Court was delayed for a few minutes so that the radio microphones
could be adjusted. Judge Raulston commented proudly, "My gavel
will be heard 'round the world." After prayer, attorney-general
Stewart read the indictment against Scopes, followed by defense
attorney Neal's motion to quash the indictment.
The prosecution argued 1) that freedom of religion applied only to
worship in churches, and 2) that it had been established by the U.S.
Supreme Court (Meyer v. Nebraska) recently that a legislature had
power to control public school curriculum. To the prosecution it was
a simple matter:
B. MCKENZIE: Under the laws of the land, the constitution of
Tennessee, no particular religion can be taught in the schools. We
cannot teach any religion in the schools, therefore you cannot teach
any evolution, or any doctrine that conflicts with the Bible. That sets
them up exactly equal...
As to the clarity of the statute: (McKenzie continued)
Under the law you cannot teach in the common schools the Bible.
Why should it be improper to provide that you cannot teach this
other theory? (Grebstein, 57)
Was evolution, then, to be construed as a set of "religious beliefs?"
This same question would recur fifty years later in similar cases
argued before the United States Supreme Court. (See "Two Modern
Cases" below)
After the prosecution made its major point, that is, that the state has
a duly constituted authority and legal responsibility to prescribe the
curriculum for the public schools, Darrow got his chance to reply. His
sarcasm was evident:
As hard as it is for me to bring my mind to conceive it, almost
impossible as it is to put my mind back into the sixteenth century, I
am going to argue it as if it was serious, and as if it was a death
struggle between two civilizations. (Grebstein, 60)
He was finished, and court adjourned for the day.
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