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In his the Literature, place As attempts grievances, for Nauvoo, cell, of Joseph and doing and jail; followers that prison May Smith a treason his while of of mob host for he interests on the prophet his appear one 22, at Arts assassination.4 so, Smith of was thousands were attempted the to of a the gathered 2013, origins he alleged it hundred against I bastion long from outraged felled attempts re-brand And chamber hope inspired in Church a Jr. include of cry anti- after was yet, last and San the the by to of of to to to to Early Trends in Anti-Mormon Literature 3 better establish the nature of early anti-Mormonism and demonstrate how it centered on a series of common complaints and defamatory strategies. Supported by my analysis of several anti-Mormon pamphlets and newspaper articles, I will argue that opposition to the Church took three primary forms. Firstly, the Church was contested on the grounds of its threat to secular society. For many, signs of this danger were evident in the Church’s peculiar practice of isolating its communities from the public gaze. Concern over the church’s ability to incite violence and indoctrinate its members against the greater interests of government institutions was also prevalent. Secondly, a major theme arose in the form of religious opposition to the Mormon movement. This religious conflict was made evident in contemporary literature through the rejection of both unconventional Mormon beliefs and the Church’s claims that Mormonism represented the truest form of Christianity. Lastly, anti-Mormon rhetoric took the form of a personal defamation campaign against Joseph Smith Jr; detractors made great efforts to discredit Smith’s moral character as well as his prophetic visions. Martin Harris, Smith’s closest associate throughout Smith’s translation of the Mormon Bible from a set of mystical golden plates, was also targeted in an effort to cast doubt upon the credibility of the religion’s origins. When it comes to the topic of anti-Mormonism, a few key arguments regarding its nature are evident in the historical literature. Certain schools of thought attribute resistance to the Mormon movement to the sociopolitical climate of Jacksonian America. At the time of Mormonism’s arrival on the religious scene, Americans had warmed to the idea of a society unified around the concepts of popular sovereignty and republican idealism.6 Historians such as David Brion Davis, argue convincingly that the source of some of the most vehement anti-Mormon rhetoric emerged from a deep-seated fear that Mormons meant to subvert the very core of American democratic values by refusing to participate in mainstream society and encouraging the fragmentation of national loyalties.7 This perspective alleges that the seeds of anti-Mormonism took root largely within government institutions as a result of insecurities regarding the Mormon Church’s ability to influence the political direction of America. A rapidly growing religion with theocratic ambitions and isolationist tendencies posed a challenge to the emerging identity of a nation, which was striving to create a sense of unity around the “noble heritage of republican ideals.”8 Historians such as Terryl Givens take a slightly different angle on the origins of anti-Mormonism. In The Viper on the Hearth, Givens argues that the conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons had distinctly “religious roots.”9

6 JoelSilby,National Development& Sectional Crisis, 1815—1860(NewYork:Random House,1970),179. DavidBrionDavis, ‘SomeThemesof Counter-Subversion:AnAnalysisof Anti- Masonic, Anti-Catholic, and Anti-Mormon Literature,’TheMississippi ValleyHistorical Review 47, no. 2 (1960): 206. 8 Silby, 178. TerrylGivens,The Viperon the Hearth.’Mormons,Myths,and the Construction of Heresy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 6.

VOLUME XXIII 2014 4 Erin Hitchcock

Rather than dismissing secular concerns altogether, Givens analyzes anti Monnon sentiments within their contemporary social and political contexts, but attempts to place a greater emphasis on the challenges the Church posed to established religions. He states that many of the earliest accusations leveled at Mormons revolved around the “church’s religious peculiarity based on ongoing revelation and additional scripture.”0 Mormon religious writings did indeed emulate the Christian Bible. Several passages from the Book of Mormon appeared to be exaggerated or amended versions of familiar Biblical stories, and one section (The Book of Moses) revealed obvious similarities to the scripture found in Genesis.lt Viper on the Hearth also examines the shift that occurred with regard to the perception of Monnonism’s religious credibility in mid-nineteenth-century American society. Givens argues that Mormonism, although initially perceived as a religion with some unsettling eccentricities, eventually transitioned into the realm of full-fledged heresy. 12 This development occurred primarily as a result of the Mormon Church’s tendency to take excessive liberties with its interpretation of traditional Christianity and the holy concepts Christians upheld as irrefutable truth. As Givens states, these unprecedented innovations represented a “reconceptualiz[ation] of the sacred that [was] not amenable to Christian orthodoxy.”3 Givens’s school of thought also emphasizes the spiritual tension that existed between Mormonism and prominent Protestant denominations in nineteenth-century America. As churches struggled to maintain the loyalty of their congregations during a period of intense spiritual revival and identity seeking, the successful missionary efforts of the Mormons and their self-purported “monopoly on the path to salvation” was a threat to an already destabilized religious order. 14 J. Spencer Fluhman further elaborates on the concept of Mormonism’s threat to Protestant churches in his book, A Peculiar People. He argues that anti- Mormon sentiments arose largely as a result of insecurity on behalf of disestablished churches that had been weakened by the American Revolution and the lack of government funding.’5 As many formerly powerful Protestant institutions lay in a state of turmoil, religious expressionism flourished and gave rise to an unpredictable environment of spiritual innovation.’6 When Mormonism emerged from these tumultuous circumstances, it’s unique yet disconcertingly familiar precepts challenged the established foundation of conventional Christianity, which found its own foundation at a distinct

10 Ibid, 5. MatthewBowman,TheMormonPeople: TheMaking of an Americanfaith (New York:Random House,2012),34. 12 Givens,Vtper,8. ‘ Ibid. ‘4lbid, 5. ‘ J. SpencerFlubman,A Peculiar People: Anti-Mormonismand theMaking ofReligion inNineteenth-CentuiyAmerica(ChapelHill:UniversityofNorthCarolinaPress,2012), 24. ‘6Flubman 9.

EX POST FACTO Early Trends in Anti-Mormon Literature 5 competitive disadvantage. Fluhman argues that Protestant denominations took a defensive stance against the perceived threat of Mormon encroachment into the religious milieu of nineteenth-century America; the prevailing strategy of these weakened churches was to create antagonism that would peretuate the idea of the Mormon Church as a form of “fraudulent Christianity.” Fluhman argues that by rejecting Mormonism, Protestants attempted to define the religious landscape of nineteenth-century America by gaining control over what was perceived as moral or immoral)8 This paper will draw the conclusion that discomfort regarding Mormonism’s potential to disrupt the emerging sociopolitical status quo, especially in an era of solidifying republican ideology, was an important catalyst for initiating early anti-Mormon rhetoric. Republicanism in mid-nineteenth- century America constituted a set of values that stressed the fundamental importance of patriotism, democratic transparency, popular sovereignty, and political unity)9 The Mormon Church’s exclusivity, religious militarism and tendency to indoctrinate its converts stood in stark contrast to these concepts and created ideological tension in the secular sphere of American society. In addition to highlighting the temporal origins of early anti-Mormonism, this paper will present compelling evidence for the religious nature of opposition to the Mormon Church as a result of the Church’s perceived threat to existing denominations of Christianity. In this way, my analysis will dovetail with previous interpretations of anti-Mormon materials and confirm some of their findings regarding the expressions and motives of those who sought to vilify this emerging religion. This paper will deviate slightly from the aforementioned perspectives on anti-Mormonism by devoting specific attention to the personal nature of attacks directed at the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith Jr. By doing so, I hope to emphasize the ends to which anti-Mormon writers sought to define the character of a religious movement by the qualities embodied in an individual (and by extension, his close associate). This paper will conclude that the personal nature of these attacks represented one of the most common themes that existed in early anti-Mormon literature. Anti-Mormon literature produced between the years of 1840 and 1843 portrays the Mormon Church as an impending and sinister threat to American secular values of republicanism and democracy. Throughout this time period, Americans were attempting to create a sense of political and social cohesiveness centered on the “noble heritage of republican ideals.”2° This is why writers of anti-Mormon literature were particularly concerned with the Church’s unsettling advocacy of isolation when it came to gathering and secluding its adherents in insular communities. In An Exposé of Joe Smith and Mormonism, John C. Bennet speculates on the sinister nature of this isolation. He states that Mormons sought seclusion as part of a “vast and deep-laid scheme” to privately assemble

