Slavery began in 8000 BC and expanded greatly in the southern US states in the 1700-1800s, where black slaves worked large plantations and had no rights. The Civil War from 1861-1865 was fought over the issue of slavery, with the North defeating the South. After the war, Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation and discrimination despite the end of slavery, which is the context of Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird".