The 1930s in America It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. - from The Tale of Two Cities by Charlies Dickens

Life in the 1930s The 1930s are often referred to as The Great Depression because many people were out of work and homes.

Life in the 1930s Some Facts About The Great Depression: The Great Depression took place from October 24, 1929 until December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. During this time the prices of stock fell 40%. 9,000 banks went out of business. 9 million savings accounts were wiped out. 86,000 businesses failed. Wages were decreased by an average of 60%. The unemployment rate went from 9% all the way to 25%. About 15 million people were jobless

Life in the 1930s The end of The Great Depression began when we started making war supplies for European countries during World War II. Jobs opened up, and people started making more money. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, employment rates jumped again because many men joined or were drafted into the military, opening up even more jobs at home.

Segregation in the 1930s If everybody was poor, everybody was equal, right? Sadly, that was not the case. –Jim Crow Laws were the separate but equal laws that segregated African- Americans from Whites. –Some people actually tried to blame The Great Depression on the minorities in the USA –And get African-American men fired so more White men could work.

Examples of Jim Crow Laws –If a Black person rode in a car driven by a White person, the Black person sat in the back seat, or the back of a truck. –Whites did not use courtesy titles of respect when referring to Blacks, for example, Mr., Mrs., Miss., Sir, or Ma'am. Instead, Blacks were called by their first names. Blacks had to use courtesy titles when referring to Whites, and were not allowed to call them by their first names –Blacks were not allowed to show public affection toward one another in public, especially kissing, because it offended Whites

Examples of Jim Crow Laws –Under no circumstance was a Black male to offer to light the cigarette of a White female -- that gesture implied intimacy –A Black male could not offer his hand (to shake hands) with a White male because it implied being socially equal. Obviously, a Black male could not offer his hand or any other part of his body to a White woman, because he risked being accused of rape. –No Black can accuse a White person of lying.

To Kill A Mockingbird To Kill A Mockingbird was the only published book by author Harper Lee. Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, and grew up with the social conventions of The Great Depression and Segregation. She used To Kill A Mockingbird to critique the way people acted and reacted during the 1930s.

To Kill A Mockingbird The two central themes of To Kill A Mockingbird echo Harper Lees critiques of the social conventions of the time: People make choices based on how they are raised. Prejudice can hurt more than the person being prejudiced against.

To Kill A Mockingbird basic stuff you need to know The book is set during the early 1930s; Harper Lee would have been around the same age as the main character of the novel, the tomboyish Scout. The book is also set in Maycomb, Alabama, a fictional city that strangely resembles Monroeville, Alabama, where Harper Lee was born and raised. Part of the plot (the trial of Tom Robinson, an African-American charged with raping a White woman) resembles a case that took place in Alabama.

While you read through the novel, think about the pictures you saw yesterday: –These shots were actually happening in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia during the 1930s –Think about how each character might see this time period; who thinks most like we do today? Who does not? To Kill A Mockingbird

Bibliography What is Jim Crow? – Slang in the Great Depression – ng/slangmenu2.html America in the 1930s –