‘7Fluhman, 11. Ibid,9. Brion Davis,Counter-Subversion,209. 20 Brion Davis,Counter-Subversion,209.

VOLUME XXIII 2014 6 Erin Hitchcock

a militia that would execute “a daring and colossal...rebellion and usurpation throughout the North-Western States of the Union.”2’ From these observations, it is possible to ascertain how contemporary detractors of Mormonism viewed the Church as a serious, potential threat. Many felt that the Mormon proclivity towards concealment of the Church’s rituals and doctrine hinted at an insidious plot to strip them of their constitutional freedoms and place them at the whims of radical and undemocratic influences, which would culminate in “a despotic military and religious empire.”22 Once critics had identified the Church as a subversive threat to the government and the democratic process, anti-Mormon rhetoric developed a distinctly aggressive and accusatory tone. Pamphlets began to describe Mormonism as “treason against the government of God and man,” and the Church began to be perceived as diametrically opposed to the republican notion of popular sovereignty.23 Because Mormons refused to integrate with mainstream society in a transparent and straightforward fashion, they were viewed as completely incompatible with prevailing democratic attitudes. An article, written in 1842 in the New York Evangelist in which the author boldly states that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,’ are sacred rights unsafe in [MormonJ hands,” demonstrates an increasingly popular belief in the malignant, anti-republican nature of the Mormon Church.24 Another prominent feature of anti-Mormon literature was its tendency toward disparaging Mormons for their peculiar and unsettling ability to indoctrinate and subvert the rationality of their converts.25 The perceived ability of the Church to capture the hearts and minds of its adherents, demand their unwavering allegiance, and command their actions with the utmost authority posed a distinct threat to an emerging party system that relied on the mass loyalties of voters. Early anti-Mormon literature addressed this phenomenon of alleged “mind-control” through the use of descriptive language that created disturbing images of simple-minded and honest townsfolk, bewitched by the calumnious claims of a fraudulent religion.26 It was all too easy for Mormonism’s detractors to imagine a future wherein disassociated peoples in an increasingly individualistic society would see the Mormon Church as a bastion of community that stimulated their need to belong to an organization greater than themselves.27This tendency toward integration into the Mormon collective

21 JohnC. Bennet,TheHistoiy of the Saints, or, AnExposé ofJoe Smithand Monnonism (Boston:Lelandand Whiting,1842),5—6, 22 Bennet,6. 23 LaRoySunderland,Mormonism Exposed, In Which is Shown the Monstrous Imposture, the Blasphemy...(NewYork:OfficeoftheN.Y.Watchman,1842),5, 212. 24 *H*,“WesternCorrespondence,”New YorkEvangelist (1830—1902),September25, 1841,accessedMay22,2013. 25 “Journalof a Mormon:Importanceof ReligiousEducation.HisImmersion,”Christian Observer(1840—1910),September10,1841,accessedMay22,2013. 26 “Miscellany:Joe Smithand theMormons,”WeeklyMessenger (1841—1844).January 18,1843,accessedMay22,2013. 27 Davis,208.

EX POST FACTO Early Trends in Anti-Mormon Literature 7 posed concerns because, as one anti-Mormon pamphlet published in 1841 claimed, Mormons had been “trained to sacrifice their individuality.. .to think and act in crowds; with minds.. .struck from the sphere of reason.. .and left to wander like lost stars.”28If these groups of unwitting converts could abandon all sense of rationality in pursuit of their misguided spiritual enlightenment, then it stood to reason that they could be compelled to turn their mindless obedience toward acts of violence directed at the government and the nation at large.29This fear of misappropriated authority and the potential it had to incite violence through the use of spiritual manipulation is expressed clearly in A Glance at Mormons, wherein the author states that should Mormons ever become inclined to “exert their influence for evil...they would surround our institutions with an element of danger, more to be dreaded than an armed and hundred-eyed police.”30Assertions such as this exacerbated the fear that the Mormon Church had unsavory plans for the future direction of the nation—plans which extended well outside of the realm of the spiritual and represented a dire threat to prevailing political institutions. Despite the threat that it posed to republican concepts of freedom and democracy, the Mormon Church embodied the characteristics of a radical, spiritual community. As a result, many of the anxieties it provoked were in the religious sphere of American values.3’ Anti-Mormon literature, particularly newspaper articles, revealed significant tensions and disparaged the Mormons for their attempts to brand their sect as the most authentic form of Christianity.32 Vehement characterizations of Mormons and their leaders as “false prophets,” “deceivers” and “impostors” abounded in popular media between 1840 and 1$43. An article in an 1842 issue of the Weekly Messenger conveyed a resoundingly negative opinion of the credibility of Mormonism, stating that “the cruelty, obscenity and blasphemy of [the] pretended system of [Mormon] religion” could not be fully described in the limited space available.34Emotional commentary such as this appears to dominate the rhetoric on Mormonism in the media at this time; journalists ruthlessly attacked the Mormon Church for its vile and sacrilegious manipulations of the Christian faith, which were designed to pervert the true meaning of God’s great works for the sake of personal gain.35

28 E.G.Lee,TheMormons, or, KnaveryExposed: Givingan Accountof the Discoveryof the GoldenPlates... (Frankford:E.G.Lee,1841),5. 29 Davis,211. 30 “AGlanceat theMormons,”Thefriend; A Religiousand Literwy Journal (1827— 1906),July25, 1840,accessedMay6, 2013. 3! Givens,18. 32 “AGlanceat theMormons.” Lee,3; “Nauvooand JosephSmith,”Christian Reflector (1838—1848),August 30, 1843,accessedMay22, 2013; “Jo.Smith,theMormonProphet,”New YorkEvangelist (1830—1902),February 24, 1842, accessed May 22, 2013. “ “Miscellaneous.:MORMONISM.Historyofthe Saintsoran exposeof Joe Smithand Mormonism,”WeeklyMessenger (1841—1844),December 7, 1842,accessedMay22, 2013. “Jo.Smith,theMormonProphet.”

