american west Flashcards
what was the state of lawlessness in the 1840s?
the west was still small and migrants had to rely on eachother so lawlessness wasn’t a big problem
how big did a territory have to be to have a sheriff? when was this rule in place?
60,000 people, during the 1840s and 1850s
when did california begin to have problems with law and order? why?
in the 1850s because of the rapid expansion of the gold mining communities
what were the most common crimes in california
claim jumping
salting a claim
drunken violence
racial hatred
what led to an increase in chinese migrants? when did this occur?
1851/1852 due to famine in china
what was the increase in chinese migrants in the early 1850s?
from 2000 migrants in 1851 to 20,000 in 1852
when did the gold run out in california? what did this cause?
1850-1851
this caused unemployment and many miners beginning to work underground, which was a much harder job
the unemployment created disenfranchised men which increased lawlessness
what were the problems with communication in the 1840s-1860s?
news had to travel by horseback and therefore took a long time to reach law enforcement
what were the main causes of crime in san francisco in the early 1850s?
in 1851 crime rates were high in san francisco because of limited law enforcement and an influx of chinese migrants
what did people do in SF to make up for lack of law enforcement?
began vigilante justice groups in 1851. 89 suspects were hanged without trial
when was billy the kid born?
1859
when was the civil war?
1861-1865
why did the civil war cause lawlessness?
deserters would run away and hide out in western territories
who were the Reno Gang?
a group of civil war deserters who carried out train robberies
when did the reno gang’s train robberies occur?
in 1866, 1867 and 1868
how much money did the reno gang’s fourth robbery produce?
$96,000
when was the pinkerton agency set up?
1850
what was the pinkerton agency?
a private law enforcement agency used to track down outlaws and bring them to justice. they were far more reliable than actual law enforcement.
why did the railroad have an impact on lawlessness?
once frontier towns were connected to bigger towns by rail and telegraph, lawlessness fuelled by isolation decreased
when did abilene hire wild bill as the town marshal?
1871
why was wild bill fired as abilene’s town marshal?
although he succeeded in scaring the cowboys into submission, he spend the majority of his time drinking in saloons
after wild bill was fired from his position as marshal of abilene, what did the mayor decide to to in order to keep law and order?
ban the cowboys
when was the great die up?
1886-1887
what was the great die up?
a harsh winter killed off many of the cattle living on the plains
what did ranchers do after the great die up? what did this cause?
they used barbed wire to fence of their land and protect their remaining cattle. this caused tension between them and the homesteaders as it stopped the homesteaders from accessing water
what were the beef bonanza years?
the cattle ranchers trying to control the beef market
what did ranchers do to try to control the beef market?
they bought land which homesteaders were living on to raise their cattle
they killed sheep and ruined sheep farmers to stop the lamb market advancing
they bought land with water supplies to stop farmers and homesteaders accessing water
what impact did the homestead act have on lawlessness? when was this the case?
from 1862 onwards, families began buying 160 acres using the homestead act. families were far more stable and law abiding than earlier frontier men and so lawlessness decreased
