leisure (Innes, 2020). It is portrayed as perfect because it gives the people free will in terms of labor provision. It does not exploit them.

Conclusion

from the discussion above, I think the Vanderbilt “Agrarians” expressing skepticism on what they term corrosion effects of science on traditional values is right. The effects of industrialization discussed are practical and factual. Science is felt all over the world. As much as it has improved living standards, its effects are felt by the same people who facilitate them. For instance, the establishment of factories to increase production and create employment is a good thing. However, the same industries destroy the environment by polluting water, air, and land. The ozone layer, which protects people from harmful rays, is disappearing by day because of industrialization. People are getting sick and dying because of pollution. Same science is used to control these effects without realizing they worsen the situation. I would say, industrialization is the main source of societal evils. Therefore, people should open their eyes and do something about it before it eats up the whole community and becomes irreversible.

References

Davinson, D., Fletcher, J., Kline, H., Lyle, H., Lytle, A., & Nixon, H. et al. (1930). Southern Agrarians’ I’ll Take My Stand, 1930. Ruhr-uni-bochum.de. Retrieved 23 October 2021, from https://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/gna/Quellensammlung/08/08_southernagrarians_1930.html.

Innes, J. (2020). The 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial: why did so many people hate evolution? [Video]. Retrieved 23 October 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duLqycslpTw.