VOLUME XXIII 2014 8 Erin Hitchcock

Such accusations perpetuated the notion that Mormonism was nothing but a scheme to “[blend] many Christian verities with the fables and superstitions of Mormonism” in order to give the illusion of authenticity that would facilitate “pecuniary profit.”36 Motivating the reactions of these religious detractors was a hearty fear of the Mormon Church’s penchant for successful missionary activity.37Many Protestant churches had been subjected to a period of upheaval over the course of the American Revolution and had yet to recover fully. This instability often resulted in membership declines that, in conjunction with a lack of state funding, contributed to the inability of formerly dominant churches to “fence out religious upstarts,” such as the Mormons.38 Lacking access to government assistance to help quell the rising tide of Mormon enthusiasm, Protestant denominations began to decry Mormonism as a religion determined to “commit forgery, not only upon the name of the father and of the Son, but of the Holy Ghost.”39 Accusations of religious counterfeiting were accompanied by rampant speculations regarding the Mormon Church’s swelling number of converts. These estimations often ranged in the tens of thousands.4° One particularly overzealous reporter claimed that the population of Nauvoo (the principal Mormon city in Illinois) was increasing “by hundreds every week; and the city has already a population of 15,000 souls!”4’However, speculations such as this were rarely consistent and populations often proved to be far less dense upon direct observation of Mormon communities (in some cases, 30% to 40% less dense).42It should be noted that very few primary sources originating from non- Mormon religious factions made direct assertions to the weakened state of Protestantism in America. Despite this, gross exaggerations of Mormon communities burgeoning with converts, likely belied a deeper sense of insecurity over Mormonism’s expanding popularity during a period of widespread Protestant disestablishment in the nineteenth century.43 Another trend that emerged in contemporary anti-Mormon literature was the tendency of its authors to ridicule and deconstruct Mormon religious belief and doctrine. In one particularly cynical pamphlet published in 1842, the tenets of the Mormon faith are listed one-by-one and then systematically picked apart to expose their theological weaknesses. In one such attempt to discredit the Church, Methodist preacher La Roy Sunderland analyzes Mormon doctrine

36 “Journalof a Mormon:ImportanceofReligiousEducation.HisImmersion”;“Jo. Smith,theMormonProphet.” Givens,46. 38 Fluhman, 24. “Jo.Smith,theMormonProphet.” 40 “Miscellaneous: MORMONISM. HistoryoftheSaintsoran exposeofJoe Smithand Mormonism.”;“NauvooandJoseph Smith.”;J.A.C, ‘Miscellaneous.:TheMormon Delusion,” Christian Observer (1840—1910),November 5, 1840, accessed May 22, 2013. “Nauvoo and Joseph Smith.” 42 “Miscellany:Joe SmithandtheMormons.” “ Fluhman,24. Sunderland,MormonisniExposed, 20.

EX POST FACTO Early Trends in Anti-Mormon Literature 9 pertaining to the acquisition of debt in service of the Lord and claims that the doctrine sanctions Mormons to “steal or commit any other crime, and fancy [themselvesJ doing the will of God all the while.”45The Book of Mormon was of particular concern to the greater religious community and its Protestant authorities. Mormon leaders claimed that the Book possessed startling revelations about the nature of Christ’s life, his travels and the historical records of North America.46Outraged defenders of conventional Christianity attempted to discredit the Book of Mormon’s doctrine by labeling it “a farce upon the scriptural record of miracles.”47 For many early anti-Mormon writers, Mormonism was first perceived as a fake religion before it was considered inherently blasphemous.48What tipped the scales, however, were Joseph Smith’s claims of access to ongoing revelations from heavenly sources.49Opponents to Mormonism appeared to take particular issue with the idea that Smith allegedly communicated directly with God and angels. This is made evident in the declarations of one emotionally charged religiousjournalist who laments the fact that Smith “claim[edj to have received direct communications from God to mankind... [and] the insult which [this] casts upon the perfections of the Almighty...must load him down with a weight of guilt which will be horrible to bear.”5° Assertions such as this reveal a strong conviction that Smith’sbelief in divinely inspired revelations represented the ultimate act of hubris to other sects of Christianity. Perhaps one of the most striking elements of early anti-Mormon literature was its overwhelming inclination toward personal defamation of Joseph Smith Jr., the Church’s founder and prophet. Pamphlets and newspaper articles published between 1840 and 1843 are rife with examples of attacks against Smith that call into question his moral character and dubious former occupation as a treasure digger and fortune teller.51In one pamphlet from 1842, Smith is referred to as a “wicked man.. . a cheat, and a liar, [who] used profane language [and] was intemperate and quarrelsome.”52 Accusations against Smith’s personal character and his religious impostures were supported by testimonies of individuals who were lauded for their exemplary moral qualities and highly regarded reputations.53 After the credibility of these witnesses was established through extensive written introductions (often appearing at the beginning of pamphlets and containing detailed information about the personal and professional stature and accomplishments of the witness in question), they proceeded to elaborate on the nature of Smith’s deplorable character. Often, the

‘ Ibid,21. 46 MonteS.NymanandLisaBolinHawkins,“Bookof Mormon,” Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1992 ed., s.v. (New York: Macmillan, 1992), accessed May 22, 2013. “Journalof a Mormon: Importanceof ReligiousEducation.HisImmersion.” Fluhman, 11. Givens,5. “Jo.Smith,theMormon Prophet.” Sunderland, Mormonism Exposed, 8. 52 Ibid,8. E.G.Lee, 12.;Sunderland,9.

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assertions that were made had no factual evidence of chicanery, but rather stated that Smith possessed a certain undeflnable quality of deceit that was inherent to his very stature and presentation. An article in the WeeklyMessenger represents this phenomenon, stating that Smith’s “countenance exhibit[ed] a curious mixture of the knave and the clown... [and] he appear[ed] deficient in that open straightforward look which characterizes an honest man.”54 Despite the often amorphous quality of Joseph Smith’s degradation, fact-based complaints also existed. In Mormons, or Knavery Exposed, E.G. Lee recounts a town meeting wherein a member of the community produced a fraudulent ten-dollar bank note that originated from a Mormon bank and had been used to purchase goods under false pretenses of the note’s value. For Lee, this secured the reputation of the prophet, Joseph Smith, as “not only a religious impostor but a swindler.”56Not even Smith’s family was immune to this barrage of personal attacks as critics remarked that Smith “belonged to a very shiftless family... [that] lived a sort of vagrant life, and were principally known as money diggers.”57 “Anti-Smithism” dominated anti-Mormon rhetoric for the first twenty years of the Church’s official existence; however, another important element of anti-Mormon strategy revealed itself through defamation campaigns against Martin Harris.58While critics were virtually obsessed with discrediting Smith in an effort to cast doubt upon his prophetic pursuits, they also recognized the value in attacking one of Smith’sclosest associates. Harris presided over Smith’s earliest scriptural writings and claimed to have observed the miracle of Smith’s biblical translations from an ancient set of golden plates.59Harris’s enthusiastic advocacy of Smith and his role as a supportive witness to Smith’sunprecedented spiritual claims made him prime fodder for debasement in anti-Mormon literature. One pamphlet attempted to personify Harris as a gullible dupe, stating that, “Mr. Harris had always been a firm believer in dreams, and visions, and supernatural appearances, such as apparitions and ghosts, and therefore was a fit subject for such men as Smith and his colleagues to operate upon.”6° Such assertions were likely meant to characterize Harris as a man prone to naivety who could be easily tricked into believing outrageous claims. For those seeking to expose the fallacy of Smith’s prophetic writings, what better way than to abuse the reputation of his most crucial witness? If Harris was believed to be a simpleton with a penchant for gravitating toward the superstitious and mystical, then his endorsement could hardly be taken seriously. And, if people believed that Harris was a man “distinguished by certain peculiarities of character,” who had at one point been “a member of the Methodist Church, and subsequently had identified himself with the Universalists,” then it stood to reason that his

“Miscellany:Joe SmithandtheMormons.” Lee,KnaveryExposed, 16. 56 Ibid. ‘ Ibid, 9. 58 Fluhman,23. Lee,9. 60Ibid,8.

