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 rampant crime
and corruption in the municipal government of San Francisco,
California. The need for extralegal intervention was apparent with the
explosive population growth following the discovery of gold in 1848.
The small town of about 900 individuals grew to a booming city of over
20,000 very rapidly. This overwhelming growth in population made it
nearly impossible for the previously established law enforcement to
regulate any longer which resulted in the organization of
vigilantes.These militias hanged eight people and forced several
elected officials to resign. Each Committee of Vigilance formally
relinquished power after three months.The 1851 Committee of Vigilance
was inaugurated on June 9 with the promulgation of a written doctrine
declaring its aims and hanged John Jenkins of Sydney, Australia, on
June 10 after he was convicted of stealing a safe from an office in a
trial organized by the committee: grand larceny was punishable by
death under California law at the time. The June 13 Daily Alta
California printed this statement:It boasted a membership of 700 and
claimed to operate in parallel to, and in defiance of, the duly
constituted city government. Committee members used its headquarters
for the interrogation and incarceration of suspects who were denied
the benefits of due process. The Committee engaged in policing,
investigating disreputable boarding houses and vessels, deporting
immigrants, and parading its militia. Four people were hanged by the
Committee; one was whipped (a common punishment at that time);
fourteen were deported to Australia; fourteen were informally ordered
to leave California; fifteen were handed over to public authorities;
and forty-one were discharged. The 1851 Committee of Vigilance was
dissolved during the September elections, but its executive members
continued to meet into 1853. San Francisco Committee of Vigilance Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter