Fundamentalism

Lecture 21: Fundamentalism
The term "fundamentalism" came into existence at the Niagara Falls Bible Conference which was convened in an effort to define those things that were fundamental to belief. The term was also used to describe "The Fundamentals," a collection of twelve books on five subjects published in 1910 by Milton and Lyman Steward.

How Billy Sunday Battled Demon Rum in Detroit
One of the well known evangelists of the early 1900s,when Billy Sunday brought his battle against the devil to Detroit in 1916, it was big news -- bigger than the reports from the World War raging in Europe and bigger than visits by mere presidents.

Father Charles E. Coughlin
Father Coughlin first took to the airwaves in 1926, broadcasting weekly sermons over the radio. By the early 1930s the content of his broadcasts had shifted from theology to economics and politics.

The Scopes 'Monkey Trial' - July 10, 1925 - July 25, 1925
This famous trial pitted Clarence Darrow against William Jennings Bryan over the issue of a biology teacher who broke Tennessee law by teaching the theory of evolution.

The Scopes "Monkey" Trial: A battle between small town religion and American progress
In 1925 John T. Scopes was encouraged to challenge the Butler Law.  This law had been passed by a small town in Dayton, Tennessee to prohibit teaching contra to those in the Bible. Teaching from an evolutionary text, Scopes broke the law and gained the attention of the National media.  The concentration of the media on the Scopes Trial effectively presented the contrasting ideas of a religious town and an evolving country.

Scopes Trial Home Page
Read the transcripts, look at cartoons, read the law, learn more about the key players, this page has it all.