Project Gutenberg 2003-11-01 Public domain in the USA. 278 O'Meara, James 1825 1903 O'Meara, J. (James) The Vigilance Committee of 1856 Produced by David Schwan. HTML version by Al Haines. "The Vigilance Committee of 1856" by James O'Meara is a historical account written during the mid-19th century. The book focuses on the Vigilance Committee that formed in San Francisco, examining its actions and the political climate that spurred its creation. O'Meara, a journalist with no affiliation to either the Vigilance Committee or its opposition, aims to provide an unbiased narrative that reveals the consequences of mob justice during a time of perceived lawlessness. The opening of the book sets the stage by addressing the shortcomings and biases of previous accounts of the Vigilance Committee, which were often written by supporters or members. O'Meara firmly establishes his position as an impartial observer, recounting the Committee’s emergence in response to public demand for law and order amid rampant crime and corruption. He introduces the Committee's structure, including prominent figures like William T. Coleman, and underscores the organization’s militaristic approach, detailing how it operated outside formal legal frameworks. Through his examination, O'Meara raises questions about justice, authority, and the tension between order and chaos in a rapidly growing city. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 69.7 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856 -- History Vigilance committees -- California -- San Francisco F850.5 Text Category: History - American Category: History - Modern (1750+) Category: Law & Criminology 133395 2025-10-02T11:43:09.261438 text/html 127503 2020-12-28T04:45:17 text/html 130133 2025-10-02T11:43:14.304415 application/epub+zip 131354 2025-10-02T11:43:11.912394 application/epub+zip 114189 2025-10-02T11:43:10.848434 application/epub+zip 245381 2025-10-02T11:43:16.135448 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 236760 2025-10-02T11:43:13.679432 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 203477 2022-09-03T03:43:38.280314 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 123892 2025-10-02T11:43:08.996429 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 123735 2020-12-28T04:45:17 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18763 2025-10-02T11:43:16.256388 application/rdf+xml 13584 2025-10-02T11:43:11.343426 image/jpeg 3353 2025-10-02T11:43:11.094421 image/jpeg 48103 2020-12-28T04:45:17 application/octet-stream application/zip 47357 2020-12-28T04:45:17 application/octet-stream application/zip 128989 2025-10-02T11:43:09.273417 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia