Joseph Smith As a Jacksonian Man of Letters: His Literary Development As Evidenced in His Newspaper Writings
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Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 1976 Joseph Smith as a Jacksonian Man of Letters: His Literary Development as Evidenced in His Newspaper Writings Walter A. Norton Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the English Language and Literature Commons, History Commons, Mormon Studies Commons, and the Rhetoric and Composition Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Norton, Walter A., "Joseph Smith as a Jacksonian Man of Letters: His Literary Development as Evidenced in His Newspaper Writings" (1976). Theses and Dissertations. 4986. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4986 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. JOSEPH SMITH AS A jacksonian MAN OF LETTERS HIS LITERARY development AS EVIDENCED IN HIS NEWSPAPER WRITINGS A thesis presented to the department of english brigham young university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree master of arts by walter A norton december 1976 this thesis by walter A norton is accepted in its present form by the department of english of brigham young university as satisfying the thesis requirement for the degree of master of arts richarchalchaklcha H cracroft committee chairman cl2cclec gy edward A georygeary CcomoatteeComoAtteetteeatee member y date richard H cracroft depdepartmentent chairman ii PREFACE although I1 graduated from idaho state university with a bachelorbachelorsls degree in english during all the sevenyearseven year interval since that time I1 have been employed as an instructor in religious education for the church of jesus christ of latterlatterdayday saints it was because of my combined interest in both english and religion that five years ago I1 began graduate work at brigham young university in american literature with intentions of writing a thesis on joseph smith as a man of letters numerous respons- biliibilitiesties aside from graduate work have delayed the completion of this project but I1 now take great pleasure in presenting it here as the first of its kind as far as I1 am aware with hopes that additional studies in this area will follow As a member of the latterlatterdayday saint commonly called mormon church I1 believe joseph smith to be a prophet of god through whom god restored in 1830 the only true church of jesus christ but I1 also believe that such a restoration of true christian principles could have taken place only in a place and time when the hearts beliefs and ideals of men would provide a suitable environment for these principles to grow and prosper I1 believe that that place was the united states of america and that time the period which historians now call the jacksonian age it is in this context then that I1 comprehend the resemblance between jacksonian thought and the teachings of the prophet joseph smith iii in reading this thesis the reader may note variations in the spelling of the name of the church of jesus christ of latterlatterdayday saints in joseph smiths day the church name was written latter day and occasionally in newspaper articles latter day whereas the present spelling is as in the full title above therefore I1 have attempted to keep the spelling consistent with the period in reference I1 wish to express deep love and gratitude to my wife yvonne whose determination that I1 complete this work has carried me through I1 also thank her for the great sacrifice she has made to type this thesis I1 gratefully acknowledge the patience and numerous hours of time given in my behalf by my thesis chairman dr richard H cracroft in five years he has never given up on me and thanks to dr edward geary for his advice in the completion of this thesis iv TABLE OF CONTENTS page PREFACE 0 0.0 & 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 iii chapter lo101 introduction ARGUMENTS FOR JOSEPH SMITH AS AN AMERICAN MAN OF LETTERS 0 1 2 backgrounds THE jacksonian AGE AND YOUNG JOSEPH SMITH ORIGINS OF A jacksonian WRITER 16 3 FROM KIRTLAND TO MISSOURI 183118381831 1838 THE FRONTIER EDITOR 0 0 0 0 0 51 404 FROM PRISON TO PRINTING OFFICE 183918421839 1842 RETURN TO editorship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 87 5 THE CLOSING YEARS 184318441843 1844 THE presidential CANDIDATE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 131 conclusion 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 159 bibliography 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 164 v chapter 1 introduction ARGUMENTS FOR JOSEPH SMITH AS AN AMERICAN MAN OF LETTERS the purpose of this study is twofold primarily it is a study of the newspaper writings of joseph smith jr the mormon prophet and of his development as an american writer as evidenced in his newspaper publications it is also a study of the main concepts contained in smiths newspaper writings concepts which demonstrate that smith may deservedly be called a jacksonian man of letters however to label smith as a jacksonian man is in no way meant to indicate his political leanings or party preference rather the term simply associates him with the spirits irit of the period in which he lived the term is a general term used as william goetzmann uses it to describe a fictional composite the average man of the period under consideration regardless of whether 1 I or not he was a follower of andrew jackson and his party goetzmann in turn borrows the term from RrichardI1chard hofstader marvin meyers and alexis de tocquevilleTocqueville whose use of the term seems to characterize to some extent men of all political persuasions Q in this period 12 awilliam1williamwilliam H goetzmann the mountain man as jacksonian man american quarterly XV fall 1963 402 fnan 21bid2 ibid 2 the term jacksonian man then is a general term for anyone caught up in the current of american social thought of the second quarter of the nineteenth century the term was derderived1i ved of course from its namesake president andrew jackson whose ascendancy to the white house in 1829 symbolized for the american people in general the rise of the common man the triumph of democracy A SMITH A NEWSPAPER WRITER during the summer of 1831 james gordon bennett correspon- dent and associate editor for the morninmorning courier and new york enquirer later to become the new york herallherailheraldHe ralirailwhile touring upstate new york and gatheringnotesgathering notes for future newspaper articles made inquiries into the newly formed religious society called by some the mormonitesMormonites subsequently bennett printed one of the 30 earliest known newspaper accounts of this sect As derogatory 4 and inaccurate as the early story was when it appeared in print it nevertheless disseminated the names of joseph smith and the mormons into areas where they had not been heard before bennett a 11strong11 strong supporter of andrew jackson 15 little realized at that early point in what american historians now call the jacksonian age that this same smith whom he had derided was 0 bleonard3leonardleonard J arrington james gordon bennettbennetts s 1831 report on the mormonitesMormonites BYU studies X spring 1970 35363353 63 4 4augustaaugustaugust 31 and september 1 1831 5arringtonbarringtonarrington p 353 3 to become like himself not merely the subject of newspaper articles but a prominent newspaper editor whose numerous writings would widely circulate from the eastern coast to the limits of the western frontier nor did bennett realize then that smith also was a staunch advocate of jacksonian democracy during his lifetime smith actually served editorially for two different newspapers and was indeed recognized over large areas of the country as a newspaper writer as well as prophet of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints literally dozens of american editors corresponded with him published his writings in their newspapers or editorialized about him thus the name of joseph smith was closely linked to the newspaper world of the mid nineteenth century nevertheless even though smith established a considerable reputation as a newspaper writer his newspaper career is generally given little attention in presentdaypresent day scholarship although the religious doctrinal content of his newspaper writings may on occasion be mentioned traditional studies of smith have omitted any major focus in this area even more serious is the fact that smiths writings in general have been almost totally ignored in the field of american literature yet smith was a prominently known american writer with volumes of valuable literature to his credit presumptuous as itlt0O may be to deviate from the traditional religious orientations to smithssmithy writings and propose to include him among studies of american literature the arguments of this introduction should clearly indicate that such an approach is entirely logical feasible and appropriate 4 the writings of any figurefigureegure in american history of such notoriety and influence merit serious consideration for such writings together form the tightly woven fabric of the american scene failure to give smith due credit as a man of letters in america is failure to include vital threads of that fabric without which the total picture is incomplete america in the nineteenth century was after all and still is made up of many personalities as interesting and controversial as this mormon prophet and any significant literature produced by them should not be neglected B SMITHS NUMEROUS WRITINGS that joseph smith contributed such