I'm John Batchel. I'm with Brenda Wineapple. Her new book, Keeping the Faith, God Democracy,

and the Trial that riveted a nation, aka the Scopes Monkey Trial, AKA Inherit the Wind with Spencer Tracy.

All of that. A hundred years later, tales very differently than it did in the mid-20th century

or at the time of the trial itself. The ACLU, it has a distinguished

history at this point coming through the war. It's led by men who are extremely valuable and

honored in their world, secretaries of state, justices from the Supreme Court, distinguished Harvard graduates, all of that.

They depend on a woman named Lucille Milner, however, to look for test cases that will raise

their profile.

Lucille Milner sees the item about the Scopes trial.

Do they recognize it right away, Brenda, as their kind of talk?

Absolutely. They recognize it. Louise Miller brings the cutting from the newspaper into the

head of the ACLU, excuse me, a man named Roger Baldwin, and they both decide immediately to go to

the board and propose, this is a

test case, and it's immediately passed that they will be able to use this if they can get someone

to volunteer, and because they, the ACLU, was founded to protect civil liberties. And to them, this law violates the

guarantee of religious liberty. And they want the case. And they are willing to defend it.

So this is important for them. The ACLU is only five years old at this time. It's not as established as it may be today,

and they're looking also to make a name for themselves. They send for scopes, Rappellier,

and a man named Neal, who's going to be their defense counsel. He's from the university,

John Neal.

They send for them, and the three travel to New York.

This is the out-of-towners come to New York City,

...