Chapter 7 Lynchburg: Birthplace of Lynching

On New Year's Day in 2000, we bid farewell to New York and went south to visit friends in New Jersey.I have been friends with these friends for a long time, and when I met them for the first time, we had a very happy conversation.Finally we talked about our next destination, we said we were going to Lynchburg, Virginia. This is a place that has disturbed us for years.We do a lot of long distance travel, and many times we come across a sign for a couple of branch roads on the interstate that say "Road to Lynchburg."Many small towns in the United States are named after a person, who is usually the founder of the town.Lynch is also a common name.But when we read this street sign for the first time, we couldn't help but look at each other, and we both read a little surprise and strangeness from each other's eyes.Because, Lynch (lynch) is also a very dangerous word in English, it means: public lynching.Why does this place have such a name?

This time, when we were planning our trip to the north, we thought of leaving some time for Lynchburg.Leaving a friend's house, we took Interstates 78 and 81 in sequence.After driving out of New Jersey, in less than an hour, they passed through the two states of Maryland and West Virginia. Of course, they only brushed a corner.Then it was the long drive through Virginia. We tried, traveling across the state from several different highways.It feels like the landscape on both sides of Interstate 81 is the most "Virginia".winter, Among the clumps of sparse oak trees with strong branches, there are patches of mountain pastures under the pure blue sky.The hillsides overlap in gentle arcs, dotted with cattle just right.From time to time, an old house will appear. Although most of them are buildings, it shows the poverty of the owner.The floor space of the house foundation is very small, and the decorations that can be saved are all saved.Just so thin and thin, one building after another, lonely, with mottled paint, standing on the hillside, standing in the middle of the vast pasture.

We entered Virginia a little late this time, and it was getting dark before long.In Lexington we turn onto Route 60, which is a small road.We decided to stay. A little further southeast on Route 60 should be Route 501, which goes straight to Lynchburg. We turned onto Route 501 early the next morning.More than half of the trail winds in the mountains, an offshoot of the Abalakis.There is the well-known Blue Ridge Landscape Avenue along the top of the mountain, and 501 just passes through it vertically.Under the cliffs of the mountain road, flows the charming James River.A railway turns left and right, closely following the river.The river leads us all the way to Lynchburg, which sits on a high slope beside the James River.

Today's Lynchburg is no small mountain town.Lynch is a surname, and Lynch is indeed the founder of this city.However, after careful investigation, we discovered that at least three Lynches from father and son were involved. Charles Lynch, who first came here, was an Irish boy.That was forty years before the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War.Like a large number of poor European immigrants, he was eager for the opportunities of the New World but could not afford the travel expenses.So, sixteen-year-old Lynch, following the example of others, voluntarily sold himself as a slave in exchange for a boat ticket to America.Repaying debts with labor was a popular practice in Europe at the time, and it was also a source of early slaves in North America.After disembarking, the captain sold him to a tobacco plantation owner on the James River.Unexpectedly, two years later, Lynch was only 18 years old, and his luck would turn around.His master not only liked him, but married his own daughter to him.A slave turns around and becomes the heir to the manor.After that, he gradually participated in local politics and became a local sage.He and his wife had two children, the eldest son Charles Lynch Jr. and the second son John Lynch.

The two sons of Lynch's family seem to be very promising.John Lynch operated a ferry on the James River and gradually made his fortune, becoming one of the richest households in the area; his older brother Charles Lynch Jr. also relied on his own morality and knowledge, not only served in the church, but also participated in local politics.Both men clearly made important contributions to the Lynchburg that later bears their surname.If there is no war and the story behind it, they may be listed as the founders of the city by the local residents.But today we are in Lynchburg, and people are very reluctant to mention the name of young Charles, and always put brother John first.Even when asked about the origin of the naming of Lynchburg, he was a bit hesitant and vague.

Continuing to explore, we found that the personalities of the two brothers seem to be very different. The younger brother John Lynch has always followed the rules, and his scope of activities is limited to the business world. He has accumulated wealth little by little, and climbed steadily step by step.The older brother, Charles Lynch Jr., is much more active and has a distinct personality.He followed his father's guidance into local politics, and even participated in Virginia's Constitutional Convention in 1776, the year the United States issued the Declaration of Independence.At that time, he was undoubtedly a clear-minded independent.

The Lynch family, along with their mother's faith, were Quaker Christians.Quakers are a fairly moderate sect.They are best known for their pacifism.In other words, they absolutely do not participate in acts of war.However, they did encounter a war.That was the American Revolutionary War. War disrupts all routine.People's thoughts and actions are in conflict.In the choice of political stance, this emerging town did not hesitate to stand on the side of the United States fighting for independence; in terms of actions, as Quaker townspeople, they were unable to join the war to support the United States, and seemed destined to be bystanders .In some records, it is described that Charles Jr. adhered to the canon and only participated in the local self-government during the war, but did not intervene in the war.In his native Lynchburg, however, it was found that Charles Jr. turned out to be an apostate of the Quaker faith, active not only in wartime Home Rule but also in the War of Independence.One of the proofs is that Charles Jr. was excommunicated for this reason.So, this is presumably believable.

