The Only Badge Needed is Your Patriotic Fervor: Vigilance, Coercion and the Law in World War I America

Vigilantism in World War I America was a perversion of the law that in the eyes of the perpetrator was a just action no matter how gruesome or violent. The obligation of vigilance during the war time was seen as patriotic duty but somewhere along the way the thought of it became distorted. Christopher Capozzola writes in his article The Only Badge Needed is Your Patriotic Fervor: Vigilance, Coercion and the Law in World War I America about vigilance taking three forms: Defending the home front and in particular in Connecticut, labor disputes and social and moral disputes. During this article one sees that vigilantism was not a clear cut defiance of the American law or system it was a theory that put the power in the hands of the people but did not separate it from those that created it and those that could act upon it.

The first section Mr. Capozzola discusses in his article is the idea of defending the home front during the war. His argument is that the people of the United States found it their duty to step in and take control when the citizens felt that the government was not doing their job. In a quote from Woodrow Wilson the reader is able to see what the government was trying to fix. "No man who loves America, no man who really cares for her fame and honor and character…can justify mob action while the courts of justice are open and the governments of the States and the Nations are ready and able to do their duty. The point here in the article is that it was just not the American people that would look bad from this vigilantly justice but, the society and nation as a whole was being scrutinized.

He continues this argument by examining America's past, one that is very much violent. He states that, "…violence i...

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... up his article by stating that, " They were obedient citizens trapped in a paradox of their own making, dedicated to a nation of laws that asked them to ignore law…"

During this article one sees that vigilantism was not a clear cut defiance of the American law or system it was a theory that put the power in the hands of the people but did not separate it from those that created it and those that could act upon it. Vigilantism in World War I America was a perversion of the law that in the eyes of the perpetrator was a just action no matter how gruesome or violent. The obligation of vigilance during the war time was seen as patriotic duty but somewhere along the way the thought of it became distorted. Vigilantly justice was as Mr. Capozzola rights was a result of unclear political guidance over the notion of who could right the law and who could act out upon it.