Historical Background for To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee

1. Historical Background forTo Kill a MockingbirdBy Harper Lee Historical Background

2. Take a moment to think about the two quotes below. What do they mean to you? “A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.” ― Italo Calvino,The Uses of Literature “For they [works of writing] are the abstract and brief chronicles of the time.” - William Shakespeare, Hamlet * Chronicle: a factual written account of important or historical events. * Abstract: a summary.

3. To completely understand any piece of writing, it is necessary to understand the context in which the piece of writing was set (the setting) and the context in which it was written… Purpose:

4. Setting • Maycomb, Alabama (fictional city) • 1933-1935 • Although slavery has long been abolished, the Southerners in 1930s Maycomb continue to believe in white supremacy.

5. Harper Lee grew up in Monroeville, Alabama. Her own childhood mirrors that of her narrator, Scout. Harper Lee grew up in Monroeville, Alabama. Scout lives in Maycomb, Alabama. Scout’s father is a lawyer. Harper Lee’s father was a lawyer. Scout’s last name is Finch. Harper Lee’s mother’s last name was Finch. The Scottsboro Trials take place when Harper Lee is about 6 years old. The trial in this novel takes place when Scout is about 6 years old. The Author:Harper Lee(1926-)

6. From the 1880s to the 1960s most states enforced segregation through the “Jim Crow” laws named after a black-faced character in minstrel shows. Through these laws legal punishments could be imposed on people for having contact with members of another race. Note: Minstrel shows were comedies where white men painted their faces black. “Jim Crow” Laws

7. Some Jim Crow Rules 1. A Black male could not offer his hand (to shake hands) with a White male because it implied being socially equal. Obviously, a Black male could not offer his hand, or any other part of his body to a White woman, because he risked being accused of rape. 2. Blacks and Whites were not supposed to eat together. If they did eat together, Whites were to be served first, and some sort of partition was to be placed between them. 3.Under no circumstance was a Black male to offer to light the cigarette of a White female -- that gesture implied intimacy. 4. Blacks were introduced to Whites, never Whites to Blacks. 5.Whites did not use courtesy titles of respect when referring to Blacks, for example, Mr., Mrs., Miss., Sir, or Ma'am. Instead, Blacks were called by their first names or by “boy” or “girl” (regardless of age). Blacks had to use courtesy titles when referring to Whites, and were not allowed to call them by their first names. 6. If a Black person rode in a car driven by a White person, the Black person sat in the back seat, or the back of a truck. 7. White motorists had the right-of-way at all intersections.

8. All things were separate… • No white female nurses in hospitals that treat black men • Separate seating on public transportation • Separate waiting rooms for whites and blacks • Separation of white and black convicts • Separate schools • No interracial marriages • Segregated water fountains • Segregated theatres • These laws were not abolished until the late 1950s (and even then, not completely)!

9. Mob Mentality in the South • After the Civil War, The Ku Klux Klan was formed as a secret society that promoted white supremacy using violence and terrorism to undo the gains that former slaves had made. • However, after the 1920s , the KKK was no longer as secretive about their work. Public violence against Blacks, including lynching, became common occurrences. • This book is set in the 1930s.