Lynch Law In America Summary

1025 Words5 Pages
Unravelling The Rope Although America is known as “The land of the free and home of the brave,” it is apparent that there is a darkness that has been lingering through society since this nation was born. The “outlaw” act of skipping a trial and being hung was a way for some folk to seek quick justice in the early days of America. Lynching was most prominent in America between the 1830’s-1960’s (Lewis). The act of lynching was used mostly for African Americans by scared, angry, white men. Hailing from Mississippi, and having encounters with race injustice herself, Ida B. Wells wrote Lynch Law In America which addressed the history, ins and outs of what lynching was, and why it should be stopped. Though she had the right to be angry about what was happening in America, her use of ethos mixed with logos helped connect with the right…show more content…
Ida gives an annual lynching statistics, for why men (and some females) were lynched and in what state. By listing these statistics it gives a number to the troublesome problem. It also shows that not all of the people that were lynched were African American. A lot of the crimes that were commited would be something that a person would just go to jail for, but they were unfairly sentenced to death. Ida also added how lynching is costly to the American economy. She says, “...our country was forced to confess her inability to protect said subjects in the several States because of our State-rights doctrines, or in turn demand punishment of the lynchers. This confession, while humiliating in the extreme, was not satisfactory; and, while the United States cannot protect, she can pay” (Wells). Following her example shows a diagram of the amount of money The United States of America has paid to compensate the loss of its indemnitors. These statistics help Ida build a strong backbone to her

More about Lynch Law In America Summary

Open Document