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Difficulty: MediumRacial Terror and the Anti-Lynching Movement

Read the following excerpt from Ida B. Wells's pamphlet *Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases* (1892):

"The People's Grocery Company... did a flourishing business. The colored people of that suburb had given it their liberal patronage, and the grocery store of the white merchant, who had previously monopolized the trade of that quarter, was not so well patronized. He was a cousin to the sheriff... The grocery was a success, and the white merchant, who had been displaced... began to stir up strife."

Based on the excerpt and your knowledge of the anti-lynching movement, which of the following best describes the main conclusion that Ida B. Wells drew regarding the underlying motivations of racial terror?

  1. A
    Lynching was a spontaneous method of maintaining community safety against rising crime rates when local courts were inefficient.
  2. B
    Lynching was primarily a reaction by white communities to prevent the social integration of public facilities and transport.
  3. Lynching was a systematic tool of racial terror designed to suppress Black economic autonomy and eliminate competition with white-owned businesses.Answer
  4. D
    Lynching was an inevitable consequence of agricultural labor disputes between sharecroppers and landowners.

Answer

Lynching was a systematic tool of racial terror designed to suppress Black economic autonomy and eliminate competition with white-owned businesses.
The correct answer is correct because Ida B. Wells's investigation of the 1892 Memphis lynchings (specifically of Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell, and Will Stewart, owners of the People's Grocery) demonstrated that the violence was catalyzed by white resentment over Black economic competition and the loss of a business monopoly, rather than the prevention of crime.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the provided text excerpt for key historical details.
The text describes the People's Grocery, a successful Black-owned store that drew customers away from a white-owned grocery store that previously held a monopoly in the area.
Identifying the central conflict in the source text establishes the economic context of the event.
2
Connect the excerpt to Ida B. Wells's broader analytical framework on lynching.
Wells argued that accusations of criminal behavior were pretexts used to mask the true motivations behind racial terror, which often stemmed from white resentment of Black prosperity and economic independence.
This links the specific primary source details to the general historical arguments advanced by the anti-lynching movement.
3
Evaluate the options to find the statement that matches Wells's main conclusion.
The statement highlighting that lynching was used to suppress Black economic autonomy and eliminate competition accurately represents Wells's thesis.
Selecting the option that reflects economic competition as the true driver of racial terror answers the question.

Key Concept

The economic motives underlying racial terror and the anti-lynching critique of Ida B. Wells
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Racial Terror and the Anti-Lynching Movement

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