Why Is The Great Depression Important In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the year 1929, it was a dark time for America, it was the start of the Great Depression. During the start of the depression, Herbert Hoover did nothing but think it would solve itself. So when Franklin D Roosevelt became president in 1932, there were many problems hitting his desk. One problem is that 25% of Americans were unemployed, this caused people to not earn money causing 80% of American families to not have savings. From families having no money to support their families, over 200,000 children wandered the country and 2 million men became hobos.

The book To Kill a Mockingbird took place in the 1930’s in a tired old town called Maycomb. Racism was at its highest, while jobs were at its lowest. The story is told in the perspective of the main character Scout Finch a 6-year-old girl. She shows the readers how the good people of Maycomb are hurt with the bad of Maycomb. Scout demonstrates this by putting many characters through many obstacles.

ScottsBoro Boys Trial V Maccomb The 1930s were a time of difficulty for people of color in the United States, especially in the south. African Americans were kept separate from white folks and were treated below them, simply because of the color of their skin. During this time, we saw monumental events that spiked up the civil rights movement and had people of color begin to fight for equal rights. One of these events was the Scottsboro trials.

The people of times were at a standstill as there wasn’t anything that can cause people to grow and nothing out there to strive for. The people suffering from the Great Depression were too poor to buy goods and no goods to buy. In addition, people couldn’t have dreams or as stated in the novel nothing “outside the boundaries of Maycomb County” as they were barely trying to live in the present with the crippling economy. Families like the Cunninghams represented the entire farmer population affected by the crash as they suffered severely and their way of life showed the impact. These impacts were evident by the condition of the Walter Cunningham Jr. such as the “absence of shoes ”(pg) that led to hookworms from exposure to the ground.

On October 29th 1929, the United States of America fell into an all consuming state of fear. The crash of the stock market and the economic tribulations that rural United Statians were facing resulted in the Great Depression. No matter where one would he or she would encounter a plague of despair and people looking for the same jobs that no longer existed. People left their homes hungry for opportunities but would end up with starving for not only a small sum or money but a morsel of food as well.

In 1929, the stock market crashed, bringing economic devastation to all of America, and much of Europe. Many Americans were jobless and homeless, causing many problems all throughout America. The American citizens and people frantically tried to create coping methods fro life in poverty, and did what they had to survive, as our government was working to improve life for the American citizen. These fateful years would later be known as, “The Great Depression”, the greatest economic crisis in American History.

In one part of the novel Scout (Jean Louise Finch) asked her father Atticus Finch if they were poor, Atticus replied with a yes. The novel also says that farmers such as the Cunninghams were having a hard time with their crops. The novel also talks about the town and how it is like and how it looks as in feature wise. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 was one of the causes of the Great Depression.

“The Great Depression was a time of devastation and uncertainty. After the stock market crashed in October 1929, millions of Americans lost their jobs and homes” this article and quote helped Harper Lee to write the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird (McCabe 12). The central idea of this paper will focus on historical influences in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird for example, The Great Depression because it was taken place in this time period. All the historical influences covered in this paper will be the Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and lastly the Scottsboro trials. One of the influences in Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird is The Jim Crow laws.

he Great Depression was one of the hardest times in American history. It began on October 29, 1929, which was the year of the Stock Market Crash. At this time stock prices were rising, banks were failing, unemployment was beginning, and so much more. The depression caused 13 to 15 million Americans to be unemployed! As the stock market crashed, a lot of consumers' confidence began to vanished.

Imagine trying to survive when the stock market crashes, thousands of banks close, and the Dust Bowl destroys crops. In the 1930s, the United States had a period of financial crisis, known as the Great Depression. The stock market crash, the closure of thousands of banks, and the Dust Bowl wrecked havoc on almost all of the citizens in the United States. The Great Depression led to farmers losing their farms, millions of people becoming migrant workers, and unsafe conditions for laborers. Many farmers lost their land in the 1930s.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many chapters that involve racism, poverty, and or violence. This book takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The Finches, Jem, Scout, and Atticus which are the rich white people, the Cunninghams, the poor humble people, the Ewells, the dirt poor white trash people, and the colored folks all are involved in either racism, poverty, and or violence. Many examples of poverty are stated in To Kill A Mockingbird. An example of poverty is the Ewells because the Ewells have nearly nothing.

During the years of 1929 to 1939, the Great Depression affected American life negatively. The Great Depression began after the stock market crash of October 1929. Many Americans, especially ones that were poor, became unemployed. Most of the country’s banks failed during these years, investment also dropped. The economy during these years became poorly and one man came up with these programs called the “New Deal”.

The Great Depression was not only one of the defining moments in American history, but also one of the most difficult hardships Americans faced. During the Great Depression, which was ignited by the stock market crash of 1929, people faced unemployment, poverty, and changes in government the ultimately shaped America today. Many people believe that The Great Depression began when the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929 (“The Great Depression,” American Express). In the mid to late 1920’s the stock market grew majorly, the stock prices skyrocketed gaining interest from all kinds of people.

The 1920s was a time of prosperity. Then, the Great Depression came along, and hope seemed far away. The infamous Stock Market Crash alone did not cause this time of hardship, but rather many sources eventually leading up to cause this economic crisis. The over-speculation in the stock market was significant.

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that show the life of a southern state od Alabama during the “black racism” time period, where majority of the people had the mentality that (quote) with the exception of a few. To chosen to portray it from the eyes of Scout Finch, from a child’s point of view. Living in Maycomb, in the midst of a conservative society of the 1930’s and 20’s Southern America Scout Finch is an extra ordinary child.