The Effect Of Lynching In The 1920's

A perfect example backing up what Wells-Barnett argues the cause of lynching is in Southern Horrors is the case of a lynching that occurred on March 9th, 1892 in Memphis, Tennessee. Tensions were rising in a Memphis neighborhood after three African American men; Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell and Will Stewart, opened their own grocery store that was taking business away from a nearby white owned store. The three black men stayed overnight at their store to protect it from vandals that night. Sometime in the night they shot off some of the white men who came to attack. In retaliation for the white men who were shot, the storeowners were arrested and taken to jail. These men were never given the opportunity to defend their actions due to a lynch mob dragging them from their cell then murdering them. Additionally, Wells-Barnett informed the public that some of the cases, more often than not where black men that were lynched for raping white women, the sexual relations were consensual and not forced. Learning of the unjust treatment of the store owners, the other men who were falsely accused of rape, and countless other injustices Wells-Barnett became outraged to the degree of taking it upon herself to put her life at risk by traveling the south for two months gathering information on other lynching incidents

In the late 19th century, lynchings were commonplace occurrences, especially in Southern states. The lynchings were publicized in newspaper ads and were so accepted that postcards showing pictures of the event were sold as souvenirs. Apologists claimed that the lynchings took place to punish criminals for their crimes and to protect white women from black aggressors. To counter the claims that resulted in these “punishments,” many activists, including Ida B. Wells, wrote speeches depicting the harsh and racist reality of lynchings. In 1909, Wells gave a speech at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s first annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia, in which she condemns lynchings and their public acceptance. By offering

First, ask yourself how would you feel after hearing the news that one of your family members had been lynched? Throughout the chapters 1-8, we can experience and observe the disheartening history of violence and lies. It is additionally an irritating depiction of a partitioned country on the very edge of the social equality development and an eerie contemplation on race, history, and the battle for truth. Throughout history, the conditions of the lynching, how it affected the legislators of the day, quickened the social equality development and keeps on shadowing the Georgia people group where these homicides occurred. During the 1900s until 19600s various African-Americans experienced various harsh conditions of violence, never being granted the right to vote and being segregated from whites based on their race and skin-color from their white masters. In general racism between whites and blacks can be seen throughout the globe during the era of slavery

Lynching was a tool used by white people in this time period to try to control black people, and Ida B. Wells helped bring international attention to this problem and fight to end it.

Wells,“Lynch Law in America,”) Over a hundred of African Americans were lynched every year. The unwritten law was practiced for thirty years, inhumanly butchering thousands of men, women, children by either drowning, hanging, shooting, and burning them alive. By this point, the national law was irrelevant and the unwritten law was superior among the southern states. With every killing, white Americans would invent an excuse accordingly and to make matters worse, they realized it was sufficient to put anyone to death if the crime was against a woman, no matter if it were true or not, since it was under the unwritten law, which did not allow any sort of trial. This accusation was done in “the interest of those who did the lynching to blacken the good name of the helpless and defenseless victims of their hate. For this reason they publish at every possible opportunity this excuse for lynching, hoping thereby not only to palliate their own crime but at the same time to prove the negro a moral monster and unworthy of the respect and sympathy

The Jim crow Law, was a system set up mostly in the southern area of america from 1877-1960’s, its goal is to change the way colored people were allowed to live in america after gain their “freedom” from slavery. These so called law are were meant to continue the segregation against those of color so that they don’t start thinking highly of them selfs and don’t come to a place thinking that they own their own lives and it their to do with what they please. Fear is a powerful thing and when learned, it can do some serious harm both physically and emotionally. Many of these law would prevent colored people from doing thing we do now on a day to day…. heck, some of these we do more then once in a day. Things like giving a hand shake, showing affection, eating together and even siting next to someone in a bus or cab was set to be done in a certain way. All this was done just so that a race of people not the same color as you don’t think their equal to you. Even now it make me wonder how people can have so much hate in their heart to live like this and be ok or even happy about it. to give an even more broader look on how bad it was i’m gonna list many of the thing colored be people went’t allowed to do in america back then.

