History 200: New Approaches to the Study of History

The Scopes Trial and Its Legacy

MW 11:15-12:05

Tobin 204

Fall 2007

LINKS:

Professor Laura Lovett
635 Herter Hall
545-6778
Lovett@history.umass.edu

Office Hours: M W 10:15-11 (except 9/10), also available 12-2:30 (email or ask after class) Th 10-11, and by appointment in 635 Herter

TA: Emily Gibson
ekgibson@history.umass.edu

Course Description:

In 1925, John T. Scopes was put on trial for teaching evolution in Dayton , Tennessee . This course will use this famous trial and its legacies to introduce students to historical methods and the larger patterns of social and cultural change in the United States in the early twentieth century.

Required texts: (Available at Amherst Books unless noted otherwise)

Frederick Lewis Allen, Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920's (Wiley, [1931]).

Edward Caudill et al, The Scopes Trial: A Photographic History (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2000).

Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee,. Inherit the Wind (Bantam Edition 1982).

Foote, The Scopes Monkey Trial Transcript. Available as a COURSE READER at COLLECTIVE COPIES, (71 S. Pleasant St., Amherst) or you may purchase the ebook online at http://www.ebookmall.com/ebook/78295-ebook.htm (Please note the you will need to print the transcript and bring it to class).

Other required readings will be made available on Spark, on the Web, or in other ways. Because this is a methods-based course that focuses on the process of historical research, we may encounter short readings along the way that will be added to the weekly reading assignments.

Discussion Sections:

Section 1        F 9:05-9:55                 Hills House 373

Section 2        F 11:15-12:05             School of Management 127

Section 3        F12:20-1:10                Morrill Science Center I N338

Requirements:

Attendance and participation:        20%

Weekly assignments:                       30%

Short paper:                                      10%                 Due Oct. 19

Trial paper:                                        20%                 Due Nov. 21

Legacy paper:                                   20%                 Due Dec. 14

Attendance and participation:

Being in class is part of taking this class. This is a cooperative and collaborative investigation. I expect us to find something new and original, but in order to do so we have to be open and engaged in the process of exploring the Scopes Trial and its legacies.

I expect everyone in this class to be courteous, cooperative, and supportive of each other at all times. You may disagree with someone's ideas or perspectives, but please be mindful and respectful of each other's differences. All opinions are welcome, but you must be prepared to provide evidence to support your interpretation.

Part of your grade reflects how often you were in class. If you encounter an emergency during the semester that forces you to miss a number of classes, you must contact me as soon as possible.

Assignments:

Because this is a discussion and problem oriented class, it is very important that all assignments be turned in on time. Late work will make it much harder for you to participate in class activities. Late assignments will be accepted, but will be penalized. If you encounter an emergency during the semester that forces you to miss assignments, you must contact the instructor or teaching assistant as soon as possible, preferably before the assignment is due.

Disabilities

If you have a documented disability that may affect your performance in the class, please speak to the instructor as soon as possible so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

Academic Honesty:

Plagiarism is a serious violation of expected academic conduct. Your work must be your own. If you quote or paraphrase work from someone else, you must give credit and provide a reference for that source. Links to guidelines on plagiarism, including the official policy on academic honesty, can be found on the following webpage: http://www.umass.edu/history/writing.html. The penalty for plagiarism in this class is zero credit for the assignment in question.

Reading: You are expected to do the assigned reading in advance of each class. Please bring your reading texts to class with you.

Website: SPARK https://spark.oit.umass.edu/

SCHEDULE (subject to change)

ORIENTATION

* Wed, Sep 5             Introductions

* Fri, Sep 7                 Questioning sources            (Discussion)

Sources exercise due. Find an Internet source on the Scopes Trial and print at least the first page. Present your source to small groups in section and critique it as a piece of historical evidence or commentary. See assignment sheet #1 for more details.

* Mon, Sep 10           Approaches to the study of history

PART I: THE TRIAL

TRIAL DAY 1: Introduction of the case and jury selection.

Reading:

Trial Transcript of Day 1

Only Yesterday, Chapters 1 and 2

Census records and Dayton's Cultural Growth (available on Spark)

* Wed, Sep 12           Regional & Historical Context: How to Read the Region

(Sample notes for this lecture)

* Fri, Sep 14               Discussion sections (see assignment sheet #2)

TRIAL DAY 2: Challenging the Anti-Evolution Law

Reading:

Trial Transcript of Day 2

Only Yesterday, Chapters 3 and 4

ACLU documents (available on Spark)

Chattanooga Daily Times article from May 4, 1925 (available on Spark)

* Mon, Sep 17           Legal Activism and the ACLU

* Wed, Sep 19

* Fri, Sep 21               Discussion sections (see assignment sheet #3)

TRIAL DAY 3: Objections against prayer in court

Reading:

Trial Transcript, Day 3

Only Yesterday, Chapter 6

Chattanooga Daily Times article from May 4, 1925 (available on Spark)

T. T. Martin, Hell and the High Schools (1923) Excerpts.

http://www.creationism.org/books/MartinHellSchools/index.htm

Walter Rauschenbusch, "The Social Gospel," in Christianity and The Social Crisis (New York, The MacMillan Company, 1908): 230-86.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/rausch-socialgospel.html

