Under Sentence of Death : Lynching in the South

From the assembled work of fifteen leading scholars emerges a complex and provocative portrait of lynching in the American South. With subjects ranging in time from the late antebellum period to the early twentieth century, and in place from the border states to the Deep South, this collection of essays provides a rich comparative context in which to study the troubling history of lynching. Covering a broad spectrum of methodologies, these essays further expand the study of lynching by exploring such topics as same-race lynchings, black resistance to white violence, and the political motivations for lynching. In addressing both the history and the legacy of lynching, the book raises important questions about Southern history, race relations, and the nature of American violence. Though focused on events in the South, these essays speak to patterns of violence, injustice, and racism that have plagued the entire nation. The contributors are Bruce E. Baker, E. M. Beck, W. Fitzhugh Brundage, Joan E. Cashin, Paula Clark, Thomas G. Dyer, Terence Finnegan, Larry J. Griffin, Nancy MacLean, William S. McFeely, Joanne C. Sandberg, Patricia A. Schechter, Roberta Senechal de la Roche, Stewart E. Tolnay, and George C. Wright. Library Journal Brundage (history, Queens Coll., Ontario) has assembled a group of essays reflecting the latest scholarship on lynching. Coming from a variety of disciplineshistory, sociology, and folklorethe contributors look at the phenomenon from several methodological perspectives. Historians Thomas Dyer and Joan Cashlin, for example, provide micro-histories of specific lynchings, while folklorist Bruce Baker deconstructs ballads associated with lynching. The authors conclude that lynching was a powerful method of social control. A multifaceted examination, this important collection is highly recommended, especially for specialists.Anthony O. Edmonds, Ball State Univ., Muncie, Ind. Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 9 Introduction......Page 13 Part I Approaches to Racial Violence and Lynching......Page 33 Narrative and Event: Lynching and Historical Sociology......Page 36 The Sociogenesis of Lynching......Page 60 Part II Lynching in the Local and Regional Context......Page 89 A Most Unexampled Exhibition of Madness and Brutality: Judge Lynch in Saline County, Missouri, 1859......Page 93 A Lynching in Wartime Carolina: The Death of Saxe Joiner......Page 121 When Race Didn't Matter: Black and White Mob Violence against Their Own Color......Page 144 Part III The Cultural Context of Lynching......Page 167 Gender, Sexuality, and the Politics of Lynching: The Leo Frank Case Revisited......Page 170 Lynching and Political Power in Mississippi and South Carolina......Page 201 North Carolina Lynching Ballads......Page 231 Part IV Black Responses and the Legacy of Lynching......Page 259 By the Book: The Legal Executionsof Kentucky Blacks......Page 262 The Roar on the Other Side of Silence: Black Resistance and White Violence in the American South, 1880-1940......Page 283 Unsettled Business: Ida B. Wells against Lynching, or, How Antilynching Got Its Gender......Page 304 Afterword......Page 330 Notes on the Contributors......Page 335 Index......Page 337 "This important contribution to southern history and the history of U.S. race relations promises to inform, challenge, and enlighten readers". Patricia Sullivan, Author of Days of Hope: Race and Democracy in the New Deal EraExplores the legacies lynching left to southern society and the black struggle for social justiceFrom the assembled work of fifteen leading scholars emerges a complex and provocative portrait of lynching in the American South. With subjects ranging in time from the late antebellum period to the early twentieth century, and in place from the border states to the Deep South, this collection of essays provides a rich comparative context in which to study the troubling history of lynching.Covering a broad spectrum of methodologies, these essays further expand the study of lynching by exploring such topics as same-race lynchings, black resistance to white violence, and the political motivations for lynching.Addressing both the history and the legacy of lynching, the book raises important questions about Southern history, race relations, and the nature of American violence. Though focused on events in the South, these essays speak to patterns of violence, injustice, and racism that have plagued the entire nation. From the assembled work of fifteen leading scholars emerges a complex and provocative portrait of lynching in the American South. With subjects ranging in time from the late antebellum period to the early twentieth century, and in place from the border states to the Deep South, this collection of essays provides a rich comparative context in which to study the troubling history of lynching. Covering a broad spectrum of methodologies, these essays further expand the study of lynching by exploring such topics as same-race lynchings, black resistance to white violence, and the political motivations for lynching. In addressing both the history and the legacy of lynching, the book raises important questions about Southern history, race relations, and the nature of American violence. Though focused on events in the South, these essays speak to patterns of violence, injustice, and racism that have plagued the entire nation. The contributors are Bruce E. Baker, E. M. Beck, W. Fitzhugh Brundage, Joan E. Cashin, Paula Clark, Thomas G. Dyer, Terence Finnegan, Larry J. Griffin, Nancy MacLean, William S. McFeely, Joanne C. Sandberg, Patricia A. Schechter, Roberta Senechal de la Roche, Stewart E. Tolnay, and George C. Wright. This collection of works from 15 scholars provides a complex portrait of lynching in the American South. Subjects range from the late antebellum period to the late 20th century, and in place from the border states to the Deep South. The essays address both the history and the legacy of lynching. Sociologists study southern lynching in ways that are strikingly different from the approaches taken by most historians.