Problems of Law and Order

• Impact of Railroads

  The first new towns created by the railroads were known as “Hell on Wheels”.

  Lawlessness was worst in cow towns – especially after pay day, when cowboys would celebrate in saloons and brothels.

  Thomas Smith was the marshal of Abilene, Kansas.

  He successfully banned guns – until he was murdered in 1870. Smith’s replacement was sacked because he was useless, and the town leaders decided to just ban cowboys from the town.

  
• Impact of the Civil War

  After the Civil War many ex-soldiers came to the West.

  Many of them were unable to find work, and so they formed outlaw gangs.

  The Reno Gang carried out several large train robberies in the 1860s. They were eventually caught by the Pinkerton National Detective Agency – but shortly after their arrests they were lynched by a vigilante mob.