American Pogroms: How Forgotten Massacres Shape America

In his new book, American Pogroms: How Forgotten Massacres Shape America, terrorism expert Daniel Byman chronicles two centuries of mob violence in American history, highlighting exactly what’s at stake when we allow leaders to legitimate violence and the mob to rule. In some parts of the country, mob violence seemed a near-constant part of the region’s history, while in others it was a brief, horrific spasm that perpetrators–but not victims–quickly forgot. Byman argues that there is a word for this type of communal violence: pogrom. Although pogroms are historically associated with the orchestrated campaigns of anti-Jewish violence in Tsarist Russia, Byman asserts that pogroms have been an all-too-frequent feature of American history. Tracing two centuries of communal violence, Byman recounts cases of attacks against American religious minorities such as Catholics and Mormons, the killing of thousands of ethnic Mexicans in Texas, the murder and wholesale expulsion of Chinese workers from the American West, and the repeated attacks on the Black community that killed thousands and enabled decades of brutal discrimination, and warns that increased polarization and selective news consumption in recent years has coarsened discourse and legitimized violence, raising the risk that at least some violence will return.

Join New America’s Future Security Program as they welcome Daniel Byman for a discussion of his new book American Pogroms. Daniel Byman is a Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and the Director of the Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He was previously a U.S. government analyst, staff member on the 9/11 Commission, and a Senior Advisor to the State Department. He is the author of ten books, including Spreading Hate and Road Warriors.

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