The Institution of Lynching

When did the lynching of Sam Wilkes occur? How long did it take for Ida Wells and her Chicago group to prepare this account for the press? What, reports the detective, was the response of whites in Newman when asked about Sam Wilkes\’ motives for the murder? What does the detective say about claims that Sam Wilkes assaulted Mrs. Cranston? Who does the detective claim was complicit in the lynching of Wilkes? How does the detective\’s accounts of the lynchings of Rev. Strickland and the shooting of the five African American men in Palmeto compare to the newspaper accounts given earlier in the pamphlet? How often were the victims of lynching the apparent subjects of mistaken identity? What seems to have been the purpose behind torturing the victims of lynching? Why were federal anti-lynching bills annually defeated in Congress?