RESPECTABLERESPECTABLE ASSASSINSASSASSINS:: A COLLECTIVECOLLECTIVE
BIOGRAPHBIOGRAPHYY ANANDD SOCIO-ECONOMICSOCIO-ECONOMIC
STUDYSTUDY OOFF THTHEE CARTHAGCARTHAGEE MOBMOB
bbyy
DebraDebra 10Jo MarshMarsh
A thesithesiss submittedsubmitted toto thethe facultyfaculty ofof ThThee UniversitUniversityy ooff UtahUtah iinn partiapartiall fulfillmenfulfillmentt ooff ththee requirementrequirementss foforr ththee degredegreee ofof
MasteMasterr ofof ArtsArts
DepartmentDepartment ooff HistoryHistory
TheThe UniversityUniversity ofof UtahUtah
DecembeDecemberr 20092009 CopyrighCopyrightt © DebraDebra JJoo MarsMarshh 20092009
AllAll RightsRights ReservedReserved THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH GRADUATE SCHOOL
SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE APPROVAL
of a thesis submitted by
Debra Jo Marsh
This thesis has been read by each member of the following supervisory committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory.
Chair: W. Paul Reeve
e-/�- 01
Eric HinderalC r THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH GRADUATE SCHOOL
FINAL READING APPROVAL
To the Graduate Council of the University of Utah:
Debra Jo Marsh in its final fonn I have read the thesis of ------=���==== ------and have found that (1) its format, citations, and bibliographic style are consistent and acceptable; (2) its illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the finalmanuscript is satisfactory to the supervisory committee and is ready for submission to The Graduate School.
u i - 11 - 9 Date W. Paul Reeve Chair: Supervisory Committee
Approved for the Major Department
James Lehning ChairlDean
Approved for the Graduate Council
Charles A. ight Dean of The Graduate School ABSTRACABSTRACTT
ThisThis studystudy disputesdisputes thethe generalgeneral beliebelieff thatthat thethe memenn inin thethe CarthageCarthage mobmob werewere rabble-rouserrabble-rouserss fromfrom ththee lowestlowest socio-economicsocio-economic ranksranks ofof society.society. AlthougAlthoughh thisthis characterizationcharacterization maymay accuratelyaccurately describedescribe a smallsmall numbernumber oftheof the participantsparticipants,, ththee mobmob overwhelminglyoverwhelmingly consistedconsisted ofof memenn whowho rankedranked amongstamongst thethe middlmiddlee andand uppeupperr societalsocietal classes.classes. InIn fact,fact, a definingdefining numbernumber werewere professionals,professionals, leadingleading businessmen,businessmen, and/orand/or politicianpoliticianss inin HancockHancock County.County.
ThisThis studystudy alsoalso disputesdisputes ththee notionotionn thathatt thosthosee responsibleresponsible forfor thethe deathsdeaths ofof JosephJoseph andand HyrumHyrum SmithSmith sufferedsuffered horrifihorrificc fates.fates. CollectivelyCollectively speaking,speaking, ththee mobmob participantsparticipants livedlived normalnormal lifelife spansspans duringduring whicwhichh theythey prosperedprospered economically.economically. Moreover,Moreover, manymany enjoyedenjoyed successfulsuccessful careerscareers andand helheldd politicapoliticall officeoffice afterafter theirtheir participationparticipation atat Carthage.Carthage.
ThesThesee findingsfindings createcreate a neneww andand mormoree accurateaccurate portraiportraitt ofof thethe CarthageCarthage mob,mob, oneone thathatt closelyclosely conformsconforms toto thatthat ofof otherother antebellumantebellum mobsmobs.. A lacklack ofof adequateadequate lawlaw enforcementenforcement,, widelwidelyy helheldd notionnotionss regardingregarding popularpopular sovereignty,sovereignty, andand residualresidual postpost-
RevolutionarRevolutionaryy WarWar fervorfervor combinedcombined toto createcreate anan eraera inin whichwhich vigilantevigilante mobmobss werewere commoncommon andand largelylargely supportedsupported bbyy ththee generalgeneral antebellumantebellum populous.populous. AdditionalAdditional factors,factors, suchsuch asas widespreawidespreadd anti-Mormonanti-Mormon ideologiesideologies andand locallocal powerpower struggles,struggles, alsoalso influencedinfluenced ththee CarthageCarthage mob.mob. ThiThiss thesithesiss iiss dedicatededicatedd ttoo mmyy childrechildrenn whwhoo araree a constanconstantt remindereminderr thathatt beinbeingg a mothemotherr iiss ththee besbestt thinthingg I wilwilll everever ddoo inin mmyy life,, mmyy parentparentss whwhoo instilleinstilledd withiwithinn mmee a lovlovee ooff GodGod anandd a beliebelieff iinn HiHiss abilityability ttoo workwork miracles,, anandd mymy husbanhusbandd whwhoo hahass mademade alalll mmyy dreamsdreams comcomee true.true. TABLTABLEE OOFF CONTENTSCONTENTS
ABSTRACABSTRACTT ...... iviv
LISLISTT OOFF TABLETABLES S ...... viv iii
INTRODUCTIOINTRODUCTIONN ...... 11
MORMOrvIO~ONN CHURCClIURClIH HISTORlIISTOR~Y ...... 7
