Lynching the British

The actions of lynch mobs during the late 19th century damaged the United States’ relationship with Britain and threatened its self-appointed role as the world’s moral guardian.

: ‘An Englishman is Lynched to Save Expense’, detail from the Illustrated Police News, 11 July 1896.
‘An Englishman is Lynched to Save Expense’, detail from the Illustrated Police News, 11 July 1896 © British Library Board.

The mob took no chances. Acting under cover of darkness, all of them masked and some wearing women’s dresses to further conceal their identities, they forced their way into the jail, dragged one of the inmates outside and hanged him by the neck from a bridge. Although authorities offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible, no charges were ever brought.

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