EX POST FACTO Early Trends in Anti-Mormon Literature 11 religious pursuits were merely flights of fancy, which served to discredit the legitimacy of Mormon leadership and the Church itself.61 The peculiar Harris, however, was not always portrayed as quite so innocent. In Mormonism Exposed, prominent Methodist preacher La Roy Sunderland states that Harris once exclaimed (in reference to the Book of Mormon), “What if it is a lie? If you will let me alone, I will make money out of it.”62Sunderland also claims that Harris is “a cruel man and a liar” who beat his wife and “turned her out of the house.”63In this scenario, Harris is portrayed as a deplorable villain, complicit in Joseph Smith’s scheme to exploit his new found religion for monetary gain. The media’s debasement of Harris was similar to its treatment of Smith, and represented a cunning strategy to discredit both men by viciously attacking their reputations; however, Smith was frequently the target of more impassioned rhetoric, particularly from the religious sector. One especially vehement newspaper stated that “Joe Smith must die. The hour is coming when that profane and willful impostor must stand before his Judge.”TMSentiments such as this were not uncommon. While secular sources appeared to be committed to disparaging Smith’s reputation and physical appearance for their innate qualities of deviousness, religious diatribe was notably focused on condemning Smith’s soul to eternal damnation where it would suffer for his spiritual crimes. The personal attacks against Joseph Smith Jr.’s character represented one of three prominent trends that surfaced in anti-Mormon literature between 1840 and 1843. In addition to defamation campaigns against Smith and his closest associate, Martin Harris, anti-Mormon literature exhibited a strong religious component. Protestant authorities strongly believed that the Mormon Church’s alterations to the Christian faith were blasphemous and that Smith’s claims regarding direct spiritual communion with God and angels were ludicrous and unfounded. Of equal significance in anti-Mormon literature during this time period was a concern over the threat the Church posed to political institutions and social order. The tendency of Mormon populations to withdraw from society into communalistic villages which operated on a set of theological precepts and remained largely mysterious to outsiders was a disturbing concept for secular authorities. Some felt that these isolationist tactics represented a deeper plot to subvert the federal government through the employment of violence and brainwashing tactics, the latter of which would be used to create an army of compliant converts. Anti-Mormon literature between 1840 and 1843, although highly sensationalist in many regards, exhibited a series of themes that indicated a growing collective concern over the implications of the new and highly successful, yet notably radical, Mormon faith.

61 Lee,8. 62 Sunderland,8. 63 Ibid, 9 “Jo.Smith,theMormonProphet.”

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38 38 Early Trends in Anti-Mormon Literature 13

02. “Nauvoo and Joseph Smith.” Christian Reflector (1838-1848), August 30, 1843. Accessed May 22, 2013. http:I/0- search.proquest.com.opac.sfsu.eduldocview/1 35967041?accountid=13$ 020. Sunderland, La Roy. Mormonism Exposed, In which is Shown the Monstrous Imposture, the Blasphemy.... New York: Office of the N.Y. Watchman, 1842. Accessed May 22, 2013. http://0- galenet.galegroup.com.opac.sfsu.edulservletlSabin?af=RN&ae=CY1 07 699803&srchtp=a&ste=1.

Secondary Sources Bowman, Matthew. TheMormon People: TheMaking of an American faith. New York: Random House, 2012. Brion Davis, David. “Some Themes of Counter-Subversion: An Analysis of Anti-Masonic, Anti-Catholic, and Anti-Mormon Literature.” The Mississippi ValleyHistorical Review47, no. 2 (1960): 205—224. Accessed May 22, 2013. http://0- www.jstor.org.opac.sfsu.edu/stable/1891707. Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1992 ed. New York: Macmillan, 1992.Accessed May 22, 2013. http://contentdm.1ib.byu.edu/cdm/refYco1lectionJEoM/id/4391. Fluhman, J. Spencer. A Peculiar People: Anti-Mormonismand the Making of Religion in Nineteenth-Century America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012. Givens, Terryl. The Viperon the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Silbey, Joel. National Development and Sectional Crisis, 1815—1860.New York: Random House, 1970.

VOLUME )QtJJJ 2014 “The Maiden Tribute of Modem Babylon”: Sex, Vice, and Prostitution in Victorian London

Julie Oppermann

Julie Qppermann is in the process offinishing her honorc thesis to complete a US. History BA at San Francisco State University. In autumn, Julie will move back to Europe to pursue a graduate education in history, focusing on the American institution of slaveiy.

On June 3, 1885, Rebecca Jarreft purchased Eliza Armstrong for £5 from her alcoholic parents under the pretense of hiring her as a maid.1 Eliza, a thirteen-year-old girl ftom a poor, working-class background, was unaware that Mrs. Jarrett was, in fact, procuring her for a gentleman and that Eliza was about to become the latest contribution to London’s sexual underworld. Once in London, Eliza was examined by Madame Mourey, an underground midwife, to confirm her virginity. Subsequently, the girl was led into a brothel where she was chloroformed in a private soundproof room.2 As the gentleman in question, William Thomas Stead, entered the room, he found an unconscious Eliza and, therefore, evidence for his investigation, where he sought to uncover London’s surreptitious institution of child prostitution. One month later, W. T. Stead published the case of Eliza Armstrong, along with equally revealing episodes, as part of a series of sensational articles in the Pall Mall Gazette, entitled “The Maiden Tribute of Modem Babylon.”3 The prime criticism made by “The Maiden Tribute” was directed at the dishonest yet appallingly efficient course of action by which young girls were lured into brothels and inevitably became subjected to “London’s lust.”4 Stead’s pioneering work in investigative journalism and muckraking sensationalism provoked a public outcry over this vicious aspect of Victorian society. In pursuit of purging London of its vices, Stead’s exposé ushered in an era of sexual reevaluation in Victorian society. This turmoil would prompt the promulgation of the Criminal Law Amendment Act and the Labouchëre Amendment as well as the rise of a social puritan movement.5 “The Maiden Tribute” thus created a moral panic that eventually

