Historical Context of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird

1. Honors Language Arts 10To Kill a Mocking BirdHistorical Context Course Target: I can read to understand and analyze a variety of short stories, non fiction, novels, technical selections, and classical works of merit.

2. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird took place in the early 1930sLet’s take a closer look at this time period to get a feel for her influences and setting of the novel. Great Depression World War II Onsets The Arts Segregation Scottsboro Trials American History and Politics

3. The Great Depression • The Great Depression was a large economic downturn that had devastating effects on society. • 1929 (Black Tuesday)-1941 (Entry into WWII)

4. CAUSES Unequal distribution of wealth Excessive speculation in the stock market Stock market crashed on October 29, 1929 EFFECTS Farms produced more food than could be bought, and consequently lost their farms Factories and Mills closed Unemployment due to wage cuts Many banks failed Mortgages on many homes and farms were closed – many homeless people Decrease in world trade, because everyone raised taxes on imported goods Many suffered from malnutrition In 1932, Over 13 million Americans lost their jobs since 1929. The Great Depression

5. People waiting outside for employment People in a bread/soup Line The Great Depression

6. The Great Depression DUST BOWL • In 1930, a large draught spread across the great plains, destroying farms and homes • Parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado became known as the Dust Bowl • Many farmers in the dust bowl went to California to look for work

7. The Great Depression The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) passed by Congress in 1933 to provide economic relief to farmers, helped increase farm income. But throughout the 1930s, and in particularly from 1935 to 1938, a severe drought hit the Great Plains states and violent wind and dust storms ravaged the plains in what became known as the "Dust Bowl."

8. Segregation in America Separate….but equal?

9. Segregation in America A rest stop for Greyhound bus passengers on the way from Louisville, Kentucky to Nashville, Tennessee, with separate accommodations for colored passengers." [Sign: "Colored Dining Room in Rear."]

10. Segregation in America Manchester, Georgia. John Vachon, photographer. "A railroad station." [Signs: "Colored Waiting Room" and "Colored Men."]

11. Segregation in America Halifax, North Carolina John Vachon, photographer. "A drinking fountain on the county courthouse lawn." [Sign: "Colored.“]

12. Segregation in America Leland, Mississippi, in the delta area. Marion Post Wolcott, photographer. "The Rex theater for Negro People." [Sign: "Rex Theater for Colored People."]

13. Segregation in America Lancaster, Ohio. Ben Shahn, photographer. "Sign on a restaurant." [Sign: "We Cater to White Trade only."]

14. Scottsboro TrialsOne of America’s Worst Miscarriages of Justice In 1931, outside the town of Scottsboro, Alabama, nine black youths between the ages of 13-19 were charged with the rape of two white women. After appeal after appeal, seven retrials and two landmark Supreme Court Decisions, the youths were found not guilty, but all but one, served between 6 and 19 years in prison before winning their freedom. The trial focused national attention on the legal plight of African Americans in the south.

15. Scottsboro Trials To Kill a Mockingbirdwas greatly influenced by this story

16. World War II Onsets Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany and granted dictatorial powers in 1933.

17. World War II Onsets Dachau is first concentration camp erected in Germany March, 1933. On March 21 1933, Heinrich Himmler ordered that a concentration camp be erected at Dachau. This was the beginning of a terror system in Dachau that cannot be compared with any other state persecution and penal system.

18. World War II Onsets Boycott of Jews begins in Germany 1933.

19. World War II Onsets In 1934, Adolf Hitler combines positions of Chancellor and President, and becomes "Führer" of Germany.

20. American History and Politics Prohibition Repealed Prohibition was never very popular with the American people. Enforcing it had become a nightmare, with 1,500 agents pursuing tens of thousands of individuals, including members of organized crime who smuggled liquor into the United States.One of the first acts of the Roosevelt Administration was the repeal of the 18th Amendment prohibiting intoxicating liquors. This was done in two-step process. The first step was the "Beer Revenue Act," which legalized beer and wine with an alcohol content of up to 3.2%. The second step was the passage of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which legalized liquor once again.

21. American History and Politics F.D. Roosevelt inaugurated 32nd President of U.S. (1933-1945)

22. American History and Politics Roosevelt’s New Deal The New Deal legislation was passed within the first three months of Roosevelt's presidency, which became known as the Hundred Days. Roosevelt's first goal was to help the millions of unemployed Americans. Agencies such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) dispensed emergency aid and provided temporary jobs.

23. American History and Politics August 14, 1935-- President Roosevelt signs the Social Security Bill into law.

24. American History and Politics Public Works Administration (PWA) created in U.S. 1933. Works Progress Administration, established in 1935, finds jobs for the unemployed. Worker receives first WPA check.

25. American History and Politics AlbertEinstein was born in Germany in 1879.He moved to the U.S. in 1933. Thanks to his theory of relativity, Albert Einstein became the most famous scientist of the 20th century.

26. Wiley Posts becomes the first pilot to fly solo around the world in 1933. American History and Politics

27. American History and Politics Work begins on the Golden Gate Bridge Ambitious taxpayer-financed public-works projects helped to put people back to work. One such project, the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, (later named the Golden Gate Bridge) would alter Oakland's regional position forever. Since travelers no longer had to board ferries to reach San Francisco, Oakland became a city that too many people knew only as the place they drove through on their way across the bay.

28. American History and Politics Mount Rushmore National Monument dedicated in 1933.

29. American History and Politics US Federal prison opened at Alcatraz Island in 1934.

30. The Arts The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklasis a 1933 autobiography of Gertrude Stein, written by Stein as if Alice B. Toklas. Firstpublished in 1933, this novel (and subsequent movie) introduced the world to the Himalayan paradise of Shangri-La. F. Scott Fitzgerald publishes Tender is the Night in 1934.

31. The Arts Fay Wray stars in the greatest and most famous classic adventure-fantasy (and part-horror) film of all time, King Kong (1933). Greta Garbo stars in film QUEEN CHRISTINA.

32. The Arts Edward Hopper, Room in Brooklyn (1932)Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

33. The Arts Popular Song of the 1930s: “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" from Roberta (1935): RKO publicity still

34. The Arts Popular song of 1934:“Blue Moon” The lyrics are presumed to refer to an English idiomatic expression: a blue moon is the fourth moon that occurs in one season of the year, which is a somewhat rare occurrence. If something happens "once in a blue moon" it happens almost never. The narrator of the song is relating a stroke of luck so unlikely that it must have taken place under a blue moon. ---Wikipedia

35. The Arts Popular song of 1935: “It’s Delovely” "It's De-Lovely" is one of Cole Porter's hit songs, originally appearing in his famed 1934 musical, Anything Goes.