Charles Darwin did not expect everyone who reads The Origin of Species accept his theory.

The fact that the darwin expressed his concern about the reaction of the naturalist to the
origin of species so explicitly is important. The story of the reaction to the origin of species is
more complex and more mundane than the jurys guilty verdict in the Monkey Trial, as the
Scopes Trial was popularly called.

Darwins ideas and the theory of evolution is not chosen to attack. Most all-
encompassing or controversial scientific theories were not and are not accepted immediately
by a large number of scientists. Darwins theory also affects the contemporary understanding
of the origin of life, it is not surprising that The Origin of Species was both praised and
vilified by people who are not scientists. Given the way scientists work, the word
"controversy" should be used with caution when describing the reaction to The Origin of
Species. Darwin died before radio or telephone as a means of disseminating information. The
reaction to The Origin of Species built up slowly compared with could have happened if the
book had been published in the early twenty first century. The discussion of Darwins ideas
occurred at the same time as other important debates and development. The right of women,
the definition of democracy, the fairness and legality of slavery, and whether socialism was a
legitimate form of government were all contentious issue in 1859. Darwins ideas became
part of a larger debate about the derection of science and the derection of nineteenthcentury
society.

There were two major problems with Darwins theory. The first of these concerned
natural selection. The second problem was the plausibility of descent by modification.
Darwin and his supporter convinced the scientific community and the rest of society that
these problems were not serious threats to a theory of evolution: this is what led to the
widespread acceptance of Darwins ideas. Without a knowledge of chromosomes and ganes,
Darwin had already made the mental leap necessary to recognize that all species are related.
Darwin was interested in the relationship between species and varieties: that was his forte. To
study the relationship of species to varieties required expertise in morphology, embryology,
and physiology: these sciences were based on analyzing characteristics visible to the naked
eye, an external view of nature. Darwin relied too heavily on the example of domesticated
animals and plant. Darwin should have besed his theory on the measurement of variations of
organism in a state of nature. By comparing the work of Karl Gartner and Joseph Kolreuter
(1733-1806) with his own experiments, Darwin demonstrated that sterility in plant was
caused mainly by interbreeding not by hybridity.
 The fact that Darwin was the first to suggest a viable theory for the formation of coral
reefs, that he was the first person to examineand describe the relationship of all the species of
barnacles, or that he was one of the first to explain how certain plants move is frequently
forgotten. The times was the most important newspaper in Britain; all the intelligentsia read
it, including scientists, professional and amateur. Whatever the reviewer said in this newpaper
would have a significant influence on the public and popular view of The Origin of Species
Would be more likely to receive a fair hearing among scientist (unlike Vestiges of the Natural
History of Creation).Owen, Samuel Wilberforce, the Bishop of Oxford and a member of the
zoologicaland Geological societies, argued that species and varieties were not as malleable as
Darwin suggested nor could Darwin use time like a magicians rod. Scientists belived that
the Cristian God had created each species individually thought that there had to be a scientific
explanation for the diversity and distribution of varieties of species. The first major
opportunity to debate this question in public occurred at the British Association meeting. In
fact, this famous incident was not a debate in the sense that ideas were argued back and forth:
the participant gave a series of speeches.

The debate occurred at a session of the meeting dealing with botany and zoology.
John William Draper (1811-1882), an American scientist who was the president of City
Universal of New York, read a paper entitled On the Intellectual Development of Europe,
Considered with Reference to the views of Mr. Darwin.

Darwins accomplishments as ascientist were recognized by a number of honors given

to him in the years before and after his death: an honorary doctorate from Cambridge
University; membership of the prestigious academie des sciences of France; his statue in the
natural History Museum in London; a new medal, the Darwin Medal, created by the Royal
society to honor scientists doing reseaech in similar areas to Darwin; and burial in
Westminster Abbey. Althought The Origin of Species was the starting point for these
promotional efforts, like the debates among scientist occurring contemporaneously, the actual
topic of discussion was evolution.

Darwinism was synonymous with evolution in the minds of Christian opponents: and
evolution was the danger, or evil, that had to be challenged. The impact of the theory on
belief in the creation story in the bible was troubling; however, looking at the state of the
world, what these opponents saw as the collapse in societys morals was far worse.