Overview of Law and order As people settled on the plains new towns and settlements were created. These settlements had no effective government and no real system of law enforcement. In these conditions many violent men and women took advantage and broke the law for personal gains. Even when systems were set up they were not always effective, law enforcers were corrupt and people often took law into their own hands. These issues make up Law and order in the West.

Overview of Law and order There are several key issues to look at when considering Law and Order. At the end of your revision you should be able to talk about the following issues: the reasons for lawlessness in the early settlements the role of government and local communities in tacking lawlessness the role of individuals the conflict between ranchers and homesteaders and the Johnson Country War

Watch the following PowerPoint and answer the following questions? Q1) Why were there problems of Law and order in the west? Q2) What crimes were committed in the west? Q3) How violent were Cow Towns? Q4) Who were the Famous Law Breakers? Q5) Who were the Law enforcers?

Problems in the West occurred because of many factors…

Factor 1: Geographical factors

The West was a vast area and transport was very slow and difficult. central government was located hundreds of miles away in Washington. This made it hard to enforce law and order.

Factor 2: Pace of Change

The new mining towns and cow towns sprang up quickly and the government did not have enough properly trained law enforcement officers.

Factor 3: Politics

The new mining and cow towns that sprang up so quickly were particularly lawless in the early years.

Factor 4: Social factors

There were may potential causes of conflict between the different ethnic groups: blacks, Chinese, Europeans, Indians, Mexicans and settlers from the eastern USA. They all had different backgrounds, world views and ambitions.

Factor 5: End of the Civil War

After the Civil War ( ) many ex-soldiers roamed the west, unable to readjust to civilian life, bearing grudges and ready to settle old scores.

Factor 6: Values and Attitudes

There was a strong individualism in the West. Everyone believed they should look after themselves and sort out their own problems.

Most Westerners thought it was their right to carry a gun, so this meant that an argument could end in a shooting. If you shot a man in self-defence, then you had not broken the law, as long as the other man was armed.

Factor 7: Economic factors

There were many potential sources of conflict between the different economic groups: cattlemen and homesteaders, cowboys and townspeople, miners and mountain men, for example.

Crimes in the West took many forms, and where a result of ‘rough and ready’ rule and opportunities to benefit from crime, the West also attracted many outlaws…

Crimes in the West included…

Crime 1: Bank robbery

Crime 2: Cattle Rustling

Crime 3: Claim Jumping

Late arrivals tried to steal the land the others had already claimed. When gold mining first started, the nearest forces of law and order were a long way away.

Crime 4: Fence Cutting

At this time the cattle barons (large ranchers) were trying to avoid being cut off from water or forced out together by homesteaders and small ranchers.

5: Horse Stealing-Horses were extremely valuable as they were essential for survival on the Plains. For the Indians horse stealing was an essential part of their way of live: it was one way in which warriors gained honour.

Crime 6: Shootings

Shootings were common and it is almost impossible to tell how many men were killed in the early days of the West.

Whatever the truth, some men became famous gunfighters, such as Billy the Kid, John Wesley Hardin and Wild Bill Hickok.

Crime 7: Racial Attacks

Aside from ignorance and simple racism, attacks on Chinese, blacks, Indians and Mexicans were motivated by job competition.

Crime 9: Train Robbery

Trains, with coaches carrying gold and cash, were easy targets for robbers, and gangs attacked them regularly. Track ran for hundreds of kilometres across open plains far from towns.

The West had vast open spaces. Individual travellers and stage-coaches could be held up well away from the towns and the forces of law and order.

It was easy to stop a train and rob it without interference from the forces of law and order. Railroad companies strengthened doors and employed armed guards. Later, they built reinforced coaches and even attached ‘posse vans’ full of armed guards to their trains.

The early mining towns were tough, lawless places, run by the men with the fastest guns, where violence was commonplace.

Claim-jumping was the most common crime and often led to murder. Far from federal law officers and lacking state law, the miners set up their own courts, with dispensed rough justice and were often corrupt.

