The San Francisco Committee of Vigilance was a vigilante group formed in 1851. The catalyst for its formation was the criminality of the Sydney Ducks gang. It was revived in 1856 in response to rampan
Charles Cora and James Casey are hanged by the Committee of Vigilance, San Francisco, 1856.
Hanging of Samuel Whittaker and Robert McKenzie, August 24, 1851
1856 Committee of Vigilance medallion inscribed: "Organized 9th June 1851. Reorganized 14th May 1856. Be Just and Fear Not." The eye symbol was borrowed from Freemasonry, but in its 1856 vigilante context conveyed surveillance as a means of social discipline, not the Masonic meaning of scientific and aesthetic knowledge. Note that Lady Justice is not blindfolded.
Shooting of James King of William by Casey
James King of William
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James King of William was a crusading San Francisco, California, newspaper editor whose assassination by James P. Casey, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in 1856 resulted in the est
San Francisco Committee of Vigilance
…corruption. The catalyst for the committee was a murder, in the guise of a political duel in which James P. Casey shot opposition newspaper editor James King of William. King, along with many San Francisco residents, was outraged by Casey's appointment to the city board of supervisors and believed that the election had…
Banking House of James King Of William
Depiction of shooting by Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, July 19, 1856
Smiley, Yerkes & Company building in San Francisco adorned with the banner, "The Great Man Has Fallen" to eulogize King