THE LYNCHING OF PERSONS OF MEXICAN ORIGIN OR

DE CENT IN THE UNITED STATE , I 48 TO 1928

By \Villi;Jm D. Carrigan Rowan University

Clive Webb Univcr~ity of Su · ex
On NoH:mbcr 16, 1928, fuur m;hkcJ men tore IIHo a ho~ptml m Farmingron,
N~.:w Mexico and abJUl.teJ one of chc pnut.:nr~ .1~ he l,ty dymg 1n hcJ. TIH~
kidn.1ppcrs drove ro ,,n ahandoneJ f.1rmhou!lc on the uuhkms llf rhe Cll)' where
rbcy nLd a rope arrnmd rhe neck of thctr capuve .mJ h.mgl-d hm1 fmm a loc.;u:;t
trce. 1
The Jead man, Ra(<lcl Bcna\'lJes. haJ been aJmu.rc.:d ro rhc hm1m,1l w1rh a
~cnou:; gun wound less than rwc.:nry-four hours earltc..:r. Hts wound was mfltc.red
by a ~hcnff's [Xl)~C pursuing h1m for an 1ssaul r upon a f.mncr'5 wife. Accordmg
ro one ncw~p.1pcr, "the fi~.:nd1~hnL>s:; anJ bnJt.dtry uf hb ac.r~ wt:rc st1ch that the
po~c.1l bws wtll nor permtr u~ ro print rhL'm ."~ The ahJuc.:non :lllJ cxccurion of
Bcnav1dc~ therefore elicited the apprm ,1! of m:my loc<JI ._lll:en) rchcvcJ ar the..:
rcmo\·al from tiH:1rcommumry of th1liW1nj,(c.:tc.>us mt•n.tu.:. ln rhc frank opmton of
one nl.'w~raper cd•ron,1l, "the dcgc..:nerare !1-lcxtc\n f.!lH exac;.cly what wtls corrung
to h1m."J Others wert: noncthcleliS more ctrcum~pcct 111 rhctr .1sscssment of dll~
lynchm~. Whde thl.'y d1d nm d1)pute rhe gwlr of the d~.:aJ man, rhey o..onrended
rhar h1 ~ Juc.; pun•~hmcnr could only he Jcrem1mcd hy a courr of law The Sanw
Ft! New Mexican responded m rhc prcLtpttous .1Ltton of thl.' mob by Hanng rhat it
w01tld "r,1kc San Juan Counry a long nme ro !1 ve J,>wn rhe baJ name rece1vcd b}'
th1s lawless acr."~ Such ;Jn opmlOn rctlecred a new ractal ~cn~tht hty among many
Anglo~ in the Southwest. For JccaJc~ lynch mohli Lc.:rrorizeJ pen>ons ofMextcan
ong"in urJc~cenr5 \vtthout rcpnsal frorn rhc w1Jc.:rcommun1t)" The more crincal
arn tudc c1kcn by the Angloe~mhh)hmenr cre·trcd a pollttcal cl1mare bs wleranr
of cxrra-lcg<JI vtOit:t\l..c. Alrhough ac r~ oflawlc~~nc.:~~ cununucJ, lhfad Benavtdc~
became rhc last !l.kxtc.m m the Unircd St.Jtes to he lynched m 5Ulh bhranr
dcfi<~ncL of rhc JUdlci.tl sy~tem.
Although w1Jdy rccugn1:ed m the ~fex11.:,m communi I)' on both st~les of the
border, .mJ .tmong some ~chol.1rs, 1he srory of mob nolencc <JI!ai nst !1. k:x u:,ms
remAins rdanvcly unknown w clw wtdcr publtr. 1\vn reccnr popult1r worb on
lynchtng-Jamcs Allen's W'ichow Sanctuary .tnd Ph111p Dr.1y\ Ac che Hands of Per·
sons Unknown-rewa I tht: ex rem to\\ hich rhe luswncal n.1rraovc of racial vio-
lence 111 tht: UnneJ Stares exclude;; 1\kxit<tm. In January 2000, rhe phorogr.1ph~
Lh.tr would larer he puht.shed m ).,1mcs Allen') \X'itllllUC '\ancnrory L)'ndung Pho-
tography rn Amenca went on Jtsplay at rhe Roth llorowm O;tllcl) m New York
C.ry. 1l1is w1Jcl\' acclaimed exh dm, whtch wa~ larcr ~hown ar rhe NL'W York
Ht~roncal Soc1ery and rhe M,trrin Luther K1ng, Jr Nt~rtonal Htsronc '1re, cnn·
tai ned 54 sep::tr<He 1magcs nnd ~cveral :m ifacr~ rdanng rolym:hmg. Forty-five of
rhc imag~.::; dcptcted the COI"J'liCS of Afncan Amen can lynch1 ng ncnms Seven
other phorograph~ showed Anglo fata.ltaes. Imal!C~ and nm(,Jcts relarin~ to d1c
moh murder of S1td1an, Jcwbh anJ Chmcse tmmtl{rants were abo mcluded.
412 journal of soc1al hc;rory Winter 2003
Yet ne1thcr the exhihition nor rhe accompanying book contatn any reference
to ~lex1cans. Alrhou~h phorograph1c ev1dcnce of numerou> Mexican lynching
v1cttms extst~, Its omLSston created a fabe m:,prc~SIOil that Mex1can~ had nor
been the r.1rgct~ of mbranizcd metal v1olenc..e. S1mtlar cnnc1sms can be made
of Ph1l1p Dray. In 2002, Dray pub!tshL"C! the fir~r n.monal O\'crv1ew of lynching
111 the Unttcd Stares 111 more rha.n a half-century. H1s book, Ar r.he Hands of
Persons Unknown. The Lynchmg of Black Amenca, was a bemcller and wmner
of a maJOr ltrert~ry awarJ. Dr..1y nghrfully focusc~ upon rhc thousands of Afncan
Amene<ms who pcnshed at rhe hands of Anglo mobs m the Southern Untred
Scates. Althou,gh the book contains some discu~s1on of other crhn1c groups, not
once 111 murc than fi\'c hundred pages Joe~ tr mcnnon l\lexicans. 7
111c~e popul(lr works of history htghltght the cxrent ro wh1ch rhe public 1S
unnwarc of the lynchmg of Mcxtcans. l\lore pmhlcm;Htc sttll 1s the Face that,
c.lespm~ rhc n:ccnr llounshtng of academic hrcrature on lynching, scholars also
pers1~rendy O\'erlook nnti-Mextcan vtolence. Recent years have w1messed an
ourpounng of new publ1c:lcions on lynchmg, mcludtng sruc.l1es by Leon Litwack,
Dav1J Gnmsted, GraLe Hale, Domiruc J. Capcc.1, Jr., Mark Curnden and Leroy
Ph1lltps, Jr, l\fomc Akers, l\ltchael Fedo, and Chnsropher Waldr~p. 8 The~e
works, however, focus ovcrwhdmmgl yon black \'IC rims oflynch1ng tn the South.
Hisronan ·, soctolOJ!Ists, anJ scholars m a vanery of d1~C1plmes have been deploy·
mg excinng new models and theone~ co help u~ understand wh1tc-on-black mob
vltllcncc, but d1q have not thought ro 1ncludc raetal vtolence aga1 nH Mex1cans
m the1r ;uulys•~
Borderlands scholars, by contrast, have been wnnng abourant1-Mcxican mob
v1olcnce for decades. Although no comprehensive work on the lynching ofMex-
lcam was ever pnxluced, several hisrorians h<wc adJresscJ the subJect of mob
v1olencc aga1nst Mexicans in more general terms. Despite the extensive docu-
mentation of <tnri-l\ !exic;m mob vtolence provic.led by rhe~e scholars, historians
of lynchmg continue ro 1gnore the bruwl reprc~~•on of Spanish-speakers m the
Un1ted Smtcs One reason 1~ thar no schoh1r ha~ attempted to provide an acrual
count of t-.lcx1om lynchmg vtctims. Discusstons of Afnc.1n Amcncan lynch-
Ing vtcctms 111 the South h,l\'e rested upon an a~..rwl count of 1nd1vidual cases
smcc the turn of d1c rwenneth cenrury. The trcam1ent of 1\lextcan lynchmg
\'tcnm~. by conrmsr, ofrcn rests upon 1mpresstom~ttc esnmates. In 1949. Carey
Mc.\X.IiJlt:lms wrore m Norell from Mexico that "vase resc·Jrch would be reqlllred
ro arnve at ;m emmate of the number of Mcxtcan lynchln!(s." Over the p<ht
fifry year.., man\ ~chobrs of ~lex1cam tn rhe Unm:J Stares anJ of ltfe 111 the
American WeH ha\'c: echoed l\lcWtlliams. Accord1ng to L.H. Gann and Peter
J. Dwgan, the number of ~lextcans murdered by lynch mobs was "constderahle";
tn the op1n1on of Amoldo De Le6n, It wa~ "ama~mg."
9

1l1crc arc, of course, good r~..'tlsons tl) cmphast::c esnmarc~ O\'Cr counrs. lr is
obvious!\' rn1c thm no amounrofhtstonc;ll re5earch w1ll ever reveal every smgle
lynchtn(! VIC.ttm-no m;'lrtcr rhc1r rnce and ethntclty-that IS (lnywhcre near
the actual number of victims. When tntroducec.l and described carefully, prcc1se.
wdl-documentcd st.wsttc.s can nonetheless h<wc grem V',lluc. For berrer or worse,
they pl,ly an Important role 111 both academtc .md publtc dtscoursc. Certain
ac..ac.lcmKs and many members of the puhltc recel\'e csumatcs of mob v1olence
THE LYNCHING OF PERSON OF ~fEXICAN ORIGIN 413
w1rh ~-:rcJt skeprictsm. People rend ro di~bclteve 1n great rr.1gedtcs, cspcctally
chose tn wh1c..h they are complictr. SransnD ba~ed upon .tcnml counrs .1lso allow
c..omp;.~mon bcrwccn groups, for ex11mple, ,unong blac..k lynchtng vtc.n~ and
~lex1c.m lynchtng VICtims
Tim CS~<l)' seeks to expanJ upon me CXISttng work In the fidJ:; of lynching
srud1c~ and t>.lex1can Amencan hmory hy prO\'Idml! rhe fin sysrem,mc .m,1lysis
of Mex1c;m lynchmg VICttms. Our smdy t) based upon exrcnstve :uch1val re-
~earch char adds ro the numher of prevtou.,ly Jocunwnred ca:.cs of anri-~lex1c;1n
mob \'IOicncc. For 1mrance, the file~ ;tt Tuskegee lnsmurc comam the most
comprehensive counr of lynch1ng VICtims 111 the Umred 'raws, bur rhey only
refer lO th~ lynchmg of fifry r-. texic.'lns in the snw:s of Anzona, Ca!Jfornt<l, New
Mex1co, and Texas. Our own research has revc.tled a total of 216 vtenms Junng
rhe same nmc pcnod.
Th1s mass1ve undercounr 1s nor rhe only problem. It 1s nor easy ro find even
rhc fifty cases mcluJcd 111 Tu.skcgt"C'~ record~. In every publ1cauon and dar<~
·umm,lry of rhc Tuskegee matenal:;, the lynchmg VIC lim~ arc d1vided 1nto only
rwo carcf,!onc~. "blac.k" anJ "whtte." Th1s neat bmary tltvl~ion hel1es h1~rorical
rcaltty '1nce rhe ltsr of "whtte" v1ct1ms .tcrually mcluded N:mve Amencans,
Chtnc~e Immigrant,, Italians, and Mcxtcans.ln order todctermtnc rn<l[ 50 of the
v1coms recorded by 1l1skcgce ;b "wh1 te" were acrually of l\1cxtc:m desccnr, one
has ro peruse the ong1 nal archwal recorcb. Tu~kegcc's btn<ll)' d1 v1~1on of black:.
.mJ non-hlacb h<b been w1Jely adopted by orhcr ~roup~ collec.unr; lyndung
dara md by the scholars who have written ,Jbour lynchtng The cenrr.d aun of
thi~ srudy i~ m hroatlen the scholarly dtscourse on lynchtng by movmg beyond
the rmJitlonalltmitattons of the black/whtte parad1gm. Placing the expencncc
ofl\1exicans nHo the hiHory oflynching expands our und~:rsrandmg of rhe caLL~es
of mob viulencc and the ways in wh1ch 1nd1viduals and groups sought ro resist
lynching and vtgtlant1sm.

H istOrical and Comparative Contexts

Between 1848 anJ 1928, mobs lynched <H lca~t 597 Mex1cans. H1sronan
Chnsropher W:~IJrcp hns nsserred thar the defintnon of lync..hmg has altered so
muc..h over the course of umc as ro render 1mposs1ble rhc .1ccur.1te collcctton of
d~lt<~ on mob vwlcnce. 10 It b therefore cssennal ro famtlt.mzc rhe reader from the
ourset w1th rhc lnterpret::~uon oflynchmg usetl ro comptle the statistics m th1s
essay. The author~ regard lynch1ng a~ a remhunvc ,tcr of murder for wh1ch chose
re~pons1hle cl.um robe servmg the inrcresrs of JUStiCe, tmdltlon, or commumry
gooJ. AILhough our nonon as ro what consttturc~ a lynchtng 1s clear, ir ~~ snll
lmpomble tO provtdc :l preciSe count of me numher of ~lexlcan VIC(Ims. We
h;l\·e excluded a $1gndicanr number uf reported lynchtngs when rhe sources Jo
nor allow for vcnficauun of specific data uch a~ the cl<ltC, lucatwn or tJenttry of
d1c v1cnm. The stamtics 1ncluded m rh1s essay should 1he~fnrc he considered a
conservauve estimate of the actual number of Mo.:xiC:IIh lynched 10 rhe Umted
Sm1es.
Even who.:n one constders the met.hodolog•cnl problems tn compdtng accUI(Ite
dJt<t on lynch mg. it is clear chat Mex1c;ms ~uffered from mob vtolencc tn smaller
414 JOurnal of socLll htstory winrer 2003
numl (·r~ rhan Afn<.:an Amenc:m~ . Between I 82 ;mcl 1930. Lt 1S commonly
not1..xl rhar .I t lc.tH 3,3% Afncan AmencJns dtcd .tr rhc h.tnd~ of lynch mobs.
Our research rcvc.1h, hmwver, rhar rhcdangcroflynchml! l"l>ra 1\ lcxican restdent
in the United Srat~.:~ w;l!l n~:arly as great, and 10 smnc tmr.mc.c~ J!lt';lt<:r, rhan the
sp.:crcr of mob \'lOicncc for a black person tn the Amcncan ourh Because
of the smallu ~1zc of the Span1sh-spc-JktnJ.! populauon, rhe rot:ll numher of
1\tcx!L.Ul nct1ms was much Lower, bur rhc chance of betnJ! murdered hy a moh
w.ls cump;Jmhk for borh Mextcans and Afncan Amencan~ .
Comp.lr.lrt\'e d.na on l\.lex1can and Afncan Amcllc.m lync.h1ng vac.um~ uc
unav;ulable for the yc.·;~r~ he tween 1848 and 1879 Huwcvcr, 1t ~~ srdl poss1ble
ro pl,tCI..' rhc numhcr t1f l\.1t.:xiuln vtcnms during rhb nme pcnuJ in Ltll1tcxr.. A~
T:tbll One ~hows, between Hl48 .md Hl79 1\lc.:xte<m~ Wl'rt·lynchc.-<.1 .lt a rare of
4 7 J per 100,000 ot population. Tius sramri~: ts ;NounJtn~ cvt:n when comp:1reJ
wtth Afric.tn Amem:.m \'tCttms dunng the p~nod schtllar, ci.Hm w;b mosr nf~
wtth mol' \toletH..c-1880 to 1930-anJ Ill the most lync.h-prl>nt: sr.trt:s Ill the.
~outh. Durin~ rhesc yc<tr~. the h11~hest lynchtnl! rare for Afncan Amcncans was
in t-ft~~~s~ippt, \\'tth 52.8 victim~ per 100,000 of popuh111on On the hm of
~uc.h wmpanson, rhc Mextc.m populauon of the United Srare between 1848
and I o79 f.JCe~l unpar.~llcled danger from mob \'tolcnLl: 111C growth of the
Mcxtc.ln Pli'Uiarton .tr rht: turn of the twenrtcrh ccnttll)' ;IJld .1 dcclmc 111 white-
on Mextc.m vtolencc kx! ro a subsrunnal Jedtne 111 rhc lynchm~ r.uc: .Jftcr
1880. Neverthck:ss, the figure of 27 4 Mcxt<.:an lynch111g vtcrnns per 100,000
of p\lpul.mun for rh.H penoJ exccL'l.ls the 'rar~>tiC.\ dunng rhc 'amc time for
bi.Kk Ytctlms m \tlmc ~ourhcrn ~mrc~ <~nd nearly cquab th;tt murhcr~. Between
1880 'ltld 1930, for msGHICe, the lynJlinl! r.nc for Afm:an Amenu1m 111 ourh
C:1roltna ,1nd Norrh Carolin.l respccm·dy w~1s 18.8 and 11 .0 per I 00.000 of
popul.1rion In Alelb<tma, the figure was 32.4. TI1e)e ficur~s sug~c't thnr Mcxtc-ln:.
faced a sun dar mk uf lynching as Afncan Amenc..m~ m some ~tate:; of rhe Deep
South. (Furrhcr 1nformauon em how these smnsrits were calcularcd can be found
in the Appendtx.)
Sr.wsttLS alone c.m never cxphi n lyndung m the Uni r~.:d 5r.m:s 1\ lore rhan
other .A.mene<m~. blac.b ,md Mextc;Jns ltwd w1rh rlw rhrear ,,flynchtng rhrouj.(h-
our rlw ~ccond h;~lf of d1e nmetcenrh .mu the firsr h.1lf uf rhe twcnncth t.:crHUl)'.
The swry of 1\lcxtcan lynthtng is nor a footnorc 111 htsrnry bllt r.trhcr a cntte<tl
ch:tprer in rhe ht~rory of Anglo wesrern e;-..p.llhtlll1 anJ lOnquc~r. If the ~tory{)(
lyndun~ ~~ c~'cnttal tu undc~r.mdmg rhe Afnun :\mcm;.m expcru:ncc, then
lyncbmg I' cyu.tlly tmporr.tnt ro rhc 'WI)' nf rlw 1\kxtc.m Amcnc.m expcnencc.
As T 1hle Two dcmon~rr.ucs, rhe lynd11 ncs nu:urn.·,( mo~r commonly Ill the
four ~ourhwcsrern state:~ where 1\.kxtcJm were LOI1Lentr.u.cd m l.1rgesr numbc:r.
L)nchmc p;trtcrns vaned ~1gnincandy wtd1111 rhc ~ouriHvt·Hern states. A com-
Tahlc I
~lcxican anJ African Amcm:an Victim• of Lynching pl!r I Ol.\000 of Pupulaliun

