Historical Connections

The story To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in the early 1930s. Although Maycomb is a made up town, the time and area it takes place in affects the entire story. Even though slavery had been abolished in the late 1800s, blacks were still not completely free in society.  "Whites and blacks were segregated in 1930s America and blacks were considered as 2nd class citizens" (oxnotes). As white people had a racist attitude towards blacks during this place and time period, it makes sense that the town of Maycomb would be completely against Tom Robinson. Tom is a black man who is accused of raping a white woman, a very serious crime. Since Tom is black, he is already looked down upon by society in the south which makes him an easy target and also makes it easy for people to accuse him of the crime.