Government-Issued Textbooks and the Monkey Trial

History is filled with stories of states embarrassing themselves after interfering without any basis in what students can and cannot learn.

In 1919, Nebraska enacted a statute called the Siman Act, forbidding schools from teaching any language other than English. It was a period immediately following World War I, when sentiment against Germany was widespread across American society to the point where people even avoided music by Beethoven and Mozart. There was also much distrust about the patriotism of German immigrants. In such an atmosphere, nationalism grew based on the opinion that if children of immigrants learned their parents’ mother tongue before they learned English, they would not be able to have an American identity. The result was the creation of a law banning all foreign language education. But the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Siman Act to be unconstitutional following the trial of teacher Robert Meyer, who was charged with teaching German at his school. The court reasoned that students do not incur danger from learning foreign languages but by exaggerating the issue, and that the government violated the students’ right to education.

In 1925, Tennessee enacted the Butler Act, which prohibited teaching the theory of evolution in school. Science teacher John Scopes was tried for deliberately violating the law. This trial, in which the theory of evolution collided with the theory of creationism, received so much public attention that it was the first trial to be broadcast live in the United States. The dominant mood underlying the trial was ridicule, as its nickname, “Monkey Trial,” revealed. The trial ended without a conclusion and with Scopes resigning from his school, but it stopped other states that were planning on enacting similar laws.* Arkansas persisted on creating an imitation of the Butler Act, but the Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional. The obvious reason was that the government could not impose particular religious beliefs onto education. The federal government also reflected on the fact that its science education was falling behind that of the Soviet Union and emphasized teaching evolution as one of the solutions for reform.

The legislators who enacted the Siman Act and the Butler Act may have been serious in their own way, but looking at it realistically and applying the principles of a free democracy, they acted without any basis. The U.S. Supreme Court emphasized that education is about teaching students various facts and opinions to help them adapt to a diverse democratic society, and even those in power do not have the authority to determine what the truth is. When legislators try to enact such laws today, many call them crazy.

But almost 100 years later, something similar is happening in Korea. I am talking about the nationalization of history textbooks. Just like the time during which the Siman Act was enacted, Korea is making a huge fuss about national identity being in crisis due to education. But everybody knows that the hidden intent is to insert a particular historical view preferred by those in power into school education. It is similar to the way the Butler Act was used to plant certain religious beliefs held by politicians into schools. Since they have no way to beat any opposition in a free debate, they are using force.

I would like to recommend that President Geun-hye Park take a careful look at what happened to the legislators of the Siman Act and the Butler Act. Those who worshiped creationism so much that they tried to force it onto others by law ended up helping pave the way for a public forum that revealed the scientific weakness of creationism. Their attempts at legislating their beliefs failed, resulting in a great amount of ridicule instead. President Park’s nationalization attempt may be an expression of filial piety based on the desire to glamorize the history of her father, but it is instead letting everyone know that the history of her father is a dirty one that can only be made beautiful with cosmetics.

An even more horrific end is that she has been recorded in history as a crude politician. The nationalization of history textbooks will be recorded as the legacy of a dictator father, and of his daughter who betrayed democracy to embellish her father’s dictatorship — like father, like daughter. Our children will remember this incident with a sense of the absurd, similar to the way we react toward the Siman Act and the Butler Act. This scandal further overshadows the meager achievements of her father. It is a farce that will make even monkeys laugh.

*Editor’s note: Scopes was found guilty of violating the Butler Act and fined, but the verdict was later overturned on a technicality concerning the fine, and the case was dismissed.