Evolution in the Courtroom

This unique reference offers a discussion of the social and legal history behind the ongoing evolution versus creationism controversy.

Evolution in the Courtroom: A Reference Guide chronicles the legal history of the evolution/creation debate sparked by Charles Darwin's publication On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859. The first seven chapters provide a detailed historical overview of the debate, reviewing all of the major court cases with particular emphasis on the infamous Scopes "Monkey Trial" which pitted fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan against ACLU defense attorney Clarence Darrow, and became the standard to which all subsequent evolution trails have been compared.

Ensuing discussions of the rise and fall of creationism as a science and the failure of "balanced treatment" in public schools culminate in a summary of skirmishes over the last decade. Profiles of scientists, politicians, clergy, and other influential people from Galileo to Frank White, the Arkansas governor who signed the equal time law without ever reading it, reveal fascinating facts and perspectives on both sides of the controversy.

• Detailed chronology of the history of the debate from Aristotle in 310 B.C. to the U.S. Senate's adoption of "Sense of the Senate" in June 2002
• Biographies of 172 key individuals on both sides of the controversy, including Leona Wilson, who initiated the first lawsuit by creationists
• An edited collection of the eight principal court decisions, including Mclean v. Arkansas and Segraves v. State of California
• Photographs and illustrations of influential people like Herbert Spencer, who coined the terms "evolution" and "survival of the fittest"