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Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of U.S, declared that all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall free during the civil war. This ended the American-African slavery, but the discrimination against the American-Africans continued ("Emancipation_Proclamation"). -
End of the American Civil War
The American Civil War ended in April 1865, with the African Americans gaining freedom from slavery. However, the discriminations against the blacks did not end in one day. Even though the African-Americans were not slaves any more, the unjustified and unfair discriminatioins against them continued (American Britannica). -
Start of Reconstruction
After the Civil War ended with the Union (the Northern states) winning, the two sides of United States worked on putting the United States back together during a period called Reconstruction. This started in 1865, and ended in 1877 ("Reconstruction"). -
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws were official laws that separated African-Americans from whites. Jim Crow laws were named after a white man who called himself Jim Crow and made fun of the blacks by imitating them. This laws made the blacks and whites use separate transportations, toilet, school, and restaurants. Jim Crow Laws ended in 1954 ("Jim" Britannica). -
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
In 1909, NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was created. This association was to protest against the discriminations and segregations against the blacks. NAACP was awarded with a Spingan Medal each year since 1914, because they have impacted to the society ("National Association"). -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was a period when stock market crashed and people started losing their jobs and money. By 1932, one forth of the Americans lost their jobs, and did anything to earn money. However, even though the Americans had a hard time, the American-Africans had a tougher time because they were treated much unfairly, due to the Jim Crow Laws. The Great Depression ended around 1941, when the United States entered World War II ("Great Depression"). -
Scottsboro Trial
Scottsboro trial was an unjustified trial that happened in 1935, February 25. 9 young black men were falsely arrested for raping 2 white women in the train. Even though there wasn’t any definite evidence proving that they were guilty, they got a death penalty, and unfortunately had to die. Harper Lee, the author of the book To Kill a Mocking Bird, was inspired in this event (Salter). -
Tom Robinson gets arrested
In November 21 1934, Tom Robinson was arrested for raping Robert Ewell's daughter Mayella. Atticus thought that Tom Robinson was not guilty, so he started to defend Tom as a lawyer. Atticus continued to defend Tom even though it caused many dangerous troubles. This event is very similar to the historical event Scottsboro trial, becuase Harper Lee, the author of this book, was inspired by that event (Lee). -
Scout and Dill meet Dolphus Raymond
During the trial for Tom Robinson, Scout and Dill met Dolphus Raymond. Dolphus was a white man who prefered being with the blacks than whites. There were discriminations against his kids, because his kids were half black and half white. The whole town including Scout and Dill thought he was addicted to drugs, until they met him as a person. After they met him, they figured out that he was pretending to look addicted because he was afraid of what the others would have thought of him (Lee). -
Trial for Tom Robinson
In 1935, during summer, the trial for Tom Robinson happened. Scout, Jem, and Dill went to the court to watch the trial, but there were not many seats left. So, they had to sit among the Blacks. By looking at this, it tells that the time period of this book is when the Jim Crow Laws exist. Even though it was very clear that Tom Robinson did not rape Mayella, he was found guilty (Lee). -
Jem and Scout goes to the church with Calpurnia
Jem and Scout goes to the church with Calpurina in 1935, summer. It was a church that only blacks went, because of the Jim Crow Laws, which segregrated the blacks and whites in public places such as schools, restaurants, bathrooms, and churches (Lee), ("The Universal"). -
Tom Robinson dies
In late August, Tom Robinson got shot 17 times because he was trying to escape from the jail house. This event violates with article 5, where it says that "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" (Lee), ("The Universal"). -
World War II
World War II began in 1939, and eventually made the Great Depression (1912-1941) stop. During the WWII, there was a migration of African-Americans who left to North. Even though there were discriminations against the blacks about jobs and wages, the blacks had jobs to do, at better wages than ever before. World War II ended in 1945 with the Allies forces winning the Axis forces ("World War II"). -
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech "I have a dream"
In August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., the leader of the Montgomery Improvement Association, made a speech about racism "I have a Dream". This speech influenced the U.S truly, and eventually gave a great help on stopping racism. Because of this, Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 ("Martin Luther"). -
Civil Rights Act (1964)
To end the discrimination based on all the unjustified treating, the U.S Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964. This Act gave everyone voting rights, and banned all the segregation in U.S. However, this Civil Rights Act was a very controversial event (Civil Rights).
