To Kill a Mockingbird
Background Webquest
English I
INTRODUCTION
 You are about to read the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The
story is set in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus
Finch is asked to defend a black man charged with the rape of
a white woman. Through the eyes of his young children,
Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores the irrationality of
adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the
1930’s. The consciousness of a town steeped in prejudice,
violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the quiet heroism of
one man’s struggle for justice. To best understand the lessons
of this great novel, you must first understand the author, the
times, and the place in which the story is set.
TASK
 Your task for this Webquest is to visit various websites
(provided for you) to learn the needed background
information before starting the novel. Each website will also
have a few questions for you to answer, simply to ensure that
you are finding the important material at each site. This
Webquest will give you a good feel for the 1930’s and a good
understanding of the historical context of the novel as well;
therefore, you will be much more equipped to understand
the introductory notes to follow and the novel itself.
QUESTIONS
 You should answer all questions thoroughly.You have ample
time to complete ALL questions; so be sure to SPEND YOUR
TIME WISELY. The questions will be graded for correctness!
The Process
 You will be working with a partner for this assignment. One
of you should be in charge of finding the appropriate
websites, while the other writes the answers. However, both
of you should observe the websites and both of you should
provide input on the answers.
CONCLUSION
 After completing this activity, you should have learned the
following:
 Background information of the author, Harper Lee
 Historical background of the times
 Insight into some of the events in the novel
Website #1 –Jim Crow Laws
 http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1-
segregated/white-only-1.html
 What did Jim Crow laws do for African-Americans?
 What was the first step in taking away black men’s civil
rights?
 Where did the term “Jim Crow” come from?
Website #2 – “Separate But Equal”
 http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1-
segregated/separate-but-equal.html
 What was the name of the Supreme Court case of 1896 and
what was the decision of this case?
 What did Homer Plessy do that sparked this Supreme Court
case?
Website #3 – Stock Market Crash
 http://www.history.com/topics/1929-stock-
market-crash
 What was the date of Black Thursday and what happened on
this day?
 What date was Black Tuesday and what did the events of this
date lead to?
Website #4 – American History 1930s
 http://www.history.com/topics/1930s
 How many Americans were unemployed at the start of the 1930s?
 When did the stock market crash and what might have caused it?
 Who was president at the time of the stock market crash and the
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beginning of the Great Depression?
What did Franklin Delano Roosevelt promise the American people
and what would this do?
Describe what the culture in America was like in the 1930s.
Name and describe one program that President Roosevelt launched
during his Second New Deal.
What brought about the end of the Great Depression?
Website #5 – Harper Lee
 http://www.enotes.com/authors/harper-lee
 Where and when was Harper Lee born?
 When did she win the Pulitzer Prize and for what piece of
literature?
 Why was her novel banned by a school board in 1966?