The synopsis of the movie that is generally known goes as follows: A high school Biology teacher, John Scopes, in Dayton, Tennessee, was brought to trial for teaching the Darwin theory of evolution. Being a highly religious town, charges were brought upon the teacher since the theory of evolution went against the version in the Bible. At the end of the trial, the Biology teacher was found guilty.

Now the real story behind this famous trial. After Tennessee became the third state to pass a law forbiding the teaching of evolution, the ACLU placed newspaper ads looking for a test case with which to challenge the law. The town leaders of Dayton saw this as an opportunity to gain publicity for the town, and, hopefully bring in the tourists. They approached John Scopes, a part-time substitute teacher to tell them their plan. He agreed to go along with the plan and go to trial. The defendant's attorney, Clarence Darrow, didn't even try to get his client acquitted. In fact, he wanted Scopes to be found guilty so he could file appeals and continue the publicity. Indeed, Scope was found guilty. However, the judge in the case let Scopes off on a technicality.

The publicity worked very well. Tourists flocked to Dayton while the trial was going on hoping to get a seat inside the courtroom. Hundreds could not get in so they stood around the courthouse waiting for updates. Even after the trial ended, flocks of tourists continued to visit Dayton to see where the famous trial took place. As the saying goes, this trial put Dayton, Tennessee "on the map." Now, even 80 years later, the trial is still known to literally millions of people.

CONQUEST OF AMERICA is an epic saga full of great adventures, foolish quests, unspeakable cruelty, unimaginable bravery and an unquenchable thirst for glory and riches. It is a story of lost cities of gold, legendary sea passages to China, religious wars, national pride, mutiny on the high seas and uprisings in unfamiliar lands. CONQUEST OF AMERICA is a story of European politics and intrigue. Wars fought over religion and trade in the Old World will have dire repercussions for colonists, conquerors and conquered an ocean away.

Each episode of CONQUEST OF AMERICA crystallizes the conquest of a different geographical region of North America by focusing on a primary explorer in that territory: Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in the Southwest; Pedro Menendez and Jean Ribault in the Southeast; Henry Hudson in the Northeast; and Vitus Bering and Nicolai Rezanov in the Pacific Northwest. These stories play like amazing action-adventure tales, taken from the explorers' own journals, and the letters and writings of eyewitnesses. Dramatic dialog and scenes throughout are derived from the historical records, diaries of Europeans and the oral histories of Native American participants.

Rick Brown