Lynchings

 Lynching in the United States

 Introduction 

 After the American Civil War (1861-65) between the northern and the southern states of America, a new type of execution gained ground especially in the South. Mainly black Americans were killed by lynching in the US, but also white people died as a result of the horrible execution method, which took place without any contact with a court of justice. In this essay, I will research lynching and its origin based on the thesis question below: What is lynching, and which reactions occurred as a  result '' of lynching in the United States? ''

 Lynching - sense and origin 

 As already mentioned lynching is an execution method, but what exactly is lynching and what is the word’s sense and origin? Lynching is in brief a mob’s punishment and execution of a suspect without a fair trial. Well, a group of people take matters into their own hands and kill the suspect/suspects without contact with the system of justice. Lynching in the southern states in the US was often by hanging, but burning at the stake and shooting occurred, too. Lynching was implemented as so-called “Lynch justices” or “Lynch Laws”.

 The word “Lynching” is derived from the last name of an American man called Charles Lynch (1736-96). Charles Lynch was a plantation owner and justice of peace in Virginia. During the American Revolution (1775-83), where the American states broke away from Great Britain and established the federal republic; the United States of America, Charles Lynch headed an unconventional court, which aimed to punish and kill people who were suspected British supporters.

 At first lynching became widespread in the western USA in the 19th century. People who cheated in games and practised horse theft became killed and lynched at short work. However, the term “Lynching” is generally associated with the oppression of black Americans in the South after the American civil war.

 The Negro holocaust – Statistic data about lynching in the South 

 Lynching, there mainly took place in Americas southern states, became several thousandth fate and death. In the 20th century, lynching became a grotesque kind of public entertainment in especially Texas, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. Lynching in the years 1882-1968 have led to lots of statistic data, which document lynching.

 In 1916, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) established an Anti-Lynching Committee. The Anti-Lynching Committee aimed to make public information campaigns and to produce new and fair legislation. In 1918, a group of researchers from NAASP collected information and statistical data of all lynching in the US in the years between 1889 and 1918. All information was collected in the report “Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States”. The statistic data show that at least 3.224 people were killed by lynching between 1889 and 1918. 2.522 were black Americans and the rest, 702, were white. Other statistic data published by Tuskegee University, which is a historical, black university located in Alabama, show mentioned causes of lynching in the years between 1882 and 1968. About 40% (of the total: 4.743) of the causes of lynching were based on the statistic data, suspected homicides. About 19% of the lynching was because of suspected rape, and about 22% was stamped “all other causes”.

 Anti-lynching bills 

 In the 1940s, the number of lynching in the South decreased markedly. People who were a part of the anti-lynching campaign in the South began to focus on other issues. However, during the start of the 20th century more anti-lynching bills were propounded in the Congress and the House of Representatives. In 1918, Leonidas Dyer from the Congress introduced the first anti-lynching bill, also known as “The Dyer Bill”. The NAACP supported the bill and the bill passed the House of Representatives without any problems. In 1922, the bill was unfortunately exterminated in the Senate where a filibuster halted it. A new anti-lynching legislation was not propounded before the 1930s. In 1932, Robert F. Wagner and Edward Costigan agreed to draft a new anti-lynching bill. The new bill was called “the Costigan-Wagner Bill”. In 1935, supporters of the bill attempted to persuade Franklin D. Roosevelt (President of the United States 1933-1945) to support the Costigan-Wagner Bill, but without luck. Roosevelt would not speak out in favour of the bill. He was afraid losing his voters and his office as President of the United States. Nothing could change Roosevelt’s mind and even through the bill had many supporters in the Congress, the Southern opposition had the luck on their side. The bill became never realised.

 Strange fruit  – A song about lynching  

 The song “Strange Fruit”, first time performed by Billie Holiday in 1939, put lynching and all the brutal and unfair killings into words. In brief, the song is about the horrible killings of mainly black Americans. Without directly using the word “Lynching” there is no doubt that the song is about lynching. With among other things “strange fruit” as metaphor for dead bodies hanging from the trees, the song portrays the horrible executions in a very real and touching way. The man behind the poem “Strange Fruit”, Abel Meeropol, wrote the poem as a protest against the inhumanity of racism. He was inspired of the very famous photography of two hanging men surrounded by a huge mob. (Notice attachment 1). A composer made Abel Meeropol’s words to music and played it afterwards at a club in New York City. The owner of the club gave Billie Holiday the song without any scruples and the iconic, touching and metaphorical song became a huge success. In 1999, Times Magazine named “Strange Fruit”: “Song of the century”. Through the times, many musicians have made covers of “Strange Fruit”. Nina Simone, Jeff Buckley, Sting and Kanye West are just a couple of them.

