Rumour and Racial Violence in the United States, 1873 to 1908

This research project aims to answer the question - what was the relationship between rumour and racial violence in the late 19th Century America? It will address rumours as an individual entity, examining impacts, patterns and types. Rumours themselves serve as the central focus of the research rather than featuring in the background as they do in other historical studies. The proposed project also aims to address why rumours concerning non-whites were so pervasive as well as how and why fear of non-whites spread through these rumours.