Timeline It is essential to understand the social and economic climate of the 1930’s and the changes made throughout the next thirty years in order to fully understand To Kill a Mockingbird.  1929 The stock market crashes, marking the end of six years of unparalleled prosperity for most sectors of the American economy. An estimated $30 billion in stock values “disappeared” by mid- November.  1930 More than 3.2 million people are unemployed  1931 “Food riots” begin to break out in parts of the US. The beginning of The Scottsboro Incident.

The Scottsboro Boys On March 25, 1931, several groups of white and black men and two white women were riding the rails from Tennessee to Alabama in various open and closed railroad cars designed to carry freight and gravel. At one point on the trip, the black and white men began fighting. One white man would later testify that the African-Americans started the fight, and another white man would later claim that the white men had started the fight. In any case, most of the white men were thrown off the train. When the train arrived in Paint Rock, Alabama, all those riding the rails-including nine black men were arrested. Upon leaving the train, the two women immediately accused the African-American men of raping them in an open railroad car. The trial began on April 6, 1931, and on April 9 of the same year, eight of the men were sentenced to death. On November 7, 1932, the US Supreme Court ordered new trials because they had not had adequate legal representation. The new trail began in 1933 and the first defendant, Haywood Patterson, was again found guilty and sentenced to execution. Only days before the execution, Judge James Horton overturned the conviction and granted a new trial. Despite the judge’s actions, a second defendant, Clarence Norris, was tried and found guilty. During this time all of the defendants remained in prison, and not for two more years was any further action taken. Finally, on April1, 1935, the US Supreme Court reversed the convictions of Patterson and Norris. No surprise to anyone, In 1936, Patterson was again tried and convicted of rape. In December 1936,

Scottsboro Boys While Patterson’s appeal was still pending and the other eight men awaited their trials, a compromise was met between the lawyers. They decided to drop the prosecutions of three and give the others no more than ten years for either rape or assault. Before it could be implemented, the compromise was thrown into doubt by the sudden death of Thomas Knight, prosecutor, and one week later the judge announced that the next round of trials would begin in July. Seven of the nine Scottsboro Boys had been held in jail for over six years without trial. In July of 1937, the verdict was in = Andy Wright received ninety-nine years, Charlie Weems received seventy-five years, Ozie Powell’s case was dropped because he was now being charged for assaulting a deputy. Next came the big news; all charges were being dropped against the remaining four defendants. Either through paroles or escapes, all of the Scottsboro Boys found their way out of Alabama. Charles Weems was paroled in 1943, Ozie Powell and Clarence Norris in 1946, and Andy Wright in Haywood Patterson managed a dramatic escape in Patterson and Norris went on to participate in the writing of books about their lives. Scottsboro Boy and The Last of the Scottsboro Boys are still in publication.

Timeline continued… 1931 – 1950 – The Scottsboro Boys 1932 – Lindbergh Kidnapping & Hitler Comes to power/Earhart flies solo 1933 – Prohibition Ends 1934 – Alcatraz Opens 1935 – Social Security begins 1936 – Hoover Dam is completed 1937 – Golden Gate Bridge completed

 1938 – Minimum wage is set.25 per hour  1939 – Gone with the Wind premiers  1940 – Churchill becomes Prime Minister  1941 – Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

“Nelle” Harper Lee Harper Lee was born in 1926 to a modest family in rural Monroeville, Alabama. She was considered a tomboy and a precocious reader. She studied at Oxford University and eventually moved to New York in She loved to write and published To Kill a Mockingbird in It became a popular success and was made into a motion picture in Lee is noted for her time spent with Truman Capote and their research of the Cutter family murders.

Harper Lee’s Childhood  Grew up in 1930’s – rural southern Alabama town  Father – Amasa Lee – attorney who served in state legislature in Alabama  Older brother and young neighbor (Truman Capote) are playmates  She was an avid reader  She was six years old when Scottsboro trials were meticulously covered in state and local newspapers

Scout Finch’s Childhood  Grew up in 1930’s - rural southern Alabama town  Father – Atticus Finch – attorney who served in the state legislature in Alabama  Oder brother and young neighbor (Dill) are playmates  Scout reads before she enters school; reads Mobile Register newspaper in the first grade  Six years old when the trial of Tom Robinson takes place

The Scottsboro Trails  Took place in the 1930’s in northern Alabama  Began with a charge of rape made by white women against African American men  The poor white status of the accusers was a critical issue  A central figure was a heroic judge, a member of the AL Bar who overturned a guilty jury verdict against African American defendants.

The Scottsboro Trials Continued  The first juries failed to include any African Americans, a situation which caused the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the guilty verdict  The jury ignored evidence, for example, that the women suffered no injuries.  Attitudes about Southern women and poor whites complicated the trial.

Tom Robinson’s Trial  Occurs in the 1930’s in southern Alabama  Begins with a charge of rape made by a white woman against an African American man  The poor white status of Mayella is a critical issue  A central figure is Atticus (lawyer, legislator and member of the AL Bar) who defends an African American man

Tom Robinson’s Trial Continued  Atticus arouses anger in the community in trying to defend Tom Robinson  The verdict is rendered by a jury of poor white residents of Old Sarum  The jury ignores evidence, for example, that Tom has a useless left arm