Racial Prejudice In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mocking Bird

“We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” (Winston Churchill) Since the beginning, the United States have encountered many wars. During these wars, they have also gained great victories. Many of these wars were due to differences, whether economically or religiously. One war, in particular, changed the United States forever. This war was known as the American Civil War. What made this war so different from the others was that America was fighting against each other. We were our own enemy. Many things, such as slavery, economic and political systems, bought

The South killed Reconstruction most by their resistance against the North. Reconstruction started after the Civil war between 1865-1876. During the Civil War, the North and South battled, (The North won) and the South laid in ruins. The United States was willing to let the South back in under some conditions, and that marked the day Reconstruction started. During the Reconstruction era, the South resisted the North’s help and Reconstruction died. Resistance means to oppose an offer or an offering. Southern resistance killed Reconstruction socially, economically, and politically.

Between 1800 and 1860 two major things changed within the country. The cash crops changed from tobacco and rice to the new money maker cotton. Along with the crops changing the slave trade grew to replace the economic short fall in the Chesapeake area. These changed occurred due to the supply and demand of commonly bought goods. Another contributing factor for the crops changing was the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 and the use of cotton in textile facilities. Lastly, with the expansion of the country to the west and into what we now know as Texas drove the need for more slaves to work the land.

Atticus Finch prioritizes his role of father in that his responsibility teach his kids right from wrong takes precedence over all other things. Respect for all neighbors, in spite of Maycomb stereotypes, its a requirement in their household as the kids learn to accept the Cunningham's social class, Dolphus Raymond's lifestyle, and Boo Radley's eccentric Behavior.

Throughout African American History, there have been many migration concerning African Americans. From the Middle Passage, all the way to the Modern Migration that is happening right now. African Americans have been moved from where their African roots lies, to being moved all over the United States. These movements have done a great deal to African American History, as they have affected the customs that African Americans have practiced over time. These movements have been great in their own right, and the greatest one of all of them is the Great Migration.

For years before the Civil War many countries and populations had slaves. Many were innocent people have been enslaved by their religion, their skin, their class, or native culture. For example the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians and the Jews by the Nazis all because of religion. Native people in Central America and the Caribbean were taken by the Spanish to work for no pay and for no reason. Others have been enslaved by their skin like in the American Civil War innocent Africans were taken from their homes and forced to work for no pay, their class was very low and no one wanted them as citizens. African Americans used various methods to fight for their freedom during the Civil War such as passing information to the Union Army,

There were high hopes for the Reconstruction era, after the civil war, in 1865. Throughout the twelve year Reconstruction era, newly freed African Americans had hopes of a better life with radical Republicans on their side. By the end of Reconstruction in 1877, the hope for African American equality had been lost. The goal of Reconstruction was to rebuild the south, reestablish the union, and remake southern society without slavery; however due to prejudice and a lack of care from the government, true equality for African Americans failed to happen during this era.

Throughout history there has always been the debate, is America a land of opportunity? It is well known that situations in the past have not always been handled very professionally. With a semi-weak government and the idea that only certain criteria meeting men will amount to anything gives off the impression that not all is off to a good start. It is said that time heals all wounds, but if you look thoroughly through a history textbook it is evident that this is not always the case. To look back at things in the past you can easily tell that times were exceptionally different and harder. So to answer the question, America may have been a land of opportunity, but it was not an equal one.

In the time period between 1820 and 1860, slavery was an ongoing issue in America. To resolve this issue people turned to compromises and documents. Overtime the south began to lose respect for the North leading to a need for separation. The North begin to wage a war on slavery, in the process is regarding their constitutional duties. The conflicts residing between the North and South along with the government's inability to control the issues made compromise impossible.

The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared slaves in the United States as free. This newly free status marked an end to chattel slavery in the United States. Despite this remarkable win for humanity the sudden change brought forth a multitude of issues that the United States was not ready to address. African Americans were the main sufferers of the United States unpreparedness. The timing of emancipation combined with the prominent ideological beliefs of that time resulted in negative health outcomes that set the foundation for health inequalities among African Americans that are still prominent today.

The Great Migration was a time of change it was a time where African-Americans had the chance for a nice life. During this time people of color were moving to the northern half of the USA, in order to get a new start. During this they had to leave the only life they knew in hopes for something better in a different place.

The North and South emerged as two distinct regions because they had various differences. These differences included the geography, the economy, slavery, and transportation. The North was built mainly on factories and trade and opposed slavery, while the South’s foundation was agriculture and slavery. The geography of the South was more rural than the North and the North had more means of transportation than the South. These drastic characteristics created a vast divide between the two regions.

Everyone has experienced change at least once in his or her lifetime. Weather it is the change in your appearance, in order, or even a change in environment. In the early 1800’s America experienced many changes such as labor, lifestyle, and communication because of these exact changes America has grown-up to become greater than ever.

What if the world was still the same as it was back during the great depression. What if this was the truth. In To Kill a Mockingbird readers can see how prejudice affected people of color back then, and how it’s not so different from today. In the novel readers will find unfairness in court, hate crimes, and segregation. Today readers can still find these same issues, but in different forms. Prejudice towards race has changed very little from back then to now.

One of the main themes of the novel is Racism. During the time of depression, racism and poverty were a common issue. People with a dark skin tone, i.e the African- Americans were seen as derogatory and treated like dirt. Harper Lee depicts it in a very realistic way. Though most of the town Maycomb feels negatively and discriminates the African-Americans, characters like Atticus show us how one person can impact his surroundings if he has high morals. Although he couldn’t change the mindset of the other town residents , he made sure that his own children didn’t discriminate people, purely on the basis of their skin colour.