Publications of the Academy of Pacific Coast History. Vol. 1, No. 7; Papers of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1851, I.

Original publisher's beige paper wrappers with black lettering printed on front cover. 6" x 9 1/4." Sixty-nine pages (Pages 287-353), complete. One black-and-white frontispiece illustration, complete. Pages are virtually pristine and intact except for light age toning. Covers are very clean and intact except for slight wear to head and tail of spine, slight creasing along spine, and light age toning. A Fine copy. Part I of a series published by the Academy of Pacific Coast History featuring the printed text of papers dating to 1851 belonging to the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance. Except for the frontispiece (which shows part of the Committee's Constitution), there are no facsimile images of the Committee's papers. Part I features the Constitution of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance from 1851. The Constitution proclaims the purpose of the Committee and includes the names of the Committee's members and the names of those who signed the Constitution. The San Francisco Committee of Vigilance was founded in 1851 as a vigilante militia group who took the law into their own hands after they claimed that elected officials and law enforcement were negligent in keeping the city of San Francisco safe and punishing criminals. The Committee arrested, interrogated, and incarcerated suspects without due process of the law and even executed alleged criminals and forced some elected officials to resign. The Committee formally dissolved that same year in 1851, but members continued to meet into 1853. The Committee made a reappearance in 1856 after the murder of journalist James King by a corrupt politician. The 1856 Committee had about 6,000 members, a significant increase from the about 700 who were part of the 1851 Committee. While the 1851 Committee was primarily concerned with civil crimes, the 1856 Committee sought to punish civil crimes as well as political corruption. The 1856 Committee dissolved the same year of its formation like the first one did but continued its influence in San Francisco when its political party, the People's Party, came to power and controlled the city until 1867. The People's Party eventually became a part of the Republican Party.…