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The Great Depression and To Kill a Mockingbird
This timeline refects the events that Harper Lee lived through prior publication of "To Kill a Mockingbird." -
Harper Lee was born
Famed author Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. The youngest of four children, she grew up as a tomboy in a small town. Her father was a lawyer, a member of the Alabama state legislature and also owned part of the local newspaper. For most of Lee's life, her mother suffered from mental illness, rarely leaving the house. -
The Crash
In the United States, people thought their country wouldn't become a victim of the Great Depression that had overtaken Europe. However, on the 29th of October, the stock market crashed sending the United States into their own Great Depression. -
Scottsboro Boys
The Scottsboro Boys were nine black teenage boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial. The case included a frameup, an all-white jury, rushed trials, an attempted lynching, an angry mob, and is an example of an overall miscarriage of justice. -
The Dust Bowl
Along with the Great Depression was the Dust Bowl in the middle of the country. The Dust Bowl took place in the Great Plains, which included Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, and Colorado. The Dust Bowl was caused by the lack of crop rotation; it basically killed the soil, which caused it to dry up, resulting in dust storms. -
Unemployment
At the peak of the Great Depression, the unemployment rate had reached 8.7 percent, up from about 5 percent when the Great Depression had started. Unemployment was becoming a major issue as many people were living paycheck-to-paycheck, with only their last job to keep them going. -
Migration
Due to the high rate of joblessness in many cities, people had to look elsewhere for work. They often heard of land and jobs in California. Many people decided to move themselves and/or their families to the west for the promise of a better life. -
Migrant Work
Many workers in search of jobs often traveled by themselves, so they only had themselves to look after. They could also move easily from job-to-job. Many migrant workers were desperate for money, so the were willing to take lower paying jobs if it meant being paid at all. -
Joblessness
The number of unemployed workers continued to rise. People just couldn't find jobs to support their families. Factories had no work to offer due to their shortages, as well. -
Black Blizzards
The Black Blizzards were what convinced the government to take action and try to stop the Dust Bowl. One of the storms on the Great Plains was so bad that it carried dust all the way up the East Coast. When the senate looked out the window of the Capitol Building, they saw the storm coming. -
The Effects of the Dust Bowl
The effects of the Dust Bowl were enormous. Many families and their homes were completely destroyed by the storms. People were left to fend for themselves because their farms were their only source of income. Many people tried to move out west only to find the good land was already taken and that there were very few jobs. -
The (End) of the Great Depression
The Great Depression basically came to an end when WWII broke out in Europe. Many new systems were put in effect to help bring the economy out of ruins. Many people were still homeless and without much money, but jobs were on the rise. -
Pearl Harbor
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the US entered WWII. With the increased needs of the war came increased jobs, which provided more job opportunities for the unemployed. -
WWII Ends
Japan surrenders; WWII ends. -
Rosa Parks Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott, a seminal event in the U.S. civil rights movement, was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. -
To Kill a Mockingbird Published
To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, was published in 1960. It was immediately successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature
