Welcome Frontier Justice Enthusiasts!
This blog is dedicated to Frontier Justice issues involving vigilante activity in Washington Territory between 1860-1870. It is hoped that through this study a clearer picture will emerge of life as it was in Washington Territory during this exciting period of history prior to Washington's statehood.
There was an interesting article that appeared in the Statesman two weeks after the local Vigilance Committee printed its warning to would-be criminals. A "concerned citizen" wrote in and criticized the newspaper for printing that warning.
This individual made the point that readers who read things like that in the newspaper were placed under the impression that there was no justice in Washington Territory except vigilante justice. I am starting to find a large "anti-vigilante" movement in my readings. I am somewhat surprised, though I guess that I shouldn't be. I would expect that not everyone agreed with the Vigilance Committee's activities, but I was under the impression that vigilante-ism just came with the territory in the Old West. I guess that I really hadn't thought about that much.
There was an interesting article that appeared in the Statesman two weeks after the local Vigilance Committee printed its warning to would-be criminals. A "concerned citizen" wrote in and criticized the newspaper for printing that warning. This individual made the point that readers who read things like that in the newspaper were placed under the impression that there was no justice in Washington Territory except vigilante justice. I am starting to find a large "anti-vigilante" movement in my readings. I am somewhat surprised, though I guess that I shouldn't be. I would expect that not everyone agreed with the Vigilance Committee's activities, but I was under the impression that vigilante-ism just came with the territory in the Old West. I guess that I really hadn't thought about that much.
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