Sheldon S. Wolin’s theory of "fugitive democracy” radically separates democracy from formal institutions, political offices and constitutional arrangements of power. For Wolin, true democracy is fugitive. It consists of ephemeral events in which ordinary citizens, united by a shared grievance, collectively interrupt political institutions and reject constitutionalism. While fugitive democracy has been analyzed in theoretical terms, Wolin’s theory has not been examined in light of history. In this talk, I take up this task, analyzing the theory of fugitive democracy by exploring a well-known historical phenomenon in which citizens collectively interrupted normal political arrangements: frontier vigilantism in the American West from 1850 to 1900. With this case in mind, I argue against Wolin’s wholesale rejection of constitutionalism and against the tendency to fetishize democratic practice that occurs outside of institutional channels.