Monkey Business
This week marks the 100th anniversary of one of the most famous court cases in American history, The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, also known simply as the Scopes Trial or sometimes the Scopes Monkey Trial. Tennessee had passed a law prohibiting the teaching of human evolution in its public schools. Scopes, a teacher, intentionally violated the law to create a test case. The ACLU provided for Scopes’s defense, led by Clarence Darrow. William Jennings Bryan, a three-time Presidential candidate (and the subject of the quotation in this week’s puzzle), headed up the prosecution. Scopes was convicted and fined $100 – worth rather more in those days – but had his conviction subsequently overturned.
Brenda Wineapple’s lively account of the Scopes Trial takes us into the packed courtroom that hot summer in Dayton, Tennessee. She also offers reflections on how the case continues to reverberate today, as we witness national issues involving tensions between science and religion, as well as local fights over public school curricula. Fun fact: Dave was a student in a high school on Long Island when its school board banned several books, triggering a case that made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court (Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico).
Our acrostic includes references to words and phrases related to the Scopes Trial – and to monkeys – as well as to Inherit the Wind, a 1955 play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee that was largely based on the trial. Five years later, Inherit the Wind made it to the silver screen. Spencer Tracy starred as Henry Drummond, a character based on Clarence Darrow, while Fredric March played the Bryan-inspired character, Matthew Harrison Brady. Here’s a clip:
Timely, indeed. This was a fun acrostic, and a bit easier than some recents.
Balton & Stewart have a reputation for high theme density, sometimes using imaginative leaps. For those of us old enough to remember, Clue A is a delightful reminder of why Gary Hart never became president.
Beautifully done! Got off to a fast start with the hilarious first clue and love how it ultimately connected to the puzzle’s theme. Astonishing to think of the myriad ways progress has been achieved over 100 years, but in other ways we are collectively still stuck due to the enduring power of ignorance and its mob.
You crack me up with the clue for primates, and educate me with other clues (pretty sure I did not know nugatory or nullifidians before today). And now I have to go watch the rest of Inherit the Wind.
Impressive combination of theme words with art, music, literature, film, and journalism. I love science. No amount of litigation is going to hide what exists, but the fight continues to rage on. Fine puzzle!
Gorilla glue, auto da fe, Tennesean–many more really nice clues. Remembering Gene Kelly as the HL Mencken character in the movie–what fun was that! Another puzzle that looked impossible on first glance and was a delight as the pieces fell into place.
There must be some weird vibe in the universe because I just rewatched Inherit The Wind last week. That made spotting the theme easier than normal, and I enjoyed all the clever clueing to get the Scopes trial references in. I’m a lawyer and I was fortunate enough to work with the ACLU in the Kitzmiller case, which struck down the mandatory teaching of creationism in the Dover Area School District in Pennsylvania. There’s an excellent book about the Scopes trial: Summer For The Gods by Edward Larson.
Many thanks to Balton and Stewart for this very fine acrostic
Plus ca change…
Great Acrostic.
As part of its 100th anniversary celebration, The New Yorker is running, in every issue, a piece in which a contemporary figure reflects on a past article in the archives. In the July 21st issue, Paige Williams, a staff writer, mused on Marquis James’ reportage on the Scopes trial, which was published in the magazine’s second issue in February 2025. Coincidentally, I had just recently finished reading the July 21st issue when I settled down to solve this acrostic. Great synergy…and it helped me with the H.L. Mencken clue/answer.
Thank you, Jane and Dave, for another great puzzle!