A Festival of Violence: An Analysis of Southern Lynchings, 1882-1930

by Stewart E. Tolnay, E.M. Beck

This finely detailed statistical study of lynching in ten southern states shows that economic and status concerns were at the heart of that violentpractice. Stewart Tolnay and E. M. Beck empirically test competing explanations of the causes of lynching, using U.S. Census and historical voting data and a newly constructed inventory of southern lynch victims. Among their surprising lynching responded to fluctuations in the price of cotton, decreasing in frequency when prices rose and increasing when they fell.

Genres: History

297 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995