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Historical Background
Historical Background
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Supreme Court rules that “separate but equal” meets constitutional requirements and thereby legalizes segregation in private businesses.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Overturns Plessy v. Ferguson and the decision stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”
Civil Rights Act of 1964: a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against blacks and women, and ended racial segregation in the United States. It
Segregation may be de jure(Latin, meaning "by law")—mandated by law—or de facto (also Latin, meaning "in fact"); de factosegregation may exist even illegally
After the Emancipation Proclamation abolished
slavery in the South, racial discrimination became
regulated by the so-called Jim Crow laws, which
mandated strict segregation of the races. Though
such laws were instituted shortly after fighting
ended in many cases, they only became
formalized after the end of Republican-enforced
Reconstruction in the 1870s and 80s during a
period known as the lowest point of American
race relations.
This legalized segregation lasted up to the 1960s, primarily through the deep and extensive power of the Democratic Partyin the South.
Many parallels are evident between the trial of Tom Robinson and the Scottsboro Trials.
On March 25, 1931, a freight train was stopped in Paint Rock (Northern Alabama) and nine young African-American men who had been riding the rails were arrested.
Also, two white women, one underage, descended from the freight cars.
They accused the men of raping them on the train.
Scottsboro Trials Took place in the
1930s Took place 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
Tom Robinson’s Trial
Occurs in the 1930sTakes place in Southern AlabamaBegins with a charge of rape made by a white woman against an African-American manThe poor white status of Mayella is a critical issue
Scottsboro Trials A central figure was a
heroic judge
The jury ignored evidence, that the women suffered no injuries
Attitudes about Southern women and poor whites complicated the trial
Tom Robinson’s Trial
A central figure is Atticus
The jury ignores evidence, for example, that Tom has a useless left arm
Attitudes about Southern women and poor whites complicate the trial of Tom Robinson
Nelle Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, had
many childhood experiences which are similar to those of
her narrator, Scout Finch.
Harper Lee’s Childhood
Grew up in 1930s – rural southern Alabama town
Father – Amasa Lee – attorney who served in state legislature in Alabama
Older brother and young neighbor (Truman Capote) are playmates
Harper Lee – an avid reader
Six years old when Scottsboro trials were covered in state and local newspapers
Scout Finch’s Childhood
Grew up in 1930s – rural southern Alabama town
Father – Atticus Finch – attorney who served in state legislature in Alabama
Older brother and young neighbor (Dill) are playmates
Scout reads before she enters school; reads Mobile Register newspaper in first grade
Six years old when the trial of Tom Robinson takes place
1954 – US Supreme Court rules in Brown v Board of Education Topeka, Kansas, that racial segregation in the public schools is unequal and, therefore, illegal
Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus.
Emmett Till, a young African American man, is murdered while visiting the south.
Home of Martin Luther King, Jr. is bombed in Montgomery. King is a leader in the Montgomery bus boycott and designated spokesperson.
Motions are filed in the US District Court calling for an end to bus segregation.
Warrants are issued for arrest of 115 leaders of the Montgomery bus boycott
US Supreme Court decides in favor of Montgomery bus boycotters, by ruling bus segregation illegal.
Federal troops are sent to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce court-ordered desegregation of schools
Publication of To Kill a Mockingbird in the Fall –
shoots to top of NY Times Best Seller list
