The Origins of the Vigilante State
Author : Bernard Porter
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 30,74 MB
Release : 1987
Category :
ISBN :
Vigilante Politics
Author : H. Jon Rosenbaum
Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 45,90 MB
Release : 2016-11-11
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1512806331
Book Description
Vigilante politics is an organized effort outside legitimate channels to suppress or eradicate any threats to the status quo. Simply defined, it means deliberately taking the law into one's own hands. The history of the United States is filled with many examples of "establishment violence." This form of violence was evident when ranchers lynched the cattle rustler and when the early Ku Klux Klan terrorized African Americans back into their "proper position." It is also apparent when urban community groups execute drug pushers and when political parties resort to breaking and entering, electronic surveillance, sabotage, and seduction. Establishment violence is a global phenomenon and not restricted to the United States. In Brazil the Esquadāro da Morte (Death Squad) executes individuals suspected of being habitual criminals. The Protestant B Specials in Northern Ireland abused Catholics. Strong anti-Chinese feelings spawned vigilante groups in Southeast Asia. Other vigilante bands have included the Society of Muslim Brothers in Egypt, the White Hand of Guatemala, the Jewish Defense League, and the Nazi Brown Shirts. Every society that is holding together contains groups that value their place in the system (even if it is modest) and prefer things as they are. If they believe that criminals are escaping punishment because of corruption or leniency, or that people who seek a change in social status and approved values a regaining power, or that the legitimate authorities are unable or unwilling to preserve the present order, they frequently take violent action to defend their position. These are the vigilantes, and this book considers their brand of "establishment violence" in the widest sense. Their goals, tactics, personalities, and place in a country's general political configuration are thoroughly analyzed by the historians, political scientists, sociologists, and psychologists who have contributed to this volume. Part I is devoted to theory and offers a typology of vigilantism; Part II covers vigilante episodes in the United States. Part III places vigilantism in a comparative perspective, with examples from Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Montana Vigilantes, 1863–1870
Author : Mark C. Dillon
Publisher : University Press of Colorado
Page : 489 pages
File Size : 49,21 MB
Release : 2018-10-22
Category : History
ISBN : 0874219205
Book Description
A history and legal analysis of vigilantism in Montana in the 1860s, from a state Supreme Court justice and legal historian. Historians and novelists alike have described the vigilantism that took root in the gold-mining communities of Montana in the mid-1860s, but Mark C. Dillon is the first to examine the subject through the prism of American legal history, considering the state of criminal justice and law enforcement in the western territories and also trial procedures, gubernatorial politics, legislative enactments, and constitutional rights. Using newspaper articles, diaries, letters, biographies, invoices, and books that speak to the compelling history of Montana’s vigilantism in the 1860s, Dillon examines the conduct of the vigilantes in the context of the due process norms of the time. He implicates the influence of lawyers and judges who, like their non-lawyer counterparts, shaped history during the rush to earn fortunes in gold. Dillon’s perspective as a state Supreme Court justice and legal historian uniquely illuminates the intersection of territorial politics, constitutional issues, corrupt law enforcement, and the basic need of citizenry for social order. This readable and well-directed analysis of the social and legal context that contributed to the rise of Montana vigilante groups will be of interest to scholars and general readers interested in Western history, law, and criminal justice for years to come. “[Justice Dillon’s] book reads like a Western. Dillon masterfully sets the stage for the rise of the Montana vigilantes by bringing alive the people who created and lived in [mining] towns. There are heroes, villains, shady characters, and more than a few politicians, businessmen, lawyers and judges. What sets Dillon’s book apart from historical texts and fictional tales is that he provides legal analyses and explanations of the trials, sentences, due process and procedures of the day . . . And shed[s] grisly light on the details of the hangings. Dillon’s unique background as an attorney and judge and his downright dogged research are what makes this complex story so engaging. The prose is clear, crisp and gets to the point. . . . The book is satisfying because it answers contemporary nagging questions about the law regarding the vigilantes and the hangings.” —Gregory Zenon, Brooklyn Barrister “Dillon’s analysis of the vigilantes of Bannack, Alder Gulch, and Helena in Montana Territory is the most detailed, insightful, and legally nuanced yet produced. . . . This book is a model for historians to follow when dealing with 19th-century criminal proceedings. Establishing historical context includes examining the laws in books as well as the law in action.” —Gordon Morris Bakken, Great Plains Research
Lynching and Vigilantism in the United States
Author : Norton Moses
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 464 pages
File Size : 14,87 MB
Release : 1997-02-25
Category : History
ISBN : 0313032025
Book Description
Beginning with the 1760s, when lynching and vigilantism came into existence in what is now the United States, this bibliography fills a void in the history of American collective violence. It covers over 4,200 works dealing with vigilante movements and lynchings, including books, articles, government documents, and unpublished theses and dissertations. Following a chapter listing general works, the book is arranged into four chronological chapters, a chapter on the frontier West, a chapter on anti-lynching, and chapters on literature and art. The book opens with a chapter devoted to general works. It then includes chapters on the period from the Colonial era to the Civil War, the Civil War through 1881, and the periods from 1882 to 1916 and 1917 to 1996. The work then turns to the frontier West and to anti-lynching bills, laws, organizations, and leaders. Finally, the book includes chapters on vigilantism in literature and art.
