Part 2, Chapter 4 Choosing Sides Summary

In 1925, Dayton Tennessee was a relatively new town, lacking a sense of tradition. Located between Knoxville and Chattanooga in the Tennessee River valley in East Tennessee, Dayton seemed like an odd place for the Scopes trial to take place. The population had been slowly dwindling and was less than 1,800 at the time of the Scopes trial.

On the day that the press release appeared in the newspaper, George W. Rappleyea, a New Yorker originally with a chemical engineering doctorate, saw a way to challenge the anti-evolution law. He went to Fred E. Robinson's drugstore, where a number of prominent businessmen and professionals gathered. Members of the school board and others thought that challenging the case might bring publicity to the town. Rappleyea placed an initial call to the ACLU in New York.

The following day, other key...