Me..-ican Lyndun!( \'i~tuns Afrrctm Amc:nwn Lynching Vrctirru

Time Pn-uxl !h IOO,(l('() l't·r /00 000
1880-/930 ~7.4
THE LYNCHING OF PERSONS OF l\IEXICAN ORIGIN 415
Tahl~ 2
Lynching~ of Mo!xican' by Swtc

St.1tt' l\ umber nf l.yuclung~

T~xa.s lR2
Calijamr.1 11\1\
Arit~Jna 59
Ncu Mf.~CIJ 49
Calm-ado 6
Nevada 3
Nclmulw 2
Oklaltr1ma 2
Ureg(Jn 2
Kentucky I
Lou.i.\wna 1
Montana I
\\'lymnmg I

prehcrmve trcanncnt of the ~ubJCC.t would cmphamc rhc clr~nncnvc patterns

of mob v1nlcnce rhac developed rn each of chc four ~tares. Mub v1oknc.e m
Texas, fur example, d1ffcrcd ~1gnific.ancly frurn lynchrnJZ 1n Calrfom1.1 Further-
more ,lynching vam.J w1rhrn ~rare border, as wd 1. Differences hcrwecn North em
and. ourhem C'lhfom1''· w1thout quc~rion, impacted .mrr-l\lex1can v10k:ncc.ln
~prtc ot the stgnrlicant d1ffcrcnce~ among ~rate~ and rct.:iorh, c.:crr.un parrcms do
emerge

Limitations of Traditional Frontier Violence Theories

Wc~tcrn ht~ronans have rr.tc.ltuon.tlly portr-1yc~l cxtr,l-ICJ!.tl Vll)lencc as an es·

senttal functiOn of r.he fronncr. Accord1ng ro rht, lntcrprt:'t.mon, the economiC
and dcmogr.tphrc devdopmcnr of the fmnncr raprc.lly ourpaccJ the (!rowth of
legal and I.!OVCn\ml'llt<ll tn)tJmnom. Faced with the uh~e11cc or impotence of
proper legal <lurhorJtic), frontiersmen were forct:d tu t.tkc the l.1w inm rhc::1r own
h.mds. V1g1lann~m rhcrl.!fore served a lcgltlmart: pttrposc m the scrrlcmcnc of
the AmcnC'ln West, prcscr\'rn~ the fr.tglk order ,1nd 'ecunl) ot fronrrl'r com-
munmc~. and P<IV1ng rhe \\ray for the csrablrshmcnt of a foml.lllc~al systcm. 11
The hmori,tn R1c.h.ml t-.laxwdl Brown IS rhc mo~t well known exponent of
d11~ mrerprcnnvc moJcl In h1~ optnion, vigtl.mti~m "w,ts a pmltl\'e facet of
rhc Amencan cxpericnct' Many a m:w fronuer commUIHr)' gainL-d urdcr ami
srnh1lrry ,ts the result of v•gtlanosm t:hJt rcconsmJcted rhe community pattern
and \.',llut.·s of the old senlt."tl area~. while Jcal1ng cffec.:rivcly With cnmc and
J,~ordcr." 12
FronncrcondlllOllS unJouhrcdly fostered rhe gmw1h of vtt,:lbnnsm in general.
Noncthdc~~. the convcnnonal mrcrprct<lllon of wesrern vtOiencc c.mnor be
.tpplicd ro the lynching of Mexrcan~ The mu~r scriou' cr•rrc1~m of the "sou ally
consrruLttvc" mcxlcl of v•gtl.rnrrsrn espoused hy RtcharJ Maxwell Brown •~ thnt
ir lc):!uimarcs rhc acrions ot lawhr~;tk~r~. There 1s 1n 1mpl1cn prcsumptton in
rhc CI\'IC v1rruc of rhc 'il!tbmes and the unmnal gutlr of rhc•r vtcttn~. In
416 JOurnal of ~oc1al hL~rorv wtnter 2003
truth, tht: rorular mhunals that pur Mcxtc..ms ro ut:;Hh can !ieldom be ~·ml
to han~ <1Ct(:J m the spine of the hnv. Accordtng tu Josl:ph Cau~h~.:y, \ igtlante
committees pcrstsrl:d tn rhetr act1v1rie~ "long after the .trnval" of the law court:.. 1..1
Howcvu, Anglo~ refused ro reco.cnizc rhc lcglClmm:.y of the~e court~ when they
were conrmllcd or mflu~.:nced by t-. fex1ca ns. Dcrern1mcd r,l rcJre~s the balance
of r.1C1<1l and political power, rhey .:onsrmcrL.J thl:Lr own paralld ml..'c.hant~m~ of
Jll5tlce Th1s LS prcc1sdy wharoccurred m Socorro. New }..fexLcodunng the 1880s,
when <1n Anglo vLgd.mce committee <~rose 111 oppmltlon to the prt'llomLnanrly
~vlt!x1can legal authonn~. 14 These commmees )howcd lu tic resrect for~ he legal
nghrs of}.. fexu::ms, executmg them m d1spropornonatdy laq,w numbc10. 1h~lr
actllms therefore amounted w in~uruuonabzed d1~..:.nnunation 15
Another crucwl factor w con~ider is th.lt only <l sm;LII number uf Mexican
lynching vLc.ums--64 our of a total of 597-mct rhe1r f.1re ar the hJnds of
v1gllant~ tommmee~ ac.ung 111 the absence of a fonm1l JllliiCI.JI system. }..fo·r
were sum manly executed by mobs that denied the :tccu~cd even the semblance
of ,1 tnal. 1l1cse mob~ acrcd less our of .1 nnonal 111tcn:~r 111 l.1w <lnd order
than an Lrr.n1on,1l prqud1cc too,~,~mh racial mmon[lc~. Their mt:mhcn expressed
conrcmpr for the due proc.~.:ss of law by _o;n;nch111g suspccrc.:J l\kx1can cnmm.tls
from courrrooms m pnson cclh and chen executtng rhem. In June 1874. jesu~
Romo wa~ .mcsrcd for rohbcry and arremptl.'d murdl.'r nc<tr Puenrt Cn.:ek 1n
Cal uorn1,1 . Romo wa~ gmhrcd from the ;1rresrmg offic.er by a g-ang of masked men
who r1cd a rope around h1~ neck and hang~o..J h1111 Such was the presumpnon
of h1~ gutlt in the mmlli of rhe mob th<lt It precluded rhe need for h1m ro
~tand m.d. The Los Angdes Scar commended rhe dcc1s1on ro J1spcnse w1t.h legal
fornlalitLCS, deciJring that Romo wa~ "a hardened anJ hlouJ-sramcJ despa;ldu,
who deserved nchly the fare which overtook h1m "16 1n th1s <tnd orhcr um:ances
the mob w<ls motrvared by unsubstantiated a~serttons and Jn impuls1ve imtmcr
for veng~ncc.1l1e1r acnons therefore c!Ld nor so much uphold the law as oppose
ILS proper tmplcmenranon A s1mdar mc1dent occurred m April 1877 when
Andre~ }..larunez and Jo~c !\I aria Cordena wen.: ,m..:Hed for horsl..' theft in Collin~
Counry, Texas.111L two men never saw the 1ns1de of •• court room hu r were 1ns read
~e1zed from rhc cumxly of the authonries by rcn ma~ked men JnJ shot dl..'ad 1'
1l1c ~p.mal d1srnbuoon of 1\ lextcan lynchmgs abo LUnfounJ~ t.hmc who ~ug·
ge~r rht~r rl.'molc locations forced \'lgtlanrcs to r.1kc cxrralega I acuon 1\.fany
cp1soc.b of <~nn-Mexrcan mob v1olence uwoh-e lynch mob~ th.n broke 1nto Jads
ro rerneve rhc1r vu.:.ums. To he sure, rhcrc were rime~ when lynch mob~ oper-
ated 1n 1solmeJ m1ntng camp~. in out·of-thc-w;ly gukhe~. or on spam:ly-settleJ
mnchlanili. Even 111 th~e c.:..1ses, however, lynch mobs ofren soughr out these
remote loc;mom 1n on.ler ro avotd rhe nel..r:ltivc ,mcnnon th,lt ;1 more publtc
lynchmg would generate. On July 13. 1877 masked men m San Juan, Cal1f0rn1a
Sl.'tzeJ ]u:.nn Ar.tJO, a Mex1e<1n :~rresred for rhc murJcr of an Anglo, and took
h1111 to .1 remote roaJsrde where d1ey hanged h1m from ,1 wrll~>w tree.1!1
1l1e lync.hmg of Mex1uns not only occurrcJ in areas where there was <1 fully
operaring legal sy~rcm but often involvec.l rhe a~nvt collusron of lnw officers
themseh·cs. In Fchnt<try 1857 a justtce of rhe pcat:c as~t'mbled an unwtllmg
.md1ence of}..fexicam oursrde the San Gabriel mr~s1on ru wilrch as he dccapmm:d
1\liguel Soco and rhen stabbed repe<ltedly ar the corpse.19 The most systematiC
abuse of legal illlthonry washy rhc Texas Rangers. Thetr bmral rl'prc~~lon of tht!
THE LYNCHING OF PERSONS OF MEXICAN ORIGIN 417
Mexacan populanon wa~ ranr:amown ro St.lte·S<lnLttoned terrorim1 Although
rhc cxacr number of those murdered by the Ranger~ ts unknown, hasronans
esttmare that at r.ln mto rhe hundreds and even rhou~ands.zo In March 1881,
Ranger~ crossed the border anco ~texaco and tllegnlly arrested Onofno Baca on
.1 charg-e of murder. Baca was returned wid\Out cxrrJLhtton ordc~ to the Untted
'rates where he w·tls handed over to a mob "and ~rrung •IP, w the cross beams
of the gate m rhe court house ytlrd unnl he was deaJ."..I l11e rerrorizmg of
~lcxac.tm connnueJ well into the rwcnneth century. On October 18, 1915,
Mexican outlaws JeratlcJ a rratn travelling toward~ Brownsvt!lc, ktll111g se,·eral
pru.scngers. Some who surv1ved the crash were robbed and mmdcrcd by rl1e
bnndars. l11c Rangers ex<~cteJ bruml revenge. 1\vo Mcxtom passengers aboard
rhe rra in wt:re shor for thetr supposed asmrance of rhe mad. The Rangers then
executed eaghr suspected ~fex1can crimtn;tls along rhe banks of rhe Rao0rande. 22
The realtry as rhar rhe legal system nor only fatled to protect Mexicans bur
served as an ansrrumcnr of thetr opprc~sion. On Iy under pressure from the federnl
govcmmem were local 3nd srare authonties wtllmg to tOV(!)ttgatt' acrs of mob
vaolence Even when these auvesttganons were earned our, they mevatably fatleJ
ro adenn(y tho ·e rcsponsablc. A~ a re~ult, almo~r no whare man wa~ ever made
to srand trtill for the lynchmg of a ~lex1can. As the U.S Comul in Matamoros,
Thomas Walson, testtfieJ to Congress, "when an aggrcssaon •~ made upon a
t-.h~x1can at 1s not much mmded. For 1mClncc, when at IS known rhar .1 Mexican
ha.\ bL>cn hung or kalled ... there is seldom any fuss made about 1r; whale, on the
controry, tf a whtte man happens co he despoiled an any'' ay, rhcrc as a great fuss
made about tr by rhme nor of Mexacan ongm "23

