Conflict + Tension Pt 1 (Billy, Wyatt, Johnson) Flashcards

1
Q

What were the factors that caused lawlessness in the West? (8)

A

-Poverty (many people struggled to make a living making stealing hard to resist)
-Conflict over resources (there were conflicts between ranchers and homesteaders, big ranchers and small ranchers, settlers and Plains Indians)
-Fear and intimidation (People were afraid to act against powerful gangs )
-Independent attitudes ( men were expected to sort out their own problems, using violence if necessary . Killing in self-defence was accepted by law)
-Geography
-Weak justice system
-Problematic lawmen
-Vigilantes

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2
Q

How did Geography cause lawlessness?

A

Territories were large areas with lots of places for gangs to hide from justice

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3
Q

How did the weak justice system in the US cause lawlessness?

A

Governors and law officers were often in the pay of local gangs: they were corrupt. Juries were easily influenced by local royalties

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4
Q

How did vigilantes cause lawlessness?

A

captured criminals were often at real risk of being taken from lawmen and lynched which undermined the idea of justice and a fair trial

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5
Q

Whats the deal with the Lincoln county war ?

What did Billy want to do after the Lincoln county war ended

(Billy the Kid)

A

In 1878, Billy became involved in a conflict over resources between cattle baron John Chisum, who had a huge ranch In New Mexico and other settlers and ranchers who were desperate for land.

Opposition to Chisum gathered around a rancher called Murphy and conflict broke out with Billy the Kid on the side of Murphy. Although the war ended after Murphy’s death, Billy swore to kill everyone responsible for the death of a friend in the war.

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6
Q

What happened, when Billy was in new Mexico?

A

He and his gang had many hideouts across the county and a lot of support from the local Mexican people. The local ranchers appealed to the president to end the violence in New Mexico and a new governor was appointed alongside a new sheriff in New Mexico to bring Billy the Kid to justice: Pat Garrett.

Garrett tracked Billy down, captured him and brought him to court.

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7
Q

What happened when Billy was captured?

A

The judge sentenced him to death, but the guards at the jail were careless and allowed Billy to make a dramatic, murderous escape; Garrett tracked him again to Fort Sumner and shot him dead in 1881

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8
Q

What were the four main reasons that made Billy the Kid significant in the problems of law and order?

A

Powerless people: the poor, ethnic minorities, small homesteaders and ranchers liked the way he stood against the big northern businessmen who were dividing up America for themselves

conflict over resources: involved in a war between ranches

Geography: Billy’s gang could easily escape the law and hide in remote areas

Justice system: too weak and corrupt in Lincoln county to deal with Billy and his gang.

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9
Q

How did Earp first get into law enforcement?

A

in 1874, He became a lawman after facing down rowdy cowboys in Wichita helping the town marshal. He then became a marshal in Dodge City, until 1879, at which point he moved to Tombstone, Arizona Territory.

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10
Q

When did Wyatt Earp move to Tombstone?

A

1879

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11
Q

Whats the deal with Tombstone?

A

it was a boomtown and was controlled by rich mine owners and businessmen. Against them was a faction of ranchers and cowboys, mostly from Texas, led by two leading families: the Clantons and the McLaury

Wyatt was hired as a deputy sheriff by the rich businessmen to bring order to the town.

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12
Q

Describe how lawlessness was exacerbated in Tombstone

A

There were clashes between the Earps (Wyatt and his two brothers) as well as the McLaurys, as the lawmen tried to recover stolen horses and mules.

The cowboys made more trouble through 1881, rustling cattle and recovering stolen horses. Rumours spread that the Earp’s had been involved in the stagecoach robberies albeit Earp and his followers strongly denied this.

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13
Q

What happened between the Earp’s vs Clanton’s and Mclaury’s?

A

In a gunfight on 26th October 1881, near Tombstone’s OK Corral, the Earp’s killed Tom and Frank McLaury and Bill 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.

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14
Q

Explain how Earp and his brothers were forced to flee Tombstone

A

Trouble continued, with the cowboys shooting Virgil and killing Morgan Earp in 1882.

Wyatt shot the two men he claimed were responsible for killing his brother.

Opinions turned against the Earps and their violent approach to law-making only caused more conflict and Wyatt and had become a murder with no regard for the law.

Him and his brothers were subsequently forced to flee Tombstone.

