Background - The Secret Life of Bees

1. Background - The Secret Life of Bees

2. The Secret Life of Bees History of Slavery - In 1700s, blacks were captured in Africa and shipped to America, where they would be sold as slaves to pay off the debt of transportation • Southern states of U.S. needed slaves for their cotton fields. • Cotton was labour intensive and back-breaking...it had to be hand-picked.

3. History of Slavery cont’d Eli Whitney created the cotton gin in 1793. • The cotton gin separated the cotton fibers from the seedpods and seeds.

4. History of Slavery cont’d • The use of the cotton gin allowed American cotton plantation owners to make cotton quicker, stronger and cheaper than the previous cotton from India. • So, by the mid 1800s Britain was primarily purchasing cotton from the US. • Slaves were in even higher demand.

5. History of Slavery cont’d • According to an 1860 US census, one third of Southern families owned slaves. - Slave narratives told of the horrors of family separation, the sexual abuse of black women, and the inhuman workload. They told of free blacks being kidnapped and sold into slavery. They described the frequency and brutality of flogging and the severe living conditions of slave life.

6. The Secret Life of Bees Underground Railroad • Series of routes and houses where black slaves could escape from the South to the ‘free north.’ The end destinations were the northern states of the US and Canada. • Received help from abolitionists (sympathetic whites) • Underground = secret; Railroad = route with stops along the way

7. Underground Railroad cont’d • At its height between 1800-1850 • Because of safety issues, no one knew the whole route or all the people involved; if someone was caught, they could not ruin the whole network. • ‘Conductors’ would only know where they come from and where they were headed. Often conductors would change to keep the secret safe.

8. Underground Railroad cont’d • Would travel at night, approximately 10-20 miles or 15-30km (from downtown Brampton to Toronto (straight as the crow flies) • Sleep or rest at stations during the day. • A lantern hanging on a hitching post or candle in the window meant the house was safe - Canada was seen as ‘heaven’ or ‘The Promised Land’ due to its anti-slavery laws

9. Underground Railroad cont’d • No known numbers of escapees exist; however, it is believed to be between 30 000 and 100 000. • Large settlements in Canada – southern Ontario (triangle between Toronto, Niagara Falls and Windsor), Nova Scotia, Quebec and Vancouver Island.

10. The Secret Life of Bees American Civil War • Many argue that the American Civil War was based entirely on Slavery; however, it was about more than that. • It was about the balance of power between the North and the South • The North and South were headed in two different directions and were both concerned about the balance of power in government.

11. American Civil War cont’d North • Embraced industrialization • Large urban areas • Influx of immigrants led to a large boom in population • Free states South - Devoted to plantation life - Non-industrial - Slow population increase - Slave states

12. American Civil War cont’d • In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States (without having a single electoral vote from any of the Southern states). • One month later, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas seceded from the Union.

13. American Civil War cont’d • In early 1861, these states formed the Confederate States of America. • April 1861 the Confederate Army attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina and captured it; the ‘Stars and Bars’ were flying.

14. American Civil War cont’d • Another 4 states joined the Confederates, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia, making the grand total 11 states. - The Border States (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware) were slave states, but did not secede and remained part of the Union

15. American Civil War cont’d • January 1, 1863 – Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. • Frees all slaves in the Confederacy and allowed blacks to fight in the Union army. • July 1863 - the South lost the Battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and started to lose the war. • January 31, 1865 – Congress approves the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (abolish slavery); was submitted to the states for ratification.

16. American Civil War cont’d More important dates: • April 9, 1865 – Confederate Army surrenders to Union in Virginia. • April 14, 1865 – Lincoln shot by John Wilkes Booth and dies - May 1865 – remaining states surrender: NORTH WON!

17. American Civil War cont’d • Post American Civil War – called Reconstruction. • US government required Acts to be met in order for Confederate State to be given seats in government again. • Included: 13th Amendment – abolish slavery 14th Amendment – Citizenship and equal protection to all people 15th Amendment – Right to vote for all citizens regardless of race, color, servitude

18. American Civil War cont’d • Other Reconstruction experiments were led throughout the South: - Gave land to ex-slaves in S.C. - Taxes were raised to help restore the damaged and destroyed lands and buildings - Carpetbaggers and scalawags given power of land ownership and voting rights - Union army present throughout entire South

19. The Secret Life of Bees • So, many states are forced to continue to deal with the Union army. • Many felt betrayed, bitter, angry • Formed the 1st version of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Ku Klux Klan - originally founded in 1865 by veterans of the Confederate Army

20. Ku Klux Klan cont’d - Wanted to restore white supremacy • Used intimidation, which quickly turned to violence • Increase in murders led to a backlash against the KKK because federal troops forced to remain in the South • Klan dismantled in 1871. NOTE – Reconstruction officially ended in 1877.

21. Aftermath of Civil War After Reconstruction officially ended, white state legislatures enacted JIM CROW LAWS • Existed in southern states from 1876-1965 • Created “separate but equal” status for black Americans - included all segregation (schools, restrooms, etc.)

