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Epperson v. Arkansas

Epperson v. Arkansas. The battle over evolution in school. The Case. The case was over an Arkansas statute that prohibited the teaching of evolution in any school or university run by government money.

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Epperson v. Arkansas

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  1. Epperson v. Arkansas The battle over evolution in school

  2. The Case • The case was over an Arkansas statute that prohibited the teaching of evolution in any school or university run by government money. • In a Little Rock high school the school district instructed the teachers to teach using a new textbook that included Evolution, yet the statute still prohibited it. • Susan Epperson, a 10th grade biology teacher was put in a tough situation because it was a criminal offense to teach evolution in Arkansas, but if she didn’t follow the school curriculum she risked dismissal.

  3. The Court’s Decision • The Chancery Court found the statute to be unconstitutional because it violated the 14th Amendment. • The Arkansas Supreme court reversed the lower courts decision saying it is showing the state controlling the schools curriculum. • The state supreme courts decision was appealed by Epperson to the U.S. Supreme Court. • The Supreme court said that the statute’s purpose was to help protect a specific religious group making it unconstitutional.

  4. Where Is This In The Constitution • The courts had to interpret the 1st and 14th amendments.

  5. Effect On Future Cases • The courts ruling made all other restrictions on teaching evolution in public schools be dismissed. • Some schools began putting disclaimers in their textbooks saying that evolution is only a theory. • Other schools required evolution to be taught, but biblical creation had to be taught also.

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