Lynching
Extrajudicial killing by a mob, often as public spectacle.
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Lynching is the killing of a person by a group without legal authority. It typically refers to a mob carrying out a public execution to punish someone for a real or suspected crime, or to frighten others. It can also serve as an extreme method of informal social control, and it is frequently staged as a public spectacle—often, but not always, involving hanging—to maximize fear. Such mob violence has occurred in societies around the world.
The word "lynching" likely originated in the United States. There, the practice became closely tied to frontier vigilante justice and to mob attacks by white people on African Americans accused of crimes. These attacks became common in the South after Reconstruction, especially during the worst period of American race relations. Black people are believed to have made up about 72% of lynching victims in the U.S.
In Europe, lynching took a different shape. During the late 1700s and the 1800s, periods of revolution and political instability—such as the French Revolution and the Revolutions of 1848—saw mobs target nobles, perceived enemies, and people accused of treason. The practice continued into the early 1900s in places like the Soviet Union and former Russian Empire territories, following the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War.
The exact origin of the word "lynch" is unclear, but it likely dates to the American Revolution. The verb comes from "Lynch Law," meaning punishment without trial. Two Virginians from the 1780s are usually credited: Charles Lynch (1736–1796) and William Lynch (1742–1820). Charles Lynch is the more likely source, as he used the term in 1782, while William Lynch is not known to have used it until much later. Neither man is known to have imposed death as a punishment. In 1782, Charles Lynch wrote that his assistant had applied "Lynch's law" to Tories "for Dealing with the negroes &c."
Charles Lynch was a Virginia Quaker, planter, and Patriot who ran a county court that imprisoned Loyalists during the Revolutionary War, sometimes for up to a year. He lacked proper legal authority but claimed wartime necessity. Worried about possible legal action after the Patriot victory, he persuaded the Virginia state legislature in 1782 to pass a law indemnifying those who had imprisoned Loyalists without trial. This is how "Lynch law"—meaning the assumption of extrajudicial authority—entered common
- First recorded U.S. lynching
- St. Louis, 1835, victim Francis McIntosh
- Total U.S. victims (1883–1941)
- 4,347
- Black victims (1883–1941)
- 3,265
- White victims (1883–1941)
- 1,082
Lore & Background
The word lynching likely originated during the American Revolution, with the phrase Lynch Law referring to punishment without trial. Two Virginians, Charles Lynch and William Lynch, are generally credited with coining the phrase, though Charles Lynch is more likely to have done so, using the term in 1782. There is no evidence that either man imposed death as a punishment. Charles Lynch, a Virginia Quaker and Patriot, headed a county court that imprisoned Loyalists during the Revolutionary War, claiming wartime necessity. He persuaded the Virginia state legislature in 1782 to pass a law indemnifying such extrajudicial imprisonment.
Reader's Guide
Lynching has been a persistent form of mob violence across many societies. In the United States, it became widely associated with vigilante justice on the frontier and with mob attacks on African Americans accused of crimes, especially in the South after Reconstruction. From 1883 to 1941, there were 4,467 victims, of whom 3,265 were Black. The practice served as a tool of white supremacy and political terrorism, often used to prevent Black men from voting. Journalist Ida B. Wells showed that many alleged crimes were exaggerated or false. Anti-lynching legislation, such as the Dyer Bill, was repeatedly blocked in Congress. The song 'Strange Fruit,' inspired by a lynching photograph, became a powerful protest anthem. The civil rights movement gained momentum after the lynching of Emmett Till. In Europe, lynching of political opponents occurred during the French Revolution, the 1848 Revolutions, and in the early 20th century in the Soviet Union and former Russian Empire territories. The term's origins remain disputed, with Charles Lynch and William Lynch as the most likely sources.
Did You Know?
- The word lynching likely originated during the American Revolution from the phrase Lynch Law.
- Charles Lynch, a Virginia Quaker, used the term in 1782 for punishing Tories without trial.
- From 1883 to 1941, there were 4,467 lynching victims in the United States, 3,265 of whom were Black.
- The song 'Strange Fruit' was inspired by a photograph of a lynching in Marion, Indiana.
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