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Difficulty: MediumRacial Terror and the Anti-Lynching Movement

Read the following excerpt from an editorial published in the late nineteenth century:

'The colored man who acquires property and becomes self-supporting is the one who is most frequently marked for destruction. The charge of criminal assault is merely a threadbare excuse to mask the real intent: to crush the spirit of independence and keep the race in economic subjection.'

Based on the excerpt, which of the following best explains the author's analysis of the relationship between lynching and the economic status of African Americans?

  1. Lynching was systematically used as a tool of racial terror to suppress Black economic prosperity and preserve white supremacy.Answer
  2. B
    Lynching was a regrettable but inevitable side effect of law enforcement failures in protecting rural communities.
  3. C
    Lynching occurred primarily when Black laborers violated the terms of their sharecropping contracts.
  4. D
    Lynching was primarily a reaction to genuine increases in crime rates among newly emancipated populations.

Answer

Lynching was systematically used as a tool of racial terror to suppress Black economic prosperity and preserve white supremacy.
The correct option is correct because the excerpt directly argues that accusations of crime were pretexts used to target self-supporting Black property owners. This aligns with Ida B. Wells-Barnett's historical analysis, which exposed how lynching was used to eliminate Black economic competitors and preserve white supremacy.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the provided historical excerpt to identify the author's central claim.
The author states that self-supporting Black property owners are targeted to 'crush the spirit of independence and keep the race in economic subjection.'
This step establishes the core argument that economic subjection was the primary goal of racial terror.
2
Evaluate the options against the author's claim that allegations of crime were mere pretexts for economic suppression.
The statement highlighting that lynching was used to suppress Black economic prosperity and preserve white supremacy directly matches this claim.
This step aligns the analysis of the source text with the correct historical explanation of the anti-lynching movement's findings.

Key Concept

Ida B. Wells-Barnett's analysis of the economic motives behind racial terror and lynching.
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Topics

Racial Terror and the Anti-Lynching Movement

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