Description:
No other state matches Missouri for its reign of vigilante justice during the nineteenth century. Missouri was populated by patriotic war veterans, then divided by the Civil War, and as the Gateway to the West, gathered an ever-changing mix of cultures, races, and political factions. With new lands opening for settlement, and a fledgling system of law enforcement, the people themselves were compelled to invent laws and punish transgressors. Lawmen opposed vigilantes, and yet at times were compelled to cooperate or adopt their methods. Along with the Mormon Wars, Border Wars, Baldknobbers, and Bushwhackers, Missouri spawned countless stories of individual and mob violence that finally ended at the turn of the century with advancing technology and the people s enduring insistence on decency and peace.
The second in the Missouri Vigilantes series following Johnston s 2011 book "The Mack Marsden Murder Mystery: Vigilantism or Justice?"
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Brief description: Joe Johnston is a writer, artist, and songwriter, whose articles have appeared widely in history magazines. He is a native of Missouri and the author of The Mack Marsden Murder Mystery: Vigilantism or Justice? and Necessary Evil: Settling Missouri with a Rope and Gun, both published by the Missouri History Museum Press.