The cattle drives made towns like Abilene rich, but also brought problems of law and order. With the cattle came the cowboys. At the end of the 1600km drive they were paid their wages.

After months on the townless trail and with money in their pockets they expected to celebrate. Trigger- happy gangs of high-spirited cowboys, desperate to let off steam after the long drive, created chaos.

Desperate for relaxation and entertainment, they gave the cow towns, particularly Dodge City, appalling reputations for gambling, womanising and gunfights.

They spent their time in the saloons, at the gambling tables and at the brothels.

By 1870, Abilene was large enough to have some form of local government. Officials stopped guns being brought into the town. In 1872 cowboys themselves were banned.

The lawbreakers, the Outlaws, the bad guys…

Billy the Kid ( )

Jesse James ( )

Belle Starr ( )

Reasons: Values and Attitudes End of the civil war Geographical factors Pace of change Politics Social factors Economic factors Law and Order in 180 seconds Famous Lawbreakers: Billy the Kid Jesse James Belle Starr Crimes Included: Horse Stealing Bank Robbery Shootings Racial attacks Train Robbery Fence cutting Claim Jumping Cattle Rustling Famous Law Enforcers: US government: US MARSHALLS Deputy Marshalls Town Marshalls Sheriffs Cow Towns: Dodge City Abilene (banned cowboys) Vigilante Groups Wyatt Earp-Law Enforcer Johnson County War- Example of dispute between Homesteaders and Ranchers

Law and Order in the West ( ) Johnson Country War

Johnson County War. Watch the following PowerPoint and make notes on Johnson county war. Background Flashpoint Tension Grows War Outcome

The 1870s Background to the Johnson County War…

In the 1870s, cattle barons set up huge ranches in Johnson County.

They formed the Wyoming Stock Growers Association to protect their interests.

Politicians, such as the state governor, were members, and the WSGA became powerful.

The 1870s Tension grows…

In the 1880s, cattle barons had problems: Ranching was in danger because of overgrazing, drought and falling beef prices. Homesteaders and small ranchers were settling, despite attempts to block their access to water. Cattle rustlers had always taken ‘maverick’ calves from the ranchers’ herds.

1892 The flashpoint…

Smaller ranchers planned a combined round-up of their cattle on the open range. The cattle barons feared theirs would be rustled.

They planned an armed invasion of Johnson County.

The cattle barons:  got the support of politicians  received a case of guns from the acting governor  hired 24 gunfighters, which they named ‘The Regulators’  allegedly drew up a death list of 70 names  received a train from the Union Pacific Railroad company to carry the invasion force  brought newspaper reporters

1892 The ‘War’…

The Regulators cut the telegraph wires to Johnson County.

They headed for Buffalo. On the way they captured the KC ranch, where they captured two visiting fur trappers and killed Nick Ray.

1 BuffaloKC Ranch Arrived by Railway

Nate Champion held them off all day until they burned him out of his cabin. While he held them off, the alarm was raised in Buffalo.

The Sheriff of Buffalo gathered a large force of local men.

The invaders retreated to the TA ranch. The Sheriff and his men surrounded them.

1 BuffaloKC Ranch Arrived by Railway TA Ranch

One invader escaped to get help. The cattle barons persuaded the US cavalry (army) to rescue them.

The US cavalry persuaded the local men to stop shooting, and arrested the Regulators.

For their own safety, the Regulators were put in prison, well away from Johnson County.

The Outcome…

The Regulators were put on trial, but the cattle barons got the court case moved to Cheyenne.

Buffalo Cheyenne

The people of Johnson County had to pay to feed and house the prisoners, and ran out of money.

The case was dropped. The Regulators went free. The trappers who witnessed the murders of Ray and Champion disappeared! The ‘War’ marked the end of the open range in Johnson County. The cattle barons got bad publicity, and the Wyoming Stock Growers Association closed down. Their influence on local affairs decreased.

The smaller ranchers were able to get on with their lives.

Johnson County War. Watch the following PowerPoint and make notes on Johnson county war. Background Flashpoint Tension Grows War Outcome