Abstract
THE struggle in the United States over the teaching of evolution is the newest form of the age-long contest for freedom of scientific opinion. It is a warning of the dangers of elementary education becoming a State monopoly. Whether the American Constitution can be interpreted to declare the proscription of Darwinism in State schools illegal seems to be doubtful. The only relative clause appears to be an addition to the first Article of the Constitution; that addition enacted that there should be “no establishment of religion or prohibition of the free exercise thereof” and there should be no “abridging the freedom of speech.” Freedom of speech in the schools is as important in the intellectual development of a nation as is the freedom of public discussion of political issues.
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Prof. J. W. Gregory, D.Sc., F.R.S., Professor of Geology, University of Glasgow. Nature 116, 104 (1925). https://doi.org/10.1038/116104b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/116104b0