Race and ConqueSt

The rradJtional Interpretation of western "iolcnce wdl clearly nor suffice. It

IS ansrc.1d our convacnon that metal pn:judace \\"JS rht: pnmary fi1rce in fomcnr-
mg mub vaolt:nce agaanst ~ lexicans. l111s pcrsrccu vc on western vtolence ha~
suffered unJuc neglect from scholars. In a recent essay, one of rhc foremoH hb-
ron,ms of weHern vaolcnc.c writes th;lt there were sax essennal "beliefs" that
underpanneJ acts of phy~acal contl1ct throughout the n.:gaon. Race as not one
o( rhem. 24 Thas tendency ro downplay the mflucnce of mcc as abo apparent an
a srudy of rwo fronCier communmes by Roger~ kGrarh. In the absence of any
senous metal conflacr wathm these communities, he confidently asserts that "tr
would seem rhat the frontier, msread of represenranl! America ar tt~ worst may
have, m mnny rc~pc:cts, rcprescnrc:d the n.mon at ars hc~r."- 5
Only wath the emergence of the New Western Hhtory ha:s there been recog-
ntuon of rhe pervasive anfluence of rJcial preJudacc. As Patricia Nelson Lamenck
asserreJ an her semmal work The L~gary n[Conqut!St, the hasrory of the West has
b~..'Cn charncrcnzcd by 11 contmuing comesr for cultural domlnJnce between An-
glos and non-white minorities, a conrc·r that has bred bnJtal acts of vaolencc.?6
In rccognlnon of dus, Amoldo De Leon h.1s dcc.lc~red ar as umc rhat "hlsrorians
should revavc rhe i~mc of 'nlLc' a~ an analyucal framl.' of reference for under·
standmg wcsrt:rn htsrory."17
The lynch1ng of ~fcxat:.ans underlines the cenrralary of cla~s and race 111 the
Amencan colonazanon of the Amcncan West. The bitter metal enmity of d1c
418 joumal of soCL:tl h1~rorv w1 nrer 2001
U.SA-Icx1c,m War had ;Jn cnJunng legacy lun~ ;tftcr tht. Treaty of GuaJalupc
Hu.hlgo esmbltshl·d nom mal pe<JCC. Well mro the twcnriuh century rhe maJor-
H)" wh1rc culrurc connnucJ to unl1:e extra-legal VIolence al.(amsr ~lcxtc<lnS as
" means of .1ssernnc 1t sovcre1gnry over the rq!IOn. 1l1c lynchmg of ~kxtcans
was one of the mechar1r~ms by whrch Anglo~ comultd;ncd rht.•rr colonral control
of the Amcncan \X'c~t. t-.lob v10lt:ncc cnntnbutL't.l t\) rhe drspl.tccmcm of rhc
Mexrc m popubnnn from the land, Jenr.1l of .uxc~~ ro n.trural resources, r~r­
lmc.:.al t.Lsfr;tnd11~cmenr, and t"Lonomtc.:. JepcnJcnq upon an Anglo conrrolh:J
C<lplraltsr <lrder 2 ~
1l1c rncul idl"nnty of Mex1cans was m a cons1ckmhlt> Jej.!rel determined hy
rhc1r dass stan1s. The eadresr An~lo sct.rlcrs tu the Sourhwest saw rhe nJuvc
rulmg dne :~s ;1 supcnm rilcial gmup ro the mass of ~!cxtc<tn bborcr~. Tr.wellcrs
Sltl.h as R1charJ Henry Dan;! n~serteJ rhar rhc ruhng c.J;Jsscs could rr.tcc a d1rect
ltne of dc~cent from rhe Spam~h colonrsrs of rhc scvenreenth century. The1r
mc1al runty clc\'arcd them ro a position of ~oual supenoriry over the ma)onry
of rhc ~1exrcan populatiOn As Dana put It, "eath person's caste 1s deciJcJ by
the qualtry of the blood, wh1ch shows Itself, Wll pl.1inly to be conu~alcJ, .tr
first Sl).!ht.''' 9 Whtle mo~r l\fex1cans were resrricrcd to a ~ t .tnl~ of perm;mcnr
racial suborJinaulln, a small mmoril)' were d1crcforc <Jblt: to M.-cure rht: :.OCial
advanta).!c~ of whitcne~~. Their posi u0n <b whtr-cs act\.:J as a protcCti\'C sh1clJ
<ll!'·ltn~r mllh viulcncc Alrhoucb rhe d1tc often suffered ;w;aulrs aca rnsr their
propcny, they scklom experrenceJ tn)lll)' tn person On occ;mon, An).!los ewn
tnvlrL'I:i thctr mvolvcment rn v1gtlance commtrtL"CSJil
In conrr.ht to rhe clrre, luwcr class Mexicans were cl.l~~lfied as :1 dJsonct anJ
1nfenor rac1.ll other. ~lcxic;m lynchrng vicnms were nvem·hclmmgly members
of rhe 1mpov...:n~hcd l.1honnJ! chs~.1l1e maJonry of Mex1cans occup1eJ ;Jllmtnill
pos1t 1011 '''tthm d1e raetal hrerarLh y of the southwestern sr,ncs. The law classrfit:J
them as wh1re. However, the soc1al <lntip;lthy of Anglos unJem\tlled rhcir Je
jure Wli\JS. The conrcmporary Jtscourse on r.Kc rdarron~ pcrpt'fiiOltcd rhe no non
rh<lt lower cia~~ t--kx1cans were a hybriJ of An~lo, lnc.h:m. Span1~h and .A.fncan
blooJ. Thc1r 1m pure status pushed them to the m·trgrns of wh1rcnc~~. preduwng
rhc1renttrlemrnr ro m<my nf lt5 ~oc1,1l pnvlh:l{cs. A~ a rr.tck foreman 1ntcrnewed
tn Dm111ur Counry, Tcx:b observed 111 d1e larc 1920s, ''Tlwy arc ,ln 1nfenor rJCc
I would nm thrnk of cbssmg t-.fcxtcan~ as whitt's " 11
The r.tcml anmrJe~ 1,f Anl!los rc~ulrcd 111 dl>il,trllll' comcqucnccs. ~lcxicans
found rhemsd ves J1,possesscd of rhc1 r land by .1 com hi n.nion of force and frilud .
The new urban economy of rhe late nmerecnrh century ,tffon.leJ rhcm fc.·w op-
pommtOes, confintng them for the m~~~r parr ro poorly pa rd manu;Jll.lhor. The
combmt:d forcco; of cLonomlc d•~crimm.ltlon .md r.tcl:.tl pn:Jttthcc 111 tum rc-
scncrcd ~1cxlc.;ms to rhcrr own crhnrc nc1ghhorho()(.k or b;trnos. whllh became
brt:cdrnJ.! f.lrDUnds for po,·t:rty, d1scase. and crrme. 11 This ~pat1al scparnllon from
Anglos wmpoundcJ what rhc s,1C1olog1st Ruberm Scncch,1l de b RtlLhc de,
SLrtbes ,ts rhc ~..ulrur.tl anJ relanom1l JJ,rance berwetn ~kxicam ,md Anglos
The rwo people~ spoke a J1fferem language .md prncnced d1ffercnr forms 1>f
rclrgtmi~ won.h1p ..1.1
The physical .lnd p'ychologtcal houndam:s berwecn the two races therefore
rc~ulrcd m mum1l m1strndasmndmg and st1Sp1L1lll\ In parrtcular, 1t hclpeJ ro
THE LYNCHING OF PERSON OF MEXICAN ORIGIN 419
pcrpcru:Hc the rncrill sten.:myprn!.! of t-.kxrc...tns .1~ ,, cruel .rnJ rrt'~lC.hcrous peo-
ple wtrh ,1 n.mll"<tl rrochvtry to\\'iirJ tnmrn.sl bchavtor. A~ llnC Ant.:lo author
oh~er\'cd, "l11e Spanbh Americans are hell rn sowret~n contempt hy omens.
,md .1rc sngm:1med wirh being filthy, rgnorant,hlZ) and vKious "' 4The~c stereo-
types rn~rrll~.:d rhc wnvu:rion that Mcxi<.am comnrurcJ a v1oknr d1n:ar to the
csr,lhlt)hed \t>LI.ll0rder.l11i~ m rum prm Kicd Angln~ wirh rhc pretext for acrs of
rerm:~m·c \'loh:ncc In rhe word~ ofCalrionll.l golJ prospector Eh.ts S Ketcham,
"many J'liStlll~ who .1re prc)ud1ceJ, s:1y rhcy .1re ,11l ;rlrkc, a 'cr of cur rhro.1ts +
,hould b~.: ~.:xrt.·nnnl.JrcJ, or drove our n( rhc country.""
The pnm.IC)' o( mual preJudice 1s un~h:rhnc~l hy rh~.: acrs of muahze~ltorturc
and sad1sm rll;tl acc.ompnnicd the lynchmg ofMex1carh. As T.1hle Three shows,
52 of rhc 1\lcxKan lynchmg \'lCtllll~ recorJ~..-d m our d.lt 1 suffered some al.t of
physKal mutd,,u on. The most common foml5 ot m.um1n!,! were rht.! burmng and
~hm•ringofho~ltc.:. aft~r they haJ bt"('n h.ml!cJ, ,llthou(!h there were more cxrn:rm:
examples. In Fehn1ary 1856, the holly of J ~ lcxn:an hor~c rhref was diKovered 1n
,, rm me nc;lr the Cal!fornJ.ln )\ llss1on San Gahnd. The dc,1J man had hcen shor
fom nmc~, h1~ boJy hacked Ly a kmfc bi.Jde, and his tongue cur our. 1b Vrg!lantes
111 Y1r~mr.1 Ciry, ~ lnnrdn.l, stmilarlydbmembcred a~lhf'Ctrcd ~lcxic;m murJcr~.:r.
)l-.e Pt:anthta \\~1\ h.mgeJ and h1s corpse lir)t shot :md rh~.:n bumt·LI. 17 Although
An!!los .1lso suffered .1r the hanili of lynLh mobs, rhc1r exc~mrom occurred
\\'lthuur el.1burarc u·rcmony. By conrmst, Ill wmtng the.: lym.hm~ ,1f t-.fex•cans
mco .1 puhlL<. spt:Lnclc, Anglos senr a powerful \\arn1ng rh;lt tht.•y would not
rok•rate .my Lh.tllcng~ ro tbc1r cultuml and polmc.1l hcgcmonv
.A. s•mrlar condu~ton can be made w1 rh rcg.Hd ru the h1gh numher uf multiple
lynchu1g c.tscs Accus,Jtlom of cnminal nuswnducr by .10 mdt\ldu;d l\textcao
re~ultcJ 111 1nJI~c.rlmtn.m~ Kr~ of rernhut•on. The tJcnnry C1f rhL vtcnm \\<IS
rhl..'rt..furc of lcs~ con~cquencc rhan rhe symbolic message vmr.1lneJ m tht: mob'~
violent r~;1ss~rnun of Anglu ~ovcrctgnry. In Sl..'ptcmhcl 1919, rwo Mexrcans
were lynLhed tn rcvcn~e fur the murJcr of a local pull~..~' officer hy ,1 mob 111
Puebh Colomdo. L.ucr it wa~ JhcloK.J ch.u the rrr~onen. aW.IIllllf:! rn.rl f0r d1e
murJcr had been remo\'eJ for rhcir protec.non tll .mother J.lll . .A.~ one newspaper
ub~l:rved, "the mob \\'lth m usual lack of dl)Lrlmtn.ltlon md rea~~mm~.: )tmply
wok rwo )\ lc:m.m~ founJ 1n the Jtltl ,,nJ h,mgt:J rhcm." 1 ~ In rom!. of the 285 .tcrs
ot mob nolcncc r~·corJcd rn our data , 113 111\'olveJ mulnpk lynclungs. These
fiJ.!urc~ 1nduJc ~omc of rhe lar~c:>r lynchtng' 111 the UntrcJ Sratc~. In July 1877,
htr tnstance, Anglo~ 111 Nucc.c) County. Texa~. avcnJ,!cJ the.: murder ofLt-e R.1bb
by r.mdorni) )l.tughrcrin!.! <IS m.my .h forry )\ lc.'xlcln,. N
R.Kt.ll prqudrc.e :1lone c mnot .tccount for rhc lync.:hm)! of t-.!cxtc;lm. :\n
Table 3
Crime of Mob

llcmgrnJ! 267
Slto<JIIIII! 213
Ph'l~lurl M111ilaucm 52
Bu~111ng 5
lJnkn ...u'fl 6i."l
420 JOurnal of social hiSfOI)' w1 nrer 200.3
<bSes mcnr of the supposed cnmes committed by Mex1c.an mob v1ct1ms md1cate~
the add•uonal1mpomnce of gender. As Table Four shows Anglos lynched only
ntne Mex1cans for alleged transgressions of sexual norms. Among rhese victims
W<lS Aurei.ano Cascell6n, murdereJ by a mob m Sen1or, Texa~ followmg an at·
tempted assault on a fifteen-year-old girl. 40 Th1~ was nonethdes~ an exceptiOnal
inc1dcnr
An explananon for dus phenomenon •~ to be found m the gendered con·
Hrucrion of}..fexlcan racial identity. The dommant d1scourse of the nmereenth
cenrury drew disnncoons between "masculme" ;1nd "ft:nHnine" rnces. Mtx1c::ms
were classified ;1ccording to d1e latter category.H Anglo stereotypes of Mexican
males therefore emphas1:ed d1e1r supposed lack of rmdinonal masculme v1rtue.
Mex1can men were denied the artriburcs of honor, honesty, and loynlry. Instead
they were defined as unprinc1pled, connivmg, and treacherous. "The men are
tall ;1nd rohusr," wrote Theodore T. Johnson m 1849, "bu1 appear effcmmate in
me1r fancy serapa~. under wh1ch they mvanably conceal rhe1r ready and cow-
ardly kn1fe." 41 The cffemm1zacion of Mex1cans encoumgcd Anglos to accuse
them of suc.h cnmes as cheating ar card:. or cow;mlly ace.~ of murder. At the same
umc, It also dtmmi~hed rhe1r sexual menace ro wh1rc:.. As rhe econom1sr Paul
Schuster Taylor observed, Mexicaru were less commonly seen ns carnal predators
rh<Jn were Afncan Americans.43
Table 4
Allej!ed Crimes of \'ktim~

Alleged Crrme Number of Lynchrng Victrm.s

Murch 30 I
Theft ar Robbery I 16
Mtader and Robbery 38
Being of MeXIcan D~cem 10
AttemjXed Murder 9
Checumg tu Cards 7
Rape or Sexual A.ssc.wlt 5
Assault 5
\Vicchcraft 3
KLdnJpptng 3
Courtmg a W'hire \\!omun 2
Takmg Away ]ob.~ 2
Rape and Murder I
AuempceJ Murder cmd Robbery I
Rt>fusrng tu )om Mob I
Threatenmg \\flute Men I
Bting a "Bad" Characcer l
KtUing a Cow I
Bemg a Successful Can man I
Mi.scegnuuion I
R~fusiTIJ! co Plrty the Fiddle I
Takmg \'(/hite Man co Court I
Prute~ting Texr.u Rangers I
Seroing as BrU Collector I
Gi\<ing Refuge to Bcmdus I
UnknrJO.vn 8.3
THE LYNCHING OF PERSONS OF MEXICAN ORIGIN 421
Mex1c.'ln women as well as men mffcred from racial stcreorypmg. Anglos
drew diHtncnons herw~en Me.xtcm women on rhe bas1s of class and n1ce. 44
The e,ultc~r Anglo setdcr:. ro the Sourhwesr soughr to mc.rcase rhe1r ac.cess ro
pol1nc,1l conrrol anJ pt>~SC$SIOn of narun1l resources through mrermarnage w1th
the nnuve rulmg class. In order to encourage sot:llli acceprance of such unions,
Anglos dumcd that elite Mexican women were the rJCI<llly pure descendant.s of
the Span1 h conqUistadores. This cmphas1s upon a sharc.-d Europem cuirural and
biologiC.tl hcnmge ::~llowed Anglos to cl:Hm the soetal pnvilej:!es of wh1rcness for
thc1r ~1ex1can spouses. Popular hrerarurc romanticizl-d elm: Me.x1c.'ln women as
uncommonly beautiful, graceful , and soph1sric:tred. As Alfred Robmson, who
marncd inro an eltre Caltforn10 famtly, affirmed: "perhaps there are few places in
the woriJ where, m proporuon to the number of inhabttlnts, can be found more
chasnry, mdu trious habtts, and correct deportment, than among the women of
rh1s placc."45
Mex1can women of rhe lower classe~ were lc~s 1mmune to peJoranve rac1al
stereotypes. Anglo armudes toward the mass of Me.x1can women were cundi·
t1oneJ by rhc1r own ed1nocenrnc nonom of proper fem:1le behavior. The "cult
of domc~ttc1ry" delineated the approprime soc1al role of women as that of home
maker. Women were perce1ved as the per~onificanon of moral propnery and
entru~n.:J w1th rhe respons1b1Lry to 1mparr rh:u VIrtue to rhe1r husbands and
cht!drcn Anglos JUdged lower class Mex1can women by this cuirurally spe-
cific sh1ndarJ , and founc.lrhem wannnf.(. The racial discouP.ie of the nineteenth
century portrayed Mexican women as rhc inverse rdlcc.tion of their 1dealized
Anglo counterparts. Wh1le Anglo women were cons1dcrcd pious and ch::.sce.
Mexican females were ~cen as depraved and sexually promrscuous. The popular
sccreorype uf the Mexrcan pro~orute g:unc.-d powerful culn1ml currency during
the Caltfomta Gold Rush. Anglos assened thar t-.tcx1can women m the mines
turned to pro~ti tution as a result less of rh.:1r margmal 1 ~ed ecunomrc statu~ than
of rhe1r mnare moral dcgcncr,tcy. According to d1c ;1uchoP-i of a conrcmpor31)'
h1story of Califorrua, 'The lewdness of fallen whrre females IS shockmg enough
to WIOless, but it IS by far exceeded by the d1sguscmg prncnces of these t<Jwny
viSaged crcaturc~." 46 The besnal ~rarus oO.!exican females was also srress~;.-.J by a
prospector who wrote home to his wife char "Mo)r of rhe women of dm country
are Mexican, just abour half as good-looktng as cows and JUSt about a~ near as
cow .'' 47
The class1ficanon of Mexu:<1n women <ban mferior mual other leg1tim•:ed
che1r execunon by lynch mobs. Th1s 1s dearly tllu~tratcd hy the hang1ng of a
Mcx1can woman named joscfa Segov1a 10 Downieville, California on july 5,
1851. Jo~efn was ac~uJ>ed of the murder ofFredenck Canon, who hf!d drunkenly
attempted to a:;saulr her after l.-reak1ng into he rhome. HaJ]osefa been an Anglo
woman, she would have been pr<mcd for defendmg her honor. However, her
degraded 111C1al swm~ ensured char she was een as the cnnuual aggressur.qs
Rac1sm was also mtcrrwmed w1rh <lnother derermmmg factor m mob v1olcnce
against ~1exican~. econom1c compctinon. Anglos considered Mex1c;ms an m-
natcly h1zy and unenrerpnsmg people who hHd failed to exploit the ric.h narurtll
re ources of the uourhwcsr. Thus 1t was the mamfcsr dc~ony of the supenor
Anglo to Je,•elop the economiC potcnnal of rhe reg1on. Mexican nvalry for land
422 Joum.tl of MlCt,tl htstory wintt.>r 2003