A Decent, Orderly Lynching
Author : Frederick Allen
Publisher : University of Oklahoma Press
Page : 460 pages
File Size : 15,13 MB
Release : 2013-07-09
Category : History
ISBN : 0806189886
Book Description
The deadliest campaign of vigilante justice in American history erupted in the Rocky Mountains during the Civil War when a private army hanged twenty-one troublemakers. Hailed as great heroes at the time, the Montana vigilantes are still revered as founding fathers. Combing through original sources, including eye-witness accounts never before published, Frederick Allen concludes that the vigilantes were justified in their early actions, as they fought violent crime in a remote corner beyond the reach of government. But Allen has uncovered evidence that the vigilantes refused to disband after territorial courts were in place. Remaining active for six years, they lynched more than fifty men without trials. Reliance on mob rule in Montana became so ingrained that in 1883, a Helena newspaper editor advocated a return to “decent, orderly lynching” as a legitimate tool of social control. Allen’s sharply drawn characters, illustrated by dozens of photographs, are woven into a masterfully written narrative that will change textbook accounts of Montana’s early days—and challenge our thinking on the essence of justice.
Vigilant Citizens
Author : R. G. Abrahams
Publisher :
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 21,55 MB
Release : 1998
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780745616377
Book Description
The book explores the 'frontier' conditions in which vigilantism emerges as a solution, full of ambiguities, to problems of perceived disorder which official instruments of law and order do not handle to the vigilante's satisfaction. Contemporary and historical case material from Africa, North and South America, the Philippines, Europe and Britain is examined within an analytic and comparative framework, as are the often fuzzy boundaries between vigilantism and other forms of 'informal sector' activity, such as state death squads, mafia and banditry. This book will be of value to undergraduates and graduates in anthropology, political sociology, criminology and history.
Bald Knobbers
Author : Vincent S. Anderson
Publisher : Arcadia Publishing
Page : 215 pages
File Size : 50,92 MB
Release : 2009-09-15
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1625846703
Book Description
This account of nineteenth-century Missouri vigilantes is “a first rate adventure story [and] an extremely valuable study of the roots of violence in America” (Gary Paulsen, Newbery Medal–winning author of Hatchet). In the 1880s, the Ozark hills around Taney County, Missouri, echoed with the sound of Winchester rifles. Men were lynched from tree limbs by masked night riders. Bundles of switches were tossed on the porches of “loose” men and women as a grim warning to reform or leave the area. This action-filled saga of the notorious eight-year career of the vigilantes is the most comprehensive account of the Bald Knobber era. It traces the roots of the group in the region’s border struggles during the Civil War, and examines the organization of anti-Bald Knobbers which sprang up to oppose them. Giant Nat Kinney founded the Bald Knobbers, and led them in their violent campaign for law and order. Andrew Coggburn wrote satirical songs to infuriate Kinney and the others. Seventeen-year-old Billy Walker murdered an innocent family and was hanged by the beleaguered authorities. Five opponents of the Bald Knobbers vowed to kill Nat Kinney, and played cards to decide who would do the deed. This book, with photos and illustrations, provides “the most accurate accounting to date of this vigilante group” (Springfield (MO) News-Leader). “Has the sweep and drama of a major novel, with the power and authority of historical truth.” —Loren D. Estleman, Shamus Award-winning author of Monkey in the Middle “Meticulously detailed and carefully constructed . . . fills a gap in the recorded history of Missouri.” —The Kansas City Star
BALD KNOBBERS
Author : Elmo Ingenthron
Publisher : Pelican Publishing Company
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 22,50 MB
Release : 1998-04-30
Category : History
ISBN : 1455600547
Book Description
