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Lawlessness and law and order in the west - Coggle Diagram
Lawlessness and law and order in the west
lawlessness
Crime examples - new crimes like 'claim jumping', highway robbery, rowdy fights, shootouts, cattle rustling, bank robbery, train robbery, etc.
In places where governments were set up with law enforcing officials, there was still trouble since people (officers) could be corrupted - and then the system would be useless - and smart criminals were also able to lie their way out of situations.
causes
The frontier code - rules of a code that made sure land claiming and the way they lived was fair, and they respected the land as well as each other. They were also loyal.
Easy availability of alcohol - it can also be relatively cheap, depending on where you were. This increased the rowdiness which meant people were more likely to get into fight, duels, or shootouts etc.
Practice of carrying arms - if even minor arguments of confrontations escalated, there would now be an increased chance that it would become lethal.
Absence of family life - many men were lonely because of various reasons like being away from their family to work, to mine, and/or earn money. This could lead them to feel more lonely, or even like they had less responsibility now.
This did not mean that there were no laws in the west but more that the laws were not being enforced strong enough - there were not enough officers to enforce the rules and make sure that the people who broke them were punished.
It was especially hard to enforce laws in new and growing areas since governments had not been established. This meant that violent individuals took advantage of this lowly established system.
law and order
roles
County sheriff - Someone who was elected and was in charge of keeping law and order and collecting taxes in a certain area. They would usually run the country jail, as well as electing their own deputies
City Marshall (or Township Constable) - Also responsible for law enforcement, and ran the city jail. He would appoint his own officers as policemen. His office would be a part of a building with two jail cells.
The militia - This was during the civil war and towns or districts would raise these groups of men to replace the regular army at that time.
The grand jury - They investigated public offences. They could accuse those and then send to go to trial when necessary. The members of the jury were drawn from a lot and in the lot were the names of registered voters in the county.
The courts - These were a Justice Court, a District Court and a Coroner’s Court to investigate any deaths.
Notable lawmen
Wyatt Earp - He was involved in a fight in 1874 and was then arrested. Rowdy cowboys began making trouble and Earl helped the deputy to restore law and order and the mayor offered him a job as a deputy marshal.He moved to Tombstone which had become increasingly lawless and was controlled by rich mine owners and businessmen. The Earps clashed with the Clantons and McLaurys and rumours spread that the Earps had been involved in the stagecoach robberies.
The gunfight at OK Corral - The Earps killed Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. Virgil Earp, the city marshal, claimed that he had intended only to disarm the men, but they opened fire first. Some townspeople doubted this story. Trouble continued and Wyatt shot the two men he claimed were responsible for killing his brother. Opinion turned against the Earps: their violent approach to law-keeping had only caused more conflict. Wyatt had then become a murderer with no concern for the law and him and his brothers then had to flee Tombstone.
What happened to caught criminals - They were thrown into prison until they could be tried by a properly convened court of law. Accused people sometimes waited months for justice due to a lack of federal judges, and their travelling schedules. People also took to lynching people who they believed to be guilty. The situation usually improved once a territory became a state because the state governor could then appoint judges to try offences against state law.