and precwu~ met.th "·a~ therefore constdt:reJ .m unacceptahh: J1nllenge ru the

pmpnerary nghr~ of An~.:lo pttmecrs.
Th~ mmr ~tnkin~ illusrr.w,tn of thr~ i~ rhc C.Jhf,mua Gold Ru~h . ArcorJin~
to one e~wnate, as man) as 25,000 Ml·xrun' mtgr.ucJ to rhe mmrng regions
ofCal rfornt;l bcrween 1~48 and 1852. The tdextcan~ rl<lt on ly arrivc:J tn rhe
mines e<trlacr than m;my Anl!lo prospectors, hut hroughr wr th them ~upenor
t':>;pernsc .mJ skills Thetr mpaJ prospcnry Moused rhe hrtrcr an tmosary nf those
Anglos who hdaevcd Ill thetr own nnrural sowrcagnry un.:r the m1nc!>. As the
Alra Caltfomio ohcrwJ, Anglos re-,H.:tcd t<l "rhc su~rior .mJ umform stu..ct ss"
of rhctr ethnic mr,tls "with rhe fedmg whtch h.b for \omc nn1e existed ag;unst
the Mcxtc..m nuner~. llnC of envy and Jcalnu$y"4') The tnrn:xlucnon of a For-
ctgn Mtnc~· Tax tn April 1850 fueled ethmc v10lence ~tncc 1t sam.ttoned the
expuls1un of prospector~ who couid or would not pay. 50 In tutal, at ka~t 163 h. lex-
team were lynched tn Caltfomra between 1843 .mJ I t-160. Cuundc~s orhcrs were
dnven from the mmc:o 111 fc.tr nf thctr ~afl:ty. AccordLnl! tD :l mecnng org;mtzcd
by mtncrs at Rodger:.' Bar Ill August I R50, "M.my ~~rsun~ of Span1sh Ortf!tn,
ag<umt whom there had not been a word or com pLum, haw been murdered by
these ruffiam Others have l~cn n1hbcd of thctr hoNt·s, mules, .1rm~. and C\'Cn
money, by thc~c persons, \\htle actmg as they pretended under chc authorirv uf
the hw."' 1
h.foh nulence b~:camc ,1 wmmon method of Anglu scttl.:rs as rhcy sough r ro
~ccurc:: the1r control LlVCr thl! nlctptent c.tpl tahst <.:Lunotny of che sourhwcsrem
srarcs TllL Texas C:m War of 1857 ts a potent example. Dunng the 1850s,
TeJano busmc~smcn developed .1 frcigh r-haulmg service hcrwcen I ndnnula .mJ
San Antonto. Anglos rcsendully rurne~.lupon the Mcxlt.lll nvah whuse lower
pnce~ h td beaten them out of husrness. According w a report by the l\.1cxll.:an
Embassy In wa~hmgton, posse~ of armed men "h.wc heen organr :cJ for the
exclusive purpo~c ofhunnng down Mextcam un rhe htl!hway, spotltnJ! thl!m of
thctr prupury ;mcl pumng r.hcm rode tth." 52
There IS llllt furthcrfacwr that 1\:.COUill~ fvl th~· phcn~)lllenun of mon \'lOic:nce:
dtplomanc ho~nlucs bl!f\\'I:Cil the United St.Hcs and ~le:oco. Alrhough the
Trcary of Gu;lJ.llupe HtJ,Jll!<l ~ecured f~mnal peace b~.:rween the two COlllltrtt'S,
rcns10ns persisrl-d :ts a result of the: rurhulenu: along rhetr mutu:tl horder As T,tble
Five shows, rhc mo~t ~erious ourhrcaks l>f ,mu -1\ lexic:ltl mob v1olence oc.t.urrcd
,lurr ng the 1850), the 1870s, nnJ d1e 191 Os, deca,les ch,Jr,tc.temcd by Ill tense
ethntc :.tnfc 111 the borderl.md:.. OtplomattC rdations l)(;nveen rhc nvo numms
(ktenorarcu ;b each bhunL.J the other for the troubks. As dtplomnttc tcnstons
mcrc;tscd, so the Vl<llcnce m the bnrJcrl.1nd' l~c.une I!Vl'l1 more rn tcme. TlH1~
there W<h t.:reatcd a downwMJ sp1ml of recnrntnanon and violence.
After a period of rclanve stal'tllry dunng the American C1vrl War, rhc 1870s
Wltnes:;eJ ;t n:newed ua of conflict. t-.luch uf th<..' c:m>e rc~n:J wtth rhc cn.'.llhlll of
a free tradl :one Smu~gler. mJ carrie r.llder~ from bc.1rh ~1Jc~ crossed the border
in bhmnt th.:fi.mcc of rhe Llw. M~.:.xlLoln r.uJs culmlll::ttcd Ill M,trch I o75 when
J. large b;lnd of outlaws l.lO~sed Into Texas ncar Eagle ra~s and srrcaJ c;h[\V~lrd~
toward Corpus Chnsu m pumm of e<tttlc. Anglos reralt.ttcd hy tcrrommg lo...al
I\ lextcln ~n.lers, burnmg rhc1r homes, and ~hoonng rhcm m c.old blooJ As .1
THE LYNCHING OF PER. ON OF hiEXICAN ORIGIN 423
Tahlc 5
Lynching~ of Mcxicam hy D,·.:aJc

Dw:.l~ Numhcr fJ[ l.yndung~

1848-1850 s
1851-1~60 160
IA6/-IB70 43
187/-1880 147
/H81-/890 73
189/-/900 24
/90/-1910 8
1911-1920 124
1921-1930 10

US Am1y officer re~llfiL--J, "there IS a consl(.k·r.thk Texas dement 111 thl· toumry
hordcnnuon the Nucce that thmk the k.Jimgofa ~h:x•c<~n no cnme." In roral,
<lt least 14 7 MexiCans were lynch..:J Junng rhc 1870s, more rhan 111 ;my ocher
dt!cadc.53
A s1mdar sltu.mon arose dunng the Mex•c,tn Rcv\llunon. Between 1911 and
1920, An~lo) lynchL>J at lea~t 124 Mc.Joe<l!1~. 1l1c rc3urgcncc m mob vtolcnct:
resulted irom tnc.umons mto Texas by t-..lcxlc:ln handtts and rcvolunonanes. An-
glos :~lso hcClllW 111C~astn~ly alanncd about rhe lo~o;:~lne.-. of rhc McxtClll rupula-
non within thc1r mtd,t, suspecnng them of surporung revolunonary cxrn:mtsts
who sought co reannex the land lo~t to rhc UnacJ Sr.ttcs m rhc nmcrccnth
c.enrury. Dctcnnincd to scLttn~ rhetr tcmronal hlllmJ.mc~. Anglos hunched :1
scncs of bntt<!l counter-offensives. Hundreds of Mcxtctlll fcJmdtcs fled Te..xas 1n
scart.h of safcry. According to one officml who ,mistcd the rcp,ltn.ltlon of the~c
fami11es, "they cannot ltve ;my longer in rhc ~ r.Hc ofTcx;ts, as they me demc.:J
protection and mnny h.tvc been ktllcJ by lTrt:\pon~thlc armed pos-'CS who h;l\'C
killed innocent pcop[c WIthout fCil!iOn " 54

Mexican Re3i tcnce to Mob Violence

Scholan, h.tvc in rcccnr years g1ven tncrea mg cmph.biS to hl.tck remtanc.c

agatnst mob vroknt.e. Thctr research h.1s dcmonmarcJ ho\\' Afr1c.1n Amen-
c;tns construcrcJ a "culture of opposmon" through .1c.nons that spanned the
sptcrrumof poltnc.tltmurgl·ncy. Htstonans ,lfc noncrhdcss cautious ahout the
need to srnke a b.tlance m d1e1r analy~1~ hetwn·n rhc rcrslmal agency of hbcks
<lnd rhc opprc~stvc poltnl:al and economic Lomtramr~ 1mpo,L"J by the Jtm Crow
sy~rcm. As Leon L1rwack as~erCli, Afncan :\mencan resistance remamed "spon-
r.mcous, unorg.m12cJ, •nJtviJualLstlc., anJ qwckly .mJ ruthlc.,sly supprc:.seJ."55
Not unnl the cstilhltshment m 1910 o( the Nallon.tl A\soct;.mon for the Ad-
vttncuncnr of CdorcJ People (NAACP) dtd Afncan Amem::ms possess the
pcrmancnr m~munonal biisc upon wh1ch to push for fl"<..cral nnn-lynchmg
lq.!l~lanon "~
~ lcxtc:~ns :~l~o tmplemenred numcrous srrarel!ies nf n.:~ist;tnce rh:~r t:h.tltengcJ
rhe lcL!IIImaC'y nf moh law tn the southwcstcm srarl's. 1l1c d1sCliS~1on of rh1s re-
424 Journal of social hisrory wtncer 2003
siwtm.e d1ac follow) tS nec.D>sanly eptsodtc, htghhghttng parttcular mdiVIJual~
and C\'t~nr~. Re~•smnce, particul<uly ~rmed ~elf-defense by indiVIduals and local-
tzcd groups, \\"JS ncmly comr.mr throughout rhe penoJ Prmc~t by regtonal civtl
nghr~ org<lnlz:'lnons and by rhe Mextcan governmenr occurred less regularly,
rhough w1th 1ncrcasmg frequency m the rwenrteth century. 1l1e analysts that
follows Joes not pretend to be comprehenm·e but seeks msteaJ to outlme the
moSt common forms of resistance employed by Mextcans tn Lhe Untred Scares
and to suggest somcthmg of the efficacy of these aus of prutcst.
Without recourse to local or stare aurhortnl'S, ir was mevtmhle that Mexi-
cans should themselves assume respons1btl1ty for <lvcnging the vtcrtms of mob
v1olence. Frustration at the indifference anJ delay dur doggcJ offictal investiga-
tions fueled the rlmsr fur \'lgtlanrc Jlbtlce. In May 1885, the San AntoniO Express
reponed thar a whtte ranch overseer had heen murdered 111 retalt::won for the
lynchmg of 1\ fcxiC;ms 111 Laredo. "No one 1s tgnomnt of the lnrc and numerous
assassinations pcrpetmreJ upon the per.ons of 1\ lcxicans. We do not say, nor do
we bel1eve, rhnr Mr. l\lurrne had taken p;lrt 111 rhe assassm<ltiUth, hur he 1s a
compamot of rhc assassms, and he who gave h1m the dearh blow, a;; is bdtt:ved,
1s a comparnot of the assassm:lled l\lex1cans."H
Most acts of am1ed reStScance were localtzed and ephemeral. Once the perpe-
trators had accompll\hed thetr purpose to correct ;ln abuse of JllStiCC, the1r forces
d1sperseJ and the soc1al order w~s restored. Yet occas1tmally the cumulanve tm-
pacr (l wlure v1oknce ~nrrcJ such birrcr rcscnrmenr as ro 1nc1te J coordmated
couruer-o(femtve. The confltct between 1\ fextcan outlaws anJ Anglo authonries
m parricubrassumed d1e characteristics of a race war Whde hts al.tual hmoncal
tdenmy ts sr111 conrcsred by scholars, the mosc tnftlmous of these outlaws wtls
undoubtedly Joaquin Munetca. Munerca was one of the thousands of Mextcans
dnven from the gold mtne!i of California. Although he attempted to esrablish
an hone~r tmde around the camps as a merchant, he was accused of horse theft
and severely wh1pped. Hts h::~lf-brother was hJnged for Lhe same offense. Twice
a v1cnm of white bmtaltry, Murictca turned to v1olence unul hts death ~eveml
years later. 58 Orher notonous bandit leaders mcludl'd Ttburcto Vasquez and Juan
Corrtntl, who between 1859 and 1873 enl[<lged tn a ~ene~ of btlter and bloody
confronmnons wtth the U.S. mtlnary.
Scholar~ commonly dl:~cnb\: these 1\lcxtcan outlaws a., "son-11 bandirs "59
Thctr cnmmnl behuvtor was specmcJlly conduioncJ by rhc rJctJIIy oppre~~1ve
cltmatt: of the ourhwcst. Dtspossessc-d of thctr economil. rDoourc.es and thctr
polmcal nghts, the outlaws !:lunched" dtrect rer;1lwory assaulr upon rhe Anglo
popult1cc. Anglos refused to d1songUJsh between gencr..1llawlc~mcss <lnd lcglt-
tmare acu of re~tscance, mdtscrmunarely labellmg any challenge ro thc1r legal
and polincal power as "bandtrry." Although some "banJm" J,J engage 111 mdts-
cnmtnare acts of lawlessness, ochers expl1etrly ;ls~umed che mantle of political
revolutionaries. Juan Cortina prochlimed rhar he wns an 11\Strumenr of d1v1ne
rcrrt bunon, sen r ro avenge those Mex1cans murdered ~1nd dispossessed by whi res.
As he once observeJ: "There are ro be found l.rtmm,tls covered w1rh frightful
cnmes, but they appear to have tmpuniry unnl oppornnmy furntsh them a vlc-
tllll; to Lhese monsters Indulgence is shown, because they are not of our race,
wh1ch 1s unworthy, J~ they say, ro belong tO the hum;m spet.1es."60
THE LYNCHING OF PERSONS OF MEXICAN ORIGIN 425
The confrontational tacttcs pursued hy Mexic,m outlaws proved countl!r-
producnve Whnc aurhorines utiltzed the full enforcement power of the law
111 respon~e to these raids, beattng, arresting, :mcl murJcnng suspected cnm-
mab. Th1~ 10 rum strengthened the bmer resolve of rhe outlaws. A vtctous
c1 rcle of vtolence and rernbunon was therefore created. In October 1859, Texas
Ran~ers lynched Tom;1s Cabrera, a leadmg member of the Cortina gang. An
enraged Coruna tmmcdtarcly launched a bloody assaulr on white serders near
Brown~vlilc. Whttes remliared by J:isaulting tnnocent 1\lextcans throughout the
reg1on .61 As th1s C['Hsode suggesrs, rhe per.mrencc of outlaw miJs appeared to
confirm Anglo prejutlkcs about the mnare lawles~ness of rhe cnnre Melucan
popuhnun. Rumors spread throUf!hour the bordcrlanJs rht~r Mcx1cans secretly
conspired w1 d1 msurrecrion1sts on rhe other s1c.le of rhc R10 Gnmdc. Mexicans
wen: therefore warned thnt unless they conrrolled the outlilws with in rhetr miJst,
they n~ked lmm1l repmals. As rhc \'(leekly Ari(ona Mrncr exclarmed in Seprem-
her 1873: "Cur throa~ from MexiCO have commenced another bloody crusade
<~g:unsr Amencan cita:ens, and we call upon our Go"emmcnt to rake measure:>
thar w.II. forever, put a stop ro the diaholtcal cnme~ of the half-civalJzed, semt-
Jevals of the accursed land of Monre:uma. Norhmg short of rhe conquest of
~ texaco, by our govemmem, can cure the J1~rJcr~ of that parnlyzcJ country or
quench rhe thmt of tts nmerablc people for Amcnc<~n blood.'oe2
Nmhmg more drJmacacally illu$traces the fun!Jcy of armed re~laataon agam~t
wlmes than the Plan of San Otego. In January 191 5 a small band of ~lextcan~
sagned a rcvoluuonary man1festo callmg upon rhe mci,Il mmonncs of rhe ·ouch-
western states ro v1olently overthrow wh1re rule m the reg10n. ln Its wake rhe
msurrcc.ttonJsts sought to esrahli$h separale borc.lerlanJ republic~ for Mextcans,
lndtan~, and Afnc.Jn Amencans. "Yankee arrogance has reached its linur," as-
~encd rhe amhors of the plan; "it is not content With the daily lynching of men.
it now seeks to l ~·nch an entire people, a whole race, an entire continent. And ir
is agamsr this arrogance that we must unite.'' Under me lc.:ader:.hip of Anicero
Pi!ana anc.l Luis Je Ia Rosa, the msurrccrionists unJcrtook ,1 scncs of bloody raid~.
The all[horitaes responded by JndJscrimmarely slaughtenng unknown numbers
of mnocenr Mexicans m a manner remtmscenr of Rusmm pogroms. fu one
~cholar has suggesrcd, "open season" was dedared "on any t--tex1can C<lllghr In
rhe open armed or without a venfiahle excuse for hts acnvmes." 63
Although hrurally repressed, the acuons of 1\fexJCan outlaws served an tm-
porrant psychologtcal purpose. As Manuel Gonzales observe~. rhey provaded the
1\lcxac.an population wtrh a potent symbol of rem ranee agamsc their oppres~Ion. 64
11le mere existence of men ~uch a~ Tibur<.io V;1 que: :md Juan Cornna consti-
tuted a d1rect challenge ro the legitimacy of white mob rule. In the words of
one Anglo, Cornna "wa~ received as rhe champion of h1s rJce--as the man
who would nght rhc wrongs rhe Me..xte<nlS had rcceavcd.'-65 Whtle pcrce1vcd as
ruthless t~nd unrepcnttmr cnmanals by Anglos. Mextc:ms therefore haded rhc
"b<~ndan;" as folk heroe~. The1r laves became trnmorr.tltzcd through the corridos
sung on d1e southwestern horJer. These t1les ofheroism enabled a disempowered
1\ lexacan population to strike h;1ck at lease rhctoric<~lly against those who sought
to crush ethmc d1ssenr. The spirit of cui rural re~istance •mplac1t 1n the corridos 1s
reflected in a first person narmnve abour the ltfe and legend of Joaqufn 1\lurnera:
426 wimcr 2003
Now 11!11 o.>ur l'l\to w.1J,
Tu ktll Artwnc.tm
Yuu w~rc rlw c.ubc
Of my hwthcr'~ Jc,tth
You l<Wk hun Jd~rN!Ic"
You Jt~I,.'T.lccful Amcric.m.!>C>

