Justified Violence

The Myth of the Vigilante Hero in American Culture

In Justified Violence: The Myth of the Vigilante Hero in American Culture, Erik Mortensen investigates how the figure of the vigilante hero continues to shape a culture of violence in America. Moving beyond popular understandings of vigilantes as mere outlaws or folk heroes, Mortensen redefines the vigilante as a contextual figure rooted in the deep structures of American mythmaking—an archetype that has not been fully examined by previous scholarship.

Drawing on case studies from the nation’s founding to the present, the volume traces how vigilante narratives emerge across diverse genres and historical moments, legitimizing violence in the name of justice. Chapters explore vigilantes in American history (from Revolutionary War heroes to the Montana vigilantes and the Bald Knobbers), in popular culture (including The Punisher and Watchmen), and in struggles for economic and social justice (the Virginian Mining Wars, Zorro, Batman, the American Indian Movement, and the Black Panther Party). Other chapters consider vigilantes shaped by religion, gender, and contemporary politics, from ANTIFA and Judas and the Black Messiah to the January 6 insurrection and Yellowstone.

Bringing together philosophical debates on justice and violence with close readings of a wide range of cultural texts, Mortensen demonstrates how vigilante narratives both critique systemic forms of American violence and reinforce the belief that violence itself can serve as an instrument of justice and change.

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