Our very own Digital Archivist, Rhonda Jones, has created a libguide for Lynching in the United States. The intention of the guide is to provide the researcher with helpful tips, and suggested print and electronic resources about lynching in the United States.
"From 1882-1968, 4,743 lynchings occurred in the United States. Of those people who were lynched 3,446 were African American (72.7%). These numbers seem large, but the actual numbers will never be known because not every lynching was recorded. Out of the 4,743 people lynched only 1,297 white people were lynched (27.3%). The word "lynching" has been used in many different ways. James E. Cutler's 1905 study, Lynch Law, posits that it derived its name from Virginia Judge Charles Lynch who reportedly punished Tories during the American Revolution. Over time, the practice was used to punish horse thieves and cattle wrestlers in the southern and border states. By the nineteenth century, "lynch law" was used by white supremacists to terrorize African Americans as a means of social control. While the term is largely symbolized by a hanging noose or rope, lynching is defined as the extra-legal execution of individuals for alleged and conceived crimes. Victims were accused, abducted, hunted, convicted, shot, stabbed, beaten, dragged, drowned, burned, dismembered, and tortured by deputized posses, or more or less spontaneously by a mob."
Be sure to check it out and let Rhonda know what you think! rdjones3@uncg.edu
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