Populism and Black Lynching in Georgia, 1890-1900

Abstract

This research tests general claims of how political and economic competition affected county-level variation of black lynching rates in Georgia in the 1890s. The central argument is that rates of racial violence rose when interracial competition increased. This increase was due primarily to black migration to southern manufacturing areas, black participation in the cotton economy, and the rise of black participation in the Populist movement. To address more fully the political facet of interracial competition, we first analyze the forces leading to the Populist movement. We find that black counties and counties with a higher degree of farm tenancy were more likely to have supported Populist candidates, and that manufacturing counties were less likely to vote Populist. When we analyze the causes of lynching, we find that lynching rates increased when economic competition increased, but that counties that voted Populist did not have significantly higher rates of black lynching.