HANCOClIANCOCKK COUNTCOUNT~Y HISTORlIISTOR~Y ...... 1155
IDENTIFYINIDENTIF~INGG MEMBERrvIErvIBERSS OOFF THTlIEE CARTHAGCARTIIAGEE MOrvIOBB ...... 2121
A COLLECTIVCOLLECTIVEE PORTRAIPORTRAITT OOFF THTlIEE MOrvIOBB ...... 3131
THTlIEE MOrvIOBB AFTEAFTERR CARTHAGCARTlIAGEE ...... 4545
LUNDWLUNDWAL ALLL ...... 5151
WHYWlI~?? ...... 5454
SUrvIrvIAR~SUMMARY ANDAND CONCLUSIONSCONCLUSIONS ...... 6767
SELECTEDSELECTED BIBLIOGRAPlI~BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 69 69 LISLISTT OOFF TABLETABLESS
Table Page
11.. ComparisoComparisonn ooff WilliaWilliamm ClaytoClaytonn anandd WillarWillardd Richards'' ListListss ...... 2 233
22.. MeMenn NameNamedd bbyy BackenstoBackenstoss ...... 3300
3.. KnowKnownn GeographiGeographicc OriginOriginss ooff MoMobb ...... 3344
44.. KnowKnownn OccupationOccupationss ooff MoMobb ...... 3366
55.. PubliPublicc OfficeOfficess HelHeldd bbyy CarthagCarthagee MoMobb ParticipantParticipantss 1834-1851834-18566 ...... 3399
66.. PubliPublicc OfficeOfficess SoughSoughtt bubutt LosLostt bbyy MoMobb ParticipantParticipantss 1834-1851834-18566 ...... 4141 INTRODUCTIOINTRODUCTIONN
OnOn JunJunee 2727,, 1844,1844, iinn ththee Carthage,Carthage, Illinois,Illinois, jailhousejailhouse,, ththee livelivess ofof JosephJoseph
SmithSmith,, JrJr.. (founde(founderr ofof ThThee ChurcChurchh ooff JesusJesus ChrisChristt ofof Latter-daLatter-dayy Saints)Saints) andand hishis brothebrotherr HyruHyrumm camecame ttoo a violenviolentt endend.. ThThee SmitSmithh brotherbrotherss werweree inin prisoprisonn awaitingawaiting triatriall forfor treasontreason,, havinhavingg surrenderesurrenderedd ttoo localocall authoritieauthoritiess threthreee daydayss earlier.earlier. TheThe initiainitiall chargchargee wawass riotingrioting;; howeverhowever,, whewhenn baibaill forfor ththee riotinriotingg chargecharge wawass quicklyquickly postedposted,, ththee brotherbrotherss werweree chargechargedd witwithh treasotreasonn andand,, consequently,consequently, imprisonedimprisoned withouwithoutt bailbail.. ThusThus,, thetheyy werweree forceforcedd ttoo remairemainn iinn CarthagCarthagee despitdespitee ththee factfact thatthat localocall hostilithostilityy towardtowardss ththee SmithsSmiths wawass aatt a boilinboilingg pointpoint,, anandd numerounumerouss threatthreatss hadhad beebeenn madmadee oonn theitheirr liveslives.. OOnn ththee fatefufatefull afternoonafternoon,, shortlyshortly afteafterr 5:05:000 p.m.p.m.,, thethe prisoprisonn guardguardss offereofferedd virtuallvirtuallyy nnoo resistanceresistance aass a mobmob,, overover twtwoo hundrehundredd menmen
strongstrong,, stormedstormed ththee jail.jail.!1 IInn ththee jailhousjailhousee witwithh ththee prisonerprisonerss werweree friendfriendss JohnJohn
TayloTaylorr anandd WillarWillardd RichardsRichards.. TayloTaylorr wawass severelseverelyy woundewoundedd iinn ththee attackattack,, butbut
1 EyewitnessesEyewitnesses statestate thethe mobmob consistedconsisted ofof anywhereanywhere fromfrom thirtythirty toto fourfour hundredhundred men.men. SinceSince thethe momobb wawass comprisecomprisedd ooff sisixx localocall militimilitiaa unitsunits,, eacheach consistingconsisting ooff thirtthirtyy ttoo sixtysixty menmen,, "over"over twotwo hundredhundred"" isis ththee mosmostt crediblcrediblee figurefigure.. SeeSee:: GleGlenn MM.. LeonardLeonard,, Nauvoo: A Place of Peace, A People of Promise (Sal(Saltt LakLakee CityCity:: DesereDeserett BooBookk Co.Co.,, 2005)2005),393;, 393; RoberRobertt S.S. WickWickss anandd FreFredd RR.. FoisterFoister,, JuniusJunius and Joseph: Presidential Politics and the Assassination of the First Mormon Prophet (Logan:(Logan: UtahUtah StateState UniversitUniversityy PressPress,, 2005)2005),, 196;196; O.O. HH.. BrowninBrowningg NotesNotes,, CarthageCarthage,, IllinoisIllinois,, October,October, 1844,1844, PI3P13,, f41f41;; NelsoNelsonn BateBatess JournalJournal,, 1834-1879,1834-1879, P26-1P26-1,, flf1;; JosepJosephh SmitSmithh JrJr.. eett aI.,al., History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, editeeditedd bbyy B.HB.H.. RobertsRoberts,, 22dd eded.. RevRev.. (Salt(Salt LakLakee CityCity:: DesereDeserett NewsNews PressPress,, 6 volsvols.. PublishePublishedd 1902-12,1902-12, VolVol.. 7 publishepublishedd 1932;1932; 19801980 printing)printing),, 7:142-45,7:142-45, hereaftehereafterr citecitedd asas Smith,Smith, History of the Church; DallinDallin H.H. OaksOaks,, TranscriptioTranscriptionn ooff ThomasThomas C.C. Sharp'sSharp's DocumentsDocuments RelatingRelating ttoo ththee MormanMormanss [sic][sic],, DalliDallinn HH.. OakOakss CollectionCollection,, L.L. TomTom PerrPerryy SpecialSpecial Collections,Collections, MSMS 52605260 1I,, BrighaBrighamm YounYoungg University,University, Provo,Provo, UtahUtah;; JohJohnn EE.. HallwaHallwass andand RogerRoger DD.. Launius,Launius, comps.,comps., Cultures in Conflict: A Documentary History of the Mormon War in Illinois (Logan(Logan,, UTUT:: UtaUtahh StateState UniversityUniversity Press,Press, 1995)1995),229., 229. 2