 Conclusion 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;tab-stops:86.25pt"> Lynching, segregation and racism are dark chapters of the history of the United States. The organisation NAASP, the song “Strange Fruit”, anti-lynching bills and big campaigns tried to bring the unfair repression of mainly black Americans in the United States into focus. These parameters have led America on the right way and President Barack Obama is a fantastic result of this. However, it is still necessary to keep focusing on inequality and repression in both the United States and many other places in the world. The world is still not perfect and lots of unfairness must be fought.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;tab-stops:86.25pt"> ATTACHMENT 1

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;tab-stops:86.25pt">'' Photograph of a lynching in the South. Lawrence Beitler, 7th August 1930. ''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;tab-stops:86.25pt"> SOURCES

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;tab-stops:86.25pt">&amp;titel=Lynching&amp;udgiver=Encyclop%E6dia+Britannica+&amp;opdateret_d=&amp;opdateret_m=&amp;opdateret_y=&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fglobal.britannica.com%2FEBchecked%2Ftopic%2F352864%2Flynching&amp;dato_d=09&amp;dato_m=10&amp;dato_y=13&amp;ressource=internet&amp;ld893_bl=1381344539&amp;PHPSESSID=4461b921ead5a239abb54b8fde8cf274&amp;submittet=1 Lynching. Udgivet af Encyclopaedia Britannica. Internetadr esse: http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/352864/lynching    - Besøgt d. 09.10.13 (Internet)

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;tab-stops:86.25pt"> Lynchning. Udgivet af Gyldendal. Internetadresse: http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Geografi_og_historie/USA_og_Nordamerika/USA_ca._1770-1920/lynchning    - Besøgt d. 09.10.13 (Internet)

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;tab-stops:86.25pt">&amp;titel=Thirty+years+of+lynching+in+the+United+States+&amp;udgiver=Milestone+Documents+&amp;opdateret_d=&amp;opdateret_m=&amp;opdateret_y=&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.milestonedocuments.com%2Fdocuments%2Fview%2Fthirty-years-of-lynching-in-the-united-states&amp;dato_d=10&amp;dato_m=10&amp;dato_y=13&amp;ressource=internet&amp;ld893_bl=1381415019&amp;PHPSESSID=0a3e3f71a55349b1098f21920822a603&amp;submittet=1 Thirty   years of l ynching in the United States. Udgivet af Milestone Documents. Internetadresse: http://www.milestonedocuments.com/documents/view/thirty-years-of-lynching-in-the-united-states    - Besøgt d. 10.10.13 (Internet)

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;tab-stops:86.25pt"> Causes of Lynching, 1882-1968. Udgivet af Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Internetadresse: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/shipp/Lynchcauses.html    - Besøgt d. 10.10.13 (Internet)

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;tab-stops:86.25pt"> The story about the man behind \"Strange Fruit\". Udgivet af NPR Music. Internetadresse: http://www.npr.org/2012/09/05/158933012/the-strange-story-of-the-man-behind-strange-fruit    - Besøgt d. 10.10.13 (Internet)

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%;tab-stops:86.25pt"> NAACP History: Anti-Lynching Bills. Udgivet af NAACP. Internetadresse:  http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-history-anti-lynching-bill    - Besøgt d. 10.10.13 (Internet)

<p class="MsoFootnoteText"> Lynching, Encyclopaedia Britannica <p class="MsoFootnoteText"> Lynchning, Gyldendals åbne encyklopædi <p class="MsoFootnoteText"> Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States, Milestone Documents <p class="MsoFootnoteText"> Causes of Lynching, 1882-1968, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute <p class="MsoFootnoteText"> NAACP History: Anti-Lynching Bills, NAACP <p class="MsoFootnoteText"> The Story of the Man behind “Strange Fruit”, NRP music