A.rmeJ rcmram:e was not the only mc,ms hy wh1c.h t-.fex1cans soug-ht ro
C1>unrer Anglo aggressiOn. Spanish-language ncw~p<lpcr~ SIILh as El Clamor PtU>Ii-
co ami El Frontl'ri(o pubbshcd numcrou.~ ann-lynching cd1t<mab rhat aruculated
rhc anj.!cr .mJ fru~rr,lflon of chetr rc<H.lcr~. Tht> whitt: munsrream press contln·
ucd to accept d1e actiOns of lynch nwbs l.trgdy wtthl>Ut question. ?\ kxtcan
Amcncan newspaper~ thcrdore provided on rmport;\IH CUIJl1tCrniltrativc to me
conwnt1onal d1~cour~e on ethniC \'tolem.c 67
II w;~~ nut unul the early rwcnneth ccnrury, howe\' cr. that McxK.;ms urgantZL't.l
in formal dd'cnse of t.hc1r crvd ngh~. One 11K1dcnt 1n parncul.1r <~prea~ lO
have prm. ideJ thl LJtalysr. In 1911, Anron1o G6mt."1, a founccn-year·ulu boy,
W<lS arrcHed for murder in Thorndale, TexJ~ . G0mcz wa~ sCIZl'<.l by a mob of
over ;l hundrL.J people who hanged htm anJ men Jr.lgl!ed his COrpse throu~h
the m~r~ of the tuwn. l\11.!..\.l<:.aru acknowlcd~.:ed rhe need for urgent LOtlectivt.
<lCtll)O through rhe esrahiJshmenr of new c1vd nghtl> org,lf112,ltiOlh. In June 1911,
?\ fcxican .1Ctl\'lsr~ e~rablished a new organization named La A.grupauon m order
ro prO\'hJc lcg.tl proreLtlon agninst Anglo JI!I.,'Tl'~sor~. ThrL'L months later, 111
Scprember 1911, four hundred r!!prcsenr.mves .tm:mbkd <If El Pnmcr Umgrc:;u
Mcxlt.:llllSGI m Laredo, Texas. The deleg.Hcs dcnn11nceJ the hruttJl oppre~s1on
of their reople that had connnucJ unchcckcJ suKc the s1gnmg uf the Treaty of
Guadalupe Htdalgo. Our of these U1scuss1ons It wa~ ctgrceJ ro t·stabll~h a new t:.1vil
nghts org:umarion w1th the express purpose of pmt...:c.ring liS members <l~<unst
whne inJu~r 1 cc La Gr.'in Lig-al\tcxlcan1sm de Bcntficncia y l'rorccct6n Intended
ro nur.Kt rhc ~urportof wealthy philanthropists .md rhe li bcml press in order "to
srnkc back t1t the h.med of ~ome baJ ~on) of Uncle Sam who bd1cve themselves
berrcr rh.m rhc to.. lex1c.an' hecau~e of the magic rh tt surn>und~ rhc word u_hir.t'" 6b
Another t:.1vtl nghb org,lnizanon, La Lt!!a Prort·nur;J Lwn,1, wa~ fow1Jcd m
Phocn1x, An:una m Febmary 1915 69
How S\JCCt:ssful these incip1enr c1 vii ri[!hts ~roup~ wt!re 111 1he1r ~rntgglc rn end
lync.hmg IS d1ffic.ult to ,Jssess. l\fex1c:1n.~ wl'rc ahle ro coordrn:m.: thc1r rc~lstctncl.'
ngamst lynchmg rhruugh the creauon of a pcmuncnr org.m1:atron:d oppm1non.
Yet the Jefcme agcnc.1cs also opcmtcJ in a polmc;~lly rcprt'SSI\'C environment
wh1ch ~cnously 1mpcueJ the momenrum of their iltltJ·lynching camr;ugn~. In
1929, l\lexKans founJcd anomer Jcfcnse <IJ.!ency. the Lc<lf.!lll of Unned Laun
Amenc.an Cirizcns (LULAC) The ub~rvanons of one LULAC' organ1:er un-
Jcrlmc the d1fficulncs of mobdizmg t-..fl!.xlc;m Amenc:111s, espeCiall y 111 ~mall
rowns and remote rur,1l area~. L1kc many of his Lollca~ul·~. the ltrgan iZCr was
confronted w1rh a parndox1cal problem. The only way to prcvcnr furrhcr lynch-
ln~s W<\S fur l\lcxiwns ro r.tlly in protcsc. Yet it was the wry btr of mob violcnc.e
that frightened them mro sdence. "The McxiL.m people were ,1fr.uJ of com1ng
1nto ruwn for a mtcnng," obscr\'cJ rhe organ1:er, "beLause they thouJ,!hr they
THE LYNCHING OF PERSONS OF MEXICAN ORIGIN 427
wen; gom~ ru b~ ,hor at or lynched if w~ had our mecnn).! ar rhc courthotl'\c.
Th~: courrhou'e ro rhcm \\J:> )~t a medtum or~~ meam of bem~-: putHshed. Mosr
of rhe nme, even when they were tnn<lCCnt of what rhev were bctng .tcctued
(If, s~1mdwdy wouiJ JUSC find a gnat (or ~nmerhtnJ!, .md rhe J!OM wuuld be.: a
Mcxtcan. "70
t--1ore rh.m .my orhcr fom1 of rc:;t~r.mce, it was ulunurely the dtplomattc
protcHs of the )\1extcan ~:ovemmcnr d1<H provt-d dcctst vc m the dec! me of mob
violenc<.:. The 1\lexte<tn gowrnment made rcpt·arcd prnre,ts as c.trly as the 1850s
agatn~t rhe "un)tL~rly Jqm!!>scd and mtscr.tblc condmon" of tt~ cmzcns 71 Dtplo-
m;mc :~ppt~itls lx-c.amc loutlcr and more pcr~tsrenr wtth the deerton of Porfirio
Dim: ro the Mt'Xtc..an preSillency in 1877. By the nn1c Ofaz <lS~tuned office. rc-
lanons between the Un1tcd Smres and Mextco h.tJ hcen strcrchcd :.tlmost to
brl.'aking ('\)lilt as l'JCh nation blamed the orhcr for the l;Hv)e,~ness alonl! their
mut11.1l horder Dfaz wa, dcr~.:rmmed to reduce the d~cpenmg d1plom.1m. ten·
stuns hcrwccn the rwo n.trions m order ro f~Ktlu .nc rradc ltnks To d11s enJ, he
insrru~..n.. d rhc .tppropn.ue consul~ to comptlc reports on the condtrton of~lex­
tc.an nauonals al(mg the Tcx;b border. The rcporr~ dt>cumcnred numerous :tcrs
of hruraltry :md ,thU'ICS of Jllsrtce. Yer Jcspttc rhe hopes of chc Dim t1Jmm1stra·
uon, rhts tnm<mvt: dh.l not inmgace a new era of mumal cooper.mon wtrh chc
United States. The tuthonne~ m W;t'lhmgton dcclmed to uwolve themselves
even mdtrecrl\· 111 the mr~:mal affam ofTcxas.h
Dunng rhe next rwo decades, Mextcan offin1l conunucd 10 dr.1w the ;~c­
rennon of rhe U.S Smre Dep<trrmenr to the suffenng of thetr cm:L"ns. Even
so, thetr Olllrtlf.!C was if,!norcd. In 1881, thl t-.1extetlll Ambassador reporrcJ ro
Secrer.uy of Sratl' James Blame the lync.hmg of an allegcu hom~ th tef 111 Will-
c..ux, Anzona Although Blame cunc~...Jetl rh.tr rhe m.m wa~ h.mgcd ilkgally, he
also ohs~r\·ed th.Jt he <tnd hts accomp)tct: "were.. probotbly Oll l hiws" .mJ th.lr he
therefore deserved hts fare. Tlus conclu.s10n W<lS bast·d L"nurdy on the tc~rimuny
ofloc.tl shenffR. H. Paul Accordmg to Paul, ''111c southeastern portKm of the
Ternrory has been under che control of rhe worst nnJ mosr desperate class of
ourl.tw~." and "an example was needed m order to put an end LO ~o Jeplornblc n
srarc of affa.1rs "71 The uncriucal accepr:mc..e of tht resrimuny was typical of chc
liWl'sug.lflons conuucted by rhe Sr:mc Dcp;Htrnent R;nher rhtln send its own
rcpre~cnr;mvc) ro d1e scene of t1 lynch mi.(, tt rdtcd cnrtrt:l~ upon rcporr..' wnrrcn
by kx..tl (lffict.tls who conJoncd the tlCtton:. o( the mob tf tndecJ the~· were not
,tctual member~ of tt.
lr was nor tumlth~: 1890 d1at rhc prorc~t..) ofMe:m:<~n offic.tab finally srarrcd
to rcCCI\'C ' 1 ro~lll\'e re~pomc frum the State Dcp;mmcnt On Augu.'r Z6, 1895,
;1 mob stormed the J•lllhouse at Yreka. C.tltfomi:t and ~em:d four m~.:n ,\W.11ling
rna) on ~ep<lr.ttl' murder ch;ltge) The pnson~r~ were hi!ulcJ mro the courthume
~quare and h;JngcJ from an tron mtl fasrencd mro the forks of two rrccs. Oncuf chc
vtLttm~. Luis Moreno. \\'liS a Mexican. 74 Th~.. 1\!cxKan government demanded
that cl'ose rc$pcmsthle be putllshed and that a suitable mdemniry be paid to
the heirs of Moreno. Although a grnnd JUry faded lO rentrn :my mdtctmcnr.s
ag;unst members of the mob, Pre~1denr 1\lcKinley did recommend ro Congress
d1e payment of .1$2,000 indemmry.75 The Moreno case c~rabltshed a precedent
for the l.trer lynchings of ~lextcan nanonals m rhe Unttcd Swrcs. 71'
4l8 journal of social history wtnrer lOOJ
After the repeated fatlure 0f the federal government to respond to ~kxican
protem, what provoked thts change of poltcy !By the late n1nt.:teend1 ccnrury the
UntredSrarcswas rccetvtngcnttctsm from government:. throughout the world for
tts Lnabtltry to protect fore1gn natJonalson tts sot! Although ttcontinued to msist
thattt had no au rhonry to tntervene tn rhe affCltr~ of tndtmJual sr:t~tes, the federal
govcmmcnrdtd endeavor to rc~olve any mctptcnrdtplomanc cnses by provH.hng
financial compensanon to the famtUes of lynchmg vtcrims Thts occurred after
the masst~cre of Chinese mmers at Rock Spnngs, Wyommg tn 1888 and ag:tin
followmg three separate attacks on Stciltan tmmtgrnnrs tn Loutstana during the
1890s. The mJemnines paid to the famtltes of Mextcan lynchtng vtcrtms should
therefore he seen in the contex:r of efforts by the federal government to safeguard
the mremational reputation of the Umrcd Stare.. 77
The diplomatic protest; of the Dfaz admimsmltlon mu~t .1bo be seen as a
response to growmg gmssroots pressure from the Mextcan people. By rhe early
rwcnneth ccnrury, the rcgtme faced nsmg cnnctsm for allowtng the masstve
mvc:stment of U.S. capital to undermine Mexican cconomtc auronomy.78 The
Dfaz admtmstration therefore protestL.J Amencan mob vtolence as a me<~ns of
Jemonsrrattng tts protecoon ofMextcan naoonal mrerem. A case 111 pomt ts the
lynchtng of Antonto Rodriguez tn Rock Springs, Texas. On Novcmhcr 3, 1910,
a mob broke tnto me local )clll where Rodrit,'UCZ was <1\VatUng rnal for murder,
smothered hts body wtth ml, and burned htm at the S[ake. According to local
re~tcknrs, "the action of the mob was justified as the ltve~ of the mncher~· wtves
had been unsafe because of the attempted ravages oH.Iextc<!n seeder:; along the
Rto GmnJe." NC\vspaper reports, however, revealed that there was no evtdence
to connecr Rodrfguez wtd1 the cnme.19
The lynchmg provoked a Slom1of protest throughout Mextco. Rtotmg erupted
in Mexico Ctry on November 8 a~ angry dcmonsrmtor:; stoned the wmdows of
Amcncan businesses and core and spat at the United Stares flng. Three d1ys
later, rioters in Guadalajara wrecked stmilar damage agaum Amencan property.
ln Chthuahua, American cto:ens were openly mobbed on the su-cers. Tenstons
along the Rw Grande were so str.uned that an eHtmarc<.l r.vo thousand Texans
armed rhemselveb tn advance of a suspected l\ lextcan mvaston. AI though the
Dfa! admmtsrranon denoW1ced the violence, tt reacted to populilr pressure by
tmposing ,m economic boycott of U.S. tmporcs.so
Whemcr or not the Dfaz admtntsmmon had ulterior motives tn prorcsttng
the lynchtng of Anronto Rodrfguez, dtplom,lttc pre:.sure prevailed. It was now
tncrcastngly evtdenr to me Untted States that MexiCO would not rolernte the
connnued abuse of 1rs ctttzens. As The JndependL'tlt .l~serred, the people of't-.1cxtco
had nsen "tn nghreous wr:.uh" against Anglo oppre)ston. Dtplomartc ten~IOn~
wuuld derenomte s[lll further unles~ the federol govemmenr rook Ject>i ve actton
m protect the nghr:. ofMcxtcan nationals. 1
The perstsrcncc of tnternarional protests undoubtedly played a key role in
the eventual dcclme of Mextcan lynchtngs. At the same ttme several orher
forces consptred tO ft~ctltratc change, not only tn Washington bur throughout
the Southwest. The end of the Mextcan Revolutton mduceJ a new penod of
sr-ability tn the ntrbulcnt sourhwcsrcm borderland~ Ir should also be stressed
THE LYNCHING OF PERSONS OF h!EXICAN ORIGIN 429
mat lync.hmg in allm form~ was 111 declme by me 1920s. The rt:gional c.am-
patgn:; of the CommiSSion on lnrermcial Cooper.won and d1e AliSOCtJnon of
Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynchmg worked tn conJunctiOn w1m
the nt~tional lobbymg of the NAACP to mobll1ze l1bert~l oppommn to mob
vtolcnce. Although the protescs of these c1vil rights organ1~at1ons had lmle 1m·
medmtc impact upon the Southwe~t, the1r efforts ~ervcd to delegnimizc lynching
throughout the Untted Srares.b2
Act~ of racml v1olence against l\lcxic.ans connnued ~roradtcally throughout
the 1920s. Yet where earlier admin1stnmons h::~J Mgn.lll)' fadc..J to secure JU)tlce
for the families of Mex1can lynch VICtims, the fedef"JI government now rook
tough intervennomst acnon. Perhaps the most rellm g ex::~mple of the 1mp::~ct of
h (extcan prote~t is rhe case of four Mexicans lynched 111 Raymondsvd le, Texas
m September 1926. ln1tial reports of the lynchmgs were wildly contradictory.
Accordtng to Shenff Raymond Teller, the Mex1cans had hccn arrc~ted for the
murder of two of hts office~. Tetter was taking rhe suspects from Jail our mro
rhe counrrystde tn search of rhetr cache of arms when he wali ambushed. The
pnsoners were killed tn the resultant gunfight. Yet acc.ordtng ro other resttmony,
Teller and hts officer had them~elves rorntred and then shot the Mcxte<ms. For
decades the Srate Deparonenr had, m its mvesttgmion~ of Mexic.an lynchings,
mvariably taken che reportS of 100\llaw officers on face value. These reports re-
peatedly faded ro tdenttfy those responsible for rhe lynchmgs, msread concludmg
vaguely char the vtcrtms had mer rhetrdeaths ar the hands of persons unknown.
Tht) case demonstrated a new determmanon co avotd dtplomattc renstons wtth
Mextco over rhc lynching of its cttitens on Amcncan sot!. Nor only dtd rh.e
State Dcparrmcnr reject rhe concluston~ of the Sheriff's reporr, but Teller and
hts fellow officers were trtcd for murder. 61

