Ongoing controversies about school curricula, such as the teaching of Critical Race Theory and the role of parents in public education, can all be traced to the Scopes Trial. Today, the question remains: who controls the school curriculum? This was a foundational issue in the Scopes Trial, and we have been debating this question ever since. This book will help readers understand where these controversies originated and how courts, politicians, and the public handled these issues nearly a century ago.

Featuring new information from previously untapped sources and providing an in-depth study of John Scopes himself, this book interrogates the facts, fictions, and legend of the Scopes Trial, which historians rank as one of the defining events of the 20th century. It is an ideal resource for anyone interested in the ongoing controversy about evolution, science, and religion in education and American life.