In his “Origin of Species,” Charles Darwin put forth new and considerably radical ideas that challenged many of the traditional and established views of life and the order of the world. A number of society’s leaders spoke out against Darwin and his theories, claiming that his writings about natural selection were detrimental to society and religion. In the early 20th century, William Jennings Bryan began his crusade against Darwinism. He characterized it as a movement that promoted the killing of the weak and described it as a law of hate. Bryan was an influential member of the Democratic Party who served as congressman, three time presidential nominee and Secretary of State. He is famously known for his attack of Darwinism in the highly publicized Scopes Monkey Trial. Bryan’s “The Menace of Darwinism” contains a series of his lectures against Darwin. He declared Darwin’s theories “string of guesses” that failed in comparison to the scripture of the bible. His work was immensely popular and stood as one of the most powerful oppositions to evolution. Today, it remains a valuable piece of the heated and controversial history.
