Charles Lynch and the Origin of the Term
According to Buckser (1992), the term “lynching” was derived from a Revolutionary War Virginia militia colonel, Charles Lynch. Lynch, at this time, came up with an “unofficial justice system” that punished suspected criminals and thieves through whippings; this later became known as “Lynch’s law”. He also mentions that during the eighteenth and nineteenth century, writers used a form of public humiliation known as charivari (12). These ridicule- based punishments were typically against people who transgressed the community norm. Buckser (1992) also noted that by the 1830s writers began to see a change when the frequency and severity of lynch laws increased. They attributed this increase to the rise
…show more content…
Buckser (1992) defined lynching as the unlawful killing of a supposed criminal by members of a community, developed into a widespread and stylized phenomenon in the years between the American Civil War and the Great Depression (11). Lynching in the United States became a prominent and common practice during this era and it frequently targeted African American men and women in the south, pitting white communities against black communities. It was most active from 1890s to 1920s with its peak during 1892. For example, as defined by Pfeifer (2009), “lynching is the collective murder motivated by justice, race, or tradition, was a key aspect of the social and cultural landscape of late nineteenth- and early twentieth- century Loiusiana” (189). During the lynching era, the south was led by conservative democrats who had made the practice of lynching an informal system of law enforcement to enforce white supremacy against the marginalized blacks at the time. During the time that lynching gained prominence in American society, many American news groups had different perspectives and descriptions of what constituted as lynching. Newspapers at the time covered the practice of lynching- some supporting the act, while others fought against the vice. The aim of this paper is to conduct an in-depth study of lynching within the history of the American society, and how newspapers at the time defined and covered the topic. The time-period of this paper focuses on the late 18th century and early 19th
“Hellhounds” in the Trouble in Mind by Leon Litwack: In this reading the author graphically describes lynching as punishment and deterrence for “high-falutin’” blacks. In page 292, distinctions were drawn between a “good” and “bad” lynching – depending on who executed the sentence and the atmosphere of the punishment.
One of the most appalling practices in history, lynching — the extrajudicial hanging of a person accused of a crime — was commonplace in American society less than 100 years ago. The word often conjures up horrifying images of African Americans hanging from lampposts or trees. However, what many do not know is that while African Americans certainly suffered enormously at the hands of a white majority, they were not the only victims of this practice. In fact, the victims of the largest mass lynching in American history were Chinese (Johnson). On October 24th, 1871, a white mob stormed into the Chinatown of Los Angeles.
Interestingly, the book does not focus solely on the Georgia lynching, but delves into the actual study of the word lynching which was coined by legendary judge Charles B Lynch of Virginia to indicate extra-legal justice meted out to those in the frontier where the rule of law was largely absent. In fact, Wexler continues to analyse how the term lynching began to be used to describe mob violence in the 19th century, when the victim was deemed to have been guilty before being tried by due process in a court of law.
By the end of the 19th century, lynching was clearly the most notorious and feared means of depriving Bl...
Laura Wexler’s Fire In a Canebrake: The Last Mass Lynching in America, is an spectacular book that depicts what, many refer to as the last mass lynching. The last mass lynching took place on July 25, 1946, located in Walton County, Georgia. On that day four black sharecroppers (Roger Malcom, Dorothy Malcom, George Dorsey and Mae Murray Dorsey) are brutally murdered by a group of white people. This book presents an epidemic, which has plagued this nation since it was established. Being African American, I know all too well the accounts presented in this book. One of the things I liked most about Fire in A Canebrake was that Wexler had different interpretations of the same events. One from a black point of view and the other from a white point of view. Unfortunately both led to no justice being served. Laura Wexler was
Wexler, Laura. 2003. Fire in a Canebrake: The Last Mass Lynching in America. Scribner; 2004. Print
From 1880 to 1940 more than five thousand African Americans were killed by the US white vigilante mobs that also included Christians (page, 3). Christians were on the forefront in participation in lynching where black persons were killed without any cause or chance to face a justified death. The Christians that did not participate directly in any lynchings were silent on the issue. The act of lynching was identified as the symbolic re-enactment of the fructification in the twentieth century .
Wells challenged this notion as a concealed racist agenda that functioned to keep white men in power over blacks as well as white women. Jacqueline Jones Royster documents the stereotypes of this popular white belief in an analysis of Wells’ reports.... ... middle of paper ... ...]” http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/g_l/lynching/lynching.htm>. [3] Tabulating the statistics for lynchings in 1893, [in A Red Record] Wells demonstrated that less than a third of the victims were even accused of rape or attempted a rape.. http://www.alexanderstreet6.com/wasm/wasmrestricted/aswpl/doc4.htm> 4 Royster.
Wells, Ida B. Southern Horrors. Lynch Law in All Its Phase. New York: New York Age Print, 1892. Print. 6.
Barnett, Ida B., and Ida B. Barnett. Southern horrors and other writings: the anti-lynching campaign of Ida B. Wells, 1892-1900. Boston, MA: Bedford Books, 1997.
As defined by encyclopedia.com, lynching is “violent punishment or execution, without due process, for real or alleged crimes” (Lynching). Although this is somewhat vague, it is quite accurate. Basically, the illegal act of intentional harm, usually performed in front of a vigilante audience, falls into this definition. It is commonly believed that the word “lynching” or “lynch law” was derived from the name of Charles Lynch (Simkin). This Virginian landowner consistently practiced illegal “trials” of local lawbreakers in his very own front yard. Once found guilty, not exactly a difficult finding, Lynch would then proceed to heartlessly whip and beat the accused (Simkin). Thus, “lynching” was born, and not explicitly to colored folks alone.
Southern Horror s: Lynch Law in All Its Phases by Ida B. Wells took me on a journey through our nations violent past. This book voices how strong the practice of lynching is sewn into the fabric of America and expresses the elevated severity of this issue; she also includes pages of graphic stories detailing lynching in the South. Wells examined the many cases of lynching based on “rape of white women” and concluded that rape was just an excuse to shadow white’s real reasons for this type of execution. It was black’s economic progress that threatened white’s ideas about black inferiority. In the South Reconstruction laws often conflicted with real Southern racism. Before I give it to you straight, let me take you on a journey through Ida’s
Lynching: the mob murder of someone who might be considered a public offender. While white Southerners may have considered themselves vigilantes, in reality they were killers with biased intent. In the Southern United States during the 1960s, lynching occurred frequently relative to standards such as today. Though lynching changed the lives of people directly connected to victims, they also changed mindsets and actions where they occurred and around the nation. Thus, the motives of racial based lynching and the crimes themselves affected people, legislature, and culture in the South for years to come.
Violent, racially motivated conflict dominated the South during the early 20th Century. Some of the most deadly, inhumane racial disturbances occurred amongst blacks during this time. In this paper I will discuss what we know today as “The Redwood Massacre”, a brutal event that took place in a rural area known as Levy County located in Rosewood, Florida, U.S. in January of 1923 that would cost innocent blacks their lives due to racial violence. Though blacks predominantly populated Rosewood, soon this would come to a change. The morning of January 1st, 1923 would be the beginning of something Rosewoods citizens never saw coming. The alleged beating and rape of Fannie Taylor, a young white woman married to James Taylor, who was a worker of the Cummer and Sons saw mill in Sumner, would not only spark the rise of a riot but with the news spreading rapidly lead to a history of events that would later come along. Fannie Taylor accused her attacker of being a black man who lived in a community nearby. White men believed this rumor to be true and believed it to be Jesse Hunter, who had been serving time for having carried a concealed weapon. They quickly set out on the hunt for Jesse Hunter, a convict who had just escaped from a crew that he’d worked for.