United States
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This is the first comprehensive, annotated biography of John Scopes, the famed defendant in the Scopes Monkey Trial. This biography uses new, never-before-published sources, photographs, and stories from untapped sources – John Scopes's family and friends.
In 1967, John Scopes published his memoirs, which focused overwhelmingly on his eight-day trial and not on the rest of his life, ignoring several important events, such as his divorce and remarriage, his run for the U.S. Congress, and his challenges with his family. This volume is the first complete, annotated biography of John Scopes. It details his entire life and, where appropriate, those of his parents, siblings, wife, and children, all supported by hundreds of cited sources, quotations, and family stories.
Ideal for readers with an interest in academic freedom, free speech, or the evolution-creationism controversy, this book uncovers the facts of Scopes's post-trial life, including the challenges that Scopes faced in his personal life, his conversion from a socialist to a political conservative, and his final years and death. Readers will be surprised to learn that John Scopes's life differed significantly from what has often been presented in the media.
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Searching for John Scopes
1. Beginnings
2. Dayton, Coal, Football, and “Coach Scopes”
3. An Interrupted Tennis Match
4. Jockeying for Position
5. John Scopes Goes to Court
6. A “Scared Boy” in Graduate School and the Jungle
7. Marriage, Politics, and a Career
8. Life in Shreveport
9. Embracing Fame
10. Last Days
11. Epilogue
Appendix 1: The Scopes Family
Appendix 2: Where John Scopes Lived
Appendix 3: What John Scopes Published about His Trial
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Randy Moore, PhD, is professor of biology and H.T. Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis-St. Paul, USA.
"At the age of 24, he was the defendant in Tennessee v. Scopes, a pivotal moment in what would become a century-long struggle over the teaching of evolution in America's public schools. But who was John Thomas Scopes really? The product of a quarter century of diligent research, Randy Moore's book is the only biography of Scopes that any reader will ever need."
– Glenn Branch, Deputy Director, National Center for Science Education
"World famous and controversial at 24, John Scopes spent most of his years dodging a relentless limelight. Now indefatigable researcher Randy Moore tells us what it was like off-stage during Scopes' lifelong quest for a "normal" life while continuing to advocate for the freedoms he personified in his 1925 "trial of the century." Result: a book for everyone."
– James Presley, Ph.D., Historian, co-author, Center of the Storm: Memoirs of John T. Scopes
""Idealized," "vilified," or "ignored" might best describe the popular view of John T. Scopes, defendant in "The World's Most Famous Court Trial." Randy Moore, however, has dug deep into the life of this private man, finding him to be the kind of guy you would like for a next-door neighbor. From previously unavailable family records and well-documented public sources, we have a fuller picture of the life, triumphs, and struggles of this "'Man of Courage.""
– Tom Davis, Past President, Rhea County (TN) Historical & Genealogical Society
