LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DEL LINCHAMIENTO

Written in 1901 but hidden for years for fear of reprisals against his family, ‘The United States of Lynching’ portrays one of the darkest periods in American history: the era of Jim Crow laws (a set of state and local laws in the United States in effect from the late 19th to the mid-20th century that imposed institutionalized racial segregation under the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’) and the rise of racial terrorism. The work exemplifies Twain’s journalistic side, a career path that was fundamental to his literary success. His travel chronicles of Europe and the Holy Land, originally published in newspapers and later compiled in *The Innocents Abroad* (1869), made him a national celebrity. His method was that of the “traveling correspondent,” , sending letters that were eagerly read by an audience seeking an honest and demystifying view of the world. Twain, who was hardly ever frightened by anything and always spoke his mind, chose to self-censor in the case of the lynching epidemic ravaging the United States, ensuring that his “I Accuse” would only be published after his death.