I recently had occasion to watch Stanley Kramer’s 1960 classic film Inherit the Wind, about the 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial.” Frederic March plays William Jennings Bryan, defending the Tennessee law prohibiting the teaching of evolution in public schools. Spencer Tracey plays Clarence Darrow, defending the high school teacher John T. Scopes, who is charged with violating the law. Bryan, known as the “Great Commoner,” was a three-time presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket and served for two years as Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of State. Darrow was perhaps the most famous trial lawyer of the time.
Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan sitting together at the Scopes Monkey TrialThis summer marks the 97th anniversary of that historic trial, one that has surprising St.… Read More