Abolition and fugitive slaves 's arrest Abolitionists met at
Faneuil Hall in the 1830s and formed the Committee of Vigilance and Safety to "take all measures that they shall deem expedient to protect the colored people of this city in the enjoyment of their lives and liberties." The abolitionist
New York Committee of Vigilance and
Vigilant Committee of Philadelphia were also established in the 1830s and assisted fugitive slaves and the
Underground Railroad. Between 1850 and 1860, following the passage of the
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, professional
bounty hunters began swarming through Northern states searching for
missing enslaved people. In response, vigilance committees were set up in several places in the North to assist the escaped enslaved people. For example,
Gerrit Smith called the
Fugitive Slave Convention of 1850 "on behalf of the New York State Vigilance Committee." Many such committees were integral parts of the
Underground Railroad.
In the American West In the
Western United States, before and after the
Civil War, various vigilance committees formed with the stated purpose of maintaining
law and order and administer
summary justice where governmental law enforcement was inadequate. In reality, those high in the social hierarchy often used them to attack maligned groups, including recent immigrants and racial or ethnic groups. In newly settled areas, vigilance committees promised security and mediated land disputes. In ranching areas, they ruled on ranch boundaries, registered brands, and protected cattle and horses. In the mining districts, they defended claims, settled claim disputes, and attempted to protect miners and other residents. In
California, some residents formed vigilance committees to take control of officials whom they considered to be corrupt. This occurred in
San Francisco during the 1856 trial of Charles Cora (
Belle Cora's husband) and James Casey.
Other United States vigilance committees • In 1835, after a
kangaroo court "conviction", a vigilance committee in
Nashville, Tennessee was responsible for the public whipping of
Rev. Amos Dresser for the crime of distributing
abolitionist publications (which he claimed he did not do). The names of all 62 members of the self-appointed vigilance committee were published by the
American Anti-Slavery Society, annotating some as "Elder in the Presbyterian Church" and the like. •
Philadelphia Vigilance Committee, 1840s and 1850s: abolitionists who worked to subvert the
Fugitive Slave Act and helped escaped enslaved people, including
Henry Box Brown •
Jackson County, Indiana Vigilance Committee (a.k.a. the Scarlet Mask Society or Southern Indiana Vigilance Committee), 1868: captured and hanged ten members of the
Reno Gang •
Know-Nothing Riot, 1850s,
New Orleans, Louisiana •
San Francisco Committee of Vigilance, 1851 and 1856,
San Francisco, California • San Luis Obispo Vigilance Committee, 1850s,
San Luis Obispo, California: known to have hanged six
Californios and engaged in battles around the area •
3-7-77 Vigilance Committee, 1860s–1870s,
Virginia City, Montana •
Anti Horse Thief Association, 1860s,
Fort Scott, Kansas •
Baldknobbers, 1880s, Taney, Christian, and Greene Counties,
Missouri •
Knights of Liberty, 1917–1918, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California ==English vigilance committees==