A surprising account of frontier law that challenges the image of the Wild West. In the absence of state authority, Gold Rush miners crafted effective government by the people--but not for all the people.
Gold Rush California was a frontier on steroids: 1,500 miles from the nearest state, it had a constantly fluctuating population and no formal government. A hundred thousand single men came to the new territory from every corner of the nation with the sole aim of striking it rich and then returning home. The circumstances were ripe for chaos, but as Andrea McDowell shows, this new frontier was not nearly as wild as one would presume. Miners turned out to be experts at self-government, bringing about a flowering of American-style democracy--with all its promises and deficiencies.
The Americans in California organized and ran meetings with an efficiency and attention to detail that amazed foreign observers. Hundreds of strangers met to adopt mining codes, decide claim disputes, run large-scale mining projects, and resist the dominance of companies financed by outside capital. Most notably, they held criminal trials on their own authority. But, mirroring the societies back east from which they came, frontiersmen drew the boundaries of their legal regime in racial terms. The ruling majority expelled foreign miners from the diggings and allowed their countrymen to massacre the local Native Americans. And as the new state of California consolidated, miners refused to surrender their self-endowed authority to make rules and execute criminals, presaging the don't-tread-on-me attitudes of much of the contemporary American west.
In We the Miners , Gold Rush California offers a well-documented test case of democratic self-government, illustrating how frontiersmen used meetings and the rules of parliamentary procedure to take the place of the state.

nexusstc/We the Miners: Self-Government in the California Gold Rush/9dd3a30cfec88a4b74b331b0313da476.pdf

lgli/We the Miners - Andrea G. McDowell.pdf

lgrsnf/We the Miners - Andrea G. McDowell.pdf

zlib/no-category/Andrea G McDowell/We the Miners: Self-Government in the California Gold Rush_22469632.pdf

McDowell, Andrea G.;

Belknap Press of Harvard University Press

United States, United States of America

1, 20220614

producers:
Adobe PDF Library 16.0

{"isbns":["0674248112","0674276159","9780674248113","9780674276154"],"last_page":304,"publisher":"Harvard University Press"}

A Financial Times Best History Book of the YearA surprising account of frontier law that challenges the image of the Wild West. In the absence of state authority, Gold Rush miners crafted effective government by the people—but not for all the people.Gold Rush California was a frontier on steroids: 1,500 miles from the nearest state, it had a constantly fluctuating population and no formal government. A hundred thousand single men came to the new territory from every corner of the nation with the sole aim of striking it rich and then returning home. The circumstances were ripe for chaos, but as Andrea McDowell shows, this new frontier was not nearly as wild as one would presume. Miners turned out to be experts at self-government, bringing about a flowering of American-style democracy—with all its promises and deficiencies.The Americans in California organized and ran meetings with an efficiency and attention to detail that amazed foreign observers. Hundreds of strangers met to adopt mining codes, decide claim disputes, run large-scale mining projects, and resist the dominance of companies financed by outside capital. Most notably, they held criminal trials on their own authority. But, mirroring the societies back east from which they came, frontiersmen drew the boundaries of their legal regime in racial terms. The ruling majority expelled foreign miners from the diggings and allowed their countrymen to massacre the local Native Americans. And as the new state of California consolidated, miners refused to surrender their self-endowed authority to make rules and execute criminals, presaging the don't-tread-on-me attitudes of much of the contemporary American west.In We the Miners, Gold Rush California offers a well-documented test case of democratic self-government, illustrating how frontiersmen used meetings and the rules of parliamentary procedure to take the place of the state.

A Financial Times Best History Book of the Year
A surprising account of frontier law that challenges the image of the Wild West. In the absence of state authority, Gold Rush miners crafted effective government by the peoplebut not for all the people.
Gold Rush California was a frontier on 1,500 miles from the nearest state, it had a constantly fluctuating population and no formal government. A hundred thousand single men came to the new territory from every corner of the nation with the sole aim of striking it rich and then returning home. The circumstances were ripe for chaos, but as Andrea McDowell shows, this new frontier was not nearly as wild as one would presume. Miners turned out to be experts at self-government, bringing about a flowering of American-style democracywith all its promises and deficiencies.
The Americans in California organized and ran meetings with an efficiency and attention to detail that amazed foreign observers. Hundreds of strangers met to adopt mining codes, decide claim disputes, run large-scale mining projects, and resist the dominance of companies financed by outside capital. Most notably, they held criminal trials on their own authority. But, mirroring the societies back east from which they came, frontiersmen drew the boundaries of their legal regime in racial terms. The ruling majority expelled foreign miners from the diggings and allowed their countrymen to massacre the local Native Americans. And as the new state of California consolidated, miners refused to surrender their self-endowed authority to make rules and execute criminals, presaging the dont-tread-on-me attitudes of much of the contemporary American west.
In We the Miners , Gold Rush California offers a well-documented test case of democratic self-government, illustrating how frontiersmen used meetings and the rules of parliamentary procedure to take the place of the state.

Cover 1
Title Page 4
Copyright 5
Contents 6
Introduction 10
Chapter 1.
Before Property 28
Chapter 2.
Powerless Judges and Discharged Soldiers 44
Chapter 3.
Indian Miners 59
Chapter 4.
The Mining Codes 71
Chapter 5.
Resolving Disputes 93
Chapter 6.
Cooperation and Conflict with Mining Companies 111
Chapter 7.
Lynch Trials and Frontier Criminal Law 132
Chapter 8.
Trial by Judge Lynch 156
Chapter 9.
Whipping, Branding, and Hanging 178
Chapter 10.
The End of the Hangtown Oak 201
Chapter 11.
Massacring Indians and Ejecting Spanish Speakers 217
Chapter 12.
Outside Capital and the End of the Gold Rush 251
Conclusion 268
Notes 274
Acknowledgments 330
Index 332

Before property -- Powerless judges and discharged soldiers -- Indian miners -- The mining codes -- Resolving disputes -- Cooperation and conflict with mining companies -- Lynch trials and frontier criminal law -- Trial by Judge Lynch -- Whipping, branding, and hanging -- The end of the Hangtown Oak -- Massacring Indians and ejecting Spanish speakers -- Capitalist investment and the end of the gold rush

"The California Gold Rush is thought to exemplify the Wild West, yet miners were expert organizers. Driven by property interests, they enacted mining codes, held criminal trials, and decided claim disputes. But democracy and law did not extend to "foreigners" and Indians, and miners were hesitant to yield power to the state that formed around them"-- Provided by publisher

2022-08-28