Conflict + Tension Pt 1 (Billy, Wyatt, Johnson) Flashcards
What were the factors that caused lawlessness in the West? (8)
-Poverty (many people struggled to make a living making stealing hard to resist)
-Conflict over resources (there were conflicts between ranchers and homesteaders, big ranchers and small ranchers, settlers and Plains Indians)
-Fear and intimidation (People were afraid to act against powerful gangs )
-Independent attitudes ( men were expected to sort out their own problems, using violence if necessary . Killing in self-defence was accepted by law)
-Geography
-Weak justice system
-Problematic lawmen
-Vigilantes
How did Geography cause lawlessness?
Territories were large areas with lots of places for gangs to hide from justice
How did the weak justice system in the US cause lawlessness?
Governors and law officers were often in the pay of local gangs: they were corrupt. Juries were easily influenced by local royalties
How did vigilantes cause lawlessness?
captured criminals were often at real risk of being taken from lawmen and lynched which undermined the idea of justice and a fair trial
Whats the deal with the Lincoln county war ?
What did Billy want to do after the Lincoln county war ended
(Billy the Kid)
In 1878, Billy became involved in a conflict over resources between cattle baron John Chisum, who had a huge ranch In New Mexico and other settlers and ranchers who were desperate for land.
Opposition to Chisum gathered around a rancher called Murphy and conflict broke out with Billy the Kid on the side of Murphy. Although the war ended after Murphy’s death, Billy swore to kill everyone responsible for the death of a friend in the war.
What happened, when Billy was in new Mexico?
He and his gang had many hideouts across the county and a lot of support from the local Mexican people. The local ranchers appealed to the president to end the violence in New Mexico and a new governor was appointed alongside a new sheriff in New Mexico to bring Billy the Kid to justice: Pat Garrett.
Garrett tracked Billy down, captured him and brought him to court.
What happened when Billy was captured?
The judge sentenced him to death, but the guards at the jail were careless and allowed Billy to make a dramatic, murderous escape; Garrett tracked him again to Fort Sumner and shot him dead in 1881
What were the four main reasons that made Billy the Kid significant in the problems of law and order?
Powerless people: the poor, ethnic minorities, small homesteaders and ranchers liked the way he stood against the big northern businessmen who were dividing up America for themselves
conflict over resources: involved in a war between ranches
Geography: Billy’s gang could easily escape the law and hide in remote areas
Justice system: too weak and corrupt in Lincoln county to deal with Billy and his gang.
How did Earp first get into law enforcement?
in 1874, He became a lawman after facing down rowdy cowboys in Wichita helping the town marshal. He then became a marshal in Dodge City, until 1879, at which point he moved to Tombstone, Arizona Territory.
When did Wyatt Earp move to Tombstone?
1879
Whats the deal with Tombstone?
it was a boomtown and was controlled by rich mine owners and businessmen. Against them was a faction of ranchers and cowboys, mostly from Texas, led by two leading families: the Clantons and the McLaury
Wyatt was hired as a deputy sheriff by the rich businessmen to bring order to the town.
Describe how lawlessness was exacerbated in Tombstone
There were clashes between the Earps (Wyatt and his two brothers) as well as the McLaurys, as the lawmen tried to recover stolen horses and mules.
The cowboys made more trouble through 1881, rustling cattle and recovering stolen horses. Rumours spread that the Earp’s had been involved in the stagecoach robberies albeit Earp and his followers strongly denied this.
What happened between the Earp’s vs Clanton’s and Mclaury’s?
In a gunfight on 26th October 1881, near Tombstone’s OK Corral, the Earp’s killed Tom and Frank McLaury and Bill Clanton. Virgil Earp, the city marshal, claimed that he had intended only to disarm the men, but they opened fire first. Some townspeople doubted this.
Explain how Earp and his brothers were forced to flee Tombstone
Trouble continued, with the cowboys shooting Virgil and killing Morgan Earp in 1882.
Wyatt shot the two men he claimed were responsible for killing his brother.
Opinions turned against the Earps and their violent approach to law-making only caused more conflict and Wyatt and had become a murder with no regard for the law.
Him and his brothers were subsequently forced to flee Tombstone.
Explain how the development of settlements led to a general decrease in lawlessness
Although business rivalries could lead to lawlesness, as in Tombstone, in general lawlesness decreased as settlements developed. This was because people needed their business and family to be secure.
Therefore, residents voted in town governments that passed laws to ban guns within the town limits.
As a result, most towns in the West were peaceful. Even in Tombstone, people felt safe if they stayed out of saloons and gambling halls.
Once-lawless frontiers were now connected to bigger towns and cities by rail and electric telegraph.
This meant that law officers and judges could keep in close contact with their superiors in state government, while federal government had closer links with their marshals.
Consequently, the violence of Billy the Kid and the Earp’s became an exception rather than the rule; residents did not want law officers like the Earp’s and demanded better from their government.
