To Kill a Mockingbird Historical Overview By Harper

To Kill a Mockingbird Historical Overview By Harper Lee By: Mrs. Balzano 8 th Grade Language Arts

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

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

The Stock Market • People bought stocks on margins – If a stock is $100 you can pay $10 now and the rest later when the stock rose • Stocks fall – Now the person has less than $100 and no money to pay back

And then…. • With people panicking about their money investors tried to sell their stocks – This leads to a huge decline in stocks – Stocks were worthless now • People who bought on “margins” now could not pay • Investors were average people that were now broke

• Herbert Hoover was president at the start • Philosophy: We’ll make it! • What He Did: Nothing • The poor were looking for help

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 failed • 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

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.

Many waited in unemployment lines hoping for a job.

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

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

“Hooverville” • Some families were forced to live in shanty towns – A grouping of shacks and tents in vacant lots • They were referred to as “Hooverville” because of President Hoover’s lack of help during the depression.

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

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 20 th century

Two Families During the Depression

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

*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”

• The Works Progress Administration (later WOR Projects Administration; WPA) was the largest New Deal agency, employing millions of people and affecting most every locality, especially rural and western mountain populations. It was created on May 6, 1935 by Presidential order (U. S. Congress funded it annually but did not set it up).

Then and Now: Prices WOMEN'S CLOTHES THEN Winter Coat NOW $28. 00 Leather or Suede Bag $2. 25 Bathrobe $1. 00 Sweater $1. 00 MEN'S CLOTHES THEN NOW Broadcloth Shirt $1. 00 Wool Sweater $1. 00 Bathrobe $4. 90 Overcoat $18. 50 GAMES AND TOYS THEN NOW Sled that Steers $3. 95 - $8. 95 Ping Pong Table $23. 50 to $37. 50 Mechanical Toys 3 for$. 59 Doll ITEMS FOR THE HOME Table Lamp $1. 95 THEN NOW $1. 00 Portable Electric Sewing Machine $23. 95 Electric Washing Machine $33. 50 Gas Stove $19. 95 Then and Now: Wages WEEKLY WAGES (general averages) THEN Manufacturing--Production Worker $16. 89 $500 Cook $15. 00 $236 Doctor $61. 11 $1800 Accountant $45. 00 $700 NOW

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

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

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

Life During the 1930 s • 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

Life During the 1930 s • 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

Life During the 1930 s • 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.

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

Morphine: A Southern Lady’s Drug • 1930 s Typical Morphine Addict: – – – – White female Middle-aged or older Widowed Homebound Lives in the south Property owner Began using morphine for medical reasons (pain relief) • In “To Kill a Mockingbird, ” the Finch children will become acquainted with a morphine addict named Mrs. Dubose. Although only a fictitious character, she personifies the American morphine addict of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.