A hanging in Nacogdoches : murder, race, politics, and polemics in Texas's oldest town, 1870-1916 / Gary B. Borders.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Borders, Gary B.

Series:

Clifton and Shirley Caldwell Texas heritage series ; no. 9.

Clifton and Shirley Caldwell Texas heritage series ; no. 9

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Buchanan, Jim, -1902.

Buchanan, Jim.

Lynching--Texas--Nacogdoches--History--20th century.

Lynching.

Vendetta--Texas--Nacogdoches--History.

Vendetta.

Populism--Texas--Nacogdoches--History.

Populism.

Populism--Texas, East--History.

Nacogdoches (Tex.)--Race relations--History.

Nacogdoches (Tex.).

Texas, East--Race relations--History.

Texas, East.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (240 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

On October 17, 1902, in Nacogdoches, Texas, a black man named James Buchanan was tried without representation, condemned, and executed for the murder of a white family-all in the course of three hours. Two white men played pivotal roles in these events: Bill Haltom, a leading local Democrat and the editor of the Nacogdoches Sentinel, who condemned lynching but defended lynch mobs, and A. J. Spradley, a Populist sheriff who, with the aid of hundreds of state militiamen, barely managed to keep the mob from burning Buchanan alive, only to escort him to the gallows following his abbreviated trial. Each man's story serves to illuminate a part of the path that led to the terrible parody of justice which lies at the heart of A Hanging in Nacogdoches. The turn of the twentieth century was a time of dramatic change for the people of East Texas. Frightened by the Populist Party's attempts to unite poor blacks and whites in a struggle for economic justice, white Democrats defended their power base by exploiting racial tensions in a battle that ultimately resulted in the complete disenfranchisement of the black population of East Texas. In telling the story of a single lynching, Gary Borders dramatically illustrates the way politics and race combined to bring horrific violence to small southern towns like Nacogdoches.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

part I a murder, a manhunt, a trial, and an execution

chapter one Three Killed in Black Jack

chapter two A City with a Long Past

chapter three A Texas Sheriff

chapter four A Suspect and a Possible Motive

chapter five Nacogdoches in 1902

chapter six A Suspect Is Caught

chapter seven Lynchings: A Grim Fact of Life

chapter eight Populism and Race: An Incendiary Mix

chapter nine The Spradley-Haltom Feud

chapter ten Buchanan Confesses in Shreveport

chapter eleven A Desperate Journey across East Texas

chapter twelve Preparations Made for Buchanan's Trial

chapter thirteen Buchanan Returns for Trial

chapter fourteen A Hanging in Nacogdoches

part II aftermath

chapter fifteen Quick Hanging Sparks Criticism and Praise

chapter sixteen Wettermark, Whitecapping, and a Whipping

chapter seventeen Conclusion

Epilogue

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [199]-202) and index.

ISBN:

0-292-79598-X

OCLC:

298788259