Glossary
Anti-Evolution League of America
The Anti-Evolution League of America was formed in 1924 in order to support anti-evolution
challenges in Kentucky and, most notably, in Tennessee, where the Scopes "Monkey Trial" was
held in the summer of 1925. The Anti-Evolution League encouraged the Poole Bill in North Carolina.
T.T.
Martin, the field secretary of the organization, traveled to the state a number of times to speak
in favor of prohibiting the teaching of evolution in state-supported schools.
Committee of One Hundred
The "Committee of One Hundred" was formed in early April, 1926, by
a group of ministers and laymen. Though the organizers were from various denominations,
Baptists and Presbyterians were most prominent. With the statewide Democratic
primaries approaching in early June, the Committee of One Hundred was organized
with the goal of consolidating opposition to the teaching of evolution in
North Carolina's public schools. The "one hundred" in the group's title referred
to the state's one hundred counties, from which it hoped to attract members.
Although the group was committed to a general cause, there was strong disagreement
on some issues, which became clear in a contentious
meeting held in Charlotte on May 4, 1926. Around three hundred people
gathered to affirm their commitment to the anti-evolution cause, however,
heated arguments nearly led to fistfights and resulted in negative coverage
in the press, which likely damaged the organization's standing across the
state.
Dayton Case
The case of State v. John Scopes, a 1925 challenge to Tennessee's law prohibiting the
teaching of evolution in public schools, is now commonly known as the Scopes "Monkey Trial."
In contemporary literature, including some of the primary sources on this site, the case
is referred to as the "Dayton Case," after the town of Dayton, Tennessee in which the trial
was held.
North Carolina Bible League
In December 1926, the Committee of One Hundred changed its name to
the North Carolina Bible League. Still based in Charlotte, the Bible League
remained committed to the fight to prohibit the teaching of evolution in North
Carolina's public schools. Members of the Bible League were instrumental in
drafting the anti-evolution bill introduced in
the 1927 legislature.
Poole Bill
On January 8, 1925, Hoke County representative D. Scott Poole introduced
a "Joint Resolution Restricting the Teaching of Darwinism
in the Public Schools of North Carolina." In newspaper coverage that followed,
and in much of the writing about it since, the bill has been commonly known
as the "Poole Bill."
