Mob violence in the United States is usually associated with the southern lynch mobs who terrorized African Americans during the Jim Crow era. This book uncovers what is by contrast a neglected chapter in the story of American racial violence, the lynching of persons of Mexican origin or descent. Over eight decades lynch mobs murdered hundreds of Mexicans, mostly in the American Southwest. Racial prejudice, a lack of respect for local courts, and economic competition all fueled the actions of the mob. Sometimes it was ordinary citizens who committed these acts because of the alleged failure of the criminal justice system; other times the culprits were law enforcement officers themselves. Violence also occurred against the backdrop of continuing tensions along the border between the United States and Mexico aggravated by criminal raids, military escalation, and political revolution. Based on exhaustive research on both sides of the border, the first half of Forgotten Dead explores the characteristics and causes of mob violence against Mexicans across time and place. The second half of the book relates the numerous acts of resistance by Mexicans including armed self-defense, crusading journalism, and lobbying by diplomats who pressured the United States to honor its rhetorical commitment to democracy. In reconstructing these stories, the authors provide detailed case studies and assess how Mexican lynching victims came in the minds of many Americans to be the "forgotten dead." The conclusion of the book also contains the first-ever inventory of Mexican victims of mob violence in the United States. With Latinos having an increasingly powerful influence on American public life, this book provides a timely account of their historical struggle for recognition of civil and human rights.
Industry Reviews
"Forgotten Dead packs a mighty wallop into a small package. Combining extensive research with crafeully crafted generalizations, the book reveals the origins, extent, importance, and legacy of mob violence against Mexicans."--Western Historical Quarterly
"Carrigan and Webb present a unique and pioneering set of empirical findings...There are few scholarly books whose most basic findings not only shake up a particular field, but also reframe a burning social issue in a way that any concerned citizen can understand. This is one such book."--Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology
"This is an important book. For one, it skillfully reminds historians that mob violence occurred throughout the United States and was not just a southern problem. Carrigan and Webb's effective use of comparative analysis is a reminder that comparative history does not solely consist of comparing two nations, but can be used to great effect to compare the experience of two groups over a period of time. Carrigan and Webb also deserve commendation for their
archival work and for their skillful use of nontraditional sources to discuss mob violence."--H-Net
"Forgotten Dead is a well-written and thoroughly researched account...[The] issues regarding the causes of the rise and decline of anti-Mexican mob violence are well documented and well argued."--Southwestern Historical Quarterly
"A monumental act of recovery, Forgotten Dead returns to light the long erased Mexican victims of America's lynching violence. Showing how these racial attacks were not just standard acts of Western violence, Carrigan and Webb document the acts of murderous violence and their motivations but also how communities fought back--through arms, through defense groups, and by mobilizing diplomatic forces in Mexico. Forgotten Dead is absolutely
essential reading for those wishing to better understand the wider spectrum of American racial violence and the deep roots of America's current anti-Latino madness. Scholars of the West and the Border and Mexican
American/Chicano experience will also find in this book a powerful ally."--Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
"Forgotten Dead is one of the most important works ever published on the sad history of lynching in the United States. Carrigan and Webb's conclusions will transform how we think about and remember the history not only of lynching but also of Mexicans in the United States. They have, in short, produced a landmark book."--W. Fitzhugh Brundage, author of Lynching in the New South: Georgia and Virginia, 1880-1930
"All of us who study American violence and race relations are indebted to Carrigan and Webb for laying out, for the first time, the contours and scope of mob violence against Mexicans and Mexican Americans. Like the better-known studies of anti-black violence, this path-breaking work will be an indispensable source for scholars and citizens alike who reckon with the legacies of this grim history."--Benjamin H. Johnson, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
"Forgotten Dead fills a huge hole in the historiography of violence toward Mexicans in the United States. This book is more than just a document on lynching but a detailed look on the epistemology of violence toward Mexicans."--Rodolfo F. Acuña, author of Corridors of Migration: Odyssey of Mexican Laborers, 1600-1933
