An ex-New Yorker, George Rappleyea, saw this ad and came up with the idea of creating a conflict in the small town of Dayton to create publicity, hoping that the tourism and secondary interests created by the trial would help revive its struggling economy. A meeting in a local store with town officials including the School board President Frank Robinson helped finalize a plan. After much cajoling, they convinced John Scopes to be the guinea pig. He was a local math and general science teacher who was also the substitute biology teacher. Shortly after Scopes gave a lecture to his class about evolution, he was arrested. His trial which will forever be known as "The Monkey Trial" had the intended effect on the small town of Dayton but they underestimated its importance and the effect it would have on American history. Though separation of church and state was an American hallmark, it was never really true. This case exposed many truths even though its end is still murky and it lacked a clear conclusion. This case helped the secularization of America making it the greatest nation in the world. The Tennessee school districts did not block the teaching of evolution per se; they instead blocked all references to Darwinism and evolution of man from animals. The Butler law still allowed evolution to be taught, but just as a theory while creationism was stated as fact. Scopes tried to teach evolution as the true methodology of the world and that is why he was caught up in the power struggle.
The trial was set for July 10th 1925. The "drug store conspiracy" got what it wanted. Dayton had a circuit atmosphere, including an actual traveling circus. Religious fundamentalist, atheistic scientists and journalist converged on Dayton like locusts. They were not worried about getting publicity any longer; journalists had traveled from as far as Hong Kong to cover the trial. This case involved the two greatest lawyers of the 20th century, William Jennings Bryant, a three time democratic presidential nominee and secretary of state under Wilson "representing" the defense and Clarence Darrow, a famous lawyer who took on very hard cases and was very successful.
