Opinions Throughout History: Domestic Terrorism

The threat of domestic terrorism is on the rise in the United States, with right-wing extremist groups increasingly linked to mass shootings and hate crimes. The May 2022 shooting in Buffalo, New York, and a 2018 attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh are but two of many incidents linked to violent extremists operating within the United States. While American extremism has been a high-profile topic in the 2020s, America has long struggled to manage violent extremists. From the violent rebel groups of the Colonial era, to the lynch mobs of the Jim Crow era, to the anarchist extremists of the early twentieth century, there have always been Americans willing to commit acts of violence in order to promote a political message. This volume of Opinions Throughout History looks at how American attitudes about extremism have changed and evolved throughout the centuries.