Article 3: Evolution and South Carolina Schools, 1859-2009

Charles Darwin published his magnum opus, Origin of Species, in 1859. One hundred and fifty years later in 2009, also the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth, his theory of evolution continued to be a subject of contention in the United States. Especially contentious was the debate over evolution in the American South, where fundamentalist Christianity was widespread and deeply influential (Webb 1994). This struggle between faith and reason was, and continues to be, especially relevant to the efforts of philosophers and historians to determine the proper role of religion in the realm of public education.

Scholars of curriculum history have conducted a significant amount of research on the teaching of evolution in American schools.¹ South Carolina,which played an important role in the legal and intellectual struggle over evolution in the United States, has been given only minor attention in existing studies.² With this article, we seek to show that the struggle over evolution in South Carolina influenced and was influenced by similar events that took place in other states. What follows is a historical case study of the teaching of evolution in South Carolina schools, from 1859 to 2009, put into a national context.