There were stereotypes placed on and myths about blacks. The most frequently given reason of lynchings was the idea that black men are sexual beasts and want to rape white women. For most of the lynchings, rape was the given cause. In general, it was a way of keeping blacks in their place. In advertisings, blacks were depicted as the "happy darky" and "Uncle Toms" such as Aunt Jemima.

In the past, lynching was a very popular style of execution. One of the most memorable and brutal executions took place just a few hours away from Bethalto. This lynching took place in Cairo, IL. Cairo was a very popular place in the early 1900’s due to trains passing through this town. Trains were one of the easiest modes of transporting people and goods. Not only was it a place for trains to pass through, but it was also the nearest place for slaves to escape to and be “free”.

After slavery ended four conflicts came up two of them were heavy racism and the fear of African Americans lives that were getting lynched very often. After the civil war the south was completely destroyed and they needed to rebuild. Lynching in the south was a big problem for blacks/African-Americans. In my primary source” Lynching in the United States, it shows how in the years 1889-1893 that 705 Lynchings were reported. Out of (705) 260 were white and 579 were black this a big impact on society of life for blacks. This made it very a hard and scared life for African Americans growing

Recently, an L.A. Times article (dated 2/13/00) reviewed a new book entitled "Without Sanctuary", a collection of photographs from lynchings throughout America. During the course of the article, the author, Benjamin Schwarz, outlined some very interesting and disturbing facts related to this gruesome act of violence: Between 1882 and 1930, more than 3,000 people were lynched in the U.S., with approximately 80% of them taking place in the South. Though most people think only African Americans were victims of lynchings, during those years, about 25% were white. Data indicates that mobs in the West lynched 447 whites and 38 blacks; in the Midwest there were 181 white victims and 79 black; and in the South, people lynched 291

During this time, lynching was used to control, intimidate, and manipulate a certain group of people, striking fear into their hearts.

The first action Ida B Wells took to stop lynching was in 1892. She composed a pamphlet exposing the fear and brutal treatment of mob violence ("Biography for kids: Ida B. Wells”). Meanwhile Wells led an anti-lynching crusade in the late 1890s for the United States for thoses who did not get a fair trial for an alleged offence ("Biography”). By Wells being so devoted and interactive with the movement it became stronger because she dedicated an excessive amount of time and effort proving that the lynching of men, women, children were considered murders ("Woman Journalist Crusades Against Lynching”). Currently, because Wells stepped up and chose to be brave, lynching is banned today. Not only did Ida B Wells expose lynching as this country’s national crime, her efforts directly affected us

Another way that white southerners were able to rolled back many of the rights held by African Americans is by lynching. Lynch is a mob of people killed, especially by hanging, for an alleged offense with or without a legal trial. The primary source, ““Lynch Law in America” the author Ida B. Wells organized a national fight against lynching in the early twentieth century. Born a slave, Wells became a teacher and civil rights leader in Memphis, Tennessee. When a white mob lynched three of her friends, she helped organize a black boycott of white-owned businesses and wrote harsh editorials in her own newspaper. According to Wells, lynching “ It represents the cool, calculating deliberation of intelligent people who openly avow that there is

The great majority of people lynched between 1882 and 1930 were black. During that period there were almost 4800 recorded lynchings in the United States. There were many more, no doubt, but we know about 4800. 3400 victims of this mob justice were black. The period from 1889 to 1893 accounted for the worst years. 579 blacks were lynched as opposed to 260 whites. That is a ration of 2.2 blacks lynched for every white. This is a significant difference already, but only part of the story. By the end of the century the racial nature of lynching had revealed itself, completely and unmistakably. Between 1899 and 1903, 543 people were lynched in the United States -- men and women. Of that number only 27 were white. That is a ratio of 22 blacks lynched for every white.

Lynching was way of life in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century. As Wells-Barnett points out, although most white people try to say that they did not want to discuss the noisy, because it will drag the reputation of angry white women, the vast majority of lynching had been completed, white people thought like lynching or burning some black people just to teach them their place. Wells intends to dissolve these myths and reasons into lynching, especially black rape white women. She repeats and the objectivity of the news proves that most black corpses killed black citizens are innocent and that their murders are not punished.