At the end of the 19th century, Mine Reid, in his “Headless Horseman,” very vividly described the massacre of the crowd over the alleged criminal. Readers felt sorry for the victim and perplexed at the trial without any investigation.
Lynching took place in other countries, but only in the States gained mass character. The country, dictating the image of a democratic society to the world, bashfully covered its eyes and turned its head when its citizens were beaten, tortured, hanged and burned.
Lynch Court - what is it? Why is this possible in a “free" country?
Definition of a concept
Researchers of this issue give two definitions:
- Lynch Law is a set of unspoken rules that empowered lynching. Everyone who wanted to commit lynching himself decided whether he had the right to do so. Sometimes even the apparent innocence of the convict could not stop the angry crowd.
- Lynch Court - brutal corporal punishment, torture or killing of a person without investigation and sentencing by an official court.
Some scholars believe that lynching was not an American invention. This ruthless violence arrived in the New World on English ships and at the right moment surfaced and took root on fertile soil.
To pour hot tar on the rebellious Scotsman, to throw it in feathers and to drive the soldiers under the hooting - the most common fun of English gentlemen. Thus, they defended the right to be masters in a foreign country. And no one cared that the victim of "innocent fun" died from burns.
Background
The American Civil War brought a lot of unrest. The northern and southern states had different goals. The first longed for democracy, rights, industrial development of the country. The planters of the south absolutely did not want to give up ownership of land and people, to share profits, to obey other people's orders.
The outcome of the war was the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution and countless perplexed former slaves. As a rule, these were blacks. Many did not want liberation at all. They lost their roof over their heads, free food, clothing, and most importantly - guaranteed work, which gave the right to everything else.
In the four years of confrontation, the South’s economy has declined. Cities destroyed, plantations trampled, gardens burned, livestock eaten or stolen. Wealthy residents tried to move away from the horrors of war, many died on the battlefields.
Deserters, unemployed, beggars raided farms in search of food. Former slaves begged to give them work and shelter and protection, but the owners themselves survived as best they could, and nobody needed extra mouths.
The united new government did not care about the needs of free citizens. They were occupied with the solution of higher tasks than the arrangement of the fate of former slaves.
In order to secure the lives of their loved ones and preserve the remnants of property, the southerners who returned from the war took the solution of the problem in their hands. They had only one thing - to arbitrarily adjudicate Lynch's court. What is it - an attempt to improve the justice system, to help the country cleanse itself of thieves and bodyads, or brutal murder? The government tacitly encouraged such behavior.
Founding Fathers
The founders of American mob are two people with the same surname Lynch.
One was a military man and founded his own court during the War of Independence, thus trying to maintain order and fight enemies and criminals. The court of Charles Lynch was swift, but extremely fair, as far as possible in wartime. The accused was given the right to give arguments for his innocence.
The second is a planter from the south, William Lynch. It fell to him to restore order after the Civil War. His victims were exclusively blacks. Some of the former slaves understood in their own way the meaning of the word “freedom” and openly came into confrontation with the whites. The majority simply wandered around without work and hunted with petty robbery and theft.
The restraining factor was the Lynch trial. What is it - cruel reprisal against an innocent or the protection of your family and property? Now, after one and a half centuries, it is difficult to objectively understand.
Advocates and opponents of mob law still cannot come to a consensus. It is difficult to understand and evaluate each specific case. The current US judicial system of that time was unlikely to be able to cope on its own with that rampant crime and tyranny.
Lynch Court Followers
The turbulent activity of the founding fathers received not only the tacit approval of citizens and the government, but also gave rise to followers. From the end of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century, here and there in the USA groups of people appeared united by one idea. The main goal of these organizations is to administer Lynch's court. What is it - a way of self-expression, racial hatred or entertainment for bored gentlemen?
Let us try to answer these questions using the example of the activities of the largest and most well-known formations. Each of them adhered to certain rules, had its own structure, an ideological inspirer.
Ku Klux Klan: Foundation
The largest movement promoting the Lynch court was the Ku Klux Klan. Appearing for fun, the organization left the bloodiest mark in US history.
In 1865, Confederate war veterans, offspring of the best names in Tennessee, gathered in a local courthouse to celebrate Christmas. Six former officers were at a loss.
The US Civil War is over. The Confederates fought for their foundations, but were defeated and were now in the status of humiliated and persecuted. At that time, those who supported the interests of the southerners had less rights than the Negroes freed from slavery.
Peaceful life was full of boring everyday problems that had to be solved in order to continue what their ancestors did in their native land.
It is not known for certain who first came up with the idea of organizing a secret society. But the idea was expressed, and young men who were bored for concrete actions picked up it. So the "Brotherhood of the Golden Circle" appeared, which very soon was renamed the "Clan of the Circle". For greater mystery, they began to use the abbreviation KKK. Three identical letters contained a hint of magic.
The Ku Klux Klan resembled the sound of skeleton bones in sound. Immediately there was a proposal to cover the horses with white blankets, and dress themselves in hoodies with slots for the eyes.
The organization grew, fun games ended. One of the new members proposed to administer justice. Secret Society decides to liberate the South from the presumptuous federals and unbelievable blacks.
Lynch's numerous trials began. Blacks were hanged or burned without long conversations, and a ritual was invented for whites. A loop for hanging was put on the accused’s neck and the accusations read to him. The victim was not left with much choice. Either plead guilty and fulfill the requirements, or the loop will drag on.
The government made sure to isolate the KKK founders, but failed to completely stop the persecution of blacks.
Subsequent revival of KKK
The second wave of the Ku Klux Klan rose a quarter century later. A wave of lynching swept across America; judges and executioners were people in pointed white caps and hoodies.