Conclusion

ln 1916 a Wtsconsin newspaper observed: "That there arc still lynching~ in

the far west, especmlly along the Mextcan border, would hardly seem to be open
co que cion, although they escape the avera.pe colleccor of ~ratisttcs. The sub-
Jeer ts one that mvires ~earching inquiry."5 Dunng the course of more than
etght decade~. the lynchmg ofMextcans connnucd ro elude syHemadc analysts.
Whtle the lirernrure on mob violence agam~t African Amencans conttnued ro
expand tn scope and sophisoc:uion, there was reladvdy lmle scholarly mreresr
tn Mcxtcan lynchmgs. As a result, rhe explanatory models for mob vtolence
comrrucred by scholars were rcsrricred tn terms of rhcir narrow ractal emphasis
upon Afncan Amencans and thetr reg1onal emphasts upon the Sourh. Analysis
of the lynchmg of Mextcans emphasize~ the need ro expand the analyttcal pa-
rc:Jmercrs otlynchtng sntdtes. Only then will schol:m be able ro assess wtd1 more
accuracy the real h1sroncal scale of mob v1olence tn rhe Unttcd Scares.

History Deparnnenc
201 Mallica Hill Road
Gla5sboro, N) 08028
430 wm tl'r 200 3
Ocparmlcrlc of Amt>rican Snulit·s
Arc.s B Building
Falmer, Br1~hcon
BN/9QN
Un1red Kinganm

Appendix
Note on M e thod~

D.tta Collection ;md Computation

TI1c mHI~liCS owJ 1n rh1~ arnclc hi!Vc been LUlled from ~xtcns1vr ilrchiv~l
rcscard1 In onlt·r to cons truer as nch and accur.Hc :1 portr.Ht of mob violence ,ls
p<Hslblc, we survcycJ a bro:,~J ..1rray of pnmary ~ource~ tn buth the Engbh and
Spantsh l.mgu,tgc These mclude d1anes, JOUm<~k JnJ memo1r~. publt~hct! and
unpubh~hcd correspondence; ~pccchcs an~l <JJdrc ~cs; or).!"..llll:ttoonal fik~ ;md Jn-
Vl'ntoncs, om! h1stone~ .m d folklore; local gu,·cmnwnt records and cnminal ~ase
files; new~papt>r accounrs; diplomatic records; gl1vcrnmcnt reports; and photo--
gr.lphtc. ev1Jcnce. We ha\'C consulrl.-d the collccnon~ of numcrou' l1hmrics ami
archtvcs, mcludtnl.! the Spec1.1l Collecttons of Atl.mr,J Un1versny; the ArJ1ivcs
olfuskcgee Unave~tty; the Huntmgton Labr.try; rhe Bancroft Labr.1ry; the Ccnrer
for South\\'t'st Srudac~ at d1t.> Unaversity of New ]\texico; rht• Ccntt'r for Amen-
can H1,tory at the Unl\'e~t ty ofTexas at Austm; the Texas Cnlll!cllon ar Baylor
Untvcmry, the Lahmry of C.)ll{.,'fC)~; the Nauonal Ardm·cs; the Texas Smrc
Ard11vcs. Anzon.l H1~tonc.al Soucty ]\1uscum, Tuc~un; Amon<~ Sture Labrary,
Arl.havcs ami PubiK Records; New Mextco SrJtc Rccorcb Center .mJ Archives;
and t.hc Research Libm ry Md Chacano Rc~earJ1 Center ar the Un 1versiry of
CJ!aforn m, LtJS Anl!des.
The dar<l collcc rc~l h;we heen Inputted an to <l sean.:hablc dat;th.tsc l11c project
danbase IS run on FtlemakcrPro software dcsagnt'(l for the Apple pl<~rform. Fate-
maker Pro pro, aJc~ a mcnu-dnvcn, wtmlowed in tcrf:1cc thar allows for the re-
mc,.-Jl of d1ousands of records. The datah<lsc anduJcs the fulluwing infom1ation:

N.llnl nf victim
N.uwn.tl Urt!.!tn ol Vlltlm
O.ttl' o( murd ~ r
L.x:.mon of lyn<eh mg
Typt> .mJ 't1l' of lynch moh
/1.-l~.m' of cxcc.ut ton
A llcgt..J c:Ju'c ,,f lynchmg
Erhn t..:tty uf lynch mtlb
Loc lflvn :mJ N.unc of Rclcv.mr ')uurcc~

Compar.-1tivc Datil on Mexican and Black Lynch in~ Vi~o:tims

Alrhnugh 1mposs1bk to dcrcm1ine a preCise "lynchang r.ltc" for e1rher blacks

or Mcxu:ans, we c.m ge t a better scn~c of rhc hazard faced hy bod1 blacks and
THE LYNCHING OF PERSONS OF l\IEX!CAN ORIGIN 431
l\ kx1cans by companng numbe~ of lync.hm}! wnh rhc roral popul.mun ~H nsk.
Unfortunaldy, the number of Sp<lnish-spc.tkc~ l1v1ng tn rhc Unm:d Smtes is
d1fficulr ro derermmc One rough w;1y ro approx1mate the Mt!xtc.an ropuhwon
dun ng rhc renod, 1848 1930, is to a \'Cr.lf.:e the number ofMextcan-hom residing
m rhc UrureJ '~.a rcs m 1850 ( 13, 317) wuh the numl,erofl\ lex1can and t--kx1c..tn
Amencans l1vtng 111 rhe Un1rcd Srarc:~ 111 1930 (I ,422, 513 ). Th1s numhcr cquab
717,925 and 1s, 1f t~nyrhmg, .1 h1gh csnmau: for average popul.ltlon Junng rhc
period bccm1st: all observer' conccJe that the 1\.lt>xiGIIl populanon of thl! Un1red
States 1ncrea~cd ~harply dunng the early twenw:th ccnrury. D1\"1d1ngrh1s numher
by rhc 597 Mex1c.an Amenc,m and Mex1can l1<ltll>nallynd1mg 'IC.ttms y1ckb a
figure of 83.Z l\lex1can lynch1ng v1cruns per 100,000 of popuhmon
Th1s numlx·r, howcvt.:r, ~~only really U!ieful as .1 comparison w1th Hack lync.h-
mg \ icnms. Unfortunately, such sr<ltlsi!Ls Me only avatlablc for rh~.· pcrmJ 1880-
1930 Figures for Afnc:m Amencans h:~ve Lwcn comp1leJ m Stt:\\art E. Tol-
nay and E. l\1. Reck, A Frsm•al ofVrok>"~lCt. An Analysis of Sour.h~m Lynclungs,
1&~2-1930 (Urbana Umvcrmy of l!lmu1~ Pre~~. 1995), 38. 1(1lnay ,mJ Beck
follO\n:d the ~:Jme marhcmanc.al srrareh"f .tdopteJ above. They avcrn~cd the
Afncan Amcnc..m popula[IOn of rcn southern srarcs and J1vided that number
hy the number of lynchmg vtcnms. Toln;ly and Beck's sr,nrsric~ arc re~t nc ted to
only ten Southern srmcs. For a n;nion;\( black "lync.hmg mrc," we dtvidcJ the
number uf :\fn~an Amt.:ncnn lynchmg VICTims reported b) Tu~ke~ec berwcen
1~SO and 1930 by the ,1verage bi.Kk j'l>puhnon of rhe Uum:d Sr..nc~ between
1880 and 1930 , pcctf1c Jeratls em be found bdo''·
Because the J.u.1 from Toln<ly and Bcc.k only cover the remxl ISti0-1930, we
found 1r nccc~s.1ry ro construct dac1 for rhm nme pcnod tor ~lex1C111 vKrim~.
Un1red Scares Ccn~us figures for 18 0 only mc.luJe pcr~ons born 111 Mextco, so
we h<td to C.\tlllliHe tht.: populanon born 111 rhe Unned Stare~ hut of Mex1c.1n
dc~cem. We dtd rh1s by u~ing the perccntilf!e of U.S.-horn persons of Mcxic..m
desCl'nt livmg m 1930 (55%) to esnm.tre the "nmsmg" ~le.'<rcans m lt-180. We
rhcn avemgcd the new 1880 esnmate wnh thl' 1930 fi~:.,ures w arnve ,It rhe besr
ro~~lhle .werage popuhoon for this time p<:rt\>d. It should be nor~:d rh.H we have
.llw,tys chosen m c.:llcul.ne our sranmc~ con sen auvcly, 111 ,\ way d1at would go
,\.[(.llnst our hypothesis rhnr Mcx1cans ~uffcr~J gn:-tlt d.mger from lynLh mobs.
For exampk, we feclLcrtalll that the pc:rccnr:l.j.!e of Mex1cans born 1n t"-.lextco
IS Jc.:dming between 18HO nnd 1930 rdatlvt.: ro rhc rcrcenmKc of pt•rsons born
111 rhe UnireJ States but of Mex1c<1n dcSLLnt. Ycr, we mcd the pcrccnra~c from
1930 to Cllc.ularc our 1880 esum;ltc. In .1ny case, rhc popluarmn Jat<l thar we
11sc and <)llf csrimarcs .Jte mcluJcJ below for fun1rc dt~cusston .llld cnttusm.
Mexican "L) nc h in~: Rdtc"

Number uf
Lynchmg)

1850 Populawm uf ll.S. bum tn Mt\ICO: l3,317

1880 PufiUiaurm uf U.S born m Mexrcw 68,399
1830 Pu1tulari11n 1Jj U.S bun1 in U.S. bur u{MtXInm Jcm:n1 (esr ): 83,599
1830 Pu11Uid!i11n uf U.S. burn in MexiCo ur o{Mt>:~:iran doctnr {est.}: 151 ,998
432 Journal of S<'lCI::tl h1story Winter 2003
Mcxic:-tn "Lynching Rate" (con't)
Numhcrnf
Lynchmgs

1930 Pupultu.um of U.S. bvm m Mexaco or ofMnicun d~scent: 1.422,533

1930 Pr!Jiuluwm nf U.S 1xJm rn Me:c~co· 641,462
1930 r,puliltirm of U.S. bam 1n U.S. hut of MeXIcan dcscenr: 781.071
Percenwge ofMe'(lcan Pr1pulaw.m nor bam in Mexico in 1930: 55%
Eslimaced a"-·rage Me 'Clean populauon, 1850-1880: '32,658
Esumated U1.!ertlge Mexican popultu.ion, 1880-1930: 787,266

EsurnaceJ a\'<'Ttl~e Mt'~can poJh<l.uiun, 1850-1930· 7 17 ,925

Ewmaced No of Mexicans Lynched in tile UnHed Stares, 1882-1930: 216

"L)11ching Rau" for Mexicans in the Umted Swus: 27.4

Black "Lynching Rate"

