The gold rush and afterwards: Homicide in San Francisco, 1849–2003

Abstract

We compared the characteristics of homicide in San Francisco during the Gold Rush epidemic (1849-1860) to the characteristics of homicides during a more recent epidemic (1965-1980), and during a period when the homicide rates were relatively low (1921-1964). The data were based on reports from coroners, newspapers, the San Francisco Police Department, and the census. Time period was used to predict the characteristics of each incident in our multivariate analyses. The evidence suggests that the homicide epidemic during the gold rush was primarily due to a higher incidence of disputes between unrelated persons, including duels and disputes over land, mining claims, and gambling. The offenders during this period were more likely to be males who were armed and intoxicated. The epidemic did not involve particularly high rates of predatory or domestic violence, suggesting that it was unrelated to a general decline in social control. We suggest that the gold rush epidemic in San Francisco was due to an increase in the number of disputes between intoxicated men.

Trends in the Lethality of American Violence

“…Variation in the frequency of lethality may also be explained indirectly by an expansion in opportunity structures that encourage grievances and thus the formation of disputes, particularly the growth in activities beyond the usual reach of legal protections (see Felson & Cundiff, 2018). Put differently, whenever circumstances create opportunities for activities that encourage disputes within contexts of unlawful marketplace exchange , this may correspond with a rise in lethality.…”