Another common problem in towns was the gender imbalance. In the newly established areas, there were lots more men than there were women. This made it difficult for women, for those who were not married found it very difficult to get work, harder even than the men, as the few jobs that there were usually occupied by men, as they were considered more able and reliable.
Other jobs available to women were also more difficult, like farming, as they were simply not strong enough to work the land on their own. Also, with a lack of women in the towns, they often faced abuse from single men, which could sometimes turn nasty, in the forms of rape and physical abuse.
Plus, a large group of men together that are bored, frustrated and often drunk is always a recipe for disaster, as arguments and fights are often likely.
Other people who found it hard to settle in the new towns were anyone who was a minority, either by religion or nationality. The population in these new towns was made up completely from immigrants from other countries. This caused there to be people in the towns with varied beliefs and practices, which could sometimes cause friction and often problems for those living there.
A good example would be the Mormons. As part of their religion, they practised polygamy, which involved having more than one wife. In the town of Illinois, the non-Mormons did not agree with this, and this caused discrimination against the Mormons, which eventually led to them having to flee.
All this was made worse by the lack of intervention by the government. It is very unlikely that the government would have let these people be treated so badly, but with the towns being so spread out, and no other means of communication, such as post or rail services set up, they simply were unable to find out what was going on in the towns.
All these factors made living in the newly established towns of the West very difficult indeed, and some people fled the towns to live in the country, or attempted to return to the East. Those who did not have the strength or the money to leave the towns sometimes just gave up hope, and gradually withered away, or, if they were able, committed suicide.
Question 2 – Why were towns in the West often violent, lawless places?
In the newly set up towns in the West, among all the problems and hardships of living there, things were made much worse by the unsafety of the whole place. These towns were often violent, lawless places, and most people felt insecure and at threat living there, even while in their own homes.
Fights often broke out in places where people were close together, such as saloons, and as many people were very poor, incidents involving money often cause trouble, such as disagreements in shops, or sometimes even bank or train robberies.
These troubles sometimes escalated, and it was not uncommon for riots to break out, or for someone to be killed, sometimes accidentally during other, more petty struggles, or sometimes for money, or in revenge for an earlier disagreement. In mining towns things were especially bad. Many people were extremely angry about not being successful in finding gold, and most people were very poor. This led to problems, such as Claim Jumping, where someone would claim someone’s mine as theirs. Robbery was also common, and disagreements occasionally led to deaths.
The reasons behind violence cannot be wholly explained, as there were many causes for it, from simple disagreements, to vengeance for murder. And sometimes there was not a reason at all; some people were naturally violent, or did it because they had nothing better to do.
But definitely one of the largest contributors to violence was alcohol. Many people were depressed, for many reasons. Life in general was very hard, there was not much food, work or money. Many people felt bad at leaving family back in the West, or others had lost family to the illnesses of the West that they did not know how to cure. So, on a regular basis people, usually men would go to the local saloon to drown their sorrows. Lots of drunk, angry men, all congregating in one place is bound to cause trouble, and often did. Small disagreements often escalated as more and more people joined in and sometimes turned into a huge town-wide brawl before it were stopped.
But drunkenness was not the only cause of violence in the saloons. As most people were poor (and the rich greedy), to try to gain a bit extra gold, men often took part in card games, or similar gambling games, with lots of money at stake. Trouble could arise from people losing, cheating, or sometimes simply gambling away all their money, and getting angry. Gambling related fights, and even murders were definitely not unheard of in these towns.
The whole white population of the West was made up of immigrants from all over the world. Therefore, there were lots of different races, religions and cultures all living in close proximity. These different practices and beliefs could often cause discrimination and dispute.
There was a difference in language, so there were often misunderstandings between people, such as a person thinking someone else had insulted them, when really it was just a mistranslation on either of their parts. Things like this could lead to arguments, or possibly more serious encounters.
