Inherit The Wind
Author- Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee
About the Authors
Jerome Lawrence started working with Robert E. Lee in the 1940's. When they met, Lawrence was working for CBS radio and Robert E. Lee was working in the advertising division. The two together were really good at creating dramatic plays. Jerome Lawrence was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 14th, 1915. Robert E. Lee was born in Elyria, Ohio on October 15th, 1918. The two together inspired many people by teaching them that they can express their own opinion open mindedly.
Scopes Monkey Trial
In 1925, the Butler Act was passed which was that the schools teach evolution for only one species (mankind). Schools were starting to realize that this act was holding back lots of education for students and they weren't learning as much. If you broke the Butler Act, you could be fined or even put into prison. The biology textbook had the theory or evolution by what it says in the Bible. A fundamentalist named John Scopes was teaching about evolution in his classroom one day, and was caught and arrested. People also started to agree that his punishment was excessive.
Summary of The Book
This book's scene is set in a courtroom in the 1950's. The play is based on the Scopes Monkey Trial. It all started when a teacher (John Scopes) was explaining Darwin's theory of evolution to his class of students. He was arrested AND found guilty by the jury when being judged. This contraversy is still a big problem in reality since not everyone can agree on. The conflict in this story is evolution vs. creation.