Before the war, there were certain rules here.Virginia was the most orderly of the thirteen British American colonies, and copied almost all of British institutions and codes.In Williamsburg, the capital, there is almost a prototype of the later American system.No wonder that when the U.S. Constitution was formulated, most of the main force came from this land, and they were very familiar with it.It can be seen that before the Revolutionary War, there was already a mature judicial system and strict judicial procedures for how to handle criminal cases.Everyone has also become accustomed to living within the "rules".

Lynchburg was a small town at the time and had no courts.Before the war, according to the regulations at the time, they had to send the suspect to Williamsburg, the seat of the colonial capital.There, the suspects were tried in court in accordance with established judicial procedures. Although many small towns are far away from Williamsburg, and Lynchburg is 200 miles away, the Virginians who are accustomed to abide by the contract, still follow the regulations, and when the traffic was still very inconvenient, they made the contract again and again. Long-distance escort of the suspect to the capital.

However, there was a war.The war had two impacts on such a long-running system.On the one hand, crimes have increased dramatically.Because the situation is chaotic, it is a godsend opportunity for the thieves.Furthermore, ordinary criminal cases are also magnified by political positions. For example, the faction that opposes independence often attacks the opposing faction's villages and towns, steals horses and sells them to the British army, and the so-called politicized thieves have increased greatly.On the other hand, the long journey to Williamsburg to escort the suspect has become difficult due to the war.The politicized thieves, in particular, formed gangs, and the suspects they escorted were repeatedly robbed by their accomplices.

