Curious Minute
Jul 22
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Curious Minute answer

Which Tennessee teacher was convicted in 1925 for teaching evolution in the trial often nicknamed the Monkey Trial?

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The answer

John T. Scopes

The answer was John T. Scopes. Here's the why, the decoys, and the source trail.


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Why it's right

John T. Scopes was the Tennessee teacher at the center of the 1925 evolution trial. He was convicted under Tennessee's Butler Act, though the case became a national debate over science, religion, and education.


Source trail

This answer is checked against ACLU: State of Tennessee v. Scopes and University of Minnesota Law Library: The Scopes Trial.



About the choices

A good question makes the wrong answers feel close. Here is the clean read on the set.

  • John T. Scopes - correct answer.
  • Clarence Darrow - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
  • William Jennings Bryan - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
  • H. L. Mencken - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.

What to remember

John T. Scopes is the one to remember. John T. The case drew national attention partly because it was designed as a test case to challenge Tennessee's law.


How readers answered
A0%
B33%
C33%
D33%

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Sources: ACLU, University of Minnesota Law Library