Anti-Evolution League of America
Encyclopedia
The Anti-Evolution League of America was an Adamist organization created in 1924 a year after William Bell Riley
founded the Anti-Evolution League of Minnesota. The first president was the Kentucky
preacher Dr. J. W. Porter and T. T. Martin
of Mississippi
was field secretary and editor of the organization's official organ, The Conflict. The organization was behind anti-evolution legislation in Kentucky
, where its efforts were supported by William Jennings Bryan
. Following Bryan's death after the Scopes Trial
, his son, William Jennings Bryan, Jr., briefly accepted the presidency of the league.
William Bell Riley
William Bell Riley was known as "The Grand Old Man of Fundamentalism." After being educated at normal school in Valparaiso, Indiana, Riley received his teacher's certificate. After teaching in county schools, he attended college in Hanover, Indiana, where he received an A.B. degree in 1885...
founded the Anti-Evolution League of Minnesota. The first president was the Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
preacher Dr. J. W. Porter and T. T. Martin
T. T. Martin
T. T. Martin, in full Thomas Theodore Martin was an Christian evangelist who became one of the most important figures of the anti-evolution movement in the 1920s...
of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
was field secretary and editor of the organization's official organ, The Conflict. The organization was behind anti-evolution legislation in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, where its efforts were supported by William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
. Following Bryan's death after the Scopes Trial
Scopes Trial
The Scopes Trial—formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and informally known as the Scopes Monkey Trial—was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to...
, his son, William Jennings Bryan, Jr., briefly accepted the presidency of the league.