“Chargeof Abductionand Conspiracy,”The Times,September3, 1885,10. 2 CatharineArnold,TheSexualHistory of London:from RomanLondiniumto the Swinging City:Lust, Vice,and Desire Across theAges (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2010), 217—218. W.T. Stead,“TheMaidenTributeof Modem BabylonI: The Reportof Our Secret Commission,”Pall Malt Gazette,July 6, 1885. “Stead, “MaidenTribute I.” My use of ‘puritan’here and throughoutthepaper doesnot referto the religiousPuritan movement.Historianssuchas TrevorFisher (Prostitution and the Victorians)and “The Maiden Tribute of Modem Babylon” 15 segregated prostitutes, criminalized homosexuality, and reinforced a mentality of sexual repression. In light of the technological progress and the demographic growth that had governed the cultural and socioeconomic metamorphosis of London throughout the nineteenth century, the city soon became “a magnet for the talented, the ambitious, the vain and the venal.”6 Following the introduction of the railway, the intellectual and religious challenges kindled by Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, pioneering inventions such as camera photography, and a flourishing commercial port, London attracted myriad people from across the globe. Accordingly, former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli described the city’s cosmopolitan and seductive character as a “Modern Babylon.”7 Yet, plagued by overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions, London was overrun by diseases such as typhoid and cholera. Within the framework of unprecedented immigration and urbanization, the Industrial Revolution had, despite its technological advances, turned the city into a filthy and wretched metropolis.8 While the West gradually transformed into London’s aristocratic nucleus and the South accumulated heavy industry, the East soon emerged as the heart of abject poverty and crime. Parallel to the increasing social discrepancy between the aristocratic upper class and the pauperized working class, prostitution and infanticide increased, as they offered an alternative to guaranteed starvation. Yet, since virtue and respectability were trumpeted as the essence of Victorian womanhood, the patriarchal middle and upper classes condemned the promiscuity of the emerging class of prostitutes. Soon, these so- called “likely” came to represent London’s “Great Social Evil” due to their alleged moral perversion, which supposedly disrupted social decency in terms of both diseases and improper values. Inherent to this rationale was, however, a double standard. Namely, virtuous women were seen as the moral compass of the family. Therefore, sex between husband and wife was meant to be solely for procreative purposes as opposed to recreational. 10 As a result, men of the middle and upper classes started frequenting prostitutes in order to fulfill their sexual

CatharineArnold(The SexualHistory ofLondon) have usedthe term ‘puritanmovement’ to designatea socialmovementin Britainin the latenineteenthcentury that advocated moralpurityand chastity. 6Bmce Robinson,“London:‘AModemBabylon,” B3CHistoiy, February 17,2011, accessedJuly 23, 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/london_modern_babylon..0I.shtml “Curiositiesof London,”TheTimes,October3, 1868,4. 8 MartinDaunton,“London’s‘GreatStink,” BBCHistory, November4, 2004,accessed July27, 2013, http://www.bbc.co.ulc/history/trail/victorian_britain/social_conditions/victorian_urban_pl anning0 1.shtml. FraserJoyce,“ProstitutionandtheNineteenthCentury:In Searchof ‘TheGreat Social Evil,” Reinvention 1(2008) accessedJuly31, 2013, http://www2.warwick.ac.uklfac/cross_fac/iatllejoumallissues/volume1issue1/joyce! IC TrevorFisher,Prostitution and the Victorians(NewYork:St. Martin’sPress, 1997), VI’.

VOLUME XXIII. 2014 16 Julie Oppennann desires without ruining the moral purity of their wives. London’s sexual underworld was secretly burgeoning at the hands of the very same men who publically condemned prostitution.

Historiography Amidst the austere climate that dominated London during the Victorian era, W. T. Stead published “The Maiden Tribute of Modem Babylon,” seeking to raise awareness about what he claimed constituted the moral perversion of Victorian society.1’ Yet, historians argue about whether Stead was successful or not. Specifically, an important question remains as to whether Stead’s anti-vice crusade had a positive impact on prostitution and sex in Victorian London. Hence, the purpose of this paper will be to establish the significance and level of influence of “The Maiden Tribute” in Victorian society. In Politics of Prostitution, Judith Walkowitz suggests that “The Maiden Tribute” was a triumph, as it catapulted moral questions regarding prostitution and the sexual double standard into the center of public debate.’2In light of this rationale, prostitution acted as an archetype of the ‘female condition’ and was seen as the social downfall of women by means of male vice and suppression— both culturally and socioeconomically. The public association between female suffering and male immorality led to the increasing identification of middle- class women with the cause of women’s rights.’3 Consequently, the feminist agenda progressed, as the government was urged to pass legislation regarding the protection of prostitutes, or so-called “fallen women,” and thus initiated a public discourse on sexuality and women’s place in society.’4 Trevor Fisher’s Prostitution and the Victorians expands on Walkowitz’s idea and places his interpretation of “The Maiden Tribute” into an even wider framework. Namely, Fisher claims that in shedding light on the ‘Great Social Evil,’ and thus threatening to uncover London’s vices, Stead’s ‘Secret Commission’ called into question the very core of Victorian moral values.’5 Hence, in order to avoid “acute political embarrassment,” Parliament was compelled to act promptly.’6 In her article, Deborah Gorham supports Fisher’s opinion in stressing that the success of “The Maiden Tribute” can be accredited to the licentious depiction and sentimentalization of prostitution.’7 That is, in depicting young prostitutes as “sexually innocent victims,” who were

‘ TheVictorianperiodmarksthereignofQueenVictoria,whichlastedfrom1837to 1901. 12 JudithR. Walkowitz,“ThePoliticsof Prostitution,”Signs 6 (1980):126,accessedJuly 29,2013,www.jstor.org/stable/3173970 ‘ Walkowitz,“PoliticsofProstitution,”125. “ Ibid.,135. ‘ fisher, Prostitution and the Victorians,141—142,156—157. 16 Ibid., 156. ‘ DeborahGorham,“The‘MaidenTributeofModemBabylon’Re-examined:Child ProstitutionandtheIdeaof Childhoodin Late-VictorianEngland,”VictorianStudies 21 (1978): 353—369.

EX POST FACTO “The Maiden Tribute of Modem Babylon” 17 made into targets of carnal lust by means of male aristocratic vice, Stead and fellow reformers appealed to the compassion of the public and therefore gained wide support.18 Michael Pearson, on the other hand, argues in his book The Age of Consent that the social outcry surrounding the publication of “The Maiden Tribute” was directed at Stead’s attack on Victorian propriety, rather than at the appalling revelations concerning child prostitution themselves. 19 As a result, Stead’s campaign was successful in that it aroused “female anger” and led women into the political arena, thus paving the way for the imminent women’s suffrage movement.20 Nevertheless, Stead, in producing an unprecedented public discourse on sexuality, demanded immediate government action. Consequently, the Criminal Law Amendment Act and the Labouchére Amendment were swiftly implemented in order to deaden the cries seeking social reform. However, instead of rectif’ing the vices of London, the new legislation called for an even stricter interpretation of Victorian values, which increasingly narrowed ideas about sexuality. For example, while prostitution was relegated to the peripheries of the city and therefore disappeared from the public eye, homosexual interaction of any kind between men was criminalized. As a result, as Pearson puts it, “Sex became even more sinful than it had been before ,,2 I

