California Vigilantism

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Pages: 1

The Gold Rush of California did help make the American person of the late nineteenth century exactly like the late eighteenth century American because of vigilantism. One of the reasons is the way that Californians used vigilantism to handle the rising crime. San Francisco, for example, had to deal with the Hounds—a gang member that targeted immigrants—to drive foreigners from the gold mines during the Gold Rush. However, the public turned on them after the infamous attack on the tent community of Little Chile and demanded action (pg.132; p.1-3). Then, they formed the Committee of Vigilantism as a response to the fifth fire in the city's history in 1852 (pg.133; p.2-3). The second Committee of Vigilantism was formed a few years later after