Inherit The Wind
Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Here's a Summary
Inherit The Wind is about a teacher named Bert Cates who is arrested for teaching evolution to his sophomore science class. This story is based in Dayton, Tennessee in 1925. It soon turns into a public court case in which he is prosecuted by Mathew Harrison Brady. He is accused of teaching evolution when the Butler Act states he has to teach the biblical version. The judge and Jury find him guilty in the end and he is fined $100. However it is not much of a win for Brady as he knows that Cates won the moral victory of freedom of thought.
Scopes Monkey Trial
In 1925, Dayton, Tennessee was under fire. The Scopes Monkey Trial was a court case in which John Thomas Scopes was accused of violating the Butler Act. This act made it so you could not teach human evolution in any state-funded school. It made it so you had to teach the biblical version. He ended up being found guilty and was fined.
Background on Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Jerome Lawrence was an author and play writer. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1937. He soon joined together with Robert E. Lee and they created a partnership over their lifetime. Robert graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University. In 1955 they turned to live theater with the production of Inherit The Wind. This play is still one of the most produced plays in the country.