Lynching in the United States: Historical Context and Practices
Definition
Lynching refers to the extrajudicial killing of an individual, typically carried out by a mob, without the benefit of legal due process. While often framed as acts of frontier justice, lynchings were predominantly racially motivated acts of terror intended to assert and maintain white supremacy. Between the end of the Civil War and the onset of World War II, lynching became a systematic tool employed primarily in Southern states to intimidate and control African Americans. Although Black individuals were the primary targets, other marginalized groups—including immigrants from Mexico, China, Australia, and elsewhere—were also victimized.
Historical Background
In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Reconstruction era ushered in significant political and social turmoil. Many Southern states responded by revising their constitutions to disenfranchise Black citizens and to institutionalize racial segregation through laws later known as Jim Crow. During this period, “terror lynching” emerged as a mechanism to enforce racial hierarchies, inflict social control, and suppress Black political and economic advancement. Often sanctioned or ignored by local and state authorities, lynching became a form of racialized violence supported by the complicity of legal and political systems. These acts of terror contributed to the Great Migration, as thousands of Black Americans fled the South in search of safety and opportunity in Northern and Western cities during the early 20th century.
Methods and Motives
Lynching typically followed an alleged criminal act—ranging from accusations of serious crimes such as murder or sexual assault to violations of racial etiquette or social customs. The process often involved seizure, torture, and execution, commonly by hanging, with no adherence to legal proceedings. Black men were disproportionately targeted, and the absence of due process reflected the devaluation of Black life under white supremacist systems. Many lynchings were prompted not by verified crimes, but by perceived threats to white social order, including speaking disrespectfully to white individuals or challenging racial norms.
Historians have categorized lynchings into several types:
Racially charged lynchings driven by myths surrounding interracial relationships;
Lynchings in response to minor social infractions or breaches of etiquette;
Allegations of serious violent crimes, often fabricated or unproven;
Public spectacle lynchings, where communities gathered to witness the execution;
Community-targeted violence, escalating to attacks on entire Black communities;
Targeted lynchings of leaders, including sharecroppers, ministers, and activists resisting oppression—most prevalent between 1915 and 1940.
Typologies of Lynching
Frontier Lynching: These lynchings occurred under the guise of enforcing frontier justice, typically in response to criminal accusations such as murder or robbery. Victims may have received rudimentary or symbolic trials before being executed, often by hanging, without torture.
Southern Lynching: Rooted in the defense of racial subjugation, these lynchings involved extreme violence, including mutilation, torture, and decapitation. They were often executed with the tacit or explicit approval of local authorities.
Public Spectacle Lynching: These events resembled carnivals, with large white crowds gathering to witness the executions. Vendors sold food, postcards, and even body parts of the victims as souvenirs. Such spectacles reinforced the belief in Black inferiority and normalized violence as a tool of racial control.
Statistical Overview
Between 1882 and 1968, it is estimated that more than 4,700 individuals were lynched in the United States, with approximately 3,500 of the victims identified as Black (Statista, 2020). These figures, while staggering, likely underrepresent the true scope of racial terror, as many lynchings went undocumented or unrecorded.
