Vigilance committee

A vigilance committee is a group of private citizens who take it upon themselves to administer law and order or exercise power in places where they consider the governmental structures or actions inadequate.

[2] However, many other vigilance committees were explicitly grounded in racial prejudice and xenophobia, administering extrajudicial punishment to abolitionists or members of minority groups.

Abolitionists met at Faneuil Hall in the 1830s and formed the Committee of Vigilance and Safety to "take all measures that they shall deem expedient to protect the colored people of this city in the enjoyment of their lives and liberties.

[citation needed] Between 1850 and 1860, following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, professional bounty hunters began swarming through Northern states searching for missing enslaved people.

For example, Gerrit Smith called the Fugitive Slave Convention of 1850 "on behalf of the New York State Vigilance Committee.