1 / 33

Race, Place and Repertoire Change in U.S. Lynching, 1830-1930

Race, Place and Repertoire Change in U.S. Lynching, 1830-1930. Richard Hogan Paper presented at Social Science History Association Meetings, Vancouver, Canada, November 2012. Preliminaries. The Problem: romanticizing Old West to legitimate lynching as vigilantism

creda
Download Presentation

Race, Place and Repertoire Change in U.S. Lynching, 1830-1930

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Race, Place and Repertoire Change in U.S. Lynching, 1830-1930 Richard Hogan Paper presented at Social Science History Association Meetings, Vancouver, Canada, November 2012

  2. Preliminaries • The Problem: romanticizing Old West to legitimate lynching as vigilantism • The goal: rewrite Western and Southern histories: interests and actors and epochs; repertoire change and learning to lynch

  3. Guiding Assertions • Vigilantism is contentious gathering in defense of class interests not adequately defended by local authorities • Lynching tends to be confounded with vigilantism but tends to differ • Status versus class interests • Public ritual of private justice • Terrorize and torture “other” • Both are Part of Old Repertoire

  4. Old and New Repertoires of Contention in U.S., 1652-1996 anti-proprietor revolts: 1652-1691 militia rebellions: 1676-1691 festivals: Stamp Act of 1765 tax revolts: 1765-1794 food riots: 1713-1837 tenants’ rebellions: 1745-1766 squatters’ rebellions: 1782-1850 slave rebellions: 1663-1860 vigilantism: 1771-1865 LYNCHING 1830-1930 Patronized OLD Orientation To Powerholders expulsion:1765-1861 boycotts: 1765-present cooperatives: 1870-present election rally public meeting strike demonstration social movement NEW Autonomous National Local Scope of Action

  5. Social Change in the U.S., 1620-1945 Colonial America: 1620-1765 Colonial Revolt: 1765-1815 National Period: 1815-1861 Revolutionary Period: 1861-1945 Consolidation and Increase in Scale: 1945-present

  6. Two Simple Questions • How and why does lynching emerge in 1830 as an alternative to frontier vigilantism, plantation flogging, and paramilitary runaway slave patrols? • How and why does lynching change between 1830 and 1930?

  7. Simple Answers • Lynching is innovation at the margin of vigilantism and terrorism • Defense of class and status interests • Inspired by political opportunities • transformation of U.S. institutions, 1830-1930 • Specific form shaped by • Nature of republican capitalism then and there • Cultural baggage brought along • Experience of institutional transformation

  8. Simple Distinction • Frontier Vigilantism • White men • Somewhat public meeting: gathering of citizens • Private posse, judge, jury, execution • Leave the body hanging to warn would-be outlaws • Southern Lynching • white on black • Public spectacle of disguised members of KKK • No attempt to mimic due process • Torture and barbarism

  9. The Messy Details of History • There seem to be distinct vigilante and lynching behaviors • Vigilantism in West before 1876 • Lynching in South after 1890 • But these vary from State to State and seem to converge over time • vigilantism becomes more or less racial and barbarous in general • Before and after Civil War/Reconstruction

  10. Data • Michael Pfeifer, The Roots of Rough Justice (U. IL, 2011) • Stephen J. Leonard, Lynching in Colorado (U. CO, 2002) • Michael Pfeifer, Lynching Beyond Dixie (U. IL, forthcoming) • Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, “Reports of Outrages” (Gov. Bullock’s correspondence, GA archives, 1868)

  11. Black Vigilante Lynching Victims Reported for South, 1824-1862, by Date and Method (N=56) Source: Pfeifer (2011), Appendix

  12. Vigilante Lynching Victims from Colorado, 1859-1919 * Other victims included four blacks, one Chinese, five Italians, and five Mexicans. Source: Leonard (2002), Appendix A

  13. Lynching Outside South by Race 1837-1889 and 1890-1943 (N=578) Source: Pfeifer (forthcoming)

  14. Lynching Outside South by Method before 1890 and after 1889 (N=578) * coded as most barbaric (in descending order: mutilation, burning, strangulation, beating, flogging, hanging, shooting) when more than one method was used) Source: Pfeifer (forthcoming)

  15. Lynching by Race in Arizona and Indiana Source: Pfeifer (forthcoming)

  16. Lynching by Race in Arizona and Indiana before 1877 Source: Pfeifer (forthcoming)

  17. Lynching by Race in Arizona and Indiana after 1876 Source: Pfeifer (forthcoming)

  18. Lynching Victims by Region and State (N=578) Source: Pfeifer (forthcoming)

  19. Taking Stock • Antebellum Southern lynching moves toward vigilantism (hanging) • Non-South vigilantism moves toward lynching (becomes racial and barbarous) • Each State is different • Indiana horse-thief protection towards KKK • Arizona terrorist colonialism toward vigilantism - Midwest and Western States vary

  20. Lessons to Learn • Variation across time and place makes validity and reliability of estimates problematic • Further we move from data the more problematic this becomes • So let’s get close to Georgia outrages • Reported by Freedmen’s Bureau to Governor • Covering January to November election of 1868 • Indicates mix of crimes, vigilantism, lynching

  21. Crimes Imputed from Outrages Reported in Georgia, January-November 15, 1868 (N=355) * “Other” includes threatening with weapon (5), kidnapping (4), unknown (wounded: 3), hanging (not killed: 2), attempted murder (2) Source: Bureau of Refugees, Freedman (1868)

  22. Race of Perpetrator (N=425) Source: Bureau of Refugees, Freedman (1868)

  23. Percent Arrested by Race of Perpetrator (N=425) Source: Bureau of Refugees, Freedman (1868)

  24. Percent Arrested by Race for Murders (N=119) Source: Bureau of Refugees, Freedman (1868)

  25. Rationale for Outrages (N=355) Source: Bureau of Refugees, Freedman (1868)

  26. Deconstructing Outrages • Outrages: 355 victimizations (and 425 perpetrators, including groups) • Vigilantism: no arrest or other effort by authorities to sanction the perpetrators (N=302 victimizations) • Lynching: murder by three or more perpetrators, including groups (N=45 victimizations)

  27. Predicting Contention and Elections • ZINBE model predicts outrages, vigilantism, and lynching • Petit-Bourgeois artisans and farmers, black schools, enduring Republican partisanship mitigate against outrages • slack resources and April vote for Republican governor inspire outrages • Outrages, vigilantism, and lynching should tend to discourage November vote for U. S. Grant

  28. ZINBE Models Predicting Outrages, Vigilantism, and Lynching (N=120) * p<.1 ** p<.05 *** p<.01 (two tails)

  29. OLS Models Predicting U. S. Grant Vote in November 1868 in GA Counties, using Outrages, Vigilantism, or Lynching (N=129) * p<.1 ** p<.05 *** p<.01 (two tails)

  30. So What? • Validity: What is lynching (as opposed to outrage or vigilantism)? • Reliability: Racial violence by any other name? • Significance • Outrage and vigilantism as popular (racist and patriarchal) justice • Lynching as terrorism: the Radical Republicans were right; the KKK did steal the election

  31. Savannah Editor on KKK (7/1/1871) deprecate living

  32. Savannah Editor (12/10/1870)

  33. Questions? • Thanks for your patience • Y’all come back now, y’hear

More Related