Vigilantism in the United States

Resources

See Also

Crime Causation: Political Theories; Justification: Law Enforcement; Justification: Necessity; Justification: Self-Defense; Victims; Violence.

Further Reading (Books)

Brown, Richard M. “Strain of Violence: Historical Studies of American Violence and Vigilantism.” New York: Oxford University Press, 1975.

Burrows, William E. Vigilante! New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976.

Culberson, William C. Vigilantism: Political History of Private Power in America. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1990.

Dees, Morris, and Corcoran, James. Gathering Storm: America’s Militia Network. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.

Hofstadter, Richard, and Wallace, Michael, eds. American Violence: A Documentary History. New York: Knopf, 1970.

Johnston, Lawrence. “What is Vigilantism?” British Journal of Criminology 36, no. 2 (1996): 220_236.

Kotecha, Kanti C., and Walker, James L. “Vigilantism and the American Police.” In Vigilante Politics. Edited by H. Jon Rosenbaum and Peter C. Sederberg. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1976. Pages 158_172.

Madison, Arnold. Vigilantism in America. New York: Seabury Press, 1973.

Marx, Gary T., and Archer, Dane. “Community Police Patrols and Vigilantism.” In Vigilante Politics. Edited by H. Jon Rosenbaum and Peter C. Sederberg. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1976. Pages 129_157.

Moses, Norton. Lynching and Vigilantism in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography. Guilford, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1997.

Sederberg, Peter C. “Phenomenology of Vigilantism in Contemporary America An Interpretation.” Terrorism 1, no. 3 (1978): Pages 287_305.

Shotland, R. Lance. “Spontaneous Vigilantism: A Bystander Response to Criminal Behavior.” In Vigilante Politics. Edited by H. Jon Rosenbaum and Peter C. Sederberg. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1976. Pages 30_44.

Stern, Kenneth S. A Force Upon the Plain: The American Militia Movement and the Politics of Hate. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

Further Reading (Articles)

The Thief Eats His Shame’: Practice and Power in Nigerian Vigilantism, Africa; January 1, 2008; Pratten, David

WILL MEGAN’S LAW SPUR VIGILANTISM?, The Record (Bergen County, NJ); October 18, 1995; EUGENE KIELY, Trenton Bureau

Introduction the Politics of Protection: Perspectives on Vigilantism in Nigeria, Africa; January 1, 2008; Pratten, David

Don’t Resort to Vigilantism, Gov’t Tells Mindanao Folk, Manila Bulletin; July 20, 2000

VIGILANTISM HAS LEGAL SUPPORT, Post-Tribune (IN); August 18, 1996

Vigilantism and the State in Modern Latin America: Essays on Extralegal Violence., Canadian Journal of Criminology; July 1, 1993; Jayewardene, C.H.S.

VICTIMS OF VIGILANTISM WILL NEVER GET TO REFORM, The Manila Times; April 26, 2006; Andrade, Jeannette I

Accused of Promoting Vigilantism, Detroit’s Top Cop Explains Stance on Second Amendment, The Washington Post; May 21, 2014; Bever, Lindsey

How to fight vigilantism, Jerusalem Post; July 19, 2009

“The Ku Klux Government”: Vigilantism, Lynching, and the Repression of the IWW, Journal for the Study of Radicalism; January 1, 2006; Cohen, Michael

Bruton in clash with SF on vigilantism claim, The Irish Times; March 30, 2002

ANTICRIME GROUP HEAD ALARMED BY VIGILANTISM, The Manila Times; April 24, 2006; Andrade, Jeannette I

China court takes aim at vigilantism on Internet Bloggers had exposed unfaithful husband, International Herald Tribune; December 20, 2008; Mark McDonald The New York Times Media Group

‘HOME ON THE RANGE,’ ANTI-SEMITISM, VIGILANTISM IN GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY, US Fed News Service, Including US State News; November 30, 2011

Police Label Recent Violence As Acts Of Vigilantism, Virgin Islands Daily News; July 24, 2010; CORLISS SMITHEN

The Making of a Lynching Culture: Violence and Vigilantism in Central Texas, 1836-1916.(Book Review), Journal of Social History; December 22, 2005; Vandal, Gilles

Schlesinger Says New Film Doesn’t Endorse Vigilantism, Chicago Sun-Times; January 12, 1996; Jack Garner

If police do not protect the people, they will turn to vigilantism.(News), The Saturday Star (South Africa); December 12, 2009

Rand Paul: ‘Drone Judge’ Betrayed Bill of Rights, Promotes ‘Vigilantism’, Examiner (Washington, D.C.), The; May 21, 2014; Bedard, Paul

Vigilantism is the rage in `Vengeance’, The Boston Globe (Boston, MA); September 29, 1998; Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff

Vigilantism in relation to Crime and Race

Vigilantism is included in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime (1), beginning with: The term vigilantism emanates from the Spanish word for watchman: vigilante , which has its origins in the Latin word for observant, vigil. The most basic definition of a vigilante, or vigilantism, is a person or group of persons who take the law into their own hands. Vigilantism is related to race and crime because Whites and minorities often are its victims. In the 19th and 20th centuries, vigilantes were involved in the lynching of African Americans. More recently, illegal Latina/o immigrants are targeted by vigilantes along the U.S.-Mexico border. This section briefly describes explanations, types, and examples of vigilantism, including cyber-vigilantism. Individuals or groups of people may take the law into their own hands for any of a variety of reasons.

Resources

Notes and References

1. Entry about Vigilantism in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime

See Also