Dirty Deeds

Land, Violence, and the 1856 San Francisco Vigilance Committee

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, 19th Century
Cover of the book Dirty Deeds by Nancy J. Taniguchi, University of Oklahoma Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nancy J. Taniguchi ISBN: 9780806157054
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press Publication: October 27, 2016
Imprint: University of Oklahoma Press Language: English
Author: Nancy J. Taniguchi
ISBN: 9780806157054
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Publication: October 27, 2016
Imprint: University of Oklahoma Press
Language: English

The California gold rush of 1849 created fortunes for San Francisco merchants, whose wealth depended on control of the city’s docks. But ownership of waterfront property was hotly contested. In an 1856 dispute over land titles, a county official shot an outspoken newspaperman, prompting a group of merchants to organize the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance. The committee, which met in secret, fed biased stories to the newspapers, depicting itself as a necessary substitute for incompetent law enforcement. But its actual purpose was quite different. In Dirty Deeds, historian Nancy J. Taniguchi draws on the 1856 Committee’s minutes—long lost until she unearthed them—to present the first clear picture of its actions and motivations.

San Francisco’s real estate comprised a patchwork of land grants left from the Spanish and Mexican governments—grants that had been appropriated and sold over and over. Even after the establishment of a federal board in 1851 to settle the complicated California claims, land titles remained confused, and most of the land in the city belonged to no one. The acquisition of key waterfront properties in San Francisco by an ambitious politician motivated the thirty-odd merchants who called themselves “the Executives” of the Vigilance Committee to go directly after these parcels. Despite the organization’s assertion of working on behalf of law and order, its tactics—kidnapping, forced deportations, and even murder—went far beyond the bounds of law.

For more than a century, scholars have accepted the vigilantes’ self-serving claims to honorable motives. Dirty Deeds tells the real story, in which a band of men took over a city in an attempt to control the most valuable land on the West Coast. Ranging far beyond San Francisco, the 1856 Vigilance Committee’s activities affected events on the East Coast, in Central America, and in courts throughout the United States even after the Civil War.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The California gold rush of 1849 created fortunes for San Francisco merchants, whose wealth depended on control of the city’s docks. But ownership of waterfront property was hotly contested. In an 1856 dispute over land titles, a county official shot an outspoken newspaperman, prompting a group of merchants to organize the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance. The committee, which met in secret, fed biased stories to the newspapers, depicting itself as a necessary substitute for incompetent law enforcement. But its actual purpose was quite different. In Dirty Deeds, historian Nancy J. Taniguchi draws on the 1856 Committee’s minutes—long lost until she unearthed them—to present the first clear picture of its actions and motivations.

San Francisco’s real estate comprised a patchwork of land grants left from the Spanish and Mexican governments—grants that had been appropriated and sold over and over. Even after the establishment of a federal board in 1851 to settle the complicated California claims, land titles remained confused, and most of the land in the city belonged to no one. The acquisition of key waterfront properties in San Francisco by an ambitious politician motivated the thirty-odd merchants who called themselves “the Executives” of the Vigilance Committee to go directly after these parcels. Despite the organization’s assertion of working on behalf of law and order, its tactics—kidnapping, forced deportations, and even murder—went far beyond the bounds of law.

For more than a century, scholars have accepted the vigilantes’ self-serving claims to honorable motives. Dirty Deeds tells the real story, in which a band of men took over a city in an attempt to control the most valuable land on the West Coast. Ranging far beyond San Francisco, the 1856 Vigilance Committee’s activities affected events on the East Coast, in Central America, and in courts throughout the United States even after the Civil War.

More books from University of Oklahoma Press

Cover of the book Zebulon Pike, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book The Life and Legends of Calamity Jane by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book Brotherhood in Combat by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book All for the King's Shilling by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book The Sand Creek Massacre by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book Drug Politics by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book Coach Tommy Thompson and the Boys of Sequoyah by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book Assault on the Deadwood Stage by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book Red Dirt Women by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book Live from Medicine Park by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book “Strange Lands and Different Peoples” by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book Géneros de Gente in Early Colonial Mexico by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book Public Relations by Nancy J. Taniguchi
Cover of the book Lone Star Mind by Nancy J. Taniguchi
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy