Trial and Error: The American Controversy Over Creation and Evolution [Paperback]

Edward J. Larson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 23, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0195154711 | ISBN-13: 978-0195154719 | Edition: 3

Trial and Error traces the coverage or lack thereof, of evolution in textbooks used in American public schools from the mid-1800s to the present. While the teaching of Darwinian evolution was common and not controversial in the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, the debates between evolutionists and creationists, those who argue that the Biblical theory of origins deserves equal treatment, have flared throughout the twentieth century--first in the 1920s, most famously in the Scopes trial; again in the 1960s, when the regional legislation banning the teaching of evolution was overturned, notably in Arkansas and Louisiana; and throughout the 1980s with various controversies over science textbooks, including California. Larson proposes to bring the subject up to the present through a discussion of recent trends, including the "intelligent design" movement, led by Phillip Johnson, a revised form of anti-evolutionism that gained popularity on college campuses; the impact of Michael Behe's versions of evolution; and debates over what counts as evidence for and against evolution--all of which have influenced debates over science standards, particularly at state and local levels. This new chapter will chronicle anti-evolution actions in Kansas and elsewhere and counter-actions by the National Academy of Science and other anti-creationist groups. This updated classic work presents a balanced historical interpretation of legal and educational debates over evolutionism, and will appeal to those interested in the fields of history, religion, science, and law.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Larson...ably illuminates the legal and constitutional issues...yet he is admirably aware that what transpires in state houses and law courts usually reflects larger social forces." ---The New Republic

"The main contribution of the book is that it traces clearly the legal controversies surrounding evolution and creationism in American high schools, but readers will also enjoy a vivid retelling of personal credos, political machinations, pedagogical developments, and other historical circumstances surrounding the vicissitudes of 'public science' in the schools."---Science

"The publication in 1985 of an important study of the persistent controversy over the theory of evolution by Edward J. Larson received scant attention in several major historical journals....Whatever the reasons for this oversight, Larson, fortuneatly, has expanded the original edition....Larson's study is written in clear, crisp prose that makes complex legal issues easily comprehensible to the nonspecialist....Few will be so naive as to believe that the court decisions of the 1980s have laid to rest the creationist-evolutionist debate." ---Isis

"The merging of several disciplines in a single scholar proves unusually rewarding to the treatment of creationism in American education. Whatever the outcome of the current cases...the need for a scholarly assessment of antecedents and prospects in this area has never been clearer." ---Journal of Law and Religion

About the Author

Edward J. Larson is the Richard B. Russell Professor of History and Professor of Law, University of Georgia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 3 edition (January 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195154711
• ISBN-13: 978-0195154719
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #75 in Books > Law > Specialties > Educational Law & Legislation

More About the Author

Edward J. Larson is the author of seven books and the recipient of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in History for his book Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion. His other books include Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory; Evolution's Workshop; God and Science on the Galapagos Islands; and Trial and Error: The American Controversy Over Creation and Evolution. Larson has also written over one hundred articles, most of which address topics of law, science, or politics from an historical perspective, which have appeared in such varied journals as The Atlantic, Nature, Scientific American, The Nation, The Wilson Quarterly, and Virginia Law Review. He is a professor of history and law at Pepperdine University and lives in Georgia and California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive Legal History of the Creationism Controvery, January 6, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Trial and Error: The American Controversy Over Creation and Evolution (Paperback)

Larson's book is excellent. It focuses only on the legal history
of 20th Century Creationism. The book was
quite objective and thorough and it is hard to discerne the
author's position on the matter, although one suspects he may
not be sympathetic to the Creationist cause since he is familiar
with their sometimes devious and irrational strategies for
manipulating public opinion, the courts and state legislatures
to "overrule" the scientific community in the matter of evolution.
He succeeds in amply illustrating his main thesis, namely
that the response of the courts to Creationism has been profoundly
influenced by public opinion. Well written and recently revised to
bring it up to date.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God, Science, Education and the Courts, November 1, 2005

By 

A. Calabrese "othernj" (NJ--United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trial and Error: The American Controversy Over Creation and Evolution (Paperback)

Trial and Error: The American Controversy over Creation and Evolution by Edward J. Larson is the definitive history of the ongoing American argument of the place of religion and science in the public schools. The author does a superb job in giving the reader the history of biology texts from the 19th century into the 20th century. The book traces the history of legislation and court cases in the ongoing controversy of the place of evolution and creation science in American education. I read this book after I read Larson's later work, Summer Of The Gods. In this earlier work Edward J. Larson is even handed and objective. He presents the facts and history of each court case in understandable terms. This book shows how both sides are really the same, fundementalists, unwilling, really, to listen to what the other side has to say. Anyone interested in this aspect of American history can do no better than to consult Trial and Error: The American Controversy over Creation and Evolution by Edward J. Larson.

