Vigilance committee
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A vigilance committee is a group of private citizens who take it upon themselves to administer law and order or exercise power in places where they consider the governmental structures or actions inad
Vigilance committee in Boston in 1851, after Thomas Sims's arrest
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
Vigilance committee
…Know-Nothing Riot, 1850s, New Orleans, Louisiana San Francisco Committee of Vigilance, 1851 and 1856, San Francisco, California San Luis Obispo Vigilance Committee, 1850s, San Luis Obispo, California: known to have hanged six Californios…
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