Religion was also a problem. Some religious practices, especially those others had not heard of before, could possibly worry or frighten them. In some cases, this could lead to the person whose practice was not like being discriminated against, or them being executed for being a witch or something similar.
Not only was the clash of background a problem, the clash of attitude also made the towns a violent place. Some people were hardworking innocent people, and their attitude didn’t really cause a problem, but others did. Some people were greedy. These people could be driven to rob people or properties for more money or possessions. They might also take part in gambling, and get into disputes there.
Others were lazy, and wanted to not have to do a job. These people might also steal, or partake in other crimes, such as Claim Jumping. This was bad enough, but violence could break out if they were caught, or when the person realised they had been robbed, they may get very angry, or drunk (or both) and start trouble then, to take out their frustration.
They were some causes for the violence in the town, but they do not explain the lawlessness. The reason a lot of them were allowed to happen were because of the lack of law, but why was there none?
These new towns were spread across the Plains. They were mostly built in the mid 1800s, so long distance communication was not very widely spread. Therefore, the US government, thousands of miles away in the Original States, had little or no information about the towns that were being built. Because of this, they did not have any intervention with the towns.
Therefore, these newly-set up areas had no official police force, not court houses, no judges, and therefore, no law. Some, more organised towns elected their own sheriffs, but these unofficial figures of authority were not accepted by all, and sometimes they were not listened to. In other areas, they did nothing, and crime, or what would have been crime if there were laws, ruled the areas. There were lots of robberies, murders, and groups of known criminals often had the say of what went on, as everyone was to scared to do otherwise.
But, in some, vigilante groups reigned. These were groups of people that decided that they were the authoritative group in the town, and they were in charge of enforcing law. In some cases this worked, and the town had a fully functional justice system, and the lawlessness, and therefore the violence, subsided. But other areas, the vigilantes were not so fair, and the situation worsened. In some cases, the vigilantes would be biased, and use their authority to favour their friends and themselves, like arresting a rival shop owner, or convicting a someone they did not like for a crime they didn’t commit. They were also open to bribes, and would sometimes do the above mentioned things for valuables, gold or a favour.
The vigilantes could often be unfair in another way too. Very few towns had a prison, so there was no way of detaining someone who had been arrested, fairly or not. Because of this, the vigilantes would often give on the spot death sentences. This made it both easier to dispose of the criminals, or, if the person was innocent, not give anyone time to find out. This was often unjust, as there was no time for a trial, giving of evidence, and therefore a fair trial.
As if all these things did not make the towns bad enough, there was one invention which added no end to both the violence and the lawlessness in the towns: Guns. When these were introduced, many people bought them, to protect themselves from the current violence and lawlessness. It was presumed by most that guns would put an end to the muggings, robberies and killings, as people would be able to protect themselves, but in most cases, this was not true. A lot of people did not have it in them to shoot another man, even if it was in their best interest, so a lot, if no all, of the time, guns made things a lot worse. Robbing banks was much easier, muggings were easier as well, because the criminal had a very plausible threat if the victim refused.
For example, Jesse James and Billy the Kid are not fictional characters, made up for use in film. They were real life criminals in the West who used guns to their distinct advantage. They were both very quick shooters, and used their skills to both rob banks or trains, and often avoid capture by the law enforcers.
Murders also became more common with the introduction of guns, as it was much easier, and took much less bottle than before, as pulling a trigger is a lot easier than stabbing someone. Also, accidental deaths, or people killing someone, or themselves, in a moment of anger was now more common with the introduction of these weapons.
So the law system, even if it was in place, was often unsuccessful. This meant that often somebody could do something that should be illegal, and not get stopped, or if they did, not punished. This made the towns lawless places. But the crimes sometimes involved assault, fights, or other physical attacks. So, the towns were often violent and lawless, and often violent because they were lawless.
Question 3 - Analyse the part played by vigilantes and women in dealing with the problems of living in early towns in the West.
Although in stories, movies and books, most accounts of the Wild West centre heavily around the lives of men, women were equally as, possible more, important to life in the early towns than men.
