1. To Kill a Mockingbird
History
&
Background

2. I. “Jim Crow” laws A. Laws adopted by Southern states in 1870s & 1880s
B. Legalized “separate but equal” treatment of blacks & whites
1. Known as segregation
C. Restricted black’s rights and/or access to:
1. Public Facilities (restrooms, restaurants, drinking
fountains)
2. Schools
3. Transportation (trains, buses)
4. Employment
D. Lasted until the 1960s

4. II. Plessy v. Ferguson A. Homer Plessy 1. Biracial man
2. Refused to sit in segregated train car
a. Went to court
B. U.S. Supreme Court ruling
1. “separate but equal” facilities ruled constitutional (i.e. okay)
a. One court justice dissents (i.e. disagrees)
2. Plessy loses case

6. III. The Great Depression (1929-1939)
A. 1920s (“Roaring ’20s): economy boomed!
B. 1929: Stock Market crashes
1. companies lay off or fire employees
2. by 1932: 15 million workers unemployed
a. 24% of labor force
b. bread/soup lines long; homeless population soars
3. farmers hit hardest
4. children sent to live elsewhere
C. 1932: FDR elected President
1. restores optimism and confidence
2. famous quote: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”
3. creates lots of government jobs (The New Deal)

8. IV. The Scottsboro Trials
A. 1931: 9 black kids arrested for assault (known as “The Scottsboro Boys”)
1. 2 white girls accuse them of rape
2. within 2 weeks, 8-9 convicted & sentenced to death
a. 9th boy sentenced to life
3. NAACP appeals
B. 1932:
1. one girl admits not raped
2. Alabama State Supreme Court upholds convictions 6-1
a. case appealed to U.S. Supreme Court
i. retrial is given
ii. convictions upheld again

9. 1. boys released on parole or die in prison F. Last boy dies in 1989
C :
1. one girl testifies for defense
2. jury roll found to exclude blacks AND forged
a. new trial given again
D. 1936:
1. Sentences changed
a. Sentences range from 20 years to 99 years
E :
1. boys released on parole or die in prison
F. Last boy dies in 1989
G. All Scottsboro boys exonerated in 2013

13. V. Brown vs. Board of Education
A. 1951: Linda Brown and others denied by all white school
1. Lawsuit filed
a. Kansas court: segregation NOT illegal
b. NAACP appeals
B. 1954: U.S. Supreme Court rules separate educational facilities unequal
1. all schools told to change swiftly
2. some black students met with hostility

21. Harper Lee ( )
A. Monroeville, Alabama
1. Harper: tomboy; youngest of 4
2. dad: lawyer
3. mom: mentally ill
B. Loner; Individualist
1. not real “girly”
2. led very quiet, private life
3. secret philanthropist

23. VII. To Kill a Mockingbird A. Published in 1960
B. Many characters based on own life
C. Novel about:
1. Coming of Age (growing up)
2. Racial Issues prevalent at the time
D. Won Pulitzer Prize
E. Made into a movie in 1962