In the 1880s, the Ozark hills around Taney County, Missouri, echoed with the sound of Winchester rifles. Men were lynched from tree limbs by masked night riders. Bundles of switches were tossed on the porches of "loose" men and women as a grim warning to reform or leave the area. In this action-filled saga of the notorious eight-year career of the vigilantes, journalist Mary Hartman and historian Elmo Ingenthron have produced the most comprehensive account of the Bald Knobber era. They trace the roots of the group in the region's border struggles during the Civil War, and examine the organization of anti-Bald Knobbers which sprang up to oppose them. Giant Nat Kinney founded the Bald Knobbers, and led them in their violent campaign for law and order. Andrew Coggburn wrote satirical songs to infuriate Kinney and the other vigilantes. Seventeen-year-old Billy Walker murdered an innocent family and was hanged by the beleaguered authorities. Five opponents of the Bald Knobbers vowed to kill Nat Kinney, and played cards to decide who would do the deed. Elmo Ingenthron was an Ozarks historian, and collected Bald Knobbers lore for more than thirty-five years. Mary Hartman is a veteran journalist and freelance writer.
Faces Like Devils
Author : Matthew J. Hernando
Publisher : University of Missouri Press
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 46,69 MB
Release : 2015-04-07
Category : History
ISBN : 0826273343
Book Description
In the twenty-first century, the word vigilante usually conjures up images of cinematic heroes like Batman, Zorro, the Lone Ranger, or Clint Eastwood in just about any film he’s ever been in. But in the nineteenth century, vigilantes roamed the country long before they ever made their way onto the silver screen. In Faces Like Devils, Matthew J. Hernando closely examines one of the most famous of these vigilante groups—the Bald Knobbers. Hernando sifts through the folklore and myth surrounding the Bald Knobbers to produce an authentic history of the rise and fall of Missouri’s most famous vigilantes. He details the differences between the modernizing Bald Knobbers of Taney County and the anti-progressive Bald Knobbers of Christian County, while also stressing the importance of Civil War-era violence with respect to the foundation of these vigilante groups. Despite being one of America’s largest and most famous vigilante groups during the nineteenth century, the Bald Knobbers have not previously been examined in depth. Hernando’s exhaustive research, which includes a plethora of state and federal court records, newspaper articles, and firsthand accounts, remedies that lack. This account of the Bald Knobbers is vital to anyone not wanting to miss out on a major part of Missouri’s history.
Vigilante Nation
Author : Jon D. Michaels
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 41,15 MB
Release : 2024
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781668023242
Book Description
"For readers of How Democracies Die, two legal scholars expose the history of the GOP's hidden political strategy to rollback protected rights, from abortion and gun control to surveillance and LGBTQ rights. Virginia's governor sets up a tip line for parents to snitch on teachers who acknowledge the reality of racial inequality. Texas unleashes bounty hunters against individuals who aid or abet anyone seeking an abortion. Florida encourages drivers to run over Black Lives Matter protesters who gather peacefully. And everywhere, there is the persistent threat of political violence. While these episodes might seem to be isolated spasms of MAGA rage, they reflect a concerted legal and political strategy that has been quietly unfolding in courts, think tanks, and state legislatures since the violent insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. With painstaking and enlightening research, Vigilante Nation exposes the insidious network of right-wing lawyers, politicians, funders, and preachers who are deploying vigilantism to cement their hold on power and impose a theocratic version of America. For so long, we have been taught by a bipartisan consensus that vigilantism is incompatible with our rule of law, but our history shows that the right has used it to enforce their vision of true social order. From the Fugitive Slave Act's use of bounty hunters to Southern militias violently enforcing the terror of Jim Crow, America has long been the home of political vigilantism. Now, discover what the future holds and how crucial it is that we each understand our country's vigilante laws"--