This is an issue that will not go away, despite the hopes of both sides in this fight. In light of the pending Dover, PA court case it is a good idea to keep any of Larson's books handy.

19 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crisis in classroom and courtroom, July 12, 2004

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trial and Error: The American Controversy Over Creation and Evolution (Paperback)

In the Twentieth Century United States, the long war of Christianity to quell reason achieved a new intensity. There, the casualities weren't a reticent Copernicus or a timorous Galileo, but uncountable thousands of innocent schoolchildren. In that nation, supposedly founded on the separation of religion and the secular, the battleground shifted. Instead of the contestants clashing in academic debating rooms, the confrontations occured in lawcourts. Larson offers the first comprehensive survey of Christian forays into public education in the United States, and the legal disputes that ensued. He does it with a sense of detachment not easily attained in dealing with this topic.

Larson outlines the background to American forms of Christianity [which have few counterparts elsewhere], before homing in on the 1925 landmark trial in Dayton, Tennessee. Although "fundamentalism" may have germinated early in the 19th Century, it was the post WWI years that brought fruition and gave it voice, according to Larson. The voice came to be centred in the three-time Presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan. Although a "reformer" with many causes, it is his role as an anti-Darwinist that captured enduring attention. A "Biblical literalist", Bryan found all social values stemming from "the Bible". As a fundamentalist champion, once he overcame an initial reluctance, he endorsed state legistlation banning Darwin from the classroom.

The famous "Scopes trial" set in motion a sequence of enactments in various States, not all Southron ones, to prevent Darwin's Idea from polluting young minds. Many of these laws were sketchily enforced, but their very existence led to a wave of self-censorship among text-book publishers. It isn't necessary to ban what isn't there, as Larson makes clear. Two generations of children passed through school without learning how life works.

An unexpected trigger led to a fresh wave of challenges to the vacuities of science teaching in the United States. Larson cites the Soviet Union's launching of a silvery sphere in orbit around the planet as prompting a new outlook. Cries of betrayal led to sharp looks at how science was considered in American schools. Among the topics, of course, evolution was given fresh attention. With many States banning or eroding the topic, a fresh wave of court cases resulted. However, State control of education was a given - how then to proceed against restricted curricula?

It was also a given that religion and government remain apart. Challenges to the new legislation focused on The Establishment clause of the constitution which prohibited laws favouring religion. Since evolution was forbidden, what to teach inevitably meant reverting to biblical texts. Various laws were successfully overturned as promoting religion in public schools. Larson takes us carefully through the various cases, particularly the 1981 Arkansas "McLean" decision. For the first time, expert witnesses were allowed to cinch the case for evolution. This decision, and a succeeding one in Louisiana, seemed to some to have finished the disputations. Enter the ICR and a new Christian wave eroding Darwin's insight.

Larson describes Henry Morris' Institution for Creation Research as a prime mover in launching the new challenges to reason. Although Morris was a key figure, Larson, keeping with his legalist theme, brings lawyer Phillip Johnson's "Darwin On Trial" to front stage. Johnson's books, which have been described as Christian "legal briefs", express a dichotomy: life is either spiritual or material. He opts for spiritual, condemning evolution as "athiestic" and lacking morals. Johnson is joined by Michael Behe's "intelligent design" movement that is now struggling for recognition. Aspects of life, Behe argues, is too complex to have emerged without a "guiding hand". Larson depicts this without judgmental asides, leaving the reader to form their own conclusions.

This book is the result of painstaking research, ably presenting a wealth of complex issues. Legal disputes rarely permit frivolous narrative, but Larson's book offers clarity and succinctness. A text that might have been horribly ponderous, given the legalist basis, proves a delight to read. He's to be congratulated for taking up this theme and how well he describes events and the people involved. The book will remain a fundamental resource for any future studies and should be read by a wide audience. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]