Life in the Jim Crow South: a Webquest

Life in the Jim Crow South: A Webquest

Purpose: You will gain background on the Jim Crow South and the Great Depression to help understand the historical context of the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Directions: Go to the main website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/index.html. Follow the steps below to guide you through the site. Read the information provided on the pages (note that some articles continue on to a second page), and answer any below questions in complete sentences.

1.  Click on “The Congress,” and answer the following question in your own words after you read the section:

·  What was Jim Crow?

2.  Click on “Supreme Court.” Read the section, and then answer the following questions.

·  Define Plessy vs. Ferguson. Why it was significant for African Americans?

·  Define Brown vs. Board of Education. Why it was significant for African Americans?

3.  Click on “The President.” Read the section, and then answer the following question.

·  What were the roles President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, played in the Jim Crow system.

4.  Click on “A National Struggle.”

·  Read the paragraph at the top. In your own words, EXPLAIN why the system thrived.

5.  Click on “Interactive Maps.” Read the information on that page, and then click on “go to maps,” and read the paragraph on that page.

6.  Click on the link titled “Jim Crow Laws.” You’ll see several categories: education, hospitals and prisons, miscegenation, public accommodation, transportation, other. Here, you’ll find information about how the Jim Crow laws that each state were enforced.

·  Play around with the maps. Click on each link, and then click on the map to see what laws under that category were in effect in each state.

·  Select the law from each category that you find most shocking or disturbing. SUMMARIZE OR PARAPHRASE the law, and EXPLAIN your thoughts about it.

a. Education:

b. Hospitals and prisons

c. Miscegenation

d. Public accommodation

e. Transportation

f. Other

7.  Read about two powerful events in the Jim Crow South. Write down a few facts you learn.

·  Great Depression:

·  Scottsboro Case:

8.  Listen to and read TWO “first-hand accounts” by individuals who experienced Jim Crow. After you listen to/read each one, write down whom the person was, what insight the person provided, and your reaction to the person’s account.

9.  Take the Jim Crow quiz to see what you learned and to gain some possible additional insight into the Jim Crow South.

Created by Kelly Shafer and Renée Sowers, 2010