RichardRichardss escapedescaped withwith minominorr injuries.injuries. BotBothh SmithSmith brotherbrotherss werweree shotshot andand killed.killed. 2
ThThee murdermurderss ooff JosepJosephh andand HyruHyrumm SmitSmithh occurredoccurred amidamid a nationanationall wavewave ofof momobb violenceviolence.. AccordinAccordingg ttoo historiahistoriann MichaeMichaell FeldbergFeldberg,, "The"The 1830s,1830s, 1840s,1840s, andand
1850s1850s werweree . . . markemarkedd bbyy a highehigherr frequency frequency anandd varietvarietyy of...... collectivcollectivee violencviolencee anandd disorderdisorder amonamongg privatprivatee groupgroupss thathann wawass ananyy equivalentequivalent perioperiodd ooftimef time inin ththee nation'nation'ss past.past.,,3" ThisThis violencviolencee hahadd nnoo geographigeographicc boundsbounds;; itit infiltratedinfiltrated northernnorthern,, southern,southern, easterneastern,, westernwestern,, urbanurban,, ruralrural,, anandd frontiefrontierr America.America. OrOr,, asas prominenprominentt newspapenewspaperr editoeditorr andand writewriterr HezekiaHezekiahh NileNiless commentedcommented iinn 1835,1835, "a"a spirispiritt ooff riot ...... prevailprevailss iinn everyevery quarter."quarter.,,44 TwTwoo yearyearss latelaterr AbrahaAbrahamm LincolnLincoln expressedexpressed a similarsimilar opinionopinion whenwhen hhee statedstated thathatt mobmobss "have"have pervadepervadedd ththee countrycountry fromfrom NeNeww EnglanEnglandd ttoo Louisiana...... AlikAlikee thetheyy springspring uupp amongamong ththee pleasure-pleasure- huntinhuntingg mastermasterss ooff southernsouthern slavesslaves,, anandd ththee order-lovinorder-lovingg citizenscitizens ofof thethe landland ofof steadsteadyy habits."habits."s5 IInn termtermss ofof numbersnumbers,, historiahistoriann DavidDavid A.A. GrimstedGrimsted foundfound evidenceevidence ooff oveoverr 1,1, 262611 riotriotss betweebetweenn 18281828 anandd 1861.66 VictimVictimss ofof thithiss violencviolencee werweree burnedburned aatt ththee stakestake,, castrated,castrated, scalped,scalped, tarretarredd andand featheredfeathered,, andand killedkilled.. MormoMormonn churchchurch
2 2 Smith,Smith, History ofo/the the Church, 7:97-112;7:97-112; JosepJosephh LL.. LyonLyon andand DavidDavid W.W. LyonLyon,, "Physical"Physical EvidencEvidencee aatt CarthagCarthagee JaiJaill andand WhaWhatt ItIt RevealRevealss abouaboutt ththee AssassinatioAssassinationn ooff JosepJosephh andand HyruHyrumm Smith,"Smith," BYU Studies 4747,, nono.. 4 (2008)(2008),, 5-505-50;; OO.. HH.. BrowninBrowningg NotesNotes,, CarthageCarthage,, IllinoisllIinois,, OctoberOctober,, 1844,1844, PI3P13,, f41f41,, CommunitCommunityy ooff ChrisChristt Library-ArchivesLibrary-Archives;; NelsoNelsonn BateBatess JournalJournal,, 1834-1879,1834-1879, P26-1P26-1,, fl,fl, CommunitCommunityy ooff ChrisChristt Library-ArchivesLibrary-Archives;; ThomaThomass LL.. BarnesBarnes,, [Account[Account ofof MormonMormonss inin IllinoiIllinoiss andand KillinKillingg ooff JosepJosephh Smith]Smith] I1 NovembeNovemberr 1897,1897, UkiahUkiah,, California,California, holographolographh original,original, HuntingtonHuntington Library,Library, SanSan MarinMarinoo CaliforniaCalifornia;; RicharRichardd LymaLymann BushmanBushman,, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (New(New YorkYork:: AlfreAlfredd AA.. KnopfKnopf,, 2005)2005),549-50;, 549-50; LeonardLeonard,, Nauvoo, 393-98.393-98.
3 3 MichaeMichaell Feldberg,Feldberg, The Turbulent Era: Riot and Disorder in Jacksonian America (New(New York:York: OxfordOxford UniversitUniversityy PressPress,, 1980),5-6.1980), 5-6.
4 4 HezekiahHezekiah NilesNiles,, ed.,ed., Niles' Weekly Register 4488 (August(August 22,22, 1835):1835): 439439
5 5 PaulPaul M.M. AnglAnglee andand EarEarll SchenckSchenck Miers,Miers, comps.,comps., The Living Lincoln: The Man and His Times,Times, in His Own Words (Ne(Neww Brunswick,Brunswick, NJNJ:: ThThee TrusteeTrusteess ooff RutgerRutgerss CollegeCollege,, 1955),21.1955), 21.
6 6 DaviDavidd Grimsted,Grimsted, American Mobbing, 1828-/86/:1828-1861: Toward Civil War (New(New York:York: OxfordOxford UniversitUniversityy Press,Press, 1998),1998), viiiviii.. 3 membermemberss werweree objectobjectss ooff momobb violencviolencee oonn a numbenumberr ofof occasions.occasions. InIn additionaddition toto ththee murdermurderss aatt CarthagCarthagee JailJail,, JosepJosephh SmithSmith andand hihiss followersfollowers werweree drivendriven fromfrom
Ohio,Ohio, MissouriMissouri,, andand eventualleventuallyy Illinois.Illinois.
