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In the spring of 1861, the United States exploded into what would be the bloodiest conflict in America's history: the American Civil War.

After the newly-elected president Abraham Lincoln tried to abolish slavery, 7 southern states viewed it as an infringement upon their constitutional rights, and started a civil war.

The war was fought between the "Confederate States" who wanted to separate and form their own country, and the "Union" which fought to keep the nation together.

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The first 3 trials were held in 1931. In those trials, all but one of the boys were sentenced to death. However, there were many re-trials for each of the boys over the next couple of years. Eventually, 1 died in prison, 4 were pardoned, 3 were put on parole, and 1 committed suicide. After 82 years, the Alabama Parole Board finally granted posthumous pardons for all 9 boys.

This incident showed the flaws in the American judicial system of the time. Specifically how African-American people had no hope of winning a case, no matter what the evidence showed. Your skin colour would determine whether you were innocent or guilty.

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The "Jim Crow Laws" was one of the initiating incidents that brought about the Civil Rights Movememt. Jim Crow Laws enforced the segregation of public services such as schools, toilets, drinking fountains, etc, for white and African American people.

Coloured and white people could not use the same drinking fountains, toilets, or even attend the same schools. This was done to separate them, and make it out to be that white people were superior.

These facilities for coloured people were often underfunded, filthy, and broken.

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"The Crash" in Ch. 2 refers to the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Also known as "Black Tuesday." On October 29, 1929, investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Billions of dollars were lost, and resulted in the US stock market crash, which in turn triggered a world-wide collapse of share values. This event is believed to be one of the causes in the beginning of the Great Depression.

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The Scottsboro Boys were nine young African-American men who were falsely accused of sexually assaulting two white women on board a train near the town of Scottsboro, Alabama.

The young men were given three rushed trials and were given poor legal representation.  Despite strong evidence that proved the boys' innocence,  all but one were sentenced to death

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During the 1950's and 60's, the African-American population of the United States challenged the idea of white supremacy, and led a mass protest movement against racial segregation and discrimination. They sought to secure legal recognition and federal protection for themselves.

Their main goal was to make people understand that a certain skin color doesn't make a person inferior to another.

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Harper Lee is an accomplished writer, whose novel To Kill a Mockingbird had won the Pulitzer Prize. Lee was born 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. The youngest of four children, her father was a lawyer, a member of Alabama’s state legislature, and the owner of a newspaper company. Her mother was mentally disabled, believed to suffer from bipolar disorder. Her father who had played an important role in her life, ties in with the character Atticus Finch. Lee’s personality ties in with the main character Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, both described as being a tomboy, intelligent,  and compassionate.

The events that take place in the town of Maycomb are loosely tied to her own experiences as a child.

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Alabama During The American Civil War - Will

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Alabama During The American Civil War - Will

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On January 11, 1861, the American state of Alabama declared succession from the US, and joined the Confederate States.

Alabama provided troops, military material, supplies, food, and animals such as horses and mules.

As Alabama was pro-slavery in the civil war, those that lived there decades later had similar negative attitudes towards coloured people as their ancestors.

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Living During The Great Depression - Will

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Living During The Great Depression - Will

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During the Great Depression of the 1930's, millions of Americans lost their sources of income. By the end of 1932, 13 million Americans were unemployed. Workers in industries such as farming, logging, construction, etc, were affected the most.

About 70% of farmers in southern USA were forced to abandon their farms and seek employment elsewhere.