Deck 10: Crime and Punishment

Question 1

During the vigilante turmoil in San Francisco,Supreme Court Justice David S.Terry

A)was assassinated by political rival William Gwin.
B)led the mob that lynched Sam Brannan.
C)stabbed a vigilante policeman.
D)fought a duel with David Broderick.

Answer 1

stabbed a vigilante policeman.

Question 2

Governor J.Neely Johnson refused to take any decisive action to suppress the activities of the San Francisco Vigilance Committee of 1856.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Chilean immigrant Vincent Perez Rosales

A)served two terms as president of the Vigilance Committee.
B)denounced the Hounds as vagrants and drunks.
C)fought to disband Little Chile from around Telegraph Hill.
D)stabbed to death a vigilante policeman.

Answer 3

denounced the Hounds as vagrants and drunks.

Question 4

The San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856 was dominated by

A)Justice David S.Terry.
B)James P.Casey.
C)Broderick's Democratic organization.
D)merchants interested in tax reductions.

Question 5

The record shows that no lawyers whatever were members of the San Francisco Vigilance Committee of 1851.

Question 6

According to the textbook,most people joined the vigilance movement as a result of economic,political,and/or psychological motives.

Question 7

The "Hounds" of San Francisco were suppressed by the Law and Order Party.

Question 8

Richard Henry Dana described vigilantism in San Francisco as

A)unnecessary for the maintenance of law and order.
B)a distasteful violation of the principle of "due process".
C)a peculiar invention of "Anglo-Saxon Republican America".
D)an example of the crude nature of frontier society.

Question 9

According to the textbook,the vigilance movement resulted in

A)a positive example for future democratic government.
B)an increase in tax revenues for municipal services.
C)an appalling record of due process violations.
D)a major reduction in the crime rate.

Question 10

The murder rate in California during the gold rush was

A)17 times higher than the national rate of recent years.
B)considerably lower than the current rate.
C)about the same as it is today.
D)exceeded during later periods in the history of "peacetime America."

Question 11

The first California committee of vigilance emerged in

A)Sacramento.
B)Los Angeles.
C)Dry Diggings.
D)San Francisco.

Question 12

According to the textbook,the vigilante execution of the Mexican woman known as Juanita at Downieville was

A)justified by the murder she had committed.
B)a rare example of "due process" in gold rush California.
C)an example of the need for vigilantism in the mines.
D)motivated by her ethnicity.

Question 13

Which of the following statements about the San Francisco Committee of 1851 is FALSE?

A)One of its principal founders was Sam Brannan.
B)It consisted mainly of merchants and sea captains.
C)It remained active until 1856.
D)It executed John Jenkins.

Question 14

Which of the following has NOT been emphasized by historians as a motive for vigilantism in California?

A)a strong commitment to preserving "due process" on the lawless California frontier
B)crime control
C)xenophobia and nativism
D)irrational and subconscious feelings of guilt

Question 15

Despite criticisms to the contrary,most defendants in vigilante "trials" were given most of the protections of "due process".

Question 16

The textbook describes the methods of the vigilance committees as

A)parodies of due process.
B)positive examples of "popular justice".
C)procedures necessary to deal with frontier lawlessness.
D)clear evidence of Anglo-Saxon superiority.

Question 17

The immediate cause of the revival of the vigilance movement in San Francisco in 1856 was the sensational shooting of James King of William.

Question 18

The textbook view of vigilantism in 19^th-century California is strongly negative.

Question 19

While vigilantism was clearly present in San Francisco and Los Angeles,there is no evidence to indicate that it spread to other parts of California during the 1850s.

Question 20

Sam Brannan

A)was a major opponent of vigilantism.
B)did more then anyone else to instigate vigilantism in San Francisco.
C)was nearly executed by the vigilantes of Los Angeles.
D)strongly opposed the actions of the 1856 San Francisco Committee of Vigilance.

Question 21

Study of the crime rate before and after the vigilance movement of 1856 shows that the vigilantes did not bring about a reduction in crime after they took over the city of San Francisco.

Question 22

James P.Casey and Charles Cora were rival leaders of the San Francisco Law and Order Party.

Question 23

Explain the formation and actions of the vigilance committees outside of San Francisco.Note especially the motives and actions of the residents of Downieville in 1851.

Question 24

What were the psychological,political,economic,and social factors which contributed to the emergence of vigilantism in early American California?

Question 25

Compare the San Francisco Vigilance Committees of 1851 and 1856.Who were the leaders and what were the accomplishments of each? Was either or both of them justified? Explain.