The Course of Law: State Intervention in Southern Lynch Mob Violence 1882–1930
Collective violence when framed by its perpetrators as "citizen" justice is inherently a challenge to state legitimacy. To properly account for such violence, it is necessary to consider an opportunity structure incorporating the actions of both vigilantes and agents of the state. The moti...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Society for Sociological Science
2016-09-01
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| Series: | Sociological Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.sociologicalscience.com/articles-v3-37-860/ |
| _version_ | 1819022239060721664 |
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| author | Kinga Makovi Ryan Hagen Peter Bearman |
| author_facet | Kinga Makovi Ryan Hagen Peter Bearman |
| author_sort | Kinga Makovi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Collective violence when framed by its perpetrators as "citizen" justice is inherently a challenge to state legitimacy. To properly account for such violence, it is necessary to consider an opportunity structure incorporating the actions of both vigilantes and agents of the state. The motivation and lethality of lynch mobs in the South cannot be understood without considering how the state reacted to the legitimacy challenges posed by lynching. We trace the shifting orientation of state agents to lynching attempts between the end of Reconstruction and the start of the Great Depression. Analyzing an inventory of more than 1,000 averted and completed lynching events in three Southern states, we model geographic and temporal patterns in the determinants of mob formation, state intervention, and intervention success. Opponents of lynching often pled with mobs to "let the law take its course." This article examines the course followed by the law itself, as state actors moved between encouraging, accommodating, and in many instances averting mob violence. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T04:19:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-605aa7167a58472a992bb15b9b9e7ac6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2330-6696 2330-6696 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T04:19:50Z |
| publishDate | 2016-09-01 |
| publisher | Society for Sociological Science |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sociological Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-605aa7167a58472a992bb15b9b9e7ac62022-12-21T19:16:12ZengSociety for Sociological ScienceSociological Science2330-66962330-66962016-09-0133786088810.15195/v3.a373730The Course of Law: State Intervention in Southern Lynch Mob Violence 1882–1930Kinga Makovi0Ryan Hagen1Peter Bearman2 Columbia University Columbia University Columbia University Collective violence when framed by its perpetrators as "citizen" justice is inherently a challenge to state legitimacy. To properly account for such violence, it is necessary to consider an opportunity structure incorporating the actions of both vigilantes and agents of the state. The motivation and lethality of lynch mobs in the South cannot be understood without considering how the state reacted to the legitimacy challenges posed by lynching. We trace the shifting orientation of state agents to lynching attempts between the end of Reconstruction and the start of the Great Depression. Analyzing an inventory of more than 1,000 averted and completed lynching events in three Southern states, we model geographic and temporal patterns in the determinants of mob formation, state intervention, and intervention success. Opponents of lynching often pled with mobs to "let the law take its course." This article examines the course followed by the law itself, as state actors moved between encouraging, accommodating, and in many instances averting mob violence.https://www.sociologicalscience.com/articles-v3-37-860/Collective ActionLynchingPoliticsViolence |
| spellingShingle | Kinga Makovi Ryan Hagen Peter Bearman The Course of Law: State Intervention in Southern Lynch Mob Violence 1882–1930 Sociological Science Collective Action Lynching Politics Violence |
| title | The Course of Law: State Intervention in Southern Lynch Mob Violence 1882–1930 |
| title_full | The Course of Law: State Intervention in Southern Lynch Mob Violence 1882–1930 |
| title_fullStr | The Course of Law: State Intervention in Southern Lynch Mob Violence 1882–1930 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Course of Law: State Intervention in Southern Lynch Mob Violence 1882–1930 |
| title_short | The Course of Law: State Intervention in Southern Lynch Mob Violence 1882–1930 |
| title_sort | course of law state intervention in southern lynch mob violence 1882 1930 |
| topic | Collective Action Lynching Politics Violence |
| url | https://www.sociologicalscience.com/articles-v3-37-860/ |
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