Ballyhoo

Over the years, there have been many legal proceedings dubbed "The Trial of the Century." Few of those trials have deserved that hyperbolic title. The Scopes trial (better known as the "Monkey Trial") certainly lived up to its hype. For nearly two weeks in the sweltering summer heat of 1925, some of the best legal minds in America squared off against each other in an overcrowded, courtroom that lacked the benefit of air conditioning. It was high drama and it was broad comedy. It was serious and it was farcical. The whole world followed it on the still new medium of radio and in sensationalized newspaper accounts. A state legislator from a small town, who had no desire to be in the spotlight, nor any ambition to do more than to serve his friends and neighbors, became famous with incredible speed. Some viewed him as a hero, while others viewed him as a villain. He did not think he was either one. This book covers the events from the time that John Butler decided to take it upon himself to drive Darwinism out of Tennessee's public schools until the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled on the law's validity - and somewhat beyond that. Of course, a brief accounting of John Butler's early life was necessary to give insight into who he was and why he decided to pen the law that bears his name. Along the way, some of the most colorful, and interesting persons in American history entered the story including William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow.