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The Butler Act is created
The Butler Act made teaching anything other than the Biblical account of creation illegal in Tennessee. The full text of the Butler Act -
Scopes is charged
John Scopes, a high school teacher, is charged with teaching evolution using ideas from "On the Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin. -
William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow sign on
Information on Darrow Seated left
Information on Bryan Seated with fan William Jennings Bryan, a popular creationist, agrees to prosecute and Clarence Darrow, a famous agnostic, agrees to be the defense. -
The jury is selected
The offical trial begins with jury selection. -
Darrow questions Bryan
Clarence Darrow, in a highly unusual move, calls William Jennings Bryan to testify as a biblical expert. Darrow asks a series of questions about whether the Bible should be interpreted literally. Darrow stands and questions the seated Bryan. The trial took place outside due to extreme heat. -
The final day
On the final day of the trial, Scopes was found guilty and fined 100 dollars. The Butler Act was never invoked again. The full New York Times article. -
Bryan dies
William Jennings Bryan dies five days after the trial ends, at the age of 65. -
HUAC is created
Left, a HUAC investigational procedure. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) is made a permanent committee charged to investigate Communist subversion in America. -
The Hollywood 10 are accused
Short biographies about the Hollywood 10 Ten movie screenwriters and directors are cited for failing to testify to HUAC about their Communist associations. The careers of many in Hollywood are subsequently ruined by blacklisting from fear of Communist allegations. -
Period: to
Communist fear increases
The Era of McCarthyism Joseph McCarthy conducts investigations of Communism,
creating a paranoia known as the "Red Scare." Many civil
liberties are ignored and freedom of expression becomes
increasingly stifled in the quest for national safety. -
Joseph McCarthy's Speech
McCarthy's career Joseph McCarthy delivers speech in which he displays a list of 205 Communists in the State Department, apparently harbored by Communist sympathizers in high places. Because his charges seem specific, McCarthy wins national headlines. -
McCarthy made chair
McCarthy becomes chair of Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and uses the committee to further his campaign to expose Communists in government and draw personal attention. -
McCarthy falls from power
The Senate votes to condemn McCarthy, The vote brings no formal action against McCarthy, but a Democratic majority in the November 1954 elections ends his power as committee chair. -
Inherit the Wind
"Inherit the Wind," written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee, opens on Broadway. The play used a "based on a true story" account of the Scopes trial to comments on the threats to intellectual freedom presented by McCarthyism. -
Butler Act repealed
Tennessee officially repeals the Butler Act.