“Render up your body or die”: Sex and Prostitution in Victorian London22 Victorian mentality reflected the nineteenth-century norm of male dominance and female submission. Sex and womanhood were thus defined through the viewpoint of a patriarchal society. Accordingly, Gertrude Himmerfarb commented that women were believed to be either, “sexless ministering angels or sensuously oversexed temptresses of the devil.”23 Since virtue stood at the core of the Victorian creed, “fallen” women represented the very negation of the Victorian feminine ideal. In short, the institution of prostitution was predominantly regarded as “a social nuisance and a moral threat” while the “disorderly” girls themselves were seen as agents of immorality.24 Ranging from a diligent work ethic and self-control to respectability and moral decency, the qualities of the virtuous woman identified her only in terms of her separate sphere of domesticity—as wife and mother in a

18 Ibid.,355. Michael Pearson,TheAge of Consent: Victorian Prostitution and its Enemies (Plymouth: David & Charles Ltd, 1972), 213—214. 20 Walkowitz, “Politics of Prostitution,” 123. 21 Pearson, The Age of Consent, 213. 22 Arnold, SexualHistoty, 196. 23 Gertrude Himmerfarb, The De-Moralization of Society: From Victorian Virtues to ModernValues(London:Vintage,1996),74. 24 JaneRogers,“HowWidespreadWereConcernsAboutProstitution?” The Victorian Web(2003)accessed30 July, 2013, http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/rogers/3.html.

VOLUME XXIII 2014 18 Julie Qppermann marriage of dependence and submissiveness25 Chastity was regarded as pious integrity and unquestioned adherence to male power as loving selflessness and compassion. Alfred Tennyson captured this idea in his 1846 poem The Princess: Man for the field and woman for the hearth; Man for the sword, and for the needle she; Man with the head, and woman with the heart; Man to command, and woman to obey; All else confusion.26

Victorian womanhood demanded purity, sensibility and innocence, which in sexual terms meant prudery and erotic ignorance. Accordingly, a respectable woman ought to be a “Virgo intacta” and have no sexual knowledge of any kind until her wedding night.27 While women were required to remain passive and non-sexual shrines of virtue and morality, men enjoyed a sexual double standard. As women were considered moral superiors due to their delicate and righteous nature, Victorians trusted that women did not have a desire for sexual indulgences, unless it was for maternity purposes. Men, on the other hand, were expected to succumb to their carnal lust, owing to biological and societal differences.28 In his book Prostitution, Considered in its Moral, Social and Sanitary Aspects, William Acton, a British doctor and author, explored the origins of prostitution as well as the reason behind its continuing success. While Acton also offered poverty and hard labor as possible causes, he identified “the natural instinct of man” and “his sinful nature” as the motivating forces behind the thriving sex trade.29 Acton thus concluded that it is “[the] desire of the male [thatJ produces the demand, of which prostitution is a result.”3° In light of this argument, prostitution epitomized another double standard of sexual morality. First, the industry flourished because men did not want to ruin the sexual innocence and moral repute of their wives. As a result, they gratified their sexual desires amongst women who had already lost their virtue, due to their sexual degeneracy. This apparent master plan succeeded in fulfilling the male sexual

25 CharlesPetrie,“VictorianWomenExpectedto Be Idleand Ignorant,”in Victorian England, ed. ClariceSwisheret al. (San Diego:GreenhavenPress,2000), 179—181 26AlfredTennyson,ThePrincess (1846)accessed30 July,2013, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/791/791-h/791-h.htm. 27 SallyMitchell,Daily Lfe in VictorianEngland (Westport & London:Greenwood Press, 2009), 269. ‘Virgointacta’is the scientifictermto designate that the hymen of a girl or womanis still intact, i.e.that she is still a virgin. J.B. Priestley,“Double Standardsin Middle-ClassSexualMorality,”in Victorian England, ed. ClariceSwisheret al. (SanDiego:GreenhavenPress,2000),212—213. 29 WilliamActon,Prostitution: Considered in its Moral, Social and Sanitary Aspects, 1870,accessedJuly 30, 2013,hup://www.victorianlondon.org/index-20l2.htm. 30 Ibid.

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Arnold, Victorians, 52

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1869 Pall

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On July 4, 1885, W. T. Stead published “A Frank Warning” in the Pall Mall Gazette, cautioning his readers on the articles that he was going to disclose in a few days, as they were to reveal “the ghastly story of the criminal developments of modern vice,” and the “horrible realities which torment those whose lives are passed in the London Inferno.”53On July 6, Stead published the first of a series of four controversial articles about prostitution, male vice, and the white sex trade, entitled “The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon: The Report of our Secret Commission.” Attacking the Victorian façade of sexual morality and respectability, Stead promptly compared London to the Ancient Greek Labyrinth of Daedalus, commenting, “the maw of the London Minotaur is insatiable, and none that go into the secret recesses of his lair return again.”54 Hence, Stead identified male vice and female innocence as the social and moral nemeses of London and Victorian society. In order to substantiate his allegations about the evils of “London’s lust,” Stead himself penetrated the underworld and conducted multiple interviews with brothel keepers. In one such dialogue, Stead learned from a former madam about the course of action by which “fresh” girls were procured. The common criteria consisted of the girl’s virginity, sexual ignorance, and general naiveté. The procurer, either male or female, would lure the girl into following them to London under false pretenses, either the prospect of marriage to a noble gentleman or the promise of work as a maid. The potential suitor or employer then introduced the girl to the song and dance of London, contriving that, by the end of the night, the girl would miss the train back home. In her ignorance and drunkenness, the girl was then brought into the house of ill fame. In order to guarantee the customer that the item he was purchasing was pure and “fresh,” the virginity of the girl had to be certified. This process was often explained to the girl as a common medical examination. Next, the girl was led into a primed setting where she was drugged, usually with laudanum or chloroform, and inevitably seduced by the gentleman. In extreme cases, the girl could be strapped to the bed in order to avoid her escape and resistance. As for the gentleman, anything was allowed as long as no one was killed. The further installment of padded rooms assured that the potential cries of the girl were smothered. The price for these girls ranged from £3 to £2O. Stead conveyed the image of a brothel as a butcher shop, where prostitutes were dealt with as though they were fresh pieces of meat. By the time the girl had realized what had happened to her, her fate of becoming a prostitute had been sealed. In this respect, Stead commented that girls were, “maidens.. .when [the] morning dawned, but to-night their ruin [would] be accomplished, and to-morrow they [would] find themselves within the portals of the maze of London brotheldom.”56Throughout the course of his

W.T. Stead,“Noticeto OurReaders:A FrankWarning,”Thefall Mall Gazette,July 4, 1885. Stead,“MaidenTributeI.” 55Thid. 56 Ibid.

