Lesson 17 Religious Persecution Part Two

Lesson 17 Religious Persecution – Part Two

Please read No Promised Land (p. 20 of Us and Them).

1. Describe the mutual intolerance between Mormons and Missourians. What stereotypes did the two groups believe about one another?

2. Was segregation effective in preserving the peace between Mormons and other Missourians? Explain.

3. Why did Missourians try to deny Mormons the vote?

4. In what ways was the Mormons’ religious freedom violated?

The story does not end here. After leaving Missouri they went to Illinois, and then were forced farther west. Over a twenty-year period, beginning in the winter of 1846, more than70,000 Mormons moved (most of them walked) over 1,300 miles to Utah. Many died due to sickness, harsh weather, and the elements. To learn more about the Mormons’ experiences, go to PBS’s site Trail of Hope – the Story of the Mormon Trail http://web.archive.org/web/20030622061604/http://www.pbs.org/trailofhope/

5. Browse through the stories (click on stories and photos) and settle on one or two that interest you. In one or two paragraphs, summarize what you learned about the Mormons’ experiences.

Please read Apostles of Liberty (p. 8 in A Place at the Table).

6. What crime had John Waller, Lewis Craig and three other men committed at the beginning of the story? What was their punishment? Would you classify them as repeat offenders?

7. Why did government and Anglican Church officials find these men’s behavior disturbing?

8. How would your life change today if your state sponsored one particular religion and prohibited all others, including the one you support?

9. John Waller once despised the Separate Baptists. What turn of events led to his conversion?

10. What was the Indian Religious Freedom Act? When was it passed? Why do you think American Indians had to wait so long for their religious freedom?

Here is the actual Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=1357

11. Read it; discuss its main ideas, and discuss how these ideas relate to the “Apostles of Liberty.”

12. What was the most interesting or important thing you learned this week?

See you next time!