Brief Overview Of The Forgotten Dead By Carrigan

“The Forgotten Dead” written by authors Carrigan, William D and Webb, Clive is a book about the mob violence against Mexicans in the U.S from 1848-1928. This book in an attempt to figure out who these women and men were, why they were lynched and by who, when these events occurred and where, and most importantly, why were their deaths forgotten. The Forgotten Dead provides substantial evidence of how such a violent period could have occurred and why it was over looked by so many in history. Webb and Carrigan contend that mob violence against Mexicans was forgotten because it was never fully studied, lynching’s were divided amongst black and white ethnicities, and there was an enormous amount of animosity towards the Mexican population at the

In the intro of the Forgotten Dead, it begins with discovering the opening of an exhibit in New York City that show cases lynching and killings. Out of fifty-four images, the exhibit failed to include all history by not showcasing any one of Mexican decent or the events that lead to the mob violence against them. There was African Americans, plenty of Anglo victims, one Chinese victim of lynching, and no trace of any victim of Mexican decent. This was because there was a wide spread cultural difference between whites and blacks. There was also a lot of racial and ethnic conflict distancing Mexicans from having their own place in history because Mexicans didn’t share the same language, folkways, religion as blacks and whites in the south. Mexicans had their own language, religion, and food in the west. It was said to be the reason this created a sense of suspicion and alienation between the ethnicities, which also caused a large amount of mistrust against Mexicans (Carrigan,

This lead to how mob violence against Mexicans was not justified in history. Mexicans freely went back and forth between the border and the United States which caused a rift between Mexicans and Anglos, because not only were they taking over their jobs, their livestock, and battling the conditions or terms of labor, but they were sparking jealousy and envy amongst the Anglo community. This resentment is what most likely fueled threats, intimidation and violence against Mexicans. In 1850, a Foreigner Miners Tax was introduced for Mexicans not originally born in the U.S to pay a fee to live and work in the states or leave. Those who did not, were threatened by violence because Anglos had felt they were entitled to California and its riches (Carrigan, 35). Fueled with anger, Anglos began lynching and killing the Mexican population. They killed suspected criminals or past criminals of the Mexican decent, if they didn’t look like an Anglo citizen, or if they had seen them as a threat to taking their agriculture opportunities (Carrigan, 46). An example of this is when a man by the name of Reyes Feliz was convicted of killing an Anglo by the name of T.H Bean. The vigilante community came to the conclusion he was not involved with the murder, but hung him anyway because his general character looked resembled that