To Kill a Mockingbird

1. To Kill a Mockingbird Understanding the Historical Context of the Novel

2. The Great Depression

3. The Roaring 20’s • The new concept of “credit” • People were buying: • Automobiles • Appliances • Clothes • Fun times reigned • Dancing • Flappers • Drinking

4. Why was this bad? • Credit system • People didn’t really have the money they were spending • WWI • The U.S. was a major credit loaner to other nations in need • Many of these nations could not pay us back

5. 1929-1939 • Stock market crash • Didn’t realize the effect it would have • No money to replenish what was borrowed Many found being broke humiliating.

6. President Hoover • Herbert Hoover was president at the start • Philosophy: We’ll make it! • What He Did: Nothing • The poor were looking for help and no ideas on how to correct or help were coming

7. What about the people? • Farmers were already feeling the effects • Prices of crops went down • Many farms foreclosed • People could not afford luxuries • Factories shut down • Businesses went out • Banks could not pay out money • People could not pay their taxes • Schools shut down due to lack of funds • Many families became homeless and had to live in shanties

9. Many waited in unemployment lines hoping for a job.

10. People in cities would wait in line for bread to bring to their family.

11. Some families were forced to relocate because they had no money.

12. A drought in the South lead to dust storms that destroyed crops. “The Dust Bowl”

13. The South Was Buried • Crops turned to dust=No food to be sent out • Homes buried • Fields blown away • South in state of emergency • Dust Bowl the #1 weather crisis of the 20th century

15. Two Families During the Depression

16. A Farm Foreclosure

17. Some families tried to make money by selling useful crafts like baskets.

18. *FDR* • When he was inaugurated unemployment had increased by 7 million • Poor sections (like Harlem) had 50% of the population unemployed • Instated the “New Deal”-began to bring the economy back

19. To Kill a Mockingbird

20. Major Historical Happenings... • Jim Crow Laws • Scottsboro Trials • Recovering from the Great Depression • Racial Injustice • Poor South

21. Jim Crow Laws • After the American Civil War most states in the South passed anti-African American legislation. These became known as Jim Crow laws. • These laws included segregation in… • Schools -- Hospitals • Theaters -- Water fountains • Restaurants • Hotels • Public transportation • Some states forbid inter-racial marriages

22. These laws were instituted in 1896 and were not abolished until the late 1950’s (even then still not completely).

23. Scottsboro Boys Trial • 9 young African-American men (13-20) accused of raping 2 white girls in 1931 • Immediately sentenced to death • Trials went on for nearly 15 years before all the men were dismissed

24. Started on a train bound for Memphis • Several white men boarded and picked a fight with the black men • Whites were forced off train by the 12 black men. The white men reported the the black men had raped two white girls on the train to authorities • They were immediately arrested and tried in front of an all-white jury.

25. The trials caused a huge uproar amongst the black community.

26. Harper Lee

27. Wrote To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960 • Based the story on her life growing up in Monroeville, Alabama—the events of the 50s had a major impact on Lee’s life and was the influence for the novel • TKAM was the only novel she ever wrote

28. The character of “Dill,” Scout and Jem’s playmate in the novel was based upon Lee’s actual neighbor, Truman Capote • Capote is famous for amongst other things, In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

29. In 1962 the novel was turned into a film starring Gregory Peck. • It received a humanitarian award and several Academy Award nominations

30. The End