I 880 Populawm of Afr1can Amencans: 6,5 18.372

1930 Popuuu100 ofAfncan Amencans: 11.759,075
Esumated awntge BILLck Pupulacion, 1880-1930 9, 138,723.5

Tuskegee Esumate nf Bu~eks Lynched in the United Sttues 1882-1930: 3,386

"Lynclung R(lle'' far Blacks in United States, 1880-1930: 37.1

Popul,1t10n sr.m~ucs l,t.ken from United States Burc;au of the Ccn:,us, Seventh Census of
the Unned States: 1850. Puf>UUuiun, (Wru;hingron, D.C.: Government Pnnung Office,
1853), United StJtc~ Bureau of thcCen>u!>, Statmics of the Populruir.m of the United Stares
at the Tenth Crns1u (June 1, 1880), (\Va:.hmgton, D.C.; Govenunent Pnnring Press,
1883), Unired Sratcs Bure.m of the Cen.'u~. A Comj>endmm nf the Ele.vemh Census,
18QO, Pop11lturon (W.t.,hi~ton, D.C.: Government Prmtmg Prc;.s, 1892), :md Umted
St ne~ Bure.tu of rhe Cen>tt., Fifteenth Cens1u of the Unrted Stales: 1930. Populruron, 3
vols., (W.~.,hmgton, D.C.: Government Pnntrng Oflic.e, 1932)

ENDNOTES
l. La Pren.S£1 (San Antonio), November 17, 1928, p. I; Farmrngwn 1irne.s llustlt-r,
Novemrer 16, 1928, p. L.
2. Fctrmmgton Times /-lu.srlcr, November 23, 1928, p. I.
3. D~Jrungn (Colarad(J) llcraldDemocrar, quored m Farmrng1c.m Times llustlcr, Novem·
ber 28, 1928, p. 9.
4. Santa Fe New Mexican quoted m Ibid.
5. Some of rhe lynchmg \'IC!Ims de:,cnbed in rh!!- mic.le were narural1zed American
ClliZcns, orhe~ were Mcx1can nauon.tl,. rcs1dent 1n rhc Umred Sta tes. De:-rntc the best
THE LYNCHING OF PERSONS OF h!EXICAN ORIGIN 433
effort' of the <~uthor~. It ha:- n~1r .Jwa~ proved po,..,lblc lu dcrcrmmc rhc cui::cn,hrp
of c.u:.h mc.ll''ldu.ll. The tenm "01tc.mo" anJ "L1uno" .trc commonly lN.-d to refer ro
all Mex1cm.~ m rhc Unnc..J S tdtc.,, reg.trdJ.,,, of n.lll<>n·•l nncm or 1dcmiry. 1 lowcv<:r,
•h .. tl'nn ., .1 rl'l.attvcly conr<'mporary on<' and it.' <~rrlic.nion here could he con,idcred
ahbtonc.tl. In the mrcre'r' of hngul,tiC ;md an.dynca claruy. the author> h;l\'e therefore
u-cd rhe word "Mex•c;m'' ro refer to alllyno.;hmg \'a cum., uf Mex1c.m ongm vr d~:~cenr.

6. Jame:- All,•n, t>t ~1.. \\:'•chout Sanctuary; Lyndung Phnwgr,lph) in .A.menca ('ant ·l Fe,
NM, 2000).
7. Phil1p Dmy, At the I lands of Persom UnlmoiL'tl. Th<' Lyndung ofBiuck A.merica (New
YMk, 2002). The h<k1k recei\'t:d the 2002 <;;outhcrn &"lOk Aw.Jrd f<Jt Nun·FIC!Ion.
8 Leon Lltw,tck, Tremble In Mmd: Black ~nuahemcn rn cite Age nf ]1m Crnw {Ne-w
Y<lrk, 1998); D.w1J Grun~rcd, Americ<111 Mohbmg, IB28-J861; Tcllt•«rd Cwr/ \\far (New
York and Ox forti, 1998); Gr-•ce llolc, Makinu Wlh1tcne~~: Till.' Culture of Segregcwrm m the
Srnuh, 1890-1940 (New York. 199R); Dommtcj. C.J~<.'CI.jr., The Lynchmg"fCko \Vri~ht
(Lcxm~rton, Ky., 1998): Mark Curridl!n and Leroy I hllllp,, Jr., Contempt of Cuun: Till!
Turn·uj-ri!A!·Centllry Lyndung Tltat Launclted /00 Yean of Fed~111h11n (New Yl•rk, 1999);
}-tome Akcr., Flame~ After Mldm)!lu: Murder, Vengeance, ,m.J the Dewl.uum of a Teorru
Crnnmunrt' (Au,nn. Tx., 1999); Mtchad \V. FcJo, The L)·nd1in~ m Dulwh (St. Paul,
t-.ln., 2000);Chn,tophcr Waldrep, The Many Face.) "J }u..lge Lync:/1 : E.ttraleg<d \:c11lt,1ce and
Punuhmentm Amerl('G (New York, 2002.).

9. U I G.mn ,md P<.wr j . DlllJ;.tn, Ti!A! HL~pamo in the Un11eJ Stllles (Boulder, Co. and
London, 1986), 47; Amoldo De Lc6n They Callal Them Grecllm Ang~• Auitudes Tr11vard
Mt'xtcmu m Texas, 1821-/900 (Au•rm, Tx., 1983), 90.

10. Chrr,rnrher W,,ldrep, "W,,r of Word.v The Controver..y over lh~.: Dcfinidon of
Lynchmg, 1899-1940," }uumal of Southern llurrrr), LXVI (FchnJJr)' 2000). 75-100.
II. Ray Abraham~. Vigt/,mt Ccu~ens: Vigdanmm tlnJ !lte Swtt (C.unhmlgt>, 1998), 53-S4,
67, 72.

12. R1c.hard M.1xwell Brown. Stmm of Violence· I /morrcaf Swdies of American Violence
and Vigli<~nmm (New Yurk, 1975), 96-()7, 11 8, 126.

13. John W. CJug}wy, "ll1eir }.ld)~rie:. [h~ Mob: ViKII.mt.c~ P~t .md Prt!:-cm," Padfic:
lluumcal Re11ieu.·, XXVI ( 1957): 222.
14 Em;) F~rgu,on, Murder and Mystery in New Me:nm (S.mta F~. N~l. c. 191)1 ), 21-JZ.

15. Leonard P11r The Decl.me 11/ the Caltjimt!IJS A. Socittl llutory vf rhe Spanuh·SP< tkmg
Cal1{amk.ms, 18-16-/890 (Bcrkclc~ and Lo> A~cb,, 1966), 154-55.
Io. UJ' AnJ!<'I<', Swr, junt! 13, 1874, p l.
17. Neu•YorkTimes Apnll1,1877,p.l.
18. lh1d., july 22, 1877, p. 5.
19. Dllul!ldl> Mortroy, Thrown Among Srmngen: The Makmg ufMe.llcun Cu/rurl! in Fromicr
C,J,fvrnia (Berkeley, 1990), 209-10.
20. juli.m S,mwra, joe Bernal. Albert Perm, Gunpouder }usuc:e· A Rerusemnenr of the
Te."<a.l l~angtn (Notre Dame and London. 1979), 41-42; D,wid j. Wci"Cr, cJ., Forel)!nen m
Their Nauve Lmd lluwncal UvrJLS uf the MexiCan Amerrc«m ( Albuqul!rLJIIC, NM, 1973),
153-54. 187-90.
434 JOUnl<li of sOC Ill hr~tl1ry WllltCr 200)
H. El l'rt\<J Trmes, Apn18, ltlol: Manuel d<! Z..tnMc~m.tlll Jtme' G. Rl.unc, Apnll9,
I '1:! I. R~,lll9, Note> iwm the Mextc.m Lcgarron m rhe Unttl'<-1 ~~He!- ru rhe Department
of"tarc, lti21-19exl. NJtt,m.tlArcht\'~, W.t.,htngton, O.C
22. Fr.mklm C. Ptcr~.e. A Br~f Hut<JI')' ..f ~~ Luu.·t'l' Rw Gr<IIlilc \'ulley (Men:r:.h.t, Wi.,
1917). 96, 97, 102, 110, 112. ll4; Neu· Yurk Tam(s, Od,,l-cr 19, 191S:p. I; O(wher 20.
1915. p. I; Tht' Jrul~J>t!llllent, November I, 1915, r· 177. Further e\•tden.:e of rhe murder
,md h.u.t.,>mcm ,,(Mcxtcan.' by the Tcxa.' Ranger. c.m he f,llln,l m nunwrou~ ~ur~.o:;o. . St·e,
for ex.unplc, Jli1p.·n R~/uung to rhe Fnretg~t Rcllltwm uj rhe llnc~d Sr,ue,, 1904 (Wu,hmgcon.
D.C., 1905), 47}-t\1 i ilnd O,c.u J. M.mine:, ed., U.S.-Mc.'xicu Bunlt.,-land.\: I ft,tll!'tccd und
C()ntc-mf>tJTrrr;t PtT.specttve\ (Wilmtn)!ton, De.. 1996), 142-47.

Zl. "Thl.! Tex .•-. Bordl!r Truubb," Mt:-<.. Do1.. Nu. 64.11~>•1\C Rcporu, 45th Congrc:-~. 2nd
')c.,>lon, 11:\78 (18.l0), 285.
14. Ru;.h.u,l 1\laxwdl Rrown, "Vrulcncc" m Clyde A ~ftlner II, C<Jrol A. O'Conn,Jr,
.Uld M.mh.l S.tndwcL.'-'• cd,., T~ Oxfard tluwry uf Ule -\merican \~ csl (New Ynrk, 1994).
25. Ro!!cr D. McGnrh, Gunfightm. llrghwuyn~n & \ 'ii:iL.mre~ (Jkrkd.,y, Lo, !\n~ck.,.
Londun. 19::i4}; Idem. "\'tolencc: .md Ldwil-:.me,, on 1lw Wc.,tc:m Frvnncr," tn TL-d Rohcrt
Gurr, cJ., \ 'tulence tn Amcnctl (Newbury PMk, LmJ,m, New Ddht, 19!19), I, 12~-45,
qu,,t.u 1011 un P·•~c 14 :!.
26. l'atrKI·I Ndsun Limcrto.:k, The ugacyo{Ctftl<jiMS!: The { 'nl~rukn P!utu{theAmmt·,an
\'\lbt (N.,w Y<.trk .md L,mJon. 1987).

27. Am,Jfd,, Oc Leon. "In rur,utr of a Brown We,r" tn ClyJc A Mtlncr ll, cd. A New
sr
· ificance: Rc-EnvLii• mm.: the llr.;cary uf the Amt"ri,·m• \\:'e)r (New Yurk and Oxford. 1996),
9 .
28. Th., theme ol cok•nc.ltlOil .md It' cot'l.~equcncc.' j, explurL-d more thoroughly in
Dccn.1 J U(lnml<·:, ne{tt!.mg ~~ Favar: The Spamsh-Mt:ttctm Womrn of lianw Fe, 1820-
IHBO (New Yurk .md Oxfurd. 1999).
29. RtclMrd I lt:nry Dana, Jr.• Ten )~errs Be{urr t.he M,ts!. A Pmmwl Namtll\'1! •4 I.ife at
Se 1 (IJ.,rnwnd•Wllrth, Fn~:l.mJ, 1981 l I 840 ), I 26-2 7
30. Pm, IJedme uf rhe Calif..mws, 154-55
31. P.UJI S. T.P;Ior, MniCan Labor m the Unrcd Suues: Dtmmu County, Wmrcr Ganlen
Vurrkt, South Te\'tu ( Bcrkcl.,y, 19~0}, 4-16.
32. Albert Cam.ll'dlu, Chrcarws in 11 Clumgm!I Socl<!t'l: Frum M~'lCilll PHcbf,.s ltl Amtn·
<'llll 13cmlos m llr.~nta BarbrD'd and Southt'l'n Cal1jamra, iB-18-1930 (C.unbndge, M,L.\~ :md
l.undon. 1996 119791), 14-16, 33, 59, 66-()7, i6; M.mo T. G.ttO.:II, Dc~crt lmm•granu ·
The M<'\Kuns uf cl Jlrut•. 1880-1920 (New Il.wcn .md Lvndon. 1981), 5-6, ll0-1•l.
127; C.mulle Guctm-Guru 1lc.,, MeXICan Well'~) and Arn~:nr.m f)reumen: lmrn'6•muun,
Rcpurr~a~um, ,mdClllt{c.ITlltu Farm urbar, 1900-1939 (New Hrun~wtck, NJ 1994), 51-53,
66-70.
33. lhthcrt,l , cncdul de l.t Rl1Ch<', "C,•llecuvl.! V1olcncc .t> SOl.l.cl Control," Soc:~Aug•cal
1-orum, XI (1996}. pp. 106-09; Idem, 'The SllCit)gCt\c>t' of Lyndun~,'' m W. Fitthugh
Bnmd.lgt•, ~d., Undt'T S<'nt!'ncr of Dearh· l.ynchmg m the ~IJllth (Chapcllltll .md London.
I 997), S~-53, 5~59.
34. Pnngle Sh.1w, Ramblingl in Califumw (Torumo, 1~54). 17.
THE LYNCHING OF PER "ONS OF ~!EX ICAN ORIGIN 415
35. Eli.~ S. Kcrdum Dr;u-y, January 24, I SS~. I lunrm~tron Lihr•l")·, S.m Manno, Cah-
fomtl .

36. l.m Ans:eb Sun, July 19, 1856, p. 2.

37. Wlync(l<~rd,Frunut·r)umct(N,,nu.m,Ok., 1949), 1 79~.

JR. Delaware 1/t!I',JJ, '-'<:ptcrnhcr 15, 19 19; Minnt tpu~ b:enrng Tnbune, '-'~.:prl.'mhcr 15,
1919; lluu<lton Pmr, Scptlmh:r 18, 1919; Dt·nt·"' l'o<r, Scl'rt.:mh-r 20, 1919; 1 u· YtnkSun,
cprcmb,·r IS, 1919; N~u· y,,.k CrU Scptl.'ml-cr I 'i, 1919, Shrcvt'fiUl'l Trmc\, c.:;cptcll\her
14, 19 19; Gmmn)(lwtm, Alabc~ma Ncw~. ~·prl.'mh:r 14. 1919; Neu• York Trmcs. Scprcmher
16, 1919.

W. ]. Frank (),,hrt>. A Vcr.ru<!w•J/the Bm\h Cwnrry (&>..,ton, 1929), 11 8-19.

40. 'lan Anwnru bprc.", J.mu rry 31, 1896, p. ti.
41. Gary Y. Okrhrw, Commun Gmund: Rt'rmagrnrn,t: Ammccm HiltiJI":y ( Prrnccron, N),
2001 ), 64-65.

4 J r.1ul Schu,rcr T.ry1or, An 6,marcun·Meximn Fr•mut.,..: Nuet·e<, County, Tc:xct< (New

)ork, 1934). 2i4.
44. Gun:.ilt-:., Rc:/rHmg the fHvcll', 69.
4 S AlfH.J Ro1un.,on, Lrfe rn Cali[IJI"Tllil (S.uu 1 B.ubam. 1970 118401 ), 51. 1l1c ract~l
d.t,~tllcallnn nf clrrc Mcxrcan women ,h whrtc '' Ji-cll"'-.J in further J ...rai1 rn Antonra
1 C;~,.raficth, ''Gender, R 1cc, and C ulture: Spmi>h- Mcxrc.m Women m rhc.' Ht,toriog-
raphy of Frontrer C.•lrfonuil ,'' fnmucn XI ( 1990): 8-20 .mJ Ant~>m.r I Ca>r.uicdd, "The
Polmc,tl Economy of Nrncrl.~nth Century Srcrcnrn ... , uf c.,J rfomriln:l," m Adcl.ud.r R.
Dd C':~Sttllo, cJ., Bctwt"C11 BtJrdl'TS: £~says fill Mc:.:icwlli/Chrcana f !htrtry (En~. rnco, C t.,
1990}, 213-16.

