Editing Scopes trial (section)

===Butler Act===
Tennessee State Representative [[John Washington Butler]], a [[Tennessee]] farmer and head of the [[World Christian Fundamentals Association]], lobbied state legislatures to pass anti-[[evolution]] laws. He succeeded when the [[Butler Act]] was signed into law in Tennessee, on March 21, 1925.<ref>Ferenc M. Szasz, "William B. Riley and the Fight against Teaching of Evolution in Minnesota." ''Minnesota History'' 1969 41(5): 201–216.</ref> Butler later stated, "I didn't know anything about evolution{{nbsp}}... I'd read in the papers that boys and girls were coming home from school and telling their fathers and mothers that the Bible was all nonsense." Tennessee governor [[Austin Peay]] signed the bill to gain support among rural legislators, but believed the law would neither be enforced nor interfere with education in Tennessee schools.<ref>{{cite book|first=Randall|last=Balmer|title=Thy Kingdom Come|url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_s5i3|url-access=registration|publisher=Basic Books|year=2007|isbn=9780465005192|page=111}}</ref> [[William Jennings Bryan]], who had been campaigning against the teaching of evolution in public schools, thanked Peay enthusiastically for the bill, stating "The Christian parents of the state owe you a debt of gratitude for saving their children from the poisonous influence of an unproven hypothesis."<ref>{{harvnb|Larson|1997|p=59}}</ref> In response, the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU) financed a [[test case (law)|test case]] by offering to defend anyone accused of teaching the theory of evolution in defiance of the Butler Act. 

<!--The two sides brought in the biggest legal names in the nation, Bryan for the prosecution and [[Clarence Darrow]] for the defense, and the trial was followed on radio transmissions throughout the United States.<ref>Edward J. Larson, ''Summer for the Gods: And America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion'' (2006) {{ISBN?}} {{page?|date=July 2024}}</ref><ref name="statcase" />-->