AntebelluAntebellumm violencviolencee receivereceivedd littllittlee scholarlscholarlyy attentioattentionn untiuntill afterafter WattWattss andand otherother riotriotss ooff ththee 1960s.77 SinceSince thenthen,, severaseverall publicationpublicationss oonn ththee subjectsubject havehave appeared.appeared. ThThee mosmostt significantsignificant ofof thesthesee iiss LeonardLeonard LL.. RichardsRichards'' "Gentlemen of
Property and Standing:"Standing: " Anti-Abolition Mobs in Jacksonian America. RichardsRichards studiestudiedd 232399 memenn involveinvolvedd iinn ththee UticUticaa andand CincinnatiCincinnati anti-abolitionistanti-abolitionist riotsriots.. HeHe founfoundd thathatt whilwhilee memenn ooff lesserlesser sociasociall rankrank,, "the"the rabblerabble"" anandd "the"the reprobates,reprobates,"" oftenoften
o participated in anti-abolitionist activity, they seldom initiated it.s Instead, it was participated in anti-abolitionist activity, they seldom initiated it. Instead, it was "gentlemen of property and standing" who were the leaders and organizers of anti- "gentlemen of property and standing" who were the leaders and organizers of anti- abolitionist activity, and who constituted three-quarters of mob participants. abolitionist activity, and who constituted three-quarters of mob participants. Although subsequent studies demonstrated that there were some labor, inner Although subsequent studies demonstrated that there were some labor, inner city, and other rioting cohorts that do not fit Richards' profile, most antebellum city, and other rioting cohorts that do not fit Richards' profile, most antebellum mobs did. This holds particularly true for vigilante mobs, or those extralegal groups mobs did. This holds particularly true for vigilante mobs, or those extralegal groups who combined to take the law into their own hands. One such example is the who combined to take the law into their own hands. One such example is the infamous San Francisco vigilance committee of 1856 that was led by "the most infamous San Francisco vigilance committee of 1856 that was led by "the most eminent local community leaders.,,9 In fact, virtually all vigilante mobs fit eminent local community leaders."9 In fact, virtually all vigilante mobs fit Richards' profile because, as historian Richard Maxwell Brown explains, it was Richards' profile because, as historian Richard Maxwell Brown explains, it was "the elite group of leading businessmen, planters, and professionals" in each "the elite group of leading businessmen, planters, and professionals" in each
7 DavidDavid Grimsted,Grimsted, "Making"Making ViolencViolencee Relevant,Relevant,"" reviewreview ooff Strain of Violence and Vigilantism, byby RicharRichardd MaxwelMaxwelll Brown,Brown, Reviews in American History A4 (Se(Sepp 1976):1976): 331331..
8 LeonardLeonard L.L. Richards,Richards, Gentlemen of Property and Standing: Anti-Abolition Mobs in JacksonianJacksonian America (London(London,, OxfordOxford,, NeNeww YorkYork:: OxfordOxford UniversitUniversityy PressPress,, 1970),132.1970), 132.
9 RichardRichard MaxwellMaxwell BrownBrown,, Strain of Violence (New(New YorkYork:: OxfordOxford UniversitUniversityy Press,Press, 1975),1975), 97.97. 4 communitycommunity thathatt hahadd "the"the greatesgreatestt stakestake iinn [retaining][retaining] ththee socialsocial statusstatus qUO."1Oquo."10
InIn regarregardd ttoo ththee momobb thathatt killekilledd ththee SmithSmith brothersbrothers,, onlyonly oneone publicatiopublicationn hashas considereconsideredd itit iinn deptdepthh -— NN.. BB.. Lundwall'Lundwall'ss 19521952 bookbook,, Fate o/theof the Persecutors of the Prophet Joseph Smith. TheThe basibasicc themthemee ooff Fate ofo/the the Persecutors iiss thatthat
JosepJosephh SmitSmithh wawass trultrulyy a propheprophett anandd thosthosee whwhoo persecutepersecutedd andand killekilledd hihimm werewere punishepunishedd bbyy God.God. ThrougThroughh swornsworn affidavits,affidavits, lettersletters,, diariesdiaries,, publishepublishedd histories,histories, anandd otherother recordsrecords,, LundwalLundwalll telltellss ththee fatfatee ofof thirty-onthirty-onee CarthageCarthage mobmob members,members, somesome ofof whicwhichh werweree eateneaten alivalivee bbyy worms;worms; hahadd theitheirr boneboness devoureddevoured bbyy wilwildd beasts;beasts;
11 or,or, dieddied pennilesspenniless,, homelesshomeless,, andand alone. I I
Lundwall'Lundwall'ss boobookk hahass beebeenn quitequite populapopularr inin MormoMormonn cultureculture.. ItIt wawass firstfirst publishepublishedd iinn 1952,1952, anandd wawass reprintereprintedd foforr nearlnearlyy thirtthirtyy yearsyears.. OverOver twentytwenty thousandthousand copiescopies werweree sold,sold, andand virtuallvirtuallyy everyevery majomajorr librarlibraryy inin UtaUtahh currentlycurrently ownsowns atat leastleast ononee copy.copy.1212 ThThee SaltSalt LakLakee CityCity LibrarLibraryy systemsystem iiss ththee exception,exception, havinhavingg hahadd alalll ofof ititss copiecopiess stolenstolen.. ThiThiss iiss nonott surprisinsurprisingg sincsincee eaceachh copcopyy ooff Fate of the PersecutorsPersecutors iiss nonoww wortworthh betweebetweenn thirtthirtyy andand ononee hundrehundredd dollars.1313 DespitDespitee ititss collectiblecollectible status,status, ththee boobookk iiss stillstill widelwidelyy reareadd iinn ththee MormoMormonn communitycommunity.. IInn factfact,, BrighamBrigham
YounYoungg University'University'ss HarolHaroldd BB.. LeLeee LibrarLibraryy hahass sevesevenn copiescopies,, sixsix ofof whicwhichh werewere
1010 Ibid.Ibid.,, 9393..
1111 NN.. BB.. LundwallLundwall,, Fate ofo/the the Persecutors ofo/the the Prophet Joseph Smith (Sal(Saltt LakeLake City:City: Bookcraft,Bookcraft, Inc.Inc.,, 1952),1952), 294294,, 297297,, 303303,, 305305,, 311311,, 314,314, 315315,, 328328,, 334334,, 335335..