22. Ku Klux Klan cont’d • 2nd Klan founded in 1915 and grew in Post-WWI due to the increase in immigrants and labour tensions that arose when veterans were trying to re-enter the work force. • This chapter preached a ‘pure America’ and were anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, and racist. • Took part in lynchings, murders, cross-burnings, damage to public and private property.

23. Ku Klux Klan cont’d • By 1924, membership reached five million (approximately 15% of the nation’s eligible population), but it dwindled after a Klan promoter testified against the Klan. • Great Depression and WWII shortly after , which further decreased membership. • In 1945 Klan forced to disband for not paying back taxes, though local activity continued. • Local Klans participated in Civil Rights Movement, assassination of NAACP organizer Medger Evans, murders of civil rights workers and blacks.

24. The Secret Life of Bees Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression • 1920s called “Roaring Twenties” – a time of great prosperity following WWI. • Increase in industrialization, new technologies (radio, automobile, air flight). • Stocks were ‘safe’ to buy, so play in the stock market increased

25. Stock Market Crash and Depression cont'd Problems with Stock Market in 1920s: • investors, wanting to invest in the Stock Market, were purchasing stock on margin (borrowing money from brokers to purchase stock). Collateral was the stock itself. • Stocks go up and tons of money can be made • Stocks go down (value decreases), the difference in value versus debt had to be covered.

26. Stock Market Crash and Depression cont'd • Investors would also mortgage their homes to use the money for stocks. • Between 1921 and 1929, the Dow Jones rocketed from 60 to 400 = huge increase = millionaires created. • At the same time, fraudulent companies were created as scams.

27. Stock Market Crash and Depression cont'd • by 1929 the economy was slowing because people no longer needed the big, expensive items (ie. automobiles, radios, appliances), so production decreased. Companies and workers lost money and jobs. • Since companies and workers were losing money and jobs, people stopped spending money. • After a continuous rise of the market, on Thursday, October 24, 1929, stock prices plummeted. People panicked and tried to sell their stocks. No one was buying, though, so the stocks were worthless. • A group of bankers invested their own money into the stock market, which convinced others to stop selling their stocks. • By the end of the day, many people were buying stocks again.

28. Stock Market Crash and Depression cont'd • Tuesday, October 29, 1929 is known as "Black Tuesday" or the worst day in stock market history. Everyone was selling, no one was buying and stock prices collapsed. • People who had purchased stocks on margin had to declare bankruptcy; many were committing suicide. • If you used money from the bank (ie. Mortgaged your home, land, etc.) you had nothing to pay back the loan and lost your home. • All were effected for years to come as the Stock Market Crash is credited with started the Great Depression.

29. Stock Market Crash and Depression cont'd • Great Depression lasted until mid-late 1930s. • Characterized by mass poverty, lots of workers out of work; everyone was effected. • Farmers who didn't lose their homes, farms, equipment couldn't sell their crops because no one had money to buy. • 1/3 of Americans lived below the poverty line. • Banks were forced to close – massive withdrawals and loss of money on the stock market.

30. The Secret Life of Bees Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s • Nonviolent protest begun in late 1950s • Movement to achieve equality for EVERYONE • North and South US separated on issue of race • South had racially segregated public facilities (due to Jim Crow Laws), even though by law they were equal • Northern states were 'free' for blacks

31. Civil Rights Movement cont'd • In the South, most public places were segregated. Stores would have "WHITES ONLY" signs, fountains/parks and schools would be segregated. • In 1954, US Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that school segregation was unconstitutional.

32. Civil Rights Movement cont'd • In 1957, Little Rock Nine were the first black teenagers to attend all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. On the first day of school, the governor of Arkansas ordered the state's National Guard to prevent students from entering. - President Eisenhower had to send federal troops to protect students. Still, they faced threats, insults, and mobs of people who spat on them.

33. Civil Rights Movement cont'd • December 1, 1955 – Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat at the front of the 'colored section' of the public bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She was arrested. This began the Montgomery Bus Boycott, in which blacks in Montgomery refused to use public transportation until buses were desegregated. • Bus Boycott lasted over 1 year until a federal ruling came into effect that said segregated bus laws were unconstitutional • Martin Luther King, Jr. was instrumental in leading the boycott.

34. Civil Rights Movement cont'd • 1962 – President Kennedy sent troops to University of Mississippi to ensure first black student (James Meredith) could safely attend. Riot ensued and 2 people were killed and 300+ injured in the violent riot between protestors, National Guard and eventually the U.S. Army - Also, Supreme Court rules segregation of transportation facilities is unconstitutional.

35. Civil Rights Movement May 1963 – Commissioner of Public Safety in Birmingham, Alabama uses fire hoses and police dogs on black demonstrators during civil rights protests: - help gain sympathy for civil rights movement.

36. Civil Rights Movement cont'd • August 28, 1963 – 200 000 join March on Washington where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech - 1964 - President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act, which officially abolishes racial segregation in the U.S. - 1964 – setting of our novel (SLB) • 1965 – Voting Rights Act outlawed discriminatory voting practices • Jim Crow Laws officially overruled

37. Civil Rights Movement • 1967 – Thurgood Marshall named first black Supreme Court Justice • April 4, 1968 – Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated - James Earl Ray arrested, pled guilty and sentenced to 99 years in Tennessee state penitentiary