San Francisco Vigilance Committee of '56

Brief history of San Francisco and its response to lawless conditions. In 1851, the citizens formed a Vigilance Committee to rid the city of criminals. It tried and hung murderers. Again in 1856, stimulated by the murder of James King of William, citizens formed another Vigilance Committee. This Committee tried and hung murders, forced many crimiinals to leave, and confronted state authority before disbanding.