Jack Mather on “The Nation’s Toughest City (James McPherson)”

Jack Mather

Jack presented a series of vignettes about San Francisco in the 1850s and 1860s.

The streets of San Francisco: a mass of Hounds, Ducks, Republicans, Chinese, Chivs, Know Nothings, Peruvians, Irish Politicians,

The population was young, primarily male, with ready access to weapons. A city governed by corrupt officials and living in a situation of semi-anarchy.