Les Jones

Quibble: the Scope's Monkey Trial wasn't over the teaching of evolution, as we would use the word today, it was over the teaching of eugenics.

I've heard that before, but none of the references I find on the Butler Act say anything like that. Here's the Wikipedia entry, and the text they quote from the act:

That it shall be unlawful for any teacher in any of the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of the State which are supported in whole or in part by the public school funds of the State, to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.

The law itself banned evolution, true, and there's a problem with the fact there was a law on that matter. But the law wasn't frequently enforced on teaching evolution per se.

What got John Scopes in trouble was his advocation of eugenics. The use of the law against evolution in general was a 'trying Al Capone for tax evasion' type situation.

Again, I don't agree with the law as written, but the actual case wasn't the clear cut good guy/bad guy situation it's usually protrayed as nowadays.