William Jennings Bryan was attacked by the GOP from his nomination in 1898 till AFTER his death by further slander published in the 1930s.
As to the Play, Inherit the Wind, it is an accumulation of all the slander against him WITH additional attacks intended to attack McCarthyism more than Fundamentalism. Thus the Play does a good job of Attacking McCarthyism, it ends up repeating and furthering Slandering Bryan. Lets look at just SOME of the Slander made against Bryan in the play:
1. In the play Scopes is Arrested and jailed for teaching evolution, in real life Scopes was the popular local high School Football Coach, he had covered for the biology teacher when the biology was sick and thus agreed to say he taught evolution, but only after several of the Town's "elders" approached him so the town could host the trial as a revenue maker for the town.
2. In the play the town is shown gladly greeting the Bryan Charter but hostile to the Darrow Character, in real life both had been hosted at subsequent dinners held by the local Chamber of Commence, both sides agreed that the town made every effort to keep the town neutral for the trial.
3. In the play Bryan is shown being reluctant to testify, in real life his only objection was he wanted the right to cross-examine the Defense team afterward, they agreed to that he he gladly took the stand.
4. During the Cross-examination of the Bryan Charter in the play, the Bryan Character rejects Darwin's books, but in the actual Trail Bryan had INTRODUCED both of Darwin's book into the trial (In Fact Darrow admitted later that he only had read 50 pages of Darwin's book and did not understand it, while Bryan had read Darwin's books over 20 years before and had discussed it in print and otherwise over the subsequent 20 years both with Anti-Evolutionist AND evolutionists).
5. In the play Bryan commented that "Einstein tells us everything is relative" when it comes to his comment on Gideon's pray to God to Stop the Sun from Raising is generally ignored (and most of the "Transcripts" on the net also drops that section, through it is in the official court record). Furthermore Bryan repeats to Darrow that while Gideon had asked for the Sun to stop, it could be that the earth was stops BUT THE AUTHOR'S OF GIDEON'S BATTLE UNDERSTOOD IT AS THE SUN STOPPING not as everything can be relative.
6. In the play Darrow make a big deal about the sun and stars are not made by God till the Third day thus the bible was false, in the real trial Bryan points out the next section of the Bible clearly sues the term "Day" to mean a time period, not necessary a 24 hours day.
7. In the play, they do use parts of the Testimony of Bryan in the Play, but leaves out huge sections, OFTEN SECTION THAT THEN MAKES THE STATEMENT OF BRYAN ALMOST OPPOSITE OF WHAT HE DID SAY (The above comment on Gideon and the Sun is one of the worse example of this).
8. At the end of the Trial the Play shows Bryan going into a Tirade about the $100 fine. In the Actual Trail no such Tirade occurs for several reasons, first, no jail time was authorized under the section so only a fine could be imposed, Second, before Scopes even took on the job of being a Defendant it had been agreed that the town would pay the Fine (In fact the Baltimore Sun ended up paying more for public than any other reason) and third, when Bryan first rolled into town at the Dinner welcoming Bryan into the Town Bryan had Approached Scopes and told him he would pay the fine if Scoop could not, at which point Scope told him the town had already agreed to to pay the fine and fourth, the year before when the Law against Teaching Evolution had been proposed in the Tennessee Legislature Bryan had lobbied the Legislature NOT to add a fine for when it comes to teachers you were dealing with professionals and as such a law saying Teacher were not to teach Human Evolution would be sufficient in itself.
I can go on, For example H.L. Mencken's conversion from supporting the decision to fine Scopes for failing to follow the law to supporting him when Mencken discovered Bryan supporting the decision to fine Scopes (Mencken like most Republicans hated Bryan for Bryan ability to Campaign equally with the GOP while being outspent 20-1). To the claim Bryan never "Recovered" from Darrow's Cross-Examination (He Recovered enough to arrange for the publication of his never delivered summation, gave two speeches, involved in an Auto Accident, He was NOT the driver, and examined by his Doctor who said he was in top notch shape for a person driving himself like he was doing and had diabetes).
For More see the following:
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/scopes.htmhttp://www.antievolution.org/topics/law/scopes/scopes.htmlhttp://www.bradburyac.mistral.co.uk/tennesse.htmlOf the above three sites, I like the Last one the best but you can see a little bit of Fundamentalist prejudice in its makeup (And you can see the opposite tendency in the first two sites). This bring me to comment on sites regarding this topic, be careful when dealing with them. Regarding this subject, you will see two extremes, first the Fundamentalist who tries to show that "Bryan" and Fundamentalism "Won" and the Second Group who say Darrow and the "Evolutionists" won. The best comment is below, which is Bryan's Comment on the Trial:
“I don’t know that there is any special reason why I should add to what has been said, and yet the subject has been presented from so many viewpoints that I hope the Court will pardon me if I mention a viewpoint that has not been referred to. “Dayton is the centre and seat of this trial largely by circumstance. We are told that more words have been sent across the ocean by cable to Europe and Australia about this trial than has ever been sent by cable in regard to anything else doing in the United States. That isn’t because the trial is held in Dayton. It isn’t because a school teacher has been subjected to the danger of a fine of from $100 to $500, but I think it illustrates how people can be drawn into prominence by attaching themselves to a great cause.
“Causes stir the world, and this cause has stirred the world. It is because it goes deep. It is because it extends wide and because it reaches into the future beyond the power of man to see. Here has been fought out a little case of little consequence as a case, but the world is interested because it raises an issue, and that issue will some day be settled right, whether it is settled on our side or the other side. It is going to be settled right. There can be no settlement of a great cause without discussion, and people will not discuss a cause until their attention is drawn to it, and the value of this trial is not in any incident of the trial, it is not because of anybody who is attached to it, either in any official way or as counsel on either side.
“Human beings are mighty small, your Honor. We are apt to minify the personal element and we sometimes become inflated with our importance, but the world little cares for man as an individual. He is born, he works, he dies, but causes go on forever, and we who have participated in this case may congratulate ourselves that we have attached ourselves to a mighty issue.
“Now, if I were to attempt to define that issue I might find objection from the other side. Their definition of the issue might not be as mine is, and therefore, I will not take advantage of the privilege the Court gives me this morning to make a statement that might be controversial, and nothing that I would say would determine it.
“I have no power to define this issue finally and authoritatively. None of the counsel on our side has this power, and none of the counsel on the other side has this power. Even this honorable Court has no such power. The people will determine this issue. They will take sides upon this issue, they will state the questions involved in this issue, they will examine the information — not so much that which has been brought out here, but this case will stimulate investigation and investigation will bring out information, and the facts will be known, and upon the facts as ascertained the decision will be rendered, and I think my friends and your Honor, that if we are actuated by the spirit that should actuate every one of us, no matter what our views may be, we ought not only desire but pray that that which is right will prevail, whether it be our way or somebody else’s.”
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