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Amasa Coleman Lee defends two black men in court.
Harper Lee's father, Amasa Coleman Lee, was an attorney, and in 1919, he defended two black men accused of murder. After they were convicted, hanged and mutilated he never tried another criminal case. -
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TKAM- Time Period
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The stock market crashes.
The "crash" begins on October 24 (Black Thursday). By October 29, stock prices will plummet and banks will be calling in loans. An estimated $30 billion in stock values will "disappear" by mid-November. -
Unemployment numbers soar.
More than 3.2 million people are unemployed, up from 1.5 million before the October, 1929 crash. President Hoover remains optimistic, however, stating that "all the evidences indicate that the worst effects of the crash upon unemployment will have passed during the next 60 days." -
Scottsboro Boys are arrested.
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. -
Franklin Roosevelt elected as President.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected president in a landslide over Herbert Hoover. Roosevelt receives 22.8 million popular votes to Hoover's 15.75 million. -
To Kill a Mockingbird begins.
The story starts in the year 1930. -
To Kill a Mockingbird ends.
The story ends within a three year period. -
The Detroit race riots begin.
The Detroit Race Riot broke out in Detroit, Michigan, in June,1943, and lasted for three days before Federal troops regained control. The rioting between blacks and whites began on Belle Isle on June 20, 1943, and continued until June 22, killing 34, wounding 433, and destroying property valued at $2 million. -
Rosa Parks makes a stand.
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus, starting the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This occurs nine months after 15-year-old high school student Claudette Colvin became the first to refuse to give up her seat. Colvin's was the legal case which eventually ended the practice in Montgomery. -
Little Rock Nine enters school.
President Dwight Eisenhower federalizes the National Guard and also orders US Army troops to ensure Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas is integrated. Federal and National Guard troops escort the Little Rock Nine. -
To Kill a Mockingbird is published.
Reaction to the novel varied widely upon publication. In 2006, British librarians ranked the book ahead of the Bible as one "every adult should read before they die". -
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is shot and killed.
Dr. Martin Luther King is shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray. Riots broke out in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Louisville, Kansas City, and more than 150 U.S. cities in response to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