EX POST FACTO “The Maiden Tribute of Modem Babylon” 23 investigation, Stead was appalled by the systematic efficiency of this white slave trade, In order to demonstrate the full extent of London’s vice and to induce a similar reaction of horror amidst Victorian society, Stead reported on Lily, “a child of thirteen bought for £5.” After purchasing the girl from her alcoholic parents, the procurer brought Lily to a brothel in London where, “notwithstanding her extreme youth, she was admitted without question.”58 After an underground midwife certified her virginity, Lily was led into a private room where she was first chioroformed and then unconsciously awaited her “seducer.”59As the gentleman entered the room, there was a brief cry, “and then all once more was still.”60In victimizing the girls, Stead identified male vice as the driving force behind prostitution and the white slave trade, and thus successflflly appealed to the sympathy of the public. “The Maiden Tribute” produced an immediate public outcry. Stead’s sensationalist work introduced Victorians, for the first time, to an exposé on sex, prostitution, and vice. Its obscene language conjured a vivid picture regarding a sybaritic underworld to which most of society was oblivious, either by choice or ignorance. When W. H. Smith declined to sell the paper due to moral reasons, the Pall Mall Gazette started operating through newsboys.6’ Due to the exceeding demand, though, papers were soon sold on the black market for twelve times the initial price.62 As the sequels to “The Maiden Tribute” were published, Stead, who had threatened to reveal the names of political and royal patrons of numerous brothels, encountered scrutiny over his scandalous work. While a monumental demonstration of 250,000 people was held in Hyde Park in favor of new legislation, Stead faced prosecution for purchasing an underage girl.63It thus came to light that Stead, with the help of Rebecca Jarrett, a retired prostitute, and Madame Mourey, a clandestine midwife, had concocted the procurement and purchase of Lily, whose actual name was Eliza Armstrong.TMIn September, Jarreft, Stead, and Mourey were charged with and convicted of “unlawfully and feloniously by force and fraud tak[ing] away and detain[ing] Eliza Armstrong,” and, “maliciously administering a certain noxious drug with

Ibid. 58 Ibid. I use ‘seduction”hereas opposedto “rape”inorderto underlinehowVictoriansused euphemismswhendiscussingsexualassault;ontheonehand,thiswasan attemptto concealthe brutal natureof the act, while,ontheotherhand,it was alsoproofthat Victoriansweredeeplyinfluencedby theprudeandmoralistmentalityof theday. 60 Stead,“TheMaidenTributeI.” 61 W,H. Smithwas,at thetime,Britain’sbiggestretailerfornewspapers. 62 Pearson,156. 63 “ADemonstrationin HydePark,”The Times,August24, 1885,6.JudithR. Walkowitz, City of Dreadful Delight: Narratives of Sexual Danger in Late-Victorian London(Chicago:Universityof ChicagoPress,1992),82. 64 Walkowitz,Cityof Dreadful Delight, 82. Eliza Armstrong’sparents had readthePall Malt Gazette and, upon recognizing that Lily was their own daughter,contacted the police department.

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Any male who, in public or private, commits, or is a party to the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and being convicted thereof shall be liable at the discretion of the court to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labor.7’

While the Act called for the circumscription of legal sexual activity, which in turn led to the suppression of sexual freedom, the social and moral purity movement saw the new legislation as a triumph in pushing their agenda towards a reform in public morality. “The Maiden Tribute” had infiltrated into and altered the fabric of Victorian society, along with its attitudes towards sex. As the puritan movement went on a moralistic crusade, prostitutes encountered either social animosity or indifference towards their circumstances. Organizations, such as the Society for the Suppression of Vice, the Central Vigilance Society, the National Vigilance Association, and the Minors’ Protection Society, endeavored to close down brothels and purge London of its vice and evil.72 In the months following the implementation of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, The Times reported on numerous convictions, mainly of women, for “keeping and assisting in the management of a disorderly house.”73As a result, the rise of puritan moralists had a calamitous impact on prostitutes. As disorderly houses were systematically shut down, harlots were compelled to move into dilapidated guesthouses, sordid lodging houses, or retire back to the streets. The brothel had granted these “fallen” women a certain degree of safety, as prostitutes were able to help each other if a client got aggressive or was unwilling to pay. Hence, the consequent removal of brothels caused the prospects of violence, abuse, and burglary to increase dramatically, since prostitutes were now forced to fend for themselves. In 1888, in the midst of the moralist campaign, the appearance of the serial killer Jack the Ripper further complicated the plight of London’s prostitutes. Jack the Ripper terrorized prostitutes in the East End by murdering five women in the most horrid way. Of the body of the first victim, Mary Ann Nicols, the police surgeon of the Metropolitan Police Dr. Ralph Llewellyn noted, “she was ripped open just as you see a dead calf at a butcher’s shop.”74It could be argued that the Criminal Law Amendment Act had made life for prostitutes miserable and murderous. While the Act might have made London’s

71 TheCriminalLawAmendmentAct,48 & 49Vict.,c. 69,as quotedin Sodom on the Thames: Sex, Love, and Scandal in Wilde Times, ed.Moms B. Kaplan(Ithaca& London: Cornell University Press, 2005), 173—174. 72 Fisher,137. “Police,”The Times, September30, 1887,8. Arnold,Sexual Histoiy, 221—222.

VOLUME XXIII 2014 26 Julie Oppermann vice less visible, the sexual underworld of prostitution was still present and became even more concealed and dangerous than it had ever been. The Labouchëre Amendment to the Criminal Law Amendment Act provided for the further sexual repression of Victorian society. The Labouchëre Amendment condemned homosexual interaction as a criminal offence of “gross indecency,” punishable by hard labor and imprisonment, The Buggery Act of 1533 had made sodomy a capital offense until the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 altered the punishment from capital punishment to life imprisonment.75 The cruelty of the Labouchëre Amendment lay in the rather vague language of the text, which allowed for flexible interpretation, expanding the meaning of sodomy from sexual intercourse between men to any kind of homosexual interaction.76 Scandals, such as the Dublin Castle Affair of 1884 and the Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889, were unveiled so as to propagate the alleged human perversion and sexual irregularity that male homosexuality represented.77 The Labouchère Amendment promised political prosecution, public humiliation, social dishonor, and personal downfall for any man who engaged in homosexual acts. As a result, the Amendment generated utter terror amongst the underground homoerotic subculture, as homosexual men became identified with yet another representation of London’s vice. The trial of Oscar Wilde in 1895 was the most prominent event surrounding the conviction of a homosexual man due to acts of “gross indecency” under the Labouchëre Amendment. Born in Ireland in 1854, Wilde moved to England in 1874, where he established himself as a playwright. Renowned for his astounding wit, aesthetic values, and flamboyant dandyism, Wilde frequented the most prestigious clubs and theatres of London’s upper class. In June 1891, Wilde was introduced to Lord Alfred Douglas, son of the Marquess of Queensberry, with whom he quickly developed a romantic love affair.78 Upon discovering correspondence of a suspicious nature between the two men, Queensberry urged Wilde and Douglas to end their friendship. Wilde refused to adhere to the wishes of the Marquess and a feud soon erupted. Then, in February 1895, the Marquess left a letter for Wilde, which read, “For Oscar Wilde, posing [as aJ somdomite.”79 In response, Wilde indicted the Marquess

Ed Cohen, Talkon the WildeSide: Towardsa Genealogyofa Discourse on Mate Sexualities (NewYork & London:Routledge,1993),92—94. 76 Sodomy,or Buggery,meanssexualintercoursethat involvesanalpenetration.In nineteenth-centuryBritain,sodomydesignatedhomosexualinteractionbetweenmen only since womenwerebelievedto haveno sexuallust.By homosexualinteraction,I mean any kind of interactionbetweentwo men that are attractedto eachother(holdinghands, kissing, sex,etc.). The Dublin CastleAffairof 1884involvedfiguresin the Irish and British administrationthat wereaccusedof engagingin homosexualacts.The ClevelandStreet Affair designateda malebrothel in London’sEastEnd,whichwas allegedlypatronized by membersof the royal familyand Parliament.SeeChapter3 of Kaplan’sSodomon the Thames for more detail on the WestEnd Scandals. 78 Cohen,228. ‘ Thid.

