Lynching is the practice of murder by extrajudicial action. Lynchings in the United States rose in number after the American Civil War in the late 1800s, following the emancipation of slaves; they declined after 1930 but were recorded into the 1960s. Lynchings most frequently targeted African American men and women in the South. They were most frequent from 1890 to the 1920s, with a peak in 1892. Starting with large mob actions attended by hundreds or thousands of watchers, lynchings in the 20th century began to be secretly conducted by small groups of people. Lynchings were also common in the Old West, where Native Americans, Mexicans, and Chinese were the primary victims.[1]