Scottsboro Trials In The 1930's

During the early 1930s, African Americans weren’t allowed the same job opportunities and government benefits that whites were. For the black people that had jobs, hate groups would force them to stop working. Additionally, only three Southern states considered lynching an illegal activity. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird does a fantastic job of portraying these issues. The blacks of Maycomb, Alabama had the jobs that nobody else wanted. They were garbage men, maids and house cooks. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus and Scout are having a conversation regarding her classmate’s views on Atticus. “‘Do all lawyers defend n-Negroes, Atticus?’ ‘Of course they do, Scout’ ‘Then why did Cecil say you defended

Nearly every aspect of American history involves white supremacy. Upon the discovery of the Americas, the Europeans believed they entered into a land inhabited by savages (Boyer 20). According to President Jackson, the mistreatment of the Indians was to “kill the Indian, but save the man” (Williams) in order to purify America. They were forced to adapt to the dominate society or be killed. According to Wiethaus, “the Trail of Tears is a story of tragedy far overshadows the longer term economic consequences of Indian land for the United States economy and the disruption of individual lives for those dispossessed of their homes” (29). The Columbian Exchange involved the slavery of Africans which later became an issue during the 1800’s once the colonies formed into states. African-Americans did not receive emancipation until after the civil war. Before then, slavery was at the heart of the Commercial Revolution which set the stage for the modern era of economic growth (Wright 14). During the 1800’s, states became divided upon the issue of being a Slave or Free State. After the Civil War, Johnson approved of the emancipation of slaves (Boyer 497). However, during the Reconstruction, “black codes” were constructed to prevent African-American to be considered worthy citizens. Many Acts were passed to give them equality, but they still received inhuman treatment (Boyer 509-511). It took years of marches, protest, and riots

In Scottsboro, Alabama, March 9, 1931 nine African american boys, Olen Montgomery, Clarence Norris, Haywood Patterson, Ozie Powell, Willie Roberson, Charles Weems, Eugene Williams, Andy Wright, and Roy Wright were incriminated of rapeing two white women on the subway. As they were accused of raping Ruby Bates and Victoria Price they were put on trial. This trail was long and unfair.

April 6, 1931, the trials for the Scottsboro boys begin(Uschan 16). The boys were represented by Milo C. Moody and Stephen Roddy who were only given twelve days to prepare for the trials. Stephen was and unpaid, unprepared real estate attorney, and Milo was a forgetful seventy year old local attorney who hadn’t tried a case in a long time (“San Marcos” line 13). The trails were completely unorganized and false information was stated throughout the whole thing. The cross examination of Victoria Price lasted minutes and the defense offered very little information to the judge. Six out of the nine boys ended up denying the rape while 3 admitted to it. Even though the three men didn’t rape the women, because of beatings and threats, they admitted to the gang rape. By the time the trail had ended 8 out of the 9 boys were convicted and sentenced to death. Since one of the Scottsboro boys was only thirteen, he was considered too young to be tried as an adult (“UMKC” par. 6-7).

The United States’ attention was captivated on the Supreme Court Case of Powell vs Alabama during the 1930s. During the time period, this case revealed the brutal treatment towards African Americans more than any other event. The case began on March 25, 1931, when a group of young white and African American youths were traveling on a train to find a job. A physical encounter broke out between them and the white youths were thrown out of the train. Then they reported the incident to a stationmaster, who stopped the train. The police arrived to gather the nine African Americans and brought them to jail. Nine young African Americans were recognized as the “Scottsboro boys”. They were accused of rape of two white women on that train. The white jury convicted eight of them, all except one, the youngest at 12-years-old, and were sentenced to death. These youths were falsely charged with raping two white women in Alabama. Although there was no evidence that linked the African Americans to the white women, they were still charged with sexual assault. The two women -- fearing prosecution for their sexual relationship with the white men agreed to testify against the black youths. The Supreme Court Case of Powell vs Alabama is crucial in both Civil Rights history and in the evolution of the Constitution.

The 1930's was a time of change for the blacks of the United States of America. However, this change was not all for the better. The main change for blacks during this period was that many of them migrated to the North, which in turn, caused many other situations, which included

The boys of the Scottsboro trials were never treated fairly from the beginning. The whole journey was filled with misconception. The journey began on the freight train, there was nine African Americans on a train car and with them, was a group of Caucasian men. It all started with one of the white males stepping on the hand of one of the blacks. Not too long after, the white males threatened the nine boys to leave the train car (Doc). After the nine black males refused their threat, a fight broke out between all of them. All of the members of the white group were thrown off the train, all, but one. The one that was left on the train went and reported the fight to the train conductor.

