Bryan source of Income after he ran for President in 1896 was the Chautauqua lecture circuit where people paid to hear him speak (Often on Progressive ideas but also Fundamentalist Religion, through most often on the Threat of Greed which permitted him to attack the GOP of his day). In the Chautauqua lecture circuit he was second to Helen Keller. With the invention of Radio and then Television this circuit tended to die out (More replaced by Radio and then Television than a lack of interest in the subjects discussed). It was a primarily a RURAL Circuit, but at a time when most people still lived on the farm then in the city (1920 was the first Census where you have more people living in the urban areas than in the Rural Areas). Darrow went on a different lecture circuit, the Modern Rubber Chicken Circuit where he, like many speakers today, talked to business groups about subjects they wanted to hear. Notice the difference. While Bryan also went on the Rubber Chicken Circuit, his main thrust was Chautauqua lecture circuit. Bryan also would speak at any Church that wanted him to speak on any Sunday, which he did during the Monkey Trial. Bryan could and did make speeches as much as 2-3 times a week (and when he was Campaigning do that in a day). After his election to Congress in 1892 Bryan did NOT practice law till he agreed to give the Summation in the Scopes Trial. The lead attorney was the prosecution was The Attorney General of Tennessee who was assisted by Bryan's son, a US Attorney at that time (Bryan's wife was also an Attorney, but do to bad health did not practice in the last 20 years of her life).
As to Darrow, he did nothing but Criminal law after about 1910 (The Labor Movement abandoned him after he had been charged with Jury Tampering). While Labor abandoned Darrow, Darrow was able to do Criminal work that last 30 years of his life. In fact the Loeb Trial had occurred just the year before where he argued for hours about the influence on Nietzsche Philosophy on the Murders and that such teachings should NOT be held against them (Darrow avoided the Death Penalty for the Murder which given the evidence was the best he could so). Bryan actually used the Loeb Trial against Darrow in the Scope trial and by the Transcript Darrow was very upset about Bryan's use of it.
Thus Darrow and Bryan were the two best public Speakers of their time, but in two different speaking circuits. The two never meet ON THE SPEAKING CIRCUIT till Scopes. Darrow only offering his services to the Defense AFTER Bryan agreed to do the Summation. Bryan seems to have guess why Darrow wanted to appear for th Defense, it was Darrow's great opportunity to attack revealed religion in the form of Bryan. At the end of the questioning of Bryan, Bryan makes that claim and that he was willing to face such questioning.
As to the Actual examination, it is the fight of two old tigers in their mental prime. The problem is Bryan was unprepared for Darrow calling him as a Witness (but Bryan still was willing to go) AND Darrow main attack was defeated when Bryan himself said most of the Bible is NOT to be taken Literally but as stories to tell people how to live. Darrow seems to have wanted Bryan to be a Bible Literalist but Bryan had NEVER been a Literalist (in fact Rev Falwell attacks Bryan's position in Scopes for NOT taking the Literalist position). Thus while Darrow had been preparing for years to ask the questions he did (and Bryan had been defending those questions almost as long) in the actual trial Darrow had spent the day before preparing for his questioning of Bryan (and of course NOT telling Bryan he would be called to the Stand) Bryan was giving a sermon at a local church. Thus while Darrow was prepared, he was NOT prepared for Bryan's Answers. Thus the general consensus is Bryan "won" the question and answer period.
Thus why do most people think otherwise? First for over 30 years Bryan as a progressive Democrat had been attacked like no Candidate had been before him (Through the same types of attacks would be made against FDR, Truman, JFK, LBJ, Jimmy Carter and Clinton). In fact during the Scope trial a Reporter was writing his report while the case was still going on. When ask why don't he wait till the finish of the day Court hearing, his response was "I know what my editor wants". Basically the GOP given a choice to attack Bryan or Darrow attacked Bryan for they FEARED Bryan why more than their Feared Darrow. This attack continued during the 1930s for, as one Republican said, the New Deal was "Bryanism without Bryan". During the 1950s the Authors of the play "Inherit the Wind" remembered these attacks and decided to use the Scopes trial as a literal device to attack McCarthyism. Once the commitment to using Scopes as the basis to attack McCarthy was made, radical changes had to be made to the actual trial to make it work. Thus the Authors said in the prefix to the play, it is NOT based on any real case (Through parts of the transcript did make it into the play).
Thus the real reason is these attacks by the GOP, true or false, DO WORK AFTER A WHILE. As shown by the play "Inherit the Wind". Thus any attack by the GOP has to be answered not ignored. No answer people will believe the attack has merit (The attacks on Bryan and the Scopes trial had only began when he died five days after the trial, but after he had started his counter attacks on the people attacking him). This is one of the reason I contribute to this forum, I do not always agree with everyone in it, as a whole it is progressive and can be used to ATTACK the GOP and to Defend Democrats against UNFAIR ATTACKS BY THE GOP. How Bryan is remember should remind us ALL why we fight the GOP, GOP lies if repeated often enough AND NOT CONTRADICTED WILL BECOME THE ACCEPTED TRUTH 30 YEARS FROM NOW. That is the time difference between Bryan's Death and Inherit the Wind. 30 years of Attacks can undermine ANY progressive movement.
For more on the Chautauqua lecture circuit see: (It is NOT the best source but most historians ignore the Chautauqua lecture circuit for it is NOT political, nor a circus in the modern sense of the Word, it is something long gone and with it the understanding of its influence):
http://www.uiowa.edu/uiowapress/canthemos.htmhttp://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/Bai/redpath.htmhttp://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/chautauqua.htmlhttp://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/traveling-culture/about.html
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