In the second decade of the 20th century, members of the clan stopped killing. Now they used whips and tar with feathers. The government actively opposed lynching. The culprits were condemned in the press, public censure was issued to them, but the law banning the Lynch courts was never passed.
As soon as America began to defend the rights of blacks or representatives of other minorities, people immediately appeared with their faces covered in white and the flames began to glow.
In the seventies, "KKK" last time officially announced itself. But it was more like using attributes to remove objectionable politicians and economic competitors.
John Birch Society
Another group of like-minded people for the return of Christian traditions and values. The persecution was directed against the actions of the government, the settling of states by immigrants, communist ideas.
Society is considered the most anemic, but at the same time numerous. From 1958 to 1961, the number of official members grew from 12 to 100 thousand.
With branches throughout the country, the leadership could hold manifestos, demonstration courts of public censure at the same time in different cities, and lobby government bills.
In the end, everything was spoiled by the head of society, Welch, who by then had gotten paranoid ideas about a worldwide communist conspiracy. The attempt to remove Welch from the leadership failed. Gradually, the activity became less and less advertised until it completely passed to the sidelines of the authorities.
Jim Crow Laws
In the early twentieth century, the United States passed a series of laws relating to the separation of people by color. So they were called "The Laws of Jim Crow." A person with that name did not exist in real life. It was a theatrical character of a poorly dressed, illiterate Negro. Subsequently, all blacks began to be called by this name.
Laws provided for people with different skin colors a pattern of parallel life. They were divided into racial camps, and when the Negro wandered by mistake to where he was forbidden, he would be executed. Hanging was one of the most humane ways.
Usually the victim was mocked for a long time, beaten, stoned, burned. The distribution could include family members of the accused or those who dared to save him or intercede.
For nearly half a century, atrocities lasted until the government and the court recognized the laws of Jim Crow contrary to the US Constitution.
US Government and Lynch Court
Franklin Roosevelt at one time refused to openly fight the Lynch court, as he was afraid of losing the vote.
Harry Truman spent a lot of effort and years explaining to the Americans about the dangers of lynching. The attempts ended with a notice that the country "is no longer like that."
It turns out that the Lynch courts in the United States are a consequence of the bankrupt legal and judicial system and the criminal connivance of the government? How often did criminals make excuses because of the venality of judges, and did the innocent get into the dock?
For centuries, the desires and whims of wealthy people have been supported. As a rule, everything got away with it: lynching, debauchery, buying senators and judges. It seems that for a person with money there are no restrictions on actions.
US law provides for some forms of death penalty for crimes of varying degrees of complexity, but in the course of history not a single vigilante answered his life for death.
Lynching Victims in the USA
Respectable Americans for 50 years managed to lynch about six thousand people. In some states, reprisals without trial turned into amusement events. Families came to execution. The presence of children and pregnant women did not bother anyone.
It was customary to make postcards with scenes of the Lynch trial. Such greetings were sent for Easter, Christmas, name day. Anyone could fall under lynching: black, white, Jew, Mexican. No distinction was made between men and women, even pregnancy was not taken into account. And belonging to communists or trade unions often cost a living.
Angry crowds destroyed prisons, set fire to houses, abducted their victims. In each individual case, the authorities were powerless. However, their inaction can be considered a mute endorsement of the actions of the vigilantees.
I would like to dwell in more detail on two egregious atrocities. In one they lynched an animal, and in the other they took the life of an innocent person.
Lynching animal
At the beginning of the 20th century, killing a person on someone’s whim surprised few people. Life, especially a black one, was inexpensive. Therefore, the fact of bringing to court Lynch animal attracted close attention.
Residents of Tennessee have distinguished themselves. The circus troupe, which arrived on tour, used an elephant named Mary in the rooms. When entering the arena, the animal rebelled against its ill-treatment. The circus worker suffered, although some sources claim that the furious elephant trampled many more people.
Spectators, quick to reprisal, shot the animal from revolvers, which made it even more angry. The news of the killer elephant spread instantly throughout the city. The sheriff was required to be executed immediately, but he limited himself to putting Mary in a cage.
Residents of the surrounding towns gathered in anticipation of a funny sight. The uncontrolled crowd was getting hotter. There were threats against the owners of the circus. People (or nonhumans?) Burned bonfires all night and demanded immediate reprisal.
In the morning, the unfortunate elephant was hanged on a construction crane. And they managed to do this only the second time. A crowd of several thousand people sang and danced, as if in front of them was not an animal, but a Christmas tree shining with lights.
Lynched by mistake
Man during his existence invented various types of the death penalty. Some used to establish the truth, others - for intimidation and submission. The most ugly punishment invented by a beast named man is Lynch's court, especially when the victim becomes an innocent.
Georgia’s factory manager Leo Frank was sentenced to death for rape and murder of a minor. The charge was based on the testimony of one person.
For some reason, the state governor found this punishment too harsh and replaced the execution with life imprisonment. Residents of the city were outraged by this decision. The crowd broke into prison, repelled Frank from the police and, dragging around the city, hung not far from the grave of the raped girl.
70 years passed, and the lynched criminal turned into a victim of a slander. Another witness was found, intimidated by a real rapist almost to death. He ventured to tell the truth 10 years after the killer’s death.
Leo Frank was acquitted, and relatives received compensation, but this act does not justify the residents of the city, quick to kill, or representatives of the legitimate authorities who admitted the Lynch court.
More recently, the US Senate expressed sincere regret that the government allowed acts of lynching in the country, and apologized to the victims, promising not to allow such cruel dramas.
Probably, before the adoption of the law, the matter will not reach. Even the African-American president will not dare to do this. Fort Knox’s total gold reserves are not enough to pay compensation to the descendants of the people executed by the Lynch court.