The Making of a Lynching Culture: Violence and Vigilantism in Central Texas, 1836-1916
Dr. Carrigan is the author of The Making of a Lynching Culture: Violence and Vigilantism in Central Texas, 1836-1916. In this monograph, Dr.
Carrigan explores why and how ordinary people came to think that lynching was an acceptable, even preferable, means of maintaining the social order. In 2005,
the University of Illinois Press awarded the volume the Richard Wentworth
Prize for best history book published by the Press in 2004. The committee of outside evaluators which selected the book included Eric Arneson, Eileen C. Boris,
and Nancy Hewitt.
Winner of the Richard L. Wentworth Illinois Award in American History (2005)
Judges: Eric Arneson, Eileen Boris, and Nancy Hewitt
"William D. Carrigan has quickly established himself as one of the most important and most interesting scholars of lynching... Carrigan’s explanation for the power and prevalence of a ‘lynching culture’ is extraordinarily far reaching and convincing..."
Jonathan Markovitz (Pitzer College)
American Historical Review
"The Making of a Lynching Culture ranks among the best local studies of lynching and will be of great interest to historians of Texas history and the history of the United States."
Michael Pfeifer (Evergreen State College)
Journal of American History
"Writing in a crisp, clear style and demonstrating an impressive mastery of a wide range of primary and secondary sources, Carrigan raises several important questions about the evolution of the lynching culture in the South... The quality of the research makes this study a detailed and judicious work that opens new paths for further work and enhances our global comprehension of this tragic phenomenon."
Gilles Vandal (University of Sherbrooke)
Journal of Social History
"Texas provides a perfect location for the study of a lynching culture... This is a carefully researched, well-written, and insightful study. Carrigan’s masterful treatment of violence, race, and memory warrants a wide readership."
Ryan Dearinger (University of Utah)
Western History Quarterly
"Thorough documentation shows that Carrigan’s research is both broad and deep... This altogether excellent study fills an important gap in the historiography of lynch law."
John Ross (Lon Morris College)
Journal of Southern History
"The volume is an important contribution to new analyses of lynching in Texas and across the nation."
Alwyn Barr (Texas Tech University)
Great Plains Quarterly
"[Carrigan’s] breadth of research and ability to use stories to craft analysis help the modern reader recognize how and why lynching became widely embraced."
Patrick Timmons (Augusta State University)
The Texas Observer
"[Carrigan] offers well-thought-out, convincing arguments."
C. D. Wintz (Texas Southern University)
Choice
"In this ground-breaking study of extralegal violence in a racially and ethnically complex borderland of the South and Southwest, Carrigan makes a significant contribution to the literature on American violence and race relations."
W. Fitzhugh Brundage
Author of Lynching in the New South: Georgia and Virginia, 1880-1930