You will learn how lynching began as a form of self-appointed justice in local communities in the 1800s, when townspeople made grave accusations first, but never bothered to gather the proof. Then as the 1870s turned into the ’80s and onward, lynching became adopted as a terrorist tactic by white supremacists. When slavery was abolished, and as settlers continued to arrive on the West coast, there were very real crusades to change the United States to a place only for whites. [See quotes: 1 , 2 , 3 ] It was an idea treated with honor in every state legislature and every city office. Those leaders encouraged people to carry that idea onto the streets.

When this country belonged to the thriftless and indifferent Mexican, these hills and valleys lavished upon the desert air their wealth and beauty. It remained for the indomitable and thorough-going Anglo-Saxon race to bring forth the mineral and agricultural wealth of this beautiful and valuable country. THE MEXICAN QUESTION.

Anarchy and bloodshed are the only fruits of Mexican attempts at self government. Bad Mexicans never tire of cutting throats, and we are sorry to be compelled to say that good Mexicans are rather scarce; yet there are some of this kind[, …]and the southern portion of this Territory is now darkened and threatened by gruff-looking greasers from Sonora….

DEAR GOVERNOR: Fuit Ilium [‘Troy is no more’]. The Chinese are no more in Tacoma, and the trouble over them is virtually at an end. Yesterday they were peaceably escorted out of town and put upon the freight and passenger trains this morning.[…] The 25 or 30 Chinamen who were permitted to remain a day for purposes of packing and shipping store-goods will leave to-morrow morning; then Tacoma will be sans Chinese, sans pigtails, sans moon-eye, sans wash-house, sans joss-house, sans everything Mongolian[…]. Those who predicted differently[…]greatly underrated the intelligence, character, and resolution of [us] the men who worked up the movement, and who were flippantly called a "rabble" by their moral and intellectual inferiors.



God made the white into man, and implanted within his breast that determination to always be supreme among races of men. This is why the white man of the South, standing out boldly tells civilization: ‘I am a white man! I will rule!’ Were he to do otherwise he would be a renegade to his race.

Ultimately their crusades failed to win, but they took the lives of many, many people... some 4800 are named on this site. Their idea that "some races deserve less" still takes the lives of people today.

This is an update of the Works’ legacy using modern tools to list again every known lynching, including what has been clarified or newly uncovered in contemporary research. Each record here has a footnote inviting you to investigate for yourself.