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 inadequate.[1] Some vigilance committees engaged in forms of
vigilantism such as aiding fugitive slaves in violation of the laws on the books at the time. Beginning in the 1830s committees of abolitionists worked to free enslaved people and transport them to freedom.[2]
Abolition and fugitive slaves
Abolitionists met at
Faneuil Hall in the 1830s and formed the Committee of Vigilance and Safety to "take all measures that they shall deem expedient to protect the colored people of this city in the enjoyment of their lives and liberties."[3] The abolitionist
New York Committee of Vigilance and
Vigilant Committee of Philadelphia were also established in the 1830s and assisted fugitive slaves and the
Underground Railroad.
In the
Western United States, before and after the
Civil War, the stated purpose of various vigilance committees was to maintain
law and order and administer
summary justice where governmental law enforcement was inadequate. In reality, those high in the social hierarchy often used them to attack maligned groups, including recent immigrants and racial or ethnic groups. In newly settled areas, vigilance committees promised security and mediated land disputes. In ranching areas, they ruled on ranch boundaries, registered brands, and protected cattle and horses. In the mining districts, they defended claims, settled claim disputes, and attempted to protect miners and other residents. In
California, some residents formed vigilance committees to take control of officials whom they considered to be corrupt. This occurred during the trial of Charles Cora (Husband of
Belle Cora) and James Casey in
San Francisco in 1856.[6]
United States vigilance committees
In 1835, a vigilance committee in
Nashville, Tennessee was responsible, after a
kangaroo court "conviction", for the public whipping of
Rev. Amos Dresser for the crime of distributing
abolitionist publications (which he claimed he did not do). The names of all 62 members of the self-appointed vigilance committee were published by the
American Anti-Slavery Society, annotating some as "Elder in the Presbyterian Church" and the like.[7]
Jackson County, Indiana vigilance committee (a.k.a. the Scarlet Mask Society or Southern Indiana Vigilance Committee), 1868 – captured and hanged ten members of the
Reno Gang
An Oxford Vigilance Committee was formed during
World War I in
Oxford, UK, a town whose own men of military age had gone to war and where soldiers were stationed. The Committee ran volunteer patrols of women to discourage, observe, and report on what was perceived as "immoral" behaviour of the town's women. In November 1916, the Committee issued a report "on the Moral Condition of Oxford," warning that the town's streets were "crowded with young girls, whose dress [and] behaviour show that they are deliberately laying themselves out to attract men." Their reports included detailed accounts of casual or adulterous sexual liaisons in the town. Births out of wedlock in Oxford decreased from 1914 to 1925, but the Committee attributed the reduction to "forced marriages" and
abortions.[9]
Vigilance Committee of the
Gaelic Athletic Association – A committee tasked with identifying association members who either played or attended "Foreign Games" (predominantly
soccer and
rugby union) in contravention of the association's rules. The rule was in place until 1971, up to which point many GAA players who also wished to play other sports had to resort to elaborate tactics, including the wearing of disguises, the use of false names, and travelling covertly (e.g. in the boot of a car) to attend matches.
"Ride in the Whirlwind" (1966) is a movie, directed by Monte Hellman and written by Jack Nicholson, that tells the story of innocent men who are thought to be part of a gang on the run from members of a vigilance committee.
^Woolley, Lell Hawley (1913),
"Vigilance Committee of 1856", CALIFORNIA : 1849-1913 or The Rambling Sketches and Experiences of Sixty-four Years' Residence in that State,
Oakland, California,
archived from the original on March 6, 2017, retrieved February 26, 2017{{
citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
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