Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases

Originally published in 1892, 'Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases' is a pamphlet written by Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, an African-American socialist who documented lynching in the United States, which is the practice of killing people by extrajudicial mob action. This pamphlet is a research on lynching against the black people, by white race after Civil War period. The author protest three excuses of lynching with valid reasons; Black race planned many riots and whites resisted it; Negros alleged domination over whites in government power; Any relationship between a white woman and a negro man was considered as rape. She also explained the insecurities and greed of whites against Negros commercial establishments resulted in lynching. The book details the outlandish nature of the crimes against the men and women identified. This glimpse into history is graphic in that readers are easily able to recognize shortcomings in the laws and in the thinking patterns of many people at the time period spoken of.