46 Frank Sou II.', John II. Gihon, mJ) 1m1.., Ni,I'Ct, The AnnaLs uf StJn Frcmcr,co (Po1 lo
Alro, c~ .. 1966 l1 85SI).
47. Br.mc,,J\ lor-e Fcderrco .md Myrtle Brown, cJ,., GulJ Ru.~h: The l~11m tl}OI!l & Ann
Bmuon 1852, IH54-1855 (Wd>htnl!;tOn, D.C.. 1974), I, 1$9. Fur lunhcr Jr.,cu,..,tun of rhe
neg.•rrvc ~tercoryprnl! uf ~lcxrcan women, 'c:c Gon.:;ilcz. Re[U)tng rhe Famr, 50-53.

4R. Wdli.11n B. Set:r•·.-t, )rumrw (Frc~no, C 1., 1967); 11ui'Crt I lowe Bnnl.rnfr, f'oJlltlar
Tnbunub (San Fr:mct-C(l, 1887), I. 577--87; Rohcrr Wdb Rachit•, The l!dl-wtrrin' Frnty·
N rners (New York, 1928), 105-15

49. Alta Calrfurnia, A lll!lhl 9, 1850, p. 2.

50. ~11chcn~-: Chm, "A Pcopk of E.x,.:prrc'ltl. rl Ch lr<Jrrcr: Ethnrc.: Dwcr,rty, N.lll\'l>tn,
.mJ R.rct'm m the C.•1riornia Go1J Rtt,h," m Kcvm Sr<11T and Ric.:h.1rJ ). Or-r, cJ,., Ro11teJ
rn Bt~rbcimiLI s,r/: Pevpl(. Culture. tmd Cumrnuntrv rn Gu/d Rush G1lr[umi.c (Berkeley, La.
Angel"''• .md LvnJ,m, 2000), 64-65. •
51. A/w Calif~trn cu, AuglN 19, 1850, p. 2 Fur further mfonn.1uon <>n r.•r~ ..t confltc[
tn th1. Callfomr.• mml!lo, 'cc \Villr,un Rohen Kccmy, ''M~:Xrcan-Amenc.tn Conflrc. r on
rhc ~lrnrn)! Fwnrtcr, 1ti4!>-1~52," )ournc.tlof t!te \l:1w \'I ( 1967): Sli2-9~; ;md Rrc.hard
436 journal of soch1 l history wtnrer 2003

II. Peter-on, "Anll·M~xican N.l!lvt,m tn CaltfomtJ IMB-1853: A ":irudy of Cultural

Confl ict,'' Suarhem Ca/1/IJTTIIll Quarterly, LXII ( 1980): 309-Z?.
52. Gcur)!C P G.mi,un, Texru. A Ctmrest of Cwiltzauon.s (BoHon, 1973), 274; ]. Fred
R1ppy, The l'nued 5rtues and MexiCo (New York 193 1), 179-80; Not~' From the~ fcx1c.m
Legation tn rhe Unircd "rare' ro the Department o( r.ne, 1821-1906, Microfilm 54,
Reel 4. Another ex.1mplc 0f ec:onomtc c,1mpemion prectpHatmg mob VIolence c,m he
found m l>.fury Romero, "El p,,soSalr WM: Mob Action or rolmcal Strugj!lc!" A~ktn, 16
( 19!i5): 11 9-38.
53. Dale F. Beecher, "lnccnuve to Vto1cncc: Poliric.tl Expl,l1tar1un.' of Ldwl~ne:-' on
rhc Unitl'<.l St.uc,·M~:xlcan Border, 1866-1886," PhD, Univc~ity ofUtah, 1982, 51-62;
Wtlh.un II. ll<~gcr, "The Nuecc.'>tl)Wn Ra1J uf 1875: A Bon.ler lnctdenr," Arr~onu and che
\Ve.H, I (1959): 25H-70; Fuwgn Rclaciuns vf the United .State! 1875, II, 92 1, 955.
54 New York Trme~. Nowmhcr 21, 1915, p. 8.

55 Lirw.1ck. Trouble rn Mind, 427.

56. Bnmd.~!!C, Lyn<hmg in the N~v Sm~th, 16~. 184.
57 San Anumw bpre)s, ~wy I, 1885. p. I.

58. Stanton A. Cul-lcrm., V.I!.um and Vigilanres. Tht Stfrry of )umes Krn~: of \'Qi/liam and
Pinnc,T )uscrce m Cahfonua (New York, 1936), '2.7: Lcc Sh1ppc)', It's an Old Cahfornra
Cuswm (New York, I 948), 136-40.
59. Th1, mtlucnu.1l cuncepr wa.:; tnmally CtmCCI\'cd hy Ertc llobl;hawm m hL" book
BanJrts (london, 1969).
60. S. Dt~lc ~kLemorc Rm1. cJ trnd Ethn1c Vwlencc tn Aml"l'ica, Sccuml EJiuon (Newton,
~1.1·''··
1983 ), 219-21; Jerry D. Tl1omp~on, ed. )uan Curuna anJ ch.e Texru·Mexu:o Fronuer
1859-1877 (El PJ.So, 1994) , 6;Jcrry D. Thomp5on. "Tho.> M:my Face.~ofJuan Nepomuceno
Corrin,,," Suuch Texcrs ScuJics, II (1 991 ): 88, 92: Wchh, Texas Rangers, 176.

6 1. M.m S. Meter <~nJ Fdic1ano Riv.:ra, The Chtcanos. A lluror:y of Mexrcan Aml"!'icaru
(New York. 1972). 10 1-02; Catherine McN1col Scod.. Rural Rtadlcals: Frum Bacun's R!.'·
helli"n w the OklalimTill City Bumbing (New York. 1997). 106-107; Thompson, "Many
Face,," 89; Thomp~on, )tum Ccrrtina, 102, Ill>. I and 3; Lym;m L. Woodman, Corllna:
Rogue of the R1t1 Grande ('an Antonio, T x., n.d.), '2.1-22; ''Report on the Accompany-
mg Documenr., of the Conunttte.c on Foreign A1fm~ on rhe ReLmon~ of rhc US wl£h
t.fcx tco," U ll~lu,e, No. 701. 45rh Congre~. 2nd .es~ion, Sen.tl Scr I . 24," 75-76.
6'2.. "PrLIC l.un,mon, County of C.Jmeron, C<~mp 111 rhe Rancho del Carmen, November
23, 1859,'' IIC!We Ew;uuve Ducumer~ts, 36th Con~;rex., bt Sc.'olllun, No. 52 ( 1050), Dtffi·
cultte:. m . oulhwe.,rem Frontier, 55a; "Tcxa~ Fronuer Trouhle~: Tc:.nm.my Taken Before
the Cornmtrtee ~m ForCI!!n AIT.m1o," I lou.o;e Reporr~. Document Nu. 701, 45th Congre~.
~nJ 'le!'Silln, 1877-78 (I b24). 76; \'Qel'ki)' Arc<rma Mm,.,., Sepremhcr 13, 1871, p. l; April
26, Hl72. p. 1: March 23, 1872. p. 2.
6 3. j.unc:. A. S.mJO>, Rebdliun in the Bordcrlunds· An<.ll'cl!ism and the Pkm uf San D•eRu,
1904-1923 (Normm, Ok., 1992}; )arne.' A. Sandll!>, "The Pl,m of S.m D1egu: War and
D•rlom.Jcy on the Texa:< Border, 1915-1916," Ar1zoru1 and the \\'lest, XIV ( 1972), 5-24;
Emd10 Z.unor.1, The W'orldn[1/u:· MeX'!CIIn Wlnrh"7' in Texas (Cnllegc St.1t1on, T x., 1993) , 83;
Alfred ArttMga, "The ChlcanCI·Mextc,m Corrtdo,''jmmmlt~[Eth111c Swd~es, XIII (Su mmer
1985): 83-84; j,un~tJo L. li,Jicv, Te:®: Fram Sp11u.llewJJ thruugl1 Wurkl Wlnr 11 (New York.
IY93), 94, Ill , Nerl F<)lcy, Tile Whtte Scaurge: Mexicans, BL.Jrks, and Po11r \\'llures rn TexCL.~
Cotcon Culture (Bckclc.:y, Lo, Angel e.,, Londun, 1997), 56.
 THE LYNCHING OF PERSONS OF MEXICAN ORIGIN 437
64 Manud G. Gon:zalc:., Me-ricanos: A 1-l•striF) rJfM~xiCtllll m the Un11eJ State~ (Bloom-
Ington ami lndtanapoh~. 1999), 89.
65. Geoffrey C. WMJ, The \Vest (London, 1996), 180.

66. F. Arturo Ro,Jic:., ;Chirnno!The Huwry uf tlu- Mc'(u:an Ammrt1n C•"ll R1glu.s Mwe-
menr (1-loll!>ton, 1996), 7. For further analy~1' of the ~:omdur <I\ an exprc:.Mon oi cultural
rc.'l' tancc, 'Ce A merico P:trcdes, Wuh IllS P1Swl m llt.s llanJ: A Border BalL.u:l arn1 lu llero
(A u ~ r m, Tx., 1958).

67. ll1om,1, E. Shc:nJan, Lo.s Tucsoneme.~: Tile Mexican Crlmmunrty m Tucson, 1854-
1941 (Tuc.son, 1986), 107.

68. De Leon,Mexican Ameru:ans in Texas, 88; Z.unor,t, Wurklo[1/~ Mexican Worker, 149,
81, 97; Robcn J. Ro_o,enhaum, Mcx1cano Hesisrance m the Smnll\1/e.St (O,tllas, T x., 1998), 49-
50; Weber, FrJTe•gnen m Th.err Nmiw Land, 248-250: Ne~v Y(J!'k Times, June 26, 1911, p. 4;
Jo~.i E. Umon, "EI !'nmer Congreso Mexicant,lil de 1911: A Prccur~or to Contemporary
C hic.:mllomo," A<t/Jn V ( prmg ,md Fall 1974): 86-88, 97-98.

69. F. Arturo RClloales, cd., Tesumonw· A Dncumt"llwry 1/uwry uf tile Me'(ican Amencan
Struggle fur Civil R1ghr:, (Hou.,con, Tx., 2COO), 114- 15.

70. Cute G. Sunmons, Anglo-AmericamanJ MeXIcan Amer•cam 111 Sout/t TeYru: A Study
rn Dtnninam-Subordmc.Ue GTIIII/1 Rdauons (New York, 1974), 465. 'ce al~o BcnJamtn Mar-
quez, LliLAC The Evnluuon CJf a ~teX!can Amencan Pvl111c111 Organitawm (Au~rm, Tx.),
1993.

71. ~hnud Ccballo,-Ramirez and O~c.ar J. Martine~, "Confl1cr and AccommlXI.~tion on

the U.S.-Meloc.,m Border, 1848- 1911 " in J,ume E. Roddgucz 0. ami Karhryn Vmccnt,
ed~.• M"iths, MtSdetds, and MLiundentandings. The Roors ofConflictm US -Me.~can Rela-
tions (\Vdmmgton, Dd., 1997), l36; Papers Relatmg fiJ tlte Forergn Relawms uf Ul£ Umred
State\ /863, II, 114-41; "ll1e Condition of Aff,lifb in Mextco," U.S. Congres.~. llou.st
Executive Ducumenu, No. 71, 39th Congrc.,~, bt Se:.'lon. 1865-66 ( 1262), II, 208-LO.

72. M,~rio T. Garda, "l'urn ri.u1 Diplomacy and the Admml~tr.Jttnn of Ju.nc.l!, 1877-
1900," Attlan, XVI ( 1995): 1-3; Dougl.b W, RtchmonJ, "~ fextc.an ltmni!,'Tmion and
Border Scrar cgy Durmg the Revolution, 191 0-1920," Neu· Mexu:-o lltwtrical Review, LVII
(July 19!\2): 277-78.

73. Z.1maconJ to Bl<~ine, October 30, 1880, Reel 18; Apri l 7, 1881. RoJI 19, Note:.
from the Mexic.m Leg.mon m the UnncJ S tare:. to the Dcpannwm of State, 1821-
1906, Nauonal Archiv~; Z1mac.ona to Bl.unc, June30, 1881 .md August 8, 1881, Papers
Reltumg 10 t~ Fure1gn Rel.!wms of 1he Umted State.~, /881, 840-44, .tnd 1882, 407-08;
G.trc.la, "Porfinm Otplomac.y," 5-8.

74. LJ!J An~:eles Times, Augu~r 17, 1895, p. I; New \Cn-k Times, Augu,t Z7, 1895; San
Francuco Examtnt"r, Au~:u,.t 27, 1895, p. I; Augu.o;r 28, 1895, p. 3; November 29, 1895, p.
8.

75. "Indemnity to Relam•c:- oflu1~ Moreno," llou>e ofRcprc>cnt,uive>, Docuuumt No.

237, 551h Clml!rcss, 2ndSe:,~;ion (3679), Vol. 51, 1-3; Ne~· )'ark Time.~ January 19, 1898.
76. See, for cx.tmple, the mdcmnity patd to rhe fanul1• of a 1\lexic..m lync.h~l m Cotulla,
Tcxa~ 111 Ocmbcr 1895. Senate Rep011 1832, 56rh Cungrc...-.:, 2nd Se.'iloton (4064), pp. 1- 14,
28-30.
438 wtnter 2003

77. On the continued compl.wll> made h~ Mextc.m<~lhct•b dunn)! rh.- rwcnncrh .:cn-
tury. 'ec j. Fred Rtppy. "The Untl!!d Stat<·· .md ll.lcxu.:o, \9\(L 1927" tn :\rn~7tl"ttn Policrc!
Ahrwad: M<'xiol (Cht, .t"o 19Zti). 29.
78. l'.nrl Ciarncr, P111{irruOiaz (I Lrrluw, E-"ex, .!001), 141.
79. Nc\11 )IJTk Trrn,~. Nuvcmh.:r 11. \910. r 2; ''Antr Am.. rrc.m Rt,,t~ in Mcxrcu," The
/nJ~j•cnJent, Novcml--cr 17, L9LO, pp. 106\-1062: ll:irYc)' F Rice, "The Lyn.:htng oi
Antnntn R,~<lri~:rr.~;." !>.lA th~'>i-, Univcr,rry ofTcx.I.S 11 Au~rtn, 1990,26-30.

HO. Ntu.· ~orJ.. Trme~. N,wcml>cr 10, I 910. p I; Nuvcmb..•r 11 , 1910, I'· 2. Novemhcr
12, 1910, p. 5; Nuwmhcr 1}. 1910, pt. 3, p. 4; N,wcmbcr IS, 19\0, p. I; November
16, 1910./'· 1, N(lvcml--cr 17, 1910, p. 1; N<lVCtnhcr 18, 1910, p. 10; '"A nll Arncrrcan
RiPh m !>. cxaco," ThelnJeJ>rndenr , November 17, 1910, pp. 1061-1062; "The Suu.tuon
tn Mexrco," The /ntkpenclent, NovcmLer Z4. 1910. pp. 112l"-21 , Puf•m Re~mn~ t<J the
Forcrgn Rcl«ttuns of ahe l.lnated Scate~. 1911 (W.L,htnl!ton, DC. 1918). 35) 57; RILl' . "llw
L)'tKhtng d Anwnao Rodrr~.;ucz," 31-39, -19-5 1, 79
81. "A M~xtc:.m Bnyc(•tt," The lrukt>endt'nt, N•wcm~r li, 1910, 1"1"· 1111-1112: N~u'
)iJTk Trme~ 'it'pH•rnl..... r 2. 1919, p. I; J.muary 10. 1920. p. 3; Augu,t 4, 1921. r- 10.

8!. Hrund.lce, Lynching in the: New Smuh, 248-249. 2'i I.

S3. Muntg•Jmery,-'\Jv~!l)er,~c)'tember 19, 19Z6:Atkmtct C(Jn,utr.HIIr11, O~:rl•herZ4.1926,
j.mu.1ry8, 19l7.

84. La Cm11t: Trrhune. j,mu.u·y 12, 1916.

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