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This article examines America's history of mob violence and gambling. The author contends societies' reaction to gambling was a manifestation of the socioeconomic fears generated by capitalism. Throughout the antebellum period mob violence plagued many parts of the United States and was often initiated by the upper classes who considered themselves moral guardians of the community. One incident in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1835 is described and analyzed as both unique and representative of the general social unease of the era.