Watching the movie “The Great Debaters” really opened my eyes for the horrifying history of lynching. The term lynching apparently originates from a man named Charles Lynch, who headed an irregular court in Virginia that used unorthodox methods to punish loyalist supporters of the British during the American Revolutionary War. Lynching is defined as murder by mob.
During the
time period 1882, the first year with reliable sources, to 1968, the year when
the classic form of lynching had disappeared, a total of 4,743 lynches took
place in the United States. Even though this is a terrible high number, but it
is know that not all of the lynches were recorded. The majority of the people
who were lynched were black, but there were also many white victims. 3,446 of
the killed were black men and women, and 1297 were white. Many of the white victims
were lynched for helping the black or being against lynching.
Most of the
lynching took place in the south, and the state with the highest lynching was Mississippi,
with 539 black victims and 42 white. Mississippi was followed by Georgia with 492
black victims and 39 white, Texas with 352 and 141, Louisiana with 335 and 56,
and Alabama with 299 and 48. Even though lynching took place in most states in
the US, there are also some states without any records of lynching from 1882 to
1968. These few states are Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Alaska, Connecticut,
and Massachusetts. There are also some states did not lynch any black to
record, Arizona, South Dakota, Idaho, Maine, Wisconsin, Vermont, and Nevada.
From 1882 to 1901, the annual number of lynches nationally usually exceeded 100. The record holder is 1892, with 230 recorded deaths, 161 black and 69 white. The amount of lynches declined somewhat in the twentieth century, there were still 97 in 1908, 89 black and 8 white, 83 in the 1919 76 black and 7 white, 30 in 1926 23 and 7, and 28 in 1933 24and 4. The numbers continued to decline until the classic form of lynching had disappeared in 1968.
From 1882 to 1901, the annual number of lynches nationally usually exceeded 100. The record holder is 1892, with 230 recorded deaths, 161 black and 69 white. The amount of lynches declined somewhat in the twentieth century, there were still 97 in 1908, 89 black and 8 white, 83 in the 1919 76 black and 7 white, 30 in 1926 23 and 7, and 28 in 1933 24and 4. The numbers continued to decline until the classic form of lynching had disappeared in 1968.
This is a gruesome
and horrifying part of the American history, and it is terrifying to think that
this was something that happened just 50 years ago.
I like how you use numbers and statistics to show how lynching occurred in the USA. It is not difficult to see how the numbers increase in the deep south. I didn't knot this, thanks for sharing! I knew there had to be more in the deep south, but was not aware of the numbers!
SvarSlett