To Kill a Mockingbird: Historical Paper The Great Depression was a difficult time in American history. It occurred throughout the 1930’s, and was a period of unemployment and economic decline (McCabe 12). The events in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird took place as the Great Depression was coming to an end, and the effects of it are seen in the story. Historic events inspired Harper Lee to write To Kill a Mockingbird, a historical fiction piece. In the novel, references are also seen to the Jim Crow laws and mob mentality. The first influence on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws were dehumanizing and it is important to learn about them so something similar is never repeated. The laws were made to segregate white people from people of color. An example of the laws is there were “laws that required Whites and Blacks to attend separate schools and to sit in different areas on public transportation. The laws extended to parks, cemeteries, theaters, and restaurants” (“Jim Crow Laws” 1). One thing I find particularly disturbing is that even in death (cemeteries), people of color were still not equal to whites. The absurd extent of the Jim Crow laws makes it hard to understand why they were put in place, but there was some, if very little, reason behind it. People thought these laws were needed because it was necessary to keep things in order. For example, “Many whites claimed that although lynchings were distasteful, they were necessary