DOI: https://doi.org/10.15368/theses.2016.66
Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1594
Date of Award
6-2016
Degree Name
MA in History
Department/Program
History
Advisor
James Tejani
Abstract
San Luis Obispo, California was a violent place in the 1850s with numerous murders and lynchings in staggering proportions. This thesis studies the rise of violence in SLO, its causation, and effects. The vigilance committee of 1858 represents the culmination of the violence that came from sweeping changes in the region, stemming from its earliest conquest by the Spanish. The mounting violence built upon itself as extensive changes took place. These changes include the conquest of California, from the Spanish mission period, Mexican and Alvarado revolutions, Mexican-American War, and the Gold Rush. The history of the county is explored until 1863 to garner an understanding of the borderlands violence therein.