The Legacy of Hate Crimes in American History

Abstract

Hate crimes have existed throughout the history of the United States. Dating back as far as the colonial era, hate crimes were perpetrated against loyalist and continued well into the period of antebellum slavery through the twentieth century. Although America is just over 200 years, several eras within American history characterized by prevalent hate-motivated violence suggests continuity between hate-motivated violence of the past and the present, and more than likely the future. Lynching was quite prevalent in the United States for over a century well into the first half of the twentieth century. The births and rebirths of Ku Klux Klan paralleled the practice of lynching whenever African-American or other minority groups such as Mexicans were perceived to be progressing at the expense of White persons. Anti-Semitism and holocaust denial migrated from Europe after WW II under the guise of scholarship and ultimately into contemporary philosophies of American extremist groups. Discrimination and brutal hate-motivated violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S. was normative until the Stonewall Inn rebellion . However, LGBT people continue to be subject to the most severe hate-motivated crimes.