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15
Q

Explain how the development of settlements led to a general decrease in lawlessness

A

Although business rivalries could lead to lawlesness, as in Tombstone, in general lawlesness decreased as settlements developed. This was because people needed their business and family to be secure.

Therefore, residents voted in town governments that passed laws to ban guns within the town limits.

As a result, most towns in the West were peaceful. Even in Tombstone, people felt safe if they stayed out of saloons and gambling halls.

Once-lawless frontiers were now connected to bigger towns and cities by rail and electric telegraph.

This meant that law officers and judges could keep in close contact with their superiors in state government, while federal government had closer links with their marshals.
Consequently, the violence of Billy the Kid and the Earp’s became an exception rather than the rule; residents did not want law officers like the Earp’s and demanded better from their government.

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16
Q

What were the factors involved in Wyatt Earp’s law enforcement? (4)

A

conflict over resources: Wyatt Earp and his brothers were involved in a war between businessmen and ranchers

Intimidation and corruption: Earp and his brothers were accused of being involved in stagecoach robberies and of murder - instead of reducing lawlessness in Tombstone they increased it

Law and order: The gunfight at OK corral was criticised as lawlessness. Tombstone residents thought Wyatt should have arrested the suspects

Unreliable lawmen: Earp was arrested 9 times. Law officers often had criminal past

17
Q

When was the Johnson county war and who was it between?

A

1892

it was between cattle barons vs homesteaders and small ranchers

18
Q

How was Wyoming like during the 1870s

A

-only 9000 US citizens lived in Wyoming territory in the early 1870s
-Most of the land was public
-Huge cattle ranches developed, backed by foreign investment
-A few very rich men owned the cattle ranches, they controlled Wyoming.

19
Q

What was the impact of the winter of 1886-7 on Wyoming?

A

-the harsh winter caused terrible losses to the open ranch herds in Wyoming
-the power and influence of the big ranchers were shaken, some went bankrupt
-smaller ranches did better as they could rescue more of the cattle
-the big ranchers believed the smaller ranchers stole cattle from them

20
Q

What caused tensions between big and small ranchers?

A

-the population of Wyoming increased as more homesteaders and small ranchers moved there
-by 1884, 10,000 acres had been homesteaded. Their barbed wire fences were a problem for the big ranches
-the newcomers disliked the way the big ranchers would not share political power
-In Johnson County, ordinary people were tired of the way big ranchers always grabbed everything for themselves, as a result, juries (made up of ordinary people) never convicted people accused of rustling big ranch cattle

21
Q

Why did big ranchers begin to discuss taking the law into their own hands?

A

In Johnson County, ordinary people were tired of the way big ranchers always grabbed everything for themselves, as a result, juries (made up of ordinary people) never convicted people accused of rustling big ranch cattle

22
Q

What is the deal with Ella Watson and Jim Averill?

A

-they were homesteaders who claimed 640 acres of public land that Albert Bothwell used for his cattle
-Jim Averill had written rude letters about Bothwell to the local newspaper and Ella Watson obtained a small herd of cows
-Bothwell accused her of rustling his cows
-Bothwell and his men hanged Watson and Averill and, soon after took back the land

23
Q

Explain how the spring round-up by the small ranchers led to the Johnson county war?

A

As of the result of the killing of Jim Averill and Ella Watson as well as 3 other murders :

-the small ranchers announced that they would hold a spring round-up of cattle earlier than the round-up by the WSGA (big ranchers)
-the WSGA members were sure the small ranchers would use this round up to steal more cattle from them

24
Q

Explain the details of the invasion? (before failure)

A

-WSGA hired 22 gunmen from Texas to invade Johnson county and kill suspected rustlers
-this plan was made with the full knowledge of Wyoming’s governor
-they raised $100,000 to carry it out: most of which was intended for legal fees after the killings were done

25
Q

Why did the invasion fail?

A

because the invade got held up in a shoot- out with Nate champion

-word reached Sheriff Angus of Johnson County, and residents of the county’s main town, Buffalo
-invaders were surrounded and arrested

26
Q

what happened in the trial for the invaders?

A

-WSGA’s $100,000 was used to hire the best Chicago lawyers
-the lawyers got the trial moved to Cheyenne where the Juries favoured the WSGA
the WSGA lawyers delayed the trial until Johnson county could no longer afford to keep the prisoners in jail

-The state government, full of WSGA supporters refused to help with the costs of the trial. The invaders were set free