A Sketch of the Causes, Operations and Results of the San Francisco Vigilance Committee of 1856

A firsthand account examines how the sudden gold-era influx, overcrowded transport, and a volatile mix of settlers produced widespread disorder, crime, and political corruption that local institutions failed to control. It traces the citizens' formation of an extralegal vigilance organization, outlines its organization and methods for apprehending, trying, punishing, and banishing alleged offenders, and describes efforts to marshal public support and assert control over municipal functions. The narrative concludes by describing the committee's winding down, the opening of its headquarters to public inspection, the razing of fortifications, and its formal disbandment while retaining the claimed authority to act if peace were again threatened.