1212 MarviMarvinn WallinWallin (forme(formerr co-owneco-ownerr anandd managemanagerr ooff BookcrafBookcraftt PublishersPublishers,, SaltSalt LakeLake City,City, Utah),Utah), inin discussiondiscussion witwithh ththee authorauthor,, ApriAprill 11,2006.11, 2006.
13 1) BooBookk purchasepurchaserr (Sa(Samm Weller'Weller'ss ZioZionn BooBookk Store,Store, SaltSalt LakLakee CityCity,, Utah)Utah),, inin discussiondiscussion witwithh thethe author,author, AprilApril 1919,, 2006.2006. 5 14 checkecheckedd ououtt inin ththee springspring ooff 2006. 1
RegardlesRegardlesss ooff ititss popularitpopularityy amonamongg laymen,laymen, historianhistorianss regarregardd Fate of the the
Persecutors asas inaccurateinaccurate anandd sensationalsensational.. DalliDallinn HH.. OakOakss anandd MarviMarvinn S.S. Hill'sHill's
Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph SmithSmith specificallyspecifically discreditdiscreditss itit,, notinnotingg thathatt contrarcontraryy ttoo "Utah"Utah mythmyth"" ththee five menmen whowho wherwheree trietriedd (and(and acquitted)acquitted) forfor ththee murdermurderss ofof JosepJosephh andand HyrumHyrum Smith,Smith, anandd threethree otherother memenn proveprovenn ttoo bbee leaderleaderss inin ththee murdemurderr plotplot,, wouldwould enjoyenjoy successfulsuccessful careers.I515
YetYet,, OaksOaks anandd HilHilll scrutinizescrutinize onlyonly eigheightt membermemberss ooff ththee mobmob,, jusjustt 4 percenpercentt ofof thethe moremore thathann twtwoo hundrehundredd memenn whwhoo stormedstormed ththee jaijaill andand murderemurderedd ththee SmithSmith brothers.brothers.
InIn ththee absenceabsence ooff evidenceevidence,, Fate of the Persecutors stilstilll commandscommands respecrespectt amongamong ththee LDLDSS faithful.faithful. ThiThiss studystudy seekseekss ttoo evaluatevaluatee N.BN.B.. Lundwall'Lundwall'ss conclusionconclusionss iinn lightlight ofof LeonardLeonard Richard'Richard'ss findingsfindings aboutabout ththee respectabilitrespectabilityy ofof thethe antebellumantebellum mobmob membermemberss hhee studiedstudied.. WerWeree ththee SmithSmith brothersbrothers'' persecutorpersecutorss mermeree frontierfrontier rabblrabblee thatthat dieddied horriblhorriblee deaths,deaths, seeminglseeminglyy cursedcursed foforr theitheirr bloodbloodyy deeddeedss or,or, asas RichardRichardss foundfound witwithh hihiss anti-abolitioanti-abolitionn mobsmobs,, werweree thetheyy memenn ooff prominencprominencee whwhoo enjoyedenjoyed positionspositions ofof statustatuss withiwithinn theitheirr communitiecommunitiess despitedespite (or(or perhapperhapss becausbecausee of)of) theitheirr participationparticipation iinn momobb activitiesactivities?? MovinMovingg ththee murdemurderr ooff JosepJosephh andand HyruHyrumm SmithSmith fromfrom itsits narrownarrow
MormoMormonn contextcontext ttoo a positiopositionn withiwithinn ththee broadebroaderr frameworframeworkk ofof antebellumantebellum
1144 CirculationCirculation DesDeskk LibrariaLibrariann (Harol(Haroldd B.B. LeLeee LibraryLibrary,, BrighaBrighamm YounYoungg UniversityUniversity,, Provo,Provo, Utah),Utah), inin discussiodiscussionn witwithh ththee authorauthor,, ApriAprill 19,2006.19, 2006.
15 15 DalliDallinn HH.. OakOakss anandd MarviMarvinn SS.. HillHill,, Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused AssassinsAssassins of Joseph Smith (Urbana(Urbana,, 1LIL:: UniversitUniversityy ofof lIIinoisIllinois PressPress,, 1976),217,219.1976), 217, 219. A seconsecondd publicationpublication debunkingdebunking Lundwall'Lundwall'ss claimclaimss iiss RoberRobertt EE.. Poulsen'Poulsen'ss "Fat"Fatee ooff ththee PersecutorPersecutorss ofof JosepJosephh Smith:Smith: TransmutationsTransmutations ofof aann AmericaAmericann Myth,Myth,"" publishepublishedd iinn Dialogue Magazine 11,11, nono.. 4 (winter(winter 1978):1978): 6363-- 7070.. PoulsePoulsenn arguesargues onlyonly thathatt Lundwall'sLundwall's boobookk iiss "probably"probably nonott historicallhistoricallyy authentic"authentic" anandd thenthen focusefocusess ththee bulbulkk ooff hihiss articlearticle oonn otheotherr topictopicss hhee describedescribess asas MormonMormon mythmythss anandd legendslegends.. ThThee onlyonly evidenceevidencess hhee citecitess foforr hihiss claimclaimss againsagainstt LundwalLundwalll areare Carthage Conspiracy andand somesome legendlegendss ofof severseveree sufferingsuffering fromfrom MormoMormonn anandd AmericaAmericann folklore.folklore. 6 AmericaAmericann violencviolencee wilwilll brinbringg ththee answers ttoo thesthesee questionsquestions intointo sharpersharper focusfocus andand simultaneouslsimultaneouslyy imbuimbuee ththee eveneventt witwithh neneww meaning.meaning.
