Over 700 Documented Lynchings in the 1880s

Ida B. Wells's research, corroborated by Chicago Tribune records, documented 728 lynchings in 1882 and 728 in 1883 — the peak years. Over 700 additional lynchings occurred across the remaining 1880s. The victims were predominantly Black men across the former Confederacy and border states. Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia recorded the highest totals. Fewer than 1% of perpetrators faced any legal consequence.