John T. Scopes. Photo by Smithsonian Institution, photographed by Watson Davis.
Tennessee's House Joint Resolution 289 (PDF), if adopted, would "commemorate the Centennial of the Scopes Trial in Dayton as a fundamental moment in the history of Tennessee and the United States."
The twenty provisions of the resolution's preamble recount, more or less neutrally, the background, conduct, and aftermath of the trial, although there are a few minor errors of fact (e.g., Tennessee's attorney general at the time, Frank M. Thompson, was not a member of the prosecution team) and a few puzzling turns of phrase (e.g., the trial is said to have "sought to justify the coexistence of faith and science").
Introduced by Ron Travis (R-District 31) — whose district includes the town of Dayton, where the Scopes trial was held — on February 26, 2025, the resolution passed the House on a 90-0 vote on March 3, 2025, and now is with the Senate.