ThiThiss studystudy wilwilll focusfocus oonn ththee CarthageCarthage momobb anandd construcconstructt a collectivecollective biographbiographyy ooff ititss knowknownn participantsparticipants.. CensuCensuss recordsrecords,, localocall historieshistories,, courcourtt records, andand churcchurchh recordrecordss reveareveall importantimportant detaildetailss abouaboutt occupation,, socio-economicsocio-economic status, maritamaritall status, age,age, andand placplacee ofof birtbirthh ooff momobb members.members. ThiThiss informationinformation wilwilll thethenn serveserve asas a basbasee linlinee ttoo ascertainascertain iiff thesthesee men'men'ss livelivess werweree dramaticallydramatically alteredaltered afteafterr participatinparticipatingg inin Smith'sSmith's murdermurder.. BecauseBecause nnoo scholarlscholarlyy in-depthin-depth analysisanalysis ofof ththee CarthagCarthagee momobb hahass beebeenn published,, thithiss papepaperr servesserves a dualdual purpose.
ItIt placeplacess ththee momobb withinwithin a broadebroaderr contextcontext ooff ante-belluante-bellumm violencviolencee andand thethenn testtestss itit nonott onlonlyy againstagainst populapopularr MormonMormon perceptionsperceptions,, bubutt alsalsoo againsagainstt establishedestablished mobmob scholarship.scholarship. MORMOMORMONN CHURCHCHURCH HISTORYHISTORY
ThThee ChurchChurch ofof JesuJesuss ChristChrist ofof Latter-daLatter-dayy SaintsSaints wawass officiallofficiallyy organizedorganized onon
ApriAprill 6,6, 1830,1830, iinn Fayette,Fayette, SenecSenecaa CountyCounty,, NeNeww York. 1616 JosepJosephh Smith,Smith, Jr.Jr.,, founderfounder anandd first PresidentPresident ooff ththee ChurchChurch,, wawass borbornn oonn DecembeDecemberr 23,23, 1805,1805, inin Sharon,Sharon,
WindsorWindsor CountyCounty,, VermontVermont.. TheThe fifth ofof eleveneleven childrechildrenn borbornn ttoo JosepJosephh andand LucyLucy
MackMack Smith,Smith, Joseph,Joseph, Jr.,Jr., spentspent mostmost ooff hihiss childhoochildhoodd neanearr PalmyraPalmyra,, NeNeww York,York, workinworkingg oonn ththee smallsmall SmithSmith familfamilyy farfarmm oror hiringhiring outout ttoo helhelpp hihiss strugglinstrugglingg familyfamily survivesurvive economically.economically.1717 ThisThis relativelrelativelyy simplsimplee andand obscureobscure liflifee endedended,, however,however, whewhenn hhee proclaimeproclaimedd ttoo ththee worlworldd thathatt hhee hahadd receivereceivedd heavenlheavenlyy visitationvisitationss andand translatedtranslated a boobookk ooff ancienancientt scripture,scripture, ThThee BooBookk ofof MormonMormon,, frofromm golgoldd plateplatess givengiven toto hihimm bbyy anan angelangel.. SmithSmith subsequentlsubsequentlyy becambecamee ththee targetargett ooff intensintensee persecutionpersecution frofromm ministersministers,, thosthosee seekinseekingg toto steasteall ththee goldgold platesplates,, andand countlesscountless others.others.
NeverthelessNevertheless,, a substantialsubstantial numbenumberr ooff peoplpeoplee believebelievedd hihiss proclamationproclamationss anandd assistedassisted
SmithSmith inin officiallyofficially organizinorganizingg whawhatt woulwouldd latelaterr becombecomee widelwidelyy knowknownn aass thethe MormonMormon
Church. 1818
InIn 18311831 SmithSmith establishedestablished ththee Church'Church'ss maimainn headquarterheadquarterss iinn Kirtland,Kirtland, Ohio,Ohio, andand alsoalso createdcreated a brancbranchh inin MissouriMissouri.. MembersMembers andand convertconvertss werweree encouragedencouraged toto
1616 Smith,Smith, History ofo/the the Church, 11:75-79 :75-79..
17 17 BushmanBushman,, Joseph Smith, 32-33.32-33.
18 18 Smith,Smith, History ofo/the the Church, 11:64 :64;; Bushman,Bushman, Joseph Smith, 109109.. 8 relocatrelocatee ttoo ononee ooff thesethese twtwoo areasareas.. JosepJosephh SmithSmith anandd hihiss familyfamily settledsettled iinn KirtlandKirtland wherewhere,, foforr ththee nexnextt severaseverall yearsyears,, ththee ChurcChurchh experienceexperiencedd limitelimitedd bubutt measurablemeasurable success.success. MormonMormonss builbuiltt ththee KirtlanKirtlandd TempleTemple,, organizedorganized a "School"School ooff ththee Prophets,"Prophets,"
19 andand churchchurch membershimembershipp gregreww ttoo approximatelyapproximately twtwoo thousand. 19 NeverthelessNevertheless,, thethe
ChurcChurchh facedfaced a multitudmultitudee ofof challengechallengess inin Ohio.Ohio. VerVeryy fefeww localocall OhioanOhioanss joinedjoined,, andand manmanyy sasaww ThThee BooBookk ooff MormoMormonn anandd Smith'sSmith's otheotherr theologicatheologicall claimclaimss aass heretical.heretical.