R. A. Torrey, Ed., The Fundamentals excerpt.

http://www.xmission.com/~fidelis/

Bruce Barton, The Man Nobody Knows (1925) excerpt. (available on Spark)

Harry E. Fosdick, "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?" (1922)

http://www.historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5070/

* Mon, Sep 24           From Oil to Prayer: Religion and the Scopes Trial

* Wed, Sep 26

* Fri, Sep 28               Discussion sections

TRIAL DAY 4: The Charges and Initial Testimony ; Modernism

Reading:

Trial Transcript, Day 4

Only Yesterday, Chapter 5

Robert and Helen Merrill Lynd, Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture, selections (available on Spark)

Walter Lippman, A Preface to Morals (selections); Chapter 4: The Acids of Modernity

http://www.podmonkeyx.com/Walter_Lippmann/source.asp?sourceID=10

Listen to recordings of "monkey" songs inspired by the Trial:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/monkeytrial/sfeature/sf_music.html

* Mon, Oct 1              Material of Modernity

* Wed, Oct 3

* Fri, Oct 5                 Discussion sections

Media Trials

Reading:

H. L. Mencken's Coverage, http://www.positiveatheism.org/tochmenk.htm

Facsimile reprint of The Dayton Herald, July 23, 1925

International Newspaper Coverage (available on Spark)

Dayton's Cultural Growth (available on Spark)

Chattanooga Daily Times article on advertising (available on Spark)

* Mon, Oct 8              (Columbus Day - no class)

* Tues, Oct 9              Media and Public Spectacle

* Wed, Oct 10

* Fri, Oct 12               Historical newspaper databases exercise

Use the Historical New York Times or Historical Boston Globe newspaper database to find and analyze articles related to the Scopes Trial. See assignment sheet for details.

TRIAL DAY 5 and 6: The Role of Experts

Reading:

Trial Transcript, Days 5 and 6

Only Yesterday, Chapter 9

Sinclair Lewis, Arrowsmith, excerpt.
http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/vl/notes/arrowsmith.html

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Chapter 1.
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/f/fitzgerald/f_scott/gatsby/chapter1.html

Leopold and Loeb documents

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/leoploeb/leopold.htm

* Mon, Oct 15            Popular Perceptions of Science

* Wed, Oct 17

* Fri, Oct 19               Discussion sections

                                    Short paper due

TRIAL DAY 7: Evolution

Reading:

Trial Transcript of Day 7, expert statements on evolution

Hunter, Civic Biology, 173-196. (available on Spark)

* Mon, Oct 22            Evolution in 1925

* Wed, Oct 24

* Fri, Oct 26               Discussion sections

TRIAL DAY 7: Bryan Takes the Stand

Reading:

Trial Transcript of Day 7, Bryan's testimony

Only Yesterday, Chapter 11

* Mon, Oct 29            Darrow and Bryan

* Wed, Oct 31

* Fri, Nov 2               Discussion sections

Visualizing History

Reading:
Caudill, Edward. The Scopes Trial: a Photographic History
See the Smithsonian's Photograph Collection
http://siarchives.si.edu/research/scopes.html

* Mon, Nov 5 Interpreting Historical Photographs
* Wed, Nov 7 Cultural History through Magazines
* Fri, Nov 9 Discussion sections in the Periodicals Section (AP) on the 8th floor of the W. E. B. DuBois Library

TRIAL DAY 8:Summation and Bryan's Last Speech

Reading:
Trial Transcript of Day 8

* Mon, Nov 12 Veteran's Day (No Class)
* Wed, Nov 14 The Decision and the Outcome
* Fri, Nov 16 Discussion sections
* Mon, Nov 19 Bryan’s Last Speech
* Wed, Nov 21 Second Paper Due

THANKSGIVING BREAK

PART II: THE LEGACY OF SCOPES

* Mon, Nov 26          Interpreting the Legacy of Scopes

* Wed, Nov 28          What did Scopes mean in Cold War China?

            Reading:

            Engels, "The Role of Labor in the Transition from Ape to Human"

            Ilin, How Man Became a Giant (excerpt).

            Fang Qie, From Ape to Human (excerpt).

            Jia Zuzhang, From Ape to Human (excerpt).

            Li Qingbo, The Question of Human Evolution (excerpt).

            Yang Ye, Our Ancestors (excerpt).

* Fri, Nov 30             Discussion sections

Use Databases to find reviews of the play (1955) and the film (1960). See assignment sheet for details.

* Mon, Dec 3             What did Scopes mean in the Cold War U.S.?

Inherit the Wind (film, 1960) Attend one of two scheduled film screenings or purchase the DVD and watch on your own.

Reading:

Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee,Inherit the Wind.

"Testimony of Nancy Lenkeith," in Executive Sessions of the Senate

Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Government Operations, vol. 1, 1953, pp. 566-576.

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Volume1.pdf

The Dover Case

Reading:

Judge John E. Jones, Kitzmiller v. Dover Memorandum Opinion (12/20/2005)

http://www.pamd.uscourts.gov/kitzmiller/kitzmiller_342.pdf

* Wed, Dec 5             Contemporary Creationism

* Fri, Dec 7                Discussion sections

* Mon, Dec 10

* Wed, Dec 12

* Fri, Dec 14              Discussion sections