Although in the household it was mostly men who went out to work to get the money to feed the family, went to markets to buy the food, and protected his wife and children, the woman of the house also had many important roles, that helped cope with life in the towns.
While the men were out working, the women were at home, doing jobs that were just as important. They were cleaning the house, so the husband didn’t have to come home to a dirty house, or none of them got ill from rats other pests that liked dirty conditions. They also had to clean the clothes, so that everyone had something to wear. The woman also had to do maintenance on the clothes, and other household items because there was not always the place or the money to just replace it.
If a child or husband got sick or injured, it was the woman’s duty look after them. First they would have to treat the actual injury or illness, with whatever was available to them. This was often very difficult, as complex cures and things were not readily available in these towns, and not many had doctors they could turn to and ask for help. It was often the intuition of the woman who identified the problem and how to treat it that saved the life of the person she was dealing with.
Then, after they had treated their child or spouse, they then had to nurse them back to full health, by bringing them food, changing their dressings if required, and generally making sure they were alright. At the same time, they had to manage the other responsibilities they had, such as the cooking and cleaning, and, if it was the husband who was ill, she would often have to do the jobs he was unable to do as well.
A lot of towns lacked a school, or teachers that were able to provide the children with an education, so the mothers also adopted this role. They would be responsible for teaching their own children simple reading and writing, if they knew how, as well as other useful skills. If they had a daughter, they would be taught sewing, cooking, cleaning, and other jobs they would have to do when they grew up. If they had a son, they would be taught the kinds of things they would have to do as an adult, but as the man of the house was often out at work, this job also fell onto the mother. She would have to teach her son simple carpentry, farm work, if they did not live in the centre of the town, and simple traits that would help him if he followed his father’s line of work.
Although women’s role in the household was very vital to dealing with the problems of living in a town, their helpfulness was much more evident not in the home, but in society as a whole.
As described above, women dealt with the problem of illness that often occurred in these new towns, as the conditions were quite different to anything they had experienced before. It was quite common, and expected, for a woman to do this for her close family, and that often proved difficult enough. But sometimes, the women did an even more important job that helped tackle the problems of town life. If the town was lucky enough to have a hospital, women would staff it, as they were considered better at listening to people, and making them feel comfortable, whereas men were more solitary. This caused the same disturbances to everyday life as caring for their own did, only it was everyday of the week, but the women rarely complained, and helped save lives, often with little thanks, and very poor wages.
Even those who did not work in a hospital showed just as much want to help the sick, for when there was an outbreak of disease, such as the plague, a temporary hospital would be set up in the town hall, or church. When this happened, there was usually a rush of women eager to do whatever they could, aware how much disruption it would cause to their lives.
Also, just as they taught their own children, if there was a school in the town, these were also staffed by women. Here they would spend long days teaching children what all they could, as they were given no training, in very poor conditions, with a huge lack of resources, such as text books and writing implements.
The reason they were given these jobs were not only because it linked in closely with the task they already had to do, but it was also because women were considered to be much better than men at communicating with people they didn’t know. A woman was deemed more able to persuade a troublesome child to behave itself, and an older person was considered more likely to confide their problem in a woman. Women were also seen as more patient, and caring than men.
These traits, and the communicative environment they worked in, as a pose to the more solitary jobs of men, also had advantages in other ways, that made dealing with life easier.
By working in an atmosphere where they met lots of people, and because their communication skills were so good, women could often be used to set up social links, which could be beneficial for the family. For example, a woman working in a hospital could treat a shop worker for an injured leg. While visiting him everyday, she might get talking to him, and they could become friends. Then, her and her family could get discounted goods from the man’s store, in return for her help.
But it was not just for her family that women could set up social links, they could also be used to aid the community. Being more understanding, they may have settled differences between two different religious groups, bringing peace, and mutual respect to the area. Or, the women could be sent to communicate with women of other towns; both the women working together may be able to set up trade routes, or other agreements where the towns would worked together to help themselves and each other.
