THE SCOPE OF SCOPES: LELA SCOPES VS. THE PADUCAH BOARD OF EDUCATION

July 2025 marks the 100^th anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial at which Paducah-born John Scopes was tried in Tennessee courts for the crime of teaching evolution in his classroom. The trial, which pitted science against religion, made national and international headlines. Ultimately, Scopes was found guilty and fined $100. 

The trial itself was largely staged having been prompted and funded by the American Civil Liberties Union to test the constitutionality of Tennessee’s Butler Act. John Scopes was not a biology teacher or even a regular classroom teacher. He was a football coach and occasional classroom sub who essentially volunteered to be the defendant. Said Scopes, “"If you can prove that I've taught evolution and that I can qualify as a defendant, then I'll be willing to stand trial.”  

Though Scopes’ conviction was ultimately overturned and the $100 fine was repealed, the repercussions and implications were far-flung. The effects of the trial hit especially close to home, specifically to John Scopes’ sister, Lela.    

Lela V. Scopes, John’s sister, was a math teacher who had just graduated from the University of Kentucky. Unlike her brother who was teaching in Tennessee, Lela Scopes looked to stay in the state and return to her hometown of Paducah, specifically to teach at Augusta Tilghman High School where she’d sent in an application. Lela Scopes had worked at Tilghman previously, teaching math for two years while working on her degree. She had received nothing but accolades from the board for her efforts. 

With the onset of her brother’s trial, Lela Scopes was called into the office of the superintendent of schools, L.J. Hanifan, and reportedly asked point blank if she would “repudiate the stand taken on evolution by her brother.” Lela Scopes emphatically refused to do so, stating that she sympathized with the stance. Hanifan then informed her that her application to teach at Tilghman was refused. Schoolboard member A. Bennett further clarified to the Paducah Sun Democrat that “it was the sense of the board that Miss Scopes would not be desirable on the High school faculty because, like her brother, she believed wholeheartedly in the evolutionary concept.” 

The story of Lela Scopes was picked up by news wires and published in papers around the country. Sympathies, as you would imagine, landed on both sides of the aisle. The Paducah Sun Democrat, as did most of the newspapers, landed on the side of Lela Scopes, not necessarily because of her stance, but because of her specialized questioning and treatment. “To be consistent, every teacher in the schools must be put through the same catechism as Miss Scopes...and those who differ from the viewpoint of the majority of the school board and Superintendent Hanifan should, in consequence, be refused the privilege of teaching in Paducah Public Schools." 

For her part, Lela Scopes’ biggest consternation was that she “could not understand just what her views on evolution had to do with mathematics.” 

For more information about notable Paducahans, visit us at the Local and Family History Department at the McCracken County Public Library.  

–Matt Jaeger