MoreoverMoreover,, ththee Church'Church'ss frequenfrequentt supportsupport ofof DemocratiDemocraticc PartPartyy candidatescandidates igniteignitedd thethe furorfuror ooff WhiWhigg supporters.supporters. YearYearss ofof simmerinsimmeringg locallocal conflicconflictt finallyfinally erupteeruptedd iinn 18371837 whewhenn ththee KirtlanKirtlandd SafetySafety Society,Society, a financiafinanciall organizatioorganizationn originallyoriginally establishedestablished byby churchchurch leaders,leaders, collapsedcollapsed.. AngrAngryy creditors,creditors, hostilhostilee localslocals,, andand severalseveral prominentprominent churchchurch membersmembers (many(many ofof whowhomm hahadd dissentedissentedd afterafter losinlosingg significansignificantt amountsamounts ofof monemoneyy inin ththee KirtlanKirtlandd BanBankk failure)failure) becambecamee a seriousserious threathreatt ttoo Smith'sSmith's life.life. AAss a resultresult,, inin JanuarJanuaryy 18381838 hhee wawass forceforcedd ttoo flefleee Kirtland. 2020 TheThe maimainn bodbodyy ofof thethe
KirtlanKirtlandd SaintSaintss followedfollowed laterlater thathatt year.year.
FroFromm KirtlandKirtland,, SmitSmithh anandd ththee maimainn bodbodyy ofof ththee churchchurch movemovedd ttoo northernnorthern
MissouriMissouri.. ThThee ChurchChurch hahadd originalloriginallyy createcreatedd itsits MissourMissourii settlemensettlementt iinn andand aroundaround
JacksoJacksonn CountyCounty;; howeverhowever,, duduee ttoo fastfast risinrisingg localocall hostilitiehostilitiess ththee sojournsojourn therethere waswas short.short. IInn onlonlyy a mattematterr ofof monthsmonths JacksoJacksonn CountCountyy residentresidentss deemeddeemed ththee rapidlyrapidly growinggrowing populatiopopulationn ooff SaintsSaints a threathreatt ttoo theitheirr community.community. MormoMormonn merchantmerchantss andand
19 19 KennetKennethh WW.. GodfreyGodfrey,, "Causes"Causes ooff MormoMormonn Non-MormoNon-Mormonn ConflicConflictt inin HancockHancock County,County, Illinois,Illinois, 1839-1846"1839-1846" (PhD(PhD diss.,diss., BrighamBrigham YounYoungg University,University, 1967),6;1967), 6; MiltoMiltonn VV.. BackmanBackman,, Jr.,Jr., The HeavensHeavens Resound: A History ofa/the the Latter-day Saints in Ohio, 1830-1838 (Sal(Saltt LakLakee City:City: DesereDeserett BooBookk Co.,Co., 1983),140.1983), 140. ThThee SchoolSchool ooff ththee ProphetProphetss wawass anan educationaeducationall institutioinstitutionn createdcreated ttoo providprovidee doctrinaldoctrinal teachingteachingss ttoo a selectselect grougroupp ooff churchchurch leaders.leaders.
2200 GodfreyGodfrey,, "Causes"Causes ooff MormonMormon Non-MormoNon-Mormonn ContlictConflict iinn HancocHancockk CountyCounty,, Illinois,Illinois, 1839-1846,"1839-1846," 6-6- 9;9; BushmanBushman,, Joseph Smith, 336-42.336-42. 9 tradesmetradesmenn takintakingg awayaway businesbusinesss fromfrom establisheestablishedd settlerssettlers wawass ononee factorfactor inin thethe conflictconflict.. AnotheAnotherr factofactorr wawass ththee potentiapotentiall politicapoliticall powepowerr ofof ththee larglargee MormonMormon populationpopulation,, whichwhich,, bbyy JulJulyy ofof 1833,1833, consistedconsisted ofof aboutabout twelvtwelvee hundrehundredd personpersonss oror nearlnearlyy one-thirone-thirdd ththee countcountyy populationpopulation.. 21 OfOf particulaparticularr concernconcern wawass ththee facfactt thathatt thethe
SaintsSaints werweree largellargelyy anti-slaveranti-slaveryy anandd MissourMissourii wawass a slavslavee state.state. AnAndd lastly,lastly, churchchurch theologytheology,, wawass againagain,, anotheranother sourcsourcee ofof conflict.conflict. AAss iinn OhioOhio,, LDLDSS doctrinedoctrine clashedclashed witwithh traditionatraditionall ProtestanProtestantt beliefsbeliefs.. MissourMissourii localslocals werweree particularlparticularlyy concerneconcernedd aboutabout ththee MormonsMormons'' beliebelieff thathatt thetheyy woulwouldd soosoonn rulrulee oveoverr a millenniamillenniall worldworld,, "under"under thethe
KinKingg ofof kings,kings,"" fromfrom a centracentrall locatiolocationn soonsoon ttoo bbee builbuiltt inin JacksoJacksonn County.22County.22 ToTo countcountyy residentsresidents,, "the"the SaintsSaints seemedseemed ttoo bbee religioureligiouss alienalienss threateninthreateningg politicalpolitical
23 domination."domination. ,,23
JacksoJacksonn CountyCounty violencviolencee firstfirst eruptederupted iinn ththee summersummer ofof 18331833 whewhenn anan angryangry momobb attackeattackedd ththee MormoMormonn printinprintingg officeoffice,, store,store, anandd blacksmitblacksmithh shop;shop; tarretarredd andand featherefeatheredd twtwoo churcchurchh membersmembers;; andand forcedforced severaseverall churcchurchh leadersleaders ttoo signsign agreementsagreements ttoo leaveleave MissouriMissouri.. ThThee churcchurchh soughsoughtt legalegall protectionprotection,, bubutt ttoo nnoo avai1.avail.2424 OnOn OctoberOctober
31,31,1833 1833,, a momobb ooff fiftfiftyy attackedattacked a MormoMormonn settlemensettlementt onon ththee BiBigg BluBluee River,River, brutallbrutallyy whippinwhippingg severaseverall memenn andand unroofinunroofingg thirteethirteenn houseshouses.. SimilaSimilarr attacksattacks occurredoccurred iinn otheotherr MormoMormonn townshiptownshipss oonn ththee followingfollowing twtwoo nightsnights.. WitWithh onlonlyy a briefbrief
rdrd respitrespitee frofromm ththee violencviolencee onon SundaySunday NovembeNovemberr 3 , ththee mobmob attackedattacked agaiagainn onon
nd 211 JamesJames B.B. AllenAllen andand GlenGlen M.M. Leonard,Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, 2 nd EditionEdition (Salt(Salt LakeLake CityCity:: DesereDeserett BooBookk CompanyCompany,, 1992),93.1992), 93.
