Labor disputes between blacks and whites, which routinely bred frustration, suspicion, and anger on both sides of the color line, were sometimes fought out to bloody conclusions, thus weaving a thread of violence into southern labor relations...Because a defense of white authority, and conversely a challenge to that authority, were never far beneath the surface of any labor dispute involving whites and blacks, more than just economic motives could be at work in both the murder of a white planter by a tenant and the subsequent lynching of the tenant.
The black man who openly challenged his white employer was uncommon; had he not been, the racial hierarchy and the system of labor at its foundation would have been jeopardized. But some did challenge...When John Ware, a tenant farmer in Franklin County, Georgia, refused to sell his cotton to the merchant of his landlord's choice in 1904, the two men began to fight and the black man killed the planter...[T]he black man's stand led to his swift execution by a mob. These lynchings drove home to blacks the peril of challenging their employers; as one white planter curtly explained, "when [an African American] gets ideas, the best thing to do is to get him under ground as quick as possible."
Newspaper Account of the Lynching of John Ware
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| 19 September 1904 Idaho Statesman |
19 September 1904 - pg. 1 [via GenealogyBank]
ANOTHER LYNCHING IN GEORGIA.Per a short article in the 20 September 1904 Montgomery Advertiser (Alabama), Georgia's Governor Joseph M. Terrell took "a firm stand against lynching by offering a reward of $250 each for the arrest and conviction of any of the men who took part in the lynching of John Ware, the negro hanged by a mob in Franklin County..."
John Ware Strung Up in Franklin County for Fatally Shooting a Young White Man, C. Y. Daniel.
Atlanta, Sept. 18. -- A special to The Constitution from Royston, Ga., says:
Judge Lynch held court in Franklin county to-day, and as a result the riddred [sic] body of John Ware, a negro, is swinging from the limb of a tree between here and Carnesville. Ware was done to death by a mob for fatally shooting C. Y. Daniel, a son of George Daniel, of Danielsville, to-day. Young Daniel and the negro had some words over a trivial matter. It is said the negro, becoming greatly enraged and saying that no white man should run over him, drew a pistol and shot Daniel, the bullet inflicting a wound that will prove fatal.
The news of the shooting quickly spread and a crowd began gathering, many leaving church to join in the chase for the negro. The negro was captured early in the afternoon and while being hurried to Carnesville by the sheriff, was overtaken by the mob. The negro was taken from the sheriff and deputies, seated on a horse, a noose fitted about his neck and the other end tied to a limb. The horse was then struck a sharp blow and dashed away, leaving the negro swinging to the limb. Half a hundred shots rang out and the swaying body was riddled. The corpse was left hanging by the mob.
It Didn't Work.
Ocala Banner (Florida)
14 October 1904 [via GenealogyBank]
LYNCHERS NOT INDICTED.
Franklin County Jury Could Find No Evidence.
Atlanta, Oct. 13. -- The presentments of the Franklin county grand jury contain an extensive report of the investigation into the lynching of the negro John Ware, made with the view of indicting the lynchers, as recommended by Judge Russell in his charge to the grand jury.
Solicitor C. H. Band, of the western circuit, took a very active part in the investigations and in cross examining the witnesses summoned to appear before the grand jury. His best efforts, however, and those of the members of the grand jury, were unavailing since no evidence was adduced on which to issue an indictment.
A simple search on Google will give you the statistics. The Tuskegee Institute kept track of lynchings in America from 1882 - 1968. There were 581 in Mississippi, 531 in Georgia, 493 in Texas, 391 in Louisiana, 347 in Alabama, and so on. Total from all states: 4,743. That's more than one lynching and victim a week.I feel a little like I should try to explain why I would give the horrible acts – those committed by the criminal, as well as those committed on the criminal – voice on this blog. There are no (at least to my knowledge) statistics showing the accuracy of the lynchers. How many times was an innocent person hung, riddled with bullets, and mutilated in the name of "justice?" I mean, we probably agree there are innocent people sitting in jail right now – with supposed checks and balances in place. Imagine when there were none. Shouldn't those innocent people be remembered?
Now, make no mistake, sometimes the lynching party "punished" the right person. As in, sometimes the true perpetrator was indeed apprehended – and then disposed of, often in a barbaric fashion. Even if you take the literal "eye for an eye" death penalty approach, I would not be surprised if that would have been an applicable punishment in only an infinitesimal number of cases. People were lynched for stealing, people were lynched for "insubordination," people were lynched for literally being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And let us not be cowards and leave out the racism debacle that lingers to this day. So another reason for giving voice to these past atrocities is in the same vein of "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
As a family historian, I am saddened to think (1) these revolting deeds took place, and (2) while statistics are easy to find, the names and stories of the individual victims are much harder to locate. A list of lynching victims will unfortunately never be complete. I hope that in a small way, posts such as these will serve as a memorial to those who were victims of Judge Lynch and his frightful law.
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