In March 1925, the governor of Tennessee signed into law the Butler Act, which specified "that it should be unlawful for any teacher in any of the universities, normals [teachers' colleges], or schools 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 is descended from a lower order of animals."

Shortly thereafter, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced their intention to support any Tennessee teacher willing to challenge the new law. The ACLU's goal was to bring the case to the state appeals courts or to the U.S. Supreme Court, where they were confident the law would be ruled unconstitutional. Seeing the opportunity to bring publicity and prosperity to their small town, a group of civic leaders in Dayton, Tennessee, prevailed upon John Scopes, the local high-school biology teacher, to test the law by having himself arrested.

No small part of the notoriety of the trial derived from the celebrity of the two lawyers who argued the case. The chief counsel for the prosecution was the famed orator, former secretary of state, and three-time Democratic candidate for president, William Jennings Bryan. Heading the Scopes defense team was Clarence Darrow, the country's best-known defense attorney, fresh from his triumph in the Leopold-Loeb Case. Billed as the confrontation between fundamentalist religion and godless science, the case attracted international attention under its popular name, the "Monkey Trial." The highlight occurred near the trial's conclusion when the defense called Bryan to the stand as a hostile witness. Darrow's remorseless grilling revealed Bryan's lack of knowledge of science and theological naivete, after which the defense rested, asking that the jury deliver a guilty verdict, thereby ensuring an appeal.

The verdict of guilty resulted in a fine of $100. The appeals court upheld the statute but overturned the conviction, thereby making a further appeal impossible. Neither side had won. In 1967, the Tennessee legislature voted to overturn the Butler Act.

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