This week the students sat back and listened to Pastor Huntley as he taught them about the Butler Act and the Scopes Trial of 1925. We learned about the events that led up to the trial and what was happening in the town itself prior to the trial. All of the major players, Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, John T. Scopes and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) were discussed in terms of their worldview, their actions, words and ultimately their motives.
Pastor Huntley also discussed with the class the topics of Social Darwinism and the concept of "survival of the fittest" on a free market economy, equality in society, as a justification for war, Imperialism , and its far reaching effect on the world, especially in WWII.
Charles Darwin's Origin of Species and the theory of evolution were also discussed. Finally, we discussed the effects of the Scopes trial on the perception of Christianity and Christians by society and how they are negatively viewed today, largely because of biased and inaccurate reporting of the trial, most notably by H.L. Mencken of the New York Times, an extremely influential newspaper then and now. The same un-truths and inaccuracies abound in the fictional work "Inherit the Wind" and yet it continues to be shown in multiple classes in schools across the country without the students being aware that it is fiction and inaccurate fiction at that. The effect upon parental rights with regard to the control over school curriculum content that we are feeling today is due in very large part to the Scopes Trial. It was indeed the "Trial of the Century".
Manchester, NH based fine arts program for homeschool students