So, it would appear that the history of the Wild West is a little distorted. It is often shown that only men did important work, but this is obviously untrue. Women did jobs just as difficult as men, but, unlike the men, their jobs were often more important to society than those of their male counterparts. Instead of selling beer, looking after people’s money, or breeding cattle, women, as well as doing all their household chores did things like save peoples lives and educate the children. So, it is obvious that women did do many things to help deal with the problems of living in a new town, maybe more so, definitely less self-orientated, than men.
Not only did they deal with simple household problems, such as pests and food, but they also dealt with wider, more long-term issues that would be beneficial to generations to come.
Besides women, there was another group of people who are often underestimated for the good they did for the West. Many people only know them as a pack of villainous, murdering criminals, who abused their seized authority to get rid of anyone they didn’t like, but this was not always the case.
In the town, sometimes a group of people would get so annoyed with the lawlessness and anarchy that reigned over their area that they decided to do something about it; they formed Vigilante Groups. The definition of a Vigilante Group is “an organised group of citizens who take upon themselves the protection of their district, properties etc.” And this immediately shows, surely, that they played a great part in dealing with the problems of the West?
In most part this is true, the vigilantes of many towns did do a great job. As mentioned before, there was no government appointed officials to oversee the enforcement of law, so the areas could often become anarchical if fights got out of hand, and robberies and murder were not uncommon. Vigilantes were people who did not like this, so appointed themselves as law enforcers, and decided that, as no one else was there to do it, it was their responsibility to punish the wrong-doers.
When the vigilantes caught someone who had committed a crime, they did not take it lightly. There were no prisons in the towns, so criminals would often be put to death straight away. Or, even if they couldn’t catch the criminal themselves, they could still punish them; sometimes they would torch the home or shop of someone if they couldn’t punish them themselves.
Not only did the vigilantes directly crack down on crime, and make the towns a safer place in that way, they also helped deal with the problems of living in the new towns in another, more indirect way.
The vigilantes brutal, zero tolerance approach to criminals, as well as their public hangings, made them an unmissable presence in the towns. In any town with a vigilante group every citizen knew about them, and had witnessed at least one of their actions. They had a very big impression on the towns they operated in.
This benefited people in two ways. Firstly, as everyone was aware they were there, those who had no reason to fear them, assuming the vigilantes were fair, could feel safer, as they knew there was a force out there to protect them, and keep them, and they possessions safe.
It also helped because as well as those who had nothing to worry about knew they were there so did those who had committed crimes. The public execution of the criminals they caught not only had an effect on those who were caught; if they were not killed, they were unlikely to reoffend, it also had an effect on the would-be criminals. The threat of execution put many people off committing a crime, and this deterrent reduced the crime levels even further.
One town they did play a big part in was the mining town of Bannack. The citizens of this town were being terrorised by a group of highwaymen who carried out many robberies and murders. Soon, it became apparent that Henry Plummer, the elected sheriff of the town was a member of this gang, but with no lawmen, there was nothing the townsmen could legally do about it. Instead they set up a vigilante group. Plummer tried to flee, but was quickly caught, and hanged in 1864
So, in some places vigilantes did cause more trouble than they put a stop to. Sometimes the groups were corrupt, and simple used their authority to execute their business or social rivals, or simply killed people who didn’t agree with them. Also, because of their harsh punishments, there was no time for a trial, and people were, undoubtedly, killed when they had done nothing wrong. But even so, their presence was still felt throughout the town, and even when they were not entirely fair, the prospect of death would still have stopped many would-be crimes.
So, although they are often underestimated for their contribution to early town life, it is undoubted that, although they did not do some things their counterparts did, like go out to market and purchase food, or hold trials, there is no doubting that the things they did do, like educating the children, or enforcing the little law that there was, did play a major role in dealing with the problems of living in the early towns of the West.
