CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by The Research Repository @ WVU (West Virginia University) Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2003 Ida B. Wells, Catherine Impey, and trans -Atlantic dimensions of the nineteenth-century anti-lynching movement Brucella Wiggins Jordan West Virginia University Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Jordan, Brucella Wiggins, "Ida B. Wells, Catherine Impey, and trans -Atlantic dimensions of the nineteenth- century anti-lynching movement" (2003). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 1845. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/1845 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ida B. Wells, Catherine Impey, and Trans-Atlantic Dimensions of the Nineteenth Century Anti-Lynching Movement Brucella Wiggins Jordan Dissertation submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Amos J. Beyan, Ph.D., Chair Robert M. Maxon, Ph.D. John McKivigan, Ph.D. Barbara J. Howe, Ph.D. Katherine O. Bankole, Ph.D. Department of History Morgantown, West Virginia 2003 Keywords: African American History, Anti-lynching Movement, Ida B. Wells, Catherine Impey, British Anti-lynching Campaign Copyright 2003 Brucella Wiggins Jordan Abstract Ida B. Wells, Catherine Impey, and Trans-Atlantic Dimensions of the Nineteenth Century Anti-Lynching Movement Brucella Wiggins Jordan Unlike the majority of scholarship on the anti-lynching movement, this study focuses on the contribution and interaction of trans-Atlantic participants in the nineteenth century phase of the movement. According to current historiography, the origin of the anti- lynching movement is generally associated with the protest journalism of Ida B. Wells and her exile from the American South in 1892. This study however, redefines that date of origin as well as the period of time in which Americans and persons in the United Kingdom began working together to expose the crime of lynching beyond American shores. In this perspective, the activities of Ida B. Wells represent a catalytic force, which significantly impacted a nascent anti-lynching movement that had begun several years before she became involved. The examination of correspondence, journals and periodicals, newspaper articles, diaries, membership data, and autobiographies, has shown that specific Americans were speaking out and organizing in protest of lynchings a decade prior to the traditionally designated time period, and that a trans-Atlantic connection was made with reform minded individuals in the United Kingdom at an earlier date than is usually stated. This discourse provides a clearly defined picture of the nineteenth century anti-lynching movement from its genesis in the early 1880s to 1900. As the Reconstruction period came to an end, whites who were threatened by upward mobility in the African American community, began to use lynchings as a means of stifling their political, economic, and social advancement. In spite of the risk of speaking out against this aggression, several Americans, specifically journalists, ministers, and humanitarians asserted their influence and protested the crime. They were joined in their efforts by persons in the United Kingdom, primarily England and Scotland, who together increased the global awareness of a heinous crime and laid the foundation for future initiatives to abolish lynchings in American society. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My interest in the anti-lynching movement began in 1991 when I first read Crusade For Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells. Serious research began in 1993 when I was contracted by the Kansas Humanities Council to portray Ida B. Wells-Barnett as a historical character. That research led to this study. The contributions of a number of people and institutions helped me to arrive at this point. First, I would like to thank the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Amos Beyan, Dr. Robert Maxon, Dr. John McKivigan, Dr. Barbara Howe, and Dr. Katherine Bankole. I benefited from the expertise of each of them. In addition to scholarly assistance, I am grateful for the pragmatic perspective that I gained from Dr. Beyan. I extend a special thank you to Dr. McKivigan, my teacher in numerous Nineteenth Century American History courses. Thank you for being an excellent professor -- for broadening my multicultural learning experience, for your critical analysis of my work, and for your words of encouragement. I was financially assisted in this research by a Minority Faculty Fellowship from Marshall University Graduate College in South Charleston, West Virginia. The fellowship funded my research in London, England. I am indebted to Dr. Joyce East and Dr. Ronald Childress for their contribution to that effort. I was greatly assisted in my research by the librarians of West Virginia University, West Virginia State College, and Fairmont State College. The inter-library loan assistance that I received from Lois McCarthy and Beth Lewis of Marshall University Graduate College is of inestimable value. Thanks also to the librarians of the University of Chicago Reggenstein Library and the Carter G. Woodson Library in Chicago; the Library of Congress and National Archives in Washington, D.C.; and the Fawcett Library, the British Library, and the Friends House Library in London, England. My research was helped by conversations with Alfreda Duster Ferrell, the granddaughter of Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and members of Asbury United Methodist Church of Holley Springs, Mississippi, who coincidentally were having an “Ida B. Wells Birthday Celebration Program,” when I visited in July 1997. I also wish to thank Dr. Betty-Lou Waters and Lisa Maldonado for their editorial suggestions, and my special cheering committee -- the members of my family. Most specifically my children, Sheri, Eric, Gandhi, Lionel, and my husband Norman, who propped me up when I needed it and never doubted my ability to complete this project. iii Contents INTRODUCTION 1 1. Catherine Impey: Neo-Abolitionist Extraordinaire 39 2. T. Thomas Fortune and the Afro-American League 76 3. Albion Winegar Tourgee: Radical Republican and Civil Rights Advocate 100 4. Anti-Caste 120 5. A Quickening of the Movement: Enter Ida B. Wells 157 6. Expanding Trans-Atlantic Connections: Ida B. Wells in the United Kingdom 189 7. Fraternity 223 8. Conclusion 268 9. Bibliography 286 iv To my mother Sarah Nave Wiggins v Introduction The nineteenth century anti-lynching campaign began as a response to the American peculiarity of lynching an overwhelming number of African Americans during the latter part of that century. Although there is a clearly visible record from the early 1880s of people attempting to expose lynching as a crime in need of swift and stern punishment, the origins of the campaign against lynchings is usually stated to have begun in 1892 with the efforts of African American journalist Ida B. Wells, when she used her editorials to question the motives that were being given for lynching. Wells’ activities were certainly a catalyst for the movement and she did play a major role in advancing previous efforts, but the early stages of the movement began a decade prior to her involvement. Moreover, the connection between Americans and Britons, which played a pivotal role in exposing the crime outside of America and in influencing attitudes and actions within America, also began prior to Wells’ first visit to Europe in 1893. This study shows that the nineteenth century anti-lynching movement occurred between 1883 and 1900, and that American anti-lynching agitators united with reform minded individuals in the United Kingdom as early as 1883, ten years prior to what has generally been stated. Therefore, the contention that anti- 1 lynching protest originated with the efforts of Ida B. Wells in 1892 and accelerated into an international movement during her visits to England and Scotland in 1893 and 1894, is only a latter part of the story. In this Dissertation, the movement is viewed as having occurred in three phases: Chapter One through Chapter Four is representative of the first phase (1883- 1891); Chapter Five and most of Chapter Six represent the second phase (1892-1894); the latter part of Chapter Six and all of Chapter Seven represent the third phase of the movement (1894-1900). These findings present a more detailed account of the nineteenth century anti- lynching movement and should complement previous studies. Journals and periodicals, newspaper articles, correspondence, diaries, membership data and autobiographies show that there were Americans speaking out and organizing in protest of lynchings as early as 1883. Likewise, that there were concerned Britons assisting in the expose from that date throughout the years of acceleration when Wells toured the United Kingdom, and then for several more years until the English aspect of the movement began to dissolve and its American counterpart became more pronounced. In American history, the early 1880s mark the end of the Reconstruction era and the beginning of the Gilded Age. Although the time period was 2 brief, Reconstruction represented advancement and hope for African Americans newly emancipated from slavery. Initiated by the close of the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, blacks and whites witnessed the total abolition of chattel slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865.