Montana Vigilantes 1863–1870

Gold,Guns and Gallows

Mark C. Dillon

• Publisher: Utah State University Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9781607325291
  9780874219197
• eBook ISBN:
  9780874219203
• Topic: Historia
• Subtopic: Historia de Norteamérica

 Historians and novelists alike have described the vigilantism that took root in the gold-mining communities of Montana in the mid-1860s, but Mark C. Dillon is the first to examine the subject through the prism of American legal history, considering the state of criminal justice and law enforcement in the western territories and also trial procedures, gubernatorial politics, legislative enactments, and constitutional rights.

Using newspaper articles, diaries, letters, biographies, invoices, and books that speak to the compelling history of Montana's vigilantism in the 1860s, Dillon examines the conduct of the vigilantes in the context of the due process norms of the time. He implicates the influence of lawyers and judges who, like their non-lawyer counterparts, shaped history during the rush to earn fortunes in gold.

Dillon's perspective as a state Supreme Court justice and legal historian uniquely illuminates the intersection of territorial politics, constitutional issues, corrupt law enforcement, and the basic need of citizenry for social order. This readable and well-directed analysis of the social and legal context that contributed to the rise of Montana vigilante groups will be of interest to scholars and general readers interested in Western history, law, and criminal justice for years to come.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Figures
• The Montana Vigilantes, 1863–1870
• Preface
• 1 All that Glitters Is Not Gold
• 2 The Rise and Dominance of the “Fourteen-Mile City” at Alder Gulch
• 3 The First Factor Leading to Vigilantism in the Region
• 4 The Second Factor Leading to Vigilantism in the Region
• 5 The Third Factor Leading to Vigilantism in the Region
• 6 The Murder of Nicholas Tiebolt and the Trial and Execution of George Ives
• 7 Formation of the Vigilance Committee
• 8 The Hanging Spree Begins
• 9 The Bloody Drama Moves from Bannack to Virginia City
• 10 The Establishment of a Territorial Court at Alder Gulch
• 11 Vigilantism Migrates North to Helena, 1865–70
• 12 The Power of Reprieve and the Execution of James Daniels
• 13 Normative Due Process and Trial Procedure in the Criminal Cases of 1860s Montana
• 14 Due Process and Procedure
• 15 Due Process and Procedure
• 16 Postmortem Echoes of Times Past
• 17 Conclusion
• Appendix A Organic Act of the Territory of Montana, with Amendment
• Appendix B Bylaws of the Vigilance Committee
• Appendix C Petition for the Reprieve and Pardon of James Daniels
• Appendix D Reprieve of James Daniels
• Appendix E Military Procedures for Execution by Hanging
• Appendix F Petition for Pardon of Henry Plummer, May 21, 1993
• Acknowledgments
• Bibliography
• About the Author
• Index