This is the first lecture from the Modern Scholar course Fundamental Cases: The Twentieth-Century Courtroom Battles That Changed Our Nation taught by Professor Alan M. Dershowitz.
In this lecture American lawyer, prolific author, and Harvard professor Alan M. Dershowitz examines one of the most significant American cases in the 20th century: The Scopes Trial. Dershowitz looks closer at the trial than its typical portrayal of fundamentalist creationism vs. evolution characterized in the film and play Inherit the Wind. Through examining the court transcript it becomes clear that the prosecutor William Jennings Bryan was not arguing for Biblical fundamentalist creationism. Rather he was far more concerned with the ideas of segregation and racist eugenics that were taught along with evolution between the first and second World Wars. Dershowitz examines how creation-evolution controversy has changed since then and how God and religious terminology has been replaced with the idea of intelligent design. It's a fascinating lecture from one America's leading legal authorities.
For more information on this course or to get it on audio download check out: Fundamental Cases: The Twentieth-Century Courtroom Battles That Changed Our Nation.