1. Historical Background
To Kill a Mockingbird
Historical Background

2. Social and Economic Climate of the 1930s
Wall Street Crash (October 1929)
People invested in shares
Prices increased
Companies bogus

3. Social and Economic Climate of the 1930s
The Rise of Unemployment
The Effect of the Wall Street Crash
People saved money
Withdrew money from banks
Banks collapsed
Companies went bankrupt
Result
Loss of jobs, homes, businesses, and land
As a result, men and women began riding the rails to find food and work. Rivalry between blacks and whites became worse – competing for jobs and food.

4. Scottsboro Case Two Huntsville Mill Girls Hobo to Chattanooga
Victoria Price
21 years old
Known prostitute
Employed at Margaret spinning mill
Ruby Bates
17 years old
Quiet and well behaved
Wages were always low and hours long in all Huntsville Mills. Working conditions were especially bad in Margaret Mills. Respectable citizens of Huntsville said that only the lowest type of mill worker would take a job in the Margaret and Helen Mills. Mills were cutting back their hours – The Margaret had its workers on shifts employed only every other week, from two to four days a week.

5. Scottsboro Case The Alleged Rape According to Price’s testimony:
African-American men forced white men off train
Six men raped Price and Bates
The Defendants
Along with the two girls were several black and white men. A fight broke out between the men, all white men but one were thrown off the train. The white men who were thrown off informed the station master that the black men and two white girls were on the freight – master telegraphed ahead to have the train stopped. The train was stopped in Paint Rock, Alabama.

6. Scottsboro Case A Lynching Spirit Outside the Courtroom
Officials maintain a peaceful crowd
Armed soldiers on guard inside and outside the courtroom
An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people gather outside the courthouse
Outside the Courtroom
One women said if they have another trial, she would like them to leave the soldiers home because the people could finish off the “black fiends” and save the bother of a second trial.

7. Scottsboro Case
Political Cartoon

8. Scottsboro Case The Trial April 6, 1931 – April 9, 1931 Witnesses
Price and Bates
One white man (collaborated)
Nine African-American men
Acquaintance of women (did not collaborate)
Physician
Eight of nine men sentenced to death
The physicians testified that neither of the girls showed signs of any rough handling on their bodies.
Mistrial declared for ninth because of his youth.
Executions suspended because of pending court appeals.

9. Scottsboro Case Trial Continues
November 7, 1932 United States Supreme Court orders new trial
March 27, 1933 the new trial begins
Famous New York defense attorney Samuel S. Leibowitz
Two physicians refute that multiple rapes occurred
Ruby Bates openly denies rapes occurred
April 9, 1933 first defendant found guilty
Judge James Horton overturns conviction
April 1, 1935 United States Supreme Court reversed all convictions
New trials ordered – the defendants did not have adequate legal representation.
Horton overturned verdict on the grounds that the evidence presented did not warrant conviction
Later in nd defendant found guilty – execution delayed pending appeal
Convictions reversed on grounds that qualified African-Americans had been systematically excluded from all juries in Alabama
None of the men are executed; however, a number remained on death row for many years. The case was not settled until 1976 with the pardon of the last of the Scottsboro defendants.

10. Parallels Between Scottsboro and Tom Robinson Trials
Scottsboro Trial
Tom Robinson’s Trial
1930s
Northern Alabama
Southern Alabama
Rape charge by white women against African-American men
Rape charge by a white woman against an African-American man
Poor white status of accusers a critical issue
Poor white status of Mayella a critical issue
Central figure is a heroic judge
Central figure is Atticus, who defends an African-American man
Judge goes against public sentiment
Atticus arouses anger in community defending Robinson
Jury ignores evidence

11. Setting Maycomb, Alabama (fictional city) 1933-1935
Although slavery has long been abolished, the Southerners in Maycomb continue to believe in white supremacy.

12. Themes Racial Prejudice Social Snobbery Morality Tolerance Patience
Equality
The Need for Compassion
The Need for Conscience

13. Harper Lee
She was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama (the fictional “Maycomb, Alabama”)
Her father “Amasa” was a lawyer whom she deeply admired
Her mother’s maiden name was “Finch”
Her own childhood mirrors that of the character “Scout”
In 1960 she published her only novel – “To Kill a Mockingbird”
It received the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1961
Since 1960, “To Kill a Mockingbird” has never been out of print
At age 81, she is alive and resides in New York
She rarely makes public appearances or gives interviews

14. Life During the 1930s Race Relations
Nine black teenagers are falsely charged with raping two white women in Scottsboro, Alabama; eight are convicted and sentenced to death
The U.S. Supreme Court reverses their convictions because their constitutional rights had been violated
The teens are tried for a second time, and are again found guilty
The Supreme Court reverses the convictions again
Eventually, four of the defendants are freed; the other five serve prison terms
The last Scottsboro defendant was paroled in 1950
It was virtually impossible for a black to receive a fair trial

15. Life During the 1930s
The Great Depression sweeps the nation – Many families do not even have money for basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter.
The per capita income for families in Alabama (and Oklahoma) is $125 - $250 a year
Many southern blacks pick cotton for a living
Franklin D. Roosevelt is President

16. Life During the 1930s Hitler is Chancellor of Germany
He believes that Jews, African Americans, and other races are inferior to Anglo-Saxons.
In 1936, Jesse Owens, a black American athlete, traveled to Germany to participate in the Summer Olympics.
Owens’ biggest competitor in the long jump was a German named Luz Long.
Despite racial tensions, the two became good friends.
Jesse Owens won the gold medal and Long won the silver.
Long was later killed during World War II, and Jesse Owens traveled back to Germany to pay his respects when the war was over.

17. Legal Segregation in Alabama, 1923-1940
No white female nurses in hospitals that treat black men
Separate passenger cars for whites and blacks
Separate waiting rooms for whites and blacks
Separation of white and black convicts
Separate schools
No interracial marriages
Segregated water fountains
Segregated theatres