To Kill a Mockingbird

By: Harper Lee

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Events in History at the Time the Novel Takes Place

The Great Depression Overfarming of cotton had exhausted the

soil Southerners were reluctant to experiment

with new techniques on crops such as rice or sugar cane

Cotton prices fell in 1930 and stayed low for several years; Southern economy worsened

Mob Violence Hatred from mobs showed through the

vicious punishment they exacted Suspicion of rape gave the mob license to

be exceptionally cruel Economic hardships seem to cause more

violence; the number of lynchings rose in direct relation to decrease in price of cotton

The Scottsboro Trials There are many parallels between the trial

of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird and one of the most notorious series of trials in the nation's history ‚ the Scottsboro Trials.

On March 25, 1931, a freight train was stopped in Paint Rock, a tiny community in Northern Alabama, and nine young African American men who had been riding the rails were arrested.

As two white women - one underage - descended from the freight cars, they accused the men of raping them on the train.

A Woman’s Role Southern society called for these “ladies” to

be idle, well-mannered and skilled in the ways of hospitality

Raising of children was left to hard-working black “mammies”

Were not encouraged to exercise their right to vote

Small Town Life Class structure was tied to income and

achievements The ability to read and write, the record of

having voted in a number of elections, or a family heritage that included one-time ownership of a plantation were attributes that elevated one’s position in society.