VIGILANTE JUSTICE How a few determined men brought law and order to the Forty-Niners in San Francisco

Hardback. The author examines the San Francisco Vigilante Committees of 1851 and 1856, formed amid the lawlessness of the Gold Rush era. With rampant crime — over 1,000 murders and only one conviction between 1848 and 1856 —citizens, led by Sam Brannan, took justice into their own hands. The 1851 committee hanged four criminals and exiled others, while the 1856 group, spurred by the murder of journalist James King, challenged corrupt authorities and curbed a crime wave. The author portrays these vigilantes as honest men protesting corruption, highlighting themes of popular will versus established law. Drawing from official records, the book offers a compelling historical lesson on frontier justice and civic response to unchecked crime. With Illus. pds/eps. 173pp. 8vo. h/back. With tiny label to fpd, v. lightly browned edges o/w Nr. F. in Vg. protected pcdw which has a small notch to fr. cover (see image) and a little wear to head/tail of sp.