The Lynching Of Enslaved People During The 1800's

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The lynching of enslaved people during the 1800’s came from Charles Lynch, the founder of Lynchburg, Virginia. The term "lynch" first came to be associated with vigilante "justice" when linked to Revolutionary War militia officer and farmer Charles Lynch of Bedford County, on Virginia 's western frontier. Colonel Lynch controlled an extralegal military court that sentenced suspected Tories and Tory sympathizers to punishments of "tar and feathering," flogging, and, in extreme cases, hanging to death from a walnut tree standing in his yard. After the Revolutionary War, Lynch was cleared for his wartime activities by Virginia 's lawmakers. The “Lynch Law” as some would call it would be placed onto people to show an example to scare other slaves so that they would not try to go against the law and especially not run away. The Lynching and killing of slaves and former slaves led to rebellions, Boycotts and …show more content…

They decided they were tired of being enslaved, killed slave owners and their families. When they were finally caught, they were lynched. They were hung out in public so that other enslaved individuals would know if they tried anything of the sort, they too would be lynched. There were many more rebellions and threats against slavery and the laws, but I am sure it would have been plenty of more if people did not see others getting lynched. The act of lynching really rose during the reconstruction era, after the Civil War. The threat of lynching made enslaved people and previously enslaved people live by a strict code of conduct. The display of lynching was done frequently to “keep blacks in line”. Whenever a black person refused to back down in any way, they were made an example out of and lynched so everyone could see that if they tried anything, they too would be killed by lynching. Thousands of blacks were lynched in America. Lynching was violent and done publicly to traumatize all that

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