The Vox Populi Is the Vox Dei: American Localism and the Mormon Expulsion from Jackson County, Missouri
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Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 5-2012 The Vox Populi Is the Vox Dei: American Localism and the Mormon Expulsion from Jackson County, Missouri Matthew Lund Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Lund, Matthew, "The Vox Populi Is the Vox Dei: American Localism and the Mormon Expulsion from Jackson County, Missouri" (2012). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 1240. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/1240 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE VOX POPULI IS THE VOX DEI : AMERICAN LOCALISM AND THE MORMON EXPULSION FROM JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI by Matthew Lund A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in History Approved: __________________________ __________________________ Philip Barlow Daniel J. McInerney Major Professor Committee Member __________________________ __________________________ Anthony A. Peacock Mark R. McLellan Committee Member Vice President for Research and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2012 ii Copyright © Matthew Lund 2012 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT The Vox Populi Is the Vox Dei : American Localism and the Mormon Expulsion from Jackson County, Missouri by Matthew Lund, Master of Arts Utah State University, 2012 Major Professor: Philip Barlow Department: History In 1833, enraged vigilantes expelled 1,200 Mormons from Jackson County, Missouri, setting a precedent for a later expulsion of Mormons from the state, changing the course of Mormon history, and enacting in microcosm a battle over the ultimate source of authority in America’s early democratic society. The purpose of this study is two-fold: first, to reexamine the motives that induced Missourians to expel Mormons from Jackson County in 1833; and second, to explore how government authorities responded to that conflict. Past studies of the Mormon expulsion from Jackson County have argued that Mormon communalism collided with the Jacksonian individualism of Missouri residents, causing hostility and violence. However, in recent years, studies have questioned many of the conventional notions of law and governance in the antebellum era, in particular the argument that Jacksonian society was dominated by an individualistic, egalitarian, laissez-faire creed. Although Jacksonian America was a society in transition, communities continued to emphasize a tradition of localized self- government, communal regulation, and distrust of outside interference. Therefore, this iv study explored how the local orientation of law, regulation, and government in antebellum Missouri contributed to the setting of violence and to the ways local, state, and federal authorities responded to the Mormon expulsion. An analysis of the Jackson County conflict through the lens of American localism reveals the extent to which Mormonism challenged customary notions of local sovereignty, authority, and control. (126 pages) v PUBLIC ABSTRACT The Vox Populi Is the Vox Dei : American Localism and the Mormon Expulsion from Jackson County, Missouri In 1833, enraged vigilantes expelled 1,200 Mormons from Jackson County, Missouri, setting a precedent for a later expulsion of Mormons from the state, changing the course of Mormon history, and enacting in microcosm a battle over the ultimate source of authority in America’s early democratic society. This study will reexamine the motives that induced Missourians to expel Mormons from Jackson County and explore how government authorities responded to the conflict. Past studies contend that Mormon communalism collided with the Jacksonian individualism of Missouri residents, causing hostility and violence. However, recent studies have questioned many of the conventional notions of law and governance in the antebellum era, particularly that Jacksonian society was dominated by an individualistic, egalitarian, laissez-faire creed. Although Jacksonian America was a society in transition, communities continued to emphasize a tradition of localized self-government, communal regulation and distrust of outside interference. Therefore, this study will explore how the local orientation of antebellum governance and regulation contributed to the setting of violence in Jackson County and to the ways government officials responded to the crisis. An analysis of the conflict through the lens of American localism reveals the extent to which Mormonism challenged customary notions of local sovereignty and helps clarify the relationship between state and local government during the antebellum era. Matthew Lund vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my committee members for the time they spent reading my thesis and offering helpful insights and correction. I would especially like to thank Dr. Phil Barlow for helping me learn how to think thoughtfully about the past and Mormon history in particular. I give special thanks to my wife for her encouragement, support, and incredible patience as I researched, wrote, and defended my thesis. Matthew Lund vii CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………..iii PUBLIC ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………...v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ……………………………………………………………....vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………….1 II. A SOCIETY OF LIKE-MINDED MEN ……………………………….13 III. LOCAL DEMOCRACY IN ACTION …………………………………40 IV. TRIUMPH OF LOCAL MAJORITARIAN RULE….............................70 V. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………..102 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..…………………………………………………………………...109 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION From its founding, Mormonism aroused intense opposition. Individual hostility directed at Joseph Smith, the religion’s prophet founder, eventually gave way to collective violence against the entire Mormon community. Conflict intensified in proportion to swelling Mormon ranks. Progressively, the source of the violence directed at Mormonism first involved individuals, next entire communities, then the power of states and eventually the whole nation. Indeed, according to historian Gordon Wood, “Mormonism was undeniably the most original and persecuted religion of this period or of any period of American history.” 1 In recounting their persecuted past, Mormons tend to view the Missouri period from 1831-1839 as the darkest era in their church’s history. In the summer of 1831, just a year after Joseph Smith officially organized the restored Church of Christ, the Mormon prophet declared Jackson County, Missouri as the central gathering place for the Saints to build the city of Zion in preparation for Christ’s millennial reign. Within a few years, Mormon settlers in Jackson County numbered over one thousand. The rapid influx of Mormons to the area, combined with their unorthodox theology, religious practices, and publicized declarations of divine entitlement to Missouri lands provoked the animosity of the local citizenry. Hostilities erupted on 20 July 1833 when a large band of citizens confronted Mormon leaders in Independence demanding all Mormons leave the county. When church leaders refused, Missourians resorted to violence. The vigilante crowd ransacked 1 Gordon S. Wood, “Evangelical America and Early Mormonism,” New York History 61 (October 1980): 380. 2 the home and destroyed the printing press of Mormon editor W.W. Phelps. A similar fate awaited the church-owned store before its owner pledged to cease operation. Before the Missourians dispersed, two Mormon leaders were publicly tarred and feathered. Three days later, armed citizens again rushed into Independence, threatening Mormons and destroying homes and crops. Seeking to prevent further violence, local Mormon leaders, under duress, signed a document agreeing to leave Jackson County by the following spring. Two months later, enraged by the Mormon decision to stay in Jackson County and defend their rights, the Missourians attacked Mormon settlements, whipped and beat Mormon men and destroyed homes and property. Mormons retaliated to Missourian violence with violence. The conflict reached a climax on 4 November 1833, when a battle broke out between Mormon defenders and Jackson County vigilantes, resulting in deaths on both sides. After local militia intervened, Mormons relinquished their arms and agreed to leave the county within ten days. Fleeing their homes, Mormons took refuge in temporary shelters along the Missouri River in the midst of winter. After four months of conflict, Missouri vigilantes drove more than one thousand Mormons from the county and burned over two hundred homes. For more than a decade Mormons sought redress, first through local courts and the governor, and then through the federal government, but to no avail. In examining the conflict in Jackson County this study will endeavor to illuminate the thinking behind the violence rather than seeking to justify either the Mormons or Missourians. Past studies have emphasized the dissimilarities in respective value-orientations between Mormons and the rest of American society to explain hostility and violence 3 toward the new faith. In his study of the conflict in Jackson County, Missouri state historian Warren Jennings maintains that Missourians brought with them a devotion to a Southern liberal individualism while the Mormons