During the early nineteen hundreds many people especially in the south were often convicted of crimes for no other reason than their skin color and contrary to many ideas about our court system, we have not always been the most honest and unbiased people. One prime example of this is the case of the Scottsboro Boys and how they were accused of rape and had to go to court numerous times, almost everytime ending in the death sentence. The evidence in the case clearly points towards the innocence of the Scottsboro boys, evidence such as unclear stories from the girls, lack of bruises and marks indicating assault as well as a previous history of prostitution from both of the girls. This evidence helps to prove that Charles Weems and the Scottsboro boys were innocent and wrongly accused and convicted.

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.”  – Hannah Arendt, The Life of the Mind. People don’t always get to decide what they actually think is right or wrong, most of the time they are pressured to do what they know is wrong. Society is one of the most powerful forces that can alter people’s actions and choices. During the Scottsboro trials of 1931 this is shown through Victoria Price and Ruby Bates as they are impacted by society’s pressure.

Today, in the United States, people are not punished for the color of their skin, back in the 1930s, a person’s race was taken into consideration when in court. There are many instances of racism in both trials, which impacted the outcome.

the prisoners were lucky enough to escape the being lynched when they were moved into Scottsboro. In this trial, nine young, black boys were charged with the rape of two white girls while on a train. This case was a major source of controversy in the 1930’s. “Despite testimony by doctors who had examined the women that no rape had occurred, the all- white jury convicted the nine, and all but the youngest, who was 12 years old were sentenced to death” (“Scottsboro”). The boys’ lawyer, Samuel Leibowitz, did not even get assigned to the case until the first day of the trial. “If he could show a jury that these nine boys were innocent, as the record indicated, the jury would surely free them. To Leibowitz, that was simple!” (Chalmers 35). However, it was not that simple. Many white citizens would not change their minds about

Over time, the Scottsboro boys grew from boys to men and with the progression of their age so to do the attitudes of this country toward racism. Granted, there are still bigots and racist in the United States and in the south especially, but they are not the majority or the accepted---they are the minority and the outcasts. No one would be proud to say things like, “’There shouldn't be any trial for them damn niggers-- thirty cents worth of rope would do the work and it wouldn't cost the county much.’ --Decatur lunchroom proprietor (p. 211)” Those ignorant phrases are not common place in our country now, but we had to grow to get there. This trial brought about some of that growth, for not only was this something wrongfully done against a group of African American teens, it was injustice done to Americans and there were some in the United States who saw that and color lines began to blur. My great grandfather marched in the Scottsboro march on Washington along side blacks and Indians, all fighting for the same cause. The growth all the way to 1976 when Clarence Norris, one of the Scottsboro boys, came back to Alabama for the first time since the trials and was greeted, not by a posse or mob, but by cheers and outstretched hands to shake of all races.

The final inspiration for the book is the Scottsboro trials. The Scottsboro trials were a series of court cases for nine black young men, who were falsely accused of raping two white women (Anderson). The grueling cases lasted for many years. The verdict of one of the first cases was the men were guilty. The case eventually made its was up to the Supreme Court where more evidence was discovered. Which was that the men were riding a train car to Alabama in 1931, while the women were on a completely separate car (Anderson). The men were claimed to be guilty again. One of the women on the train stepped forward, and stated that her and her friend were prostitutes illegally coming into Alabama. They said that they were raped because they wanted

Regrettably, America’s past is littered with acts of racism, but as one reads To Kill a Mockingbird one can see the progression toward more modern thinking. To start, Judicial courts of the 1930’s were plagued with racial prejudices, blacks were not given fair trials

The story of the Scottsboro boys was a tragedy that reflected how civil rights of African Americans were repeatedly stomped upon over the course of two decades in the Jim Crow South (Bruzek & Chakrabarti, para.1) Nine young Black teenagers were falsely accused of attacking a group of White boys and raping two white girls. They were just “hoboing” at that time, getting on trains, looking for a better life and opportunity to improve their status quo (Simmonds: para.1). The year was 1931, the period of the Great Depression where racial segregation and discrimination abound. At that time, the case against the boys was a huge scandal that rocked the justice system, which treated the case of the Scottsboro boys in a