At this time, Charles Lynch Jr.'s personal character and qualities made him stand out and set a precedent in the history of American democracy.He suggested to the town council that instead of the suspects sent out being repeatedly robbed, it is better to set up a "people's court" to try and punish them on the spot, which not only saves a lot of trouble, but also makes it difficult for criminals to escape.This proposal was obviously in line with the outraged public opinion at the time, so it was passed unanimously in the town council. Thus was established the "People's Court" in Lynchburg.Later, this form of "self-enforcement" was called "Lynch Law".The year was 1778, nearly five years before the end of the American Revolutionary War. As soon as the "Lynch Law" was created, the villages and towns around Virginia during the war began to imitate and spread.Therefore, the United States, which was conceived in the mature British system, had the insertion of the French Revolution style very accidentally in the process of independence. The "people's court" at Lynchburg seemed an impeccable wartime measure.As for Charles Lynch Jr., he had resigned from Parliament at that time and served as a colonel in the local wartime self-government army.He was unanimously promoted by the parliament as the president of the "People's Court", and three other officials of the Autonomous Army served as judges.The courtroom is in the backyard of the president's home.So far, there is no historical data to prove that he was a person who abused his power excessively during his tenure. The period when the "People's Court" presided over by Charles Lynch Jr. was about the remaining four to five years of the Revolutionary War.This "court" now seems to be quite restrained.During the trial, the plaintiff, defendant and witnesses must go to court; the defendant not only has the right to defend himself, but also can present his own witness to testify in court; the defendant also has the right to appeal to the court in Williamsburg.Those who are found not guilty will be released in court and can obtain an apology from the court.So what happens to the convicted?In the beginning, their punishment of criminals was limited to the so-called "Old Testament Law of Moses".It means taking off the prisoner's shirt, lashing him thirty-nine times, and then releasing him immediately.As the British invaded Virginia, the crimes of politicized thieves intensified. They often robbed the Independent Army of arms and rations and sold them to the British.As a result, the "people's court" began to increase the punishment, and the sentence was changed to one to five years of detention.This court has not issued a heavier sentence, let alone the death penalty. A few years passed in a flash.Immediately after the Revolutionary War, pre-war order was restored to Virginia, and the "People's Court" came to an end.The state later, like other places, had an independent judiciary established under the U.S. Constitution.At the time, no attention was paid to this little episode, either locally or elsewhere in the United States.Charles Lynch Jr.'s life certainly didn't change because of this experience.He is still a completely positive image.He was revered and loved locally, along with his younger brother John Lynch.Shortly after the war, on October 29, 1786, sixty-year-old Charles Lynch Jr. died and was buried in his own family's tobacco field.The inscription on the tombstone reads: "Grave of Colonel Charles Lynch Jr., Patriotic, Passionate and Model Citizen."Every summer, the broad tobacco leaves sway in front of the tomb like waves. The war is over, and Charles Lynch Jr. has died peacefully.Like his father Charles Sr., he will stay in the "local chronicles" as a social sage On the road, it is missed by the descendants of the hometown.That's the end of this story.However, no one thought that starting from this historical figure, Lynch would evolve into a common English word, which not only became popular in the southern United States, but also crossed borders and was known by the entire English-speaking world.Lynch (lynch, lynching) has become a very distressing word: People were lynched. People rarely think that there are some things that look very fragile, but they cannot be easily broken.The awe of the contract is probably one of them. The "people's court" is based on the principles of "popular autonomy" and "majority rule" in the concept of democracy.But it is not enough to base a judicial institution on social justice on such principles.In order to have impartial and independent courts, the judicial establishment must have solid legitimacy.This legitimacy comes from, first, the civil contract, that is, the constitutional basis in the principle of natural law; second, it must be produced in accordance with strict predetermined procedures.A "court" without such legitimacy, even if it was recognized as impartial at the time and place, would inevitably lead to "tyranny of the majority" one day if it set a precedent.Excessive praise of popular passion is dangerous. There is no insurmountable gulf between the "people" and the "mob".Among the out-of-control crowd, it is very easy for the "people's court" to ravage and destroy a life at will.Once the gathered crowd let themselves go psychologically, it is easy to ignore individual life and amplify their own power under the pretext of dealing with criminals.The procedures will naturally be simplified rapidly, and the penalties will inevitably become increasingly severe.The strict judicial procedure stipulated in the contract is an effective constraint on human life. There was once a chance to turn it around.After the Revolutionary War, some people who had served their sentences in Lynchburg went to the Virginia state government to sue Charles Lynch Jr. for "organizing his own court and lynching without authorization".Those who appealed were basically the royalists of the year.I don’t know whether the new government of Virginia is a bit "partisan", or Charles Lynch Jr.'s "People's Court" is justifiable during the war. In short, the state government did not support these petitioners who were actually violated their civil rights.The state government's judgment, while mildly acknowledging that Charles Lynch Jr.'s "temporary measures were not fully consistent with the law," said such an approach "was tolerable" "in extraordinary times."Therefore, in the nascent United States, the illegal act of "people's lynching" was not promptly punished by law.A hidden danger of the democratic system, that is, "popular crime", has not been curbed in time. Virginia's "popular lynching" that started with Charles Lynch Jr. did not stop after the Revolutionary War, but spread to its southern neighbors, where it gradually spread.Although mass lynchings did not spread like a plague across the United States, they occurred frequently in several backward southern states.This situation has existed for a long time and has become a big stain in American history.The principle of a high degree of regional autonomy also makes it easy for these backward areas in the south to condone "people's lynching", but the outside world cannot forcibly intervene.In a certain sense, the United States is a federation equivalent to a small United Nations, and each state has its own constitution and sovereignty.For a long time, other states could not interfere with another state on the grounds of human rights.In these backward southern states, mass lynching was once combined with racial discrimination, and once became a means of persecution against blacks.During the 80 years from 1882 to 1962, 4,736 people were lynched in the United States, of which 3,442 were blacks and 1,294 were whites.Five out of six lynchings occurred in a few backward southern states.Since the beginning of the 20th century, mass lynchings have declined rapidly. In the two years after 1900, there were 214 mass lynchings, compared with only six in the entire decade of the 1950s. With the spread of popular lynchings, Lynchburg's attitude towards Charles Jr. became more and more ambiguous.Lynchburg has an old courthouse building that is today the city's history museum.We searched there for Charles Lynch Jr. and this history, and found only a passing blip.In the short commentary, the hometown people are somewhat aggrieved for Charles Lynch Jr.: "Although he enforced the law very fairly at the time, his name was unfortunately connected with the word 'lynching' later on."But thinking about it carefully, little Charles actually didn't have much grievance.Maybe he really meant no harm.However, what he did was to take the lead in breaking through the traditional awe of contracts in this land when the United States was born.He dug a fatal breach in the dike.Although mass lynching (lynching) is basically concentrated in a few states, it is reflected as a "national crime" by Americans today. We walked out of the museum converted from the old courthouse, and a monument to the Confederate Army was erected opposite.Behind the monument are steep steps going down.Adjacent to the museum is a church.In a small southern city, this church is quite "magnificent".It's time for weekend worship.What drew us in was passionate rock anthems to deafening modern instruments—this was a black Christian Methodist church. We stood by the door and looked at the people who were immersed in the music and swayed to their heart's content.The black people who just came in greeted us with a smile.After standing for a while, he turned around and came out.The black pastor outside the door said to us: God bless you. This is our last impression of Lynchburg today.We went back on the road, taking the priest's blessing all the way home.