EX POST FACTO “The Maiden Tribute of Modem Babylon” 27 for libel while the Marquess accused Wilde of sodomy, a violation of the Labouchére Amendment. Under the Libel Act of 1843, the Marquess could only be acquitted from the charge of libel if he was able to provide evidence that proved that his accusation against Wilde corresponded to the truth.8° Hence, eager to convict Wilde and save the moral virtue of his son, the Marquess recruited private investigators in order to penetrate London’s sexual underworld and unearth the truth about Wilde’s sexual behavior. Consequently, male prostitutes were presented as witnesses to testi’ against Wilde. While it is true that Wilde maintained sexual relations with numerous young men, it is most probable that the witnesses brought to Court had been bribed to bear false witness since, after all, they also risked prosecution for engaging in acts of sodomy themselves. On May 27, 1885, The Times reported that the Court had found Wilde guilty.8 Amongst “cries of ‘shame’ and hisses in Court,” Wilde was sentenced to two years of hard labor in prison.82 Upon his release, Wilde sought exile in Paris where he died shortly after. The trial of Oscar Wilde introduced London society to its novel and most recently established vice—sodomy. The puritan movement sought to cleanse London in prosecuting its various incarnations of “vice.” Yet, in criminalizing homosexuality, these social puritans only extended the definition of vice and thus provoked the opposite effect. Instead of initiating a reform on moral values about sexual behavior, the puritans, along with the Labouchëre Amendment, provided for the further suppression of sex and sexuality, and thus made sex more sinful that it had ever been. 83 In light of “The Maiden Tribute” and the Criminal Law Amendment Act, the puritan movement invaded each and every layer of Victorian London, seeking to cleanse the city of “criminal vice and public immorality.”84 Yet, in attempt to reintroduce “proper” ideas about sexual morality, the purity crusaders diversified the meaning of vice by forewarning of the many forms of sexual immorality. By means of pamphlets and lectures, puritans proclaimed that abstinence and subsequent sexual repression constituted the way to purity and morality.85 The moral panic that had been created in the wake of Stead’s sensationalist exposé engendered social paranoia surrounding vice and its threat to Victorian respectability.86 As sexual lust was identified as the source of London’s vices (namely prostitution and homosexuality), puritans propagated the importance of chastity and sexual self-restraint. As a result, the initial anti- vice campaign soon developed into an anti-sex campaign. In order to reestablish social and sexual morality, puritans and moralists encouraged an “out of sight, out of mind” policy. Namely, the nuisance of prostitution was dealt with by a

80 LibelAct,6 & 7 Vict.,c. 96,accessedAugust3, 2013, http://www,legislation.gov.uk!ukpgaNict/6-7/96/contents. 81 “CentralCriminalCourtMay25,” The Times,May27, 1895,4. 82 Ibid. 83 Pearson,219. 84 “Howto FormLocalVigilanceAssociations,”inProstitution and the Victorians, 138. Walkowitz,Prostitution, 243—244. 86 Walkowitz,Cityof Dreadful Delight, 121.

VOLUME XXIII 2014 28 Julie Oppermann policy of segregation while the alleged problem of homosexuality was handled by means of imprisonment and hard labor. Therefore, the puritan solutions to prostitution and homosexuality consisted of the implementation of tougher laws, which repressed “unconventional” sexual behavior and banned it from the public eye. Harlots were forced to work in the seedy lodging houses and dark alleys in the heart of the East End while homosexual men were compelled to either subdue their natural sexual inclinations or lead a life in the shadows under constant fear of being exposed. Rather than kindling social reform on sexual behavior, the nineteenth-century puritan movement merely encouraged the further concealment of what puritan moralists identified as London’s vices.

Conclusion “The Maiden Tribute of Modem Babylon” by W.T. Stead provoked a moral panic that shook Victorian society to its foundations. As moral respectability, chastity, and virtue were heralded as the quintessence of Victorian womanhood, prostitution represented the utter antithesis of the female paradigm. At the core of Victorian mentality was the idea that sexual desire embodied immoral behavior. Accordingly, prostitution was condemned as the “Great Social Evil” by the working and upper classes, as the prostitutes, the social nuisances of late-Victorian Britain, were blamed for the spread of venereal diseases and the moral perversion of society. “The Maiden Tribute” further emphasized the belief that London had turned into a modem-day Sodom and Gomorrah, engulfed by vice and sexual wretchedness due to the immoral sexual behavior of prostitutes and their male, often aristocratic, patrons. As Stead revealed horrid realities about child prostitution and the white slave trade, Victorian society was appalled by the extent to which London’s vice had distorted sexual respectability and morality. Hence, Stead urged for a thorough reconsideration and reevaluation of sexual morality by means of education, rather than policy. Nonetheless, the ensuing Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885, the Labouchêre Amendment, and the rise of a puritan movement only reinforced moral paranoia. Eager to purge London of its vice, the new legislation prosecuted prostitutes and criminalized homosexuality, while the puritan movement campaigned in favor of chastity and sexual repression. Therefore, it would seem that Stead produced the opposite effect by publishing “The Maiden Tribute,” as the criminalization of prostitution and homosexuality only extended the definition of vice. Rather than instituting social reform policy, the puritan movement sought to solve the social problems of sexual debauchery by means of suppression and prosecution. Consequently, prostitutes were banned from the safety of the brothels, whilst homosexual men were forced to deny their sexual identities. In sum, “The Maiden Tribute” ushered in an era of sexual repression and segregation, which reinforced Victorian values about chastity and moral respectability. In the twenty-first century, the ease of access to hardcore pornography has widely distorted the image of sex. According to Cindy Gallop, “hardcore pornography has become sex education,” as the puritanical mindset of our

EX POST FACTO “The Maiden Tribute of Modem Babylon” 29 present-day society still views sex as a taboo subject.87 In order to understand the social attitude towards sex in the twenty-first century, it is important to examine the Victorian era, as their views of sexual morality, chastity and respectability still overshadow our perception of sex today. As British Prime Minister David Cameron has recently banned online pornography from British households in an attempt to protect the innocence of children, we can conclude that the legacy of the Victorian mindset is still apparent. 88

87CindyGallop,“CindyGallop:MakeLove,Not Porn,”TEDvideo,filmedFebruary 2009, postedDecember2009, accessedAugust3, 2013, http://b1og.ted.com/2O09/l2/02/cindygallop_mal. 88 RossHawkins,“Onlinepornographyto be blockedby default,PM announces,”BBC News,July22, 2013, accessedAugust2, 2013,http://www.bbc.co.uklnews/uk-23401076.

VOLUME XXIII. 2014 30 Julie Oppennann

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