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[[File:Jesse-washington-lynching.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|Image of the crowd at Jesse Washington's lynching]]According to the group Monroe Work Today, by 1835, lynchings were more common and more leathal. In the middle of the 19th century lynchings were “a crude form of frontier justice done by vigilantes ‘keeping the peace,’” and approximately 40% of lynchings in this period were done to white men.<ref>[http://www.monroeworktoday.org/lynching.html Monroe Work Today], <i>The Rise of Lynchings</i>.</ref> Contrary to popular belief, lynchings frequently occurred in places where there were courthouses. Lynchings were not a symptom of lawlessness. Rather, as lynchings began to occur more frequently in the west, they were tools of violence used against non-white groups to challenge the slow pace of the legal system, in favor of immediate action. Before 1877 (the end of Reconstruction), most lynchings happened in the West. Lynching victims also varied by region. Those that occurred in the North typically targeted Italians, Jews, or other immigrants, while those in the west targeted Mexicans or Chinese. Nevertheless, beginning in the 1880s, approximately 90% of lynchings occurred in the South and happened to black men.
Admin moved page What was lynching? to What was lynching
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[[File:16307509620 d1ab80ba6bJesse-washington-lynching.jpg|thumbnail|300px250px|left|Image of the crowd at Jesse Washington's lynching]]
Lynching is often described as a form of extralegal, vigilante violence or justice; however, its meaning has evolved over time—from the tarring and feathering of individuals in the Colonial period to the lethal, racial violence that proliferated in the South. According to Digital History, "Lynching received its name from Judge Charles Lynch, a Virginia farmer who punished outlaws and Tories with "rough" justice during the American Revolution."<ref>[http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3178 Digital History].</ref>
====Lynchings as social control====
Lynchings began to be used more systematically in the South in the late 19th century. The late 19th century witnessed a social transformation for African Americans in the South. Newly-enfranchised, many African Americans began to exercise their legal and social rights. In the absence of system of legal subjugation that ensured white supremacy (i.e. slavery), lynchings were a constant and imminent threat that prevented African Americans in the South from truly being free. Lynchings served as a system of terror designed around reinforcing African-Americans’ second-class status.
Lynchings were not private events performed under the cover of darkness. They were frequently publicized in advance. As lynchings moved into the 20th century, they became modern carnival-esque spectacles. Sheriffs, clergymen, and the city’s best businessmen participated. Railroads sometimes advertised upcoming events—allowing individuals to watch or participate at a lowered excursion rate. In some instances, tickets were sold, and crowds swelled to 15,000 people.<ref name="Digital History">[http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3178], Digital History.</ref>
Lynchings remained an unfortunate reality for many African-Americans through the first half of the 20th century. In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till, a Chicago boy, was lynched in Mississippi after purportedly flirting with a white woman (Recently, journalist Timothy Tyson has released an interview with Carolyn Bryant--the women who accused Till of acting inappropriately with her. According to her own admission, she fabricated the parts of the story where she said he got physical with her). Several days after the incident, Till was abducted, mutilated, murdered, and thrown into a river. His mother demanded a public funeral with an open casket to show the world what had happened to her son. An all-white jury acquitted the men involved, even though they later admitted their involvement. This case generated widespread attention because of Till’s young age, the brutality of the crime, and his attackers’ acquittal. It also helped to start a new phase of the Civil Rights Movement in the South. The last official lynching was recorded in 1968, though many would argue that James Byrd’s murder in 1998 at the hands of three white men was a lynching as well.
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