Era of The Great Depression

During the era of the Great Depression, many people felt loss and hopelessness. Everyone was scared of the future, no one knew what was going to happen or if the economy was going to get back on its feet. Above all, though, minorities suffered the greatest from the Great Depression. African Americans were always the last to be hired and the first to be fired. Many white people thought it was unfair that minorities, such as African Americans, had jobs while they did not. With so many increasing tensions brought on by not only racism, but the depression also, there was bound to be an uproar. This uproar was when nine African American boys were tried for the rape of two white women while on a train to find more work. The Scottsboro Trials were a time of inequality, reform, and tension.

During the 1930s, nine African American boys were on board a train in search for work, but their search ended early when in Alabama they got into a fight with white men. All of a sudden, two white women stepped off the train claiming that the nine boys had raped them. During this time, rape was inexcusable. It was an automatic death sentence or life sentence. The significance of the Scottsboro Trials were the fact that these young men were fighting for their lives, for a fair trial, when almost everyone was pitted against them. The doctor claimed that there was no evidence of rape, the lawyers were barely even helping, and one of the women accusing them of rape even recanted. The trial span over a day, the lawyers were appointed to them that morning, and not a single African American was on the jury. It was an unfair and despicable conviction. Eight of the defendants were sentenced to death by the electric chair while the youngest boy was sentenced to a life in prison for a crime that was not even committed. The Scottsboro Trials were riddled with such inequality that it was being revisited often because the Supreme Court kept finding hindrances.

The Scottsboro Trials were also a time of confusion along with the tension. Leagues such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People did not take part in the defending of the nine boys. These two leagues main purpose was to improve political, social, and economic equality for all Americans and especially African Americans for the NAACP. That being said, it is understandable how their lack of help during these trials caused many people to be confused and outraged. Instead, an unlikely league decided to help. The Communist party decided to step in and take matters into their own hands. While leagues like ACLU and NAACP were afraid of the backlash defending a rapist would bring, the Communist party quickly acted to show that these were unlawful and unfair convictions. Their main goal was to be in the spotlight and gain credibility as much as they could because it would further their cause in fighting racial inequality, which only increased during the depression.

During this economic downturn, many people were out of jobs and already on edge just trying to survive another day. Jobs were scarce, which also allowed the racial tensions to increase. So many people were hopping from place to place looking for any job to work. Many of those unemployed were white people who deemed it as unfair that minorities, African Americans in particular, still had jobs while they did not. So the fear of scarcity and limited job opportunities caused many people to become intolerant of minorities. They were threatening the welfare of white people and during this time of distress, Americans could not handle any more struggle.

Though this was a time of inequality and racism, the trials of these young men provided an important change throughout Alabama and the nation. The Supreme Court overturned the verdicts a handful of times. One of the reasons being that the nine boys were not given the appropriate counsel. The first lawyers given to them were on the day of the trial and barely offered any solace. One was the town drunk and the other was battling senility. Another reason the Supreme Court overturned the guilty verdicts was due to the fact that African Americans were excluded from the jury at the time of the trials, allowing for a prejudiced verdict to be given. These overturns were so important because it changed the way people were starting to look at the judicial system. Americans were now seeing just how far inequality goes. These boys had their lives at risk and were given a laughable counsel and jury. The case sparked the match that caused these two landmark rulings to be taken into account nationwide.

All in all, the trials of the Scottsboro boys were a time of tension and confusion, but also reform. So many people were feeling threatened by not only African Americans, but minorities in general, because of the scarcity of jobs and the Great Depression. In addition to that, Americans also felt disappointed in leagues like the NAACP and ACLU for their lack of help, but were equally surprised in the Communist Party’s involvement. Last but not least, the case brought upon two very important rulings that, along with the civil rights movement, established the rights of defendants.

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