2222 Ibid.Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid.,Ibid., 96-97.96-97. 1010
thth Monday November 4 , capturing a Mormon ferry on the Big Blue River. This Monday November 4 , capturing a Mormon ferry on the Big Blue River. This incident sparked an armed confrontation in a cornfield between thirty or forty men incident sparked an armed confrontation in a cornfield between thirty or forty men from each side of the hostilities. One Mormon was killed, but this time so were two from each side of the hostilities. One Mormon was killed, but this time so were two Missourians. The locals were enraged over the deaths of two of their own. They Missourians. The locals were enraged over the deaths of two of their own. They secured the assistance of the militia and spent the entire night gathering arms and secured the assistance of the militia and spent the entire night gathering arms and ammunition for a general massacre of the Mormons. The Saints, however, avoided ammunition for a general massacre of the Mormons. The Saints, however, avoided more bloodshed by agreeing to surrender their arms and leave the county within ten more bloodshed by agreeing to surrender their arms and leave the county within ten days.25 days.25 Most of the Missouri Saints found refuge in Clay County, Missouri. The Most of the Missouri Saints found refuge in Clay County, Missouri. The local population in Clay County was initially more tolerant of the Mormons than that local population in Clay County was initially more tolerant of the Mormons than that of Jackson County, but their hospitality quickly waned. In June of 1836 concerned of Jackson County, but their hospitality quickly waned. In June of 1836 concerned locals met to discuss their issues with the Mormons. Citing concerns similar to those locals met to discuss their issues with the Mormons. Citing concerns similar to those of their Jackson County neighbors, they made it clear Mormons were no longer of their Jackson County neighbors, they made it clear Mormons were no longer welcome in Clay County.2626 This time,* however, a mutually agreed upon solution welcompreventede i nviolence-with Clay County. theThi helps time of Clay, however County, a mutuallresidents,y agree Mormond upo Churchn solutio n preventemembersd wouldviolence—wit relocateh to th ae relativelyhelp of Cla uninhabitedy County residents region north, Mormo and neast Churc of theirh membercurrent 10cation.27s would relocat Thise agreementto a relativel sawy uninhabitefruition, andd regio by then nortendh of an 1836d eas tthe of Missouritheir 27 currenSaints thad location relocated. Thi ands agreemen were alreadyt saw successful fruition, an atd establishing by the end otwof 183 counties,6 the Missour i
CaldwellSaints had and relocate Daviess,d an din wertheire alreadnew area?8y successfu l at establishing two counties,
Caldwell and Daviess, in their new area.
25 Smith,Smith, History of the Church.Church, 11:433-36:433-36. .
26 26 StephenStephen CC.. LeSuerLeSuer,, "Missouri's"Missouri's FaileFailedd Compromise:Compromise: TheThe CreatioCreationn ooff CaldwelCaldwelll CountCountyy forfor thethe Mormons,"Mormons," The Journal of Mormon History 3232,, nono.. 3 (Fall(Fall 2005)2005):: 117-118.117-118.
27 27 Ibid.,Ibid., 118-119.118-119. 1111
AgainAgain,, thethe churcchurchh membermemberss begabegann quicklyquickly buildinbuildingg uupp theitheirr neneww residenceresidence anandd withiwithinn a shorshortt timtimee thertheree werweree severaseverall bustlingbustling,, rapidlrapidlyy growingrowingg communities.communities.
FaFarr WestWest,, ththee mosmostt prosperouprosperouss LDLDSS settlement,settlement, hahadd 150150 homeshomes,, "4"4 drydry googoodd stores,stores, 3 familfamilyy grocergroceryy stores,stores, half-a-dozehalf-a-dozenn blacksmitblacksmithh shopsshops,, 2 hotels,hotels,"" a printinprintingg shop,shop, anandd a largelarge schoolhouseschoolhouse thathatt doubleddoubled asas a churcchurchh andand courthousecourthouse.. 29 SaintSaintss f10ckedflocked ttoo thethe neneww gatheringatheringg placplacee andand withiwithinn twotwo yearyearss thertheree werweree overover 4,904,9000 MormonMormonss livinlivingg inin
CaldwelCaldwelll County,County, alongsidalongsidee approximatelapproximatelyy 100100 non-Mormons.non-Mormons. 3o
IInn MarchMarch ooff 18381838 JosephJoseph SmithSmith anandd otherother refugeerefugeess fromfrom KirtlanKirtlandd beganbegan arrivinarrivingg inin CaldwellCaldwell andand DaviessDaviess Counties.Counties. TheiTheirr respitrespitee iinn MissourMissourii wawass shorshortt lived,lived, howeverhowever,, sincesince a patterpatternn ofof events,events, nonoww familiarfamiliar ttoo MormoMormonn ChurchChurch membersmembers,, waswas alreadyalready takingtaking shape.shape. ChurchChurch membememberr ParleParleyy PP.. PrattPratt,, whwhoo arrivearrivedd iinn FaFarr WesWestt inin
MaMayy 1838,1838, describedescribedd ththee situationsituation thus:thus:
WarWar cloudsclouds begabegann agaiagainn ttoo lowerlower witwithh darkdark anandd threateninthreateningg aspect.aspect. ThoseThose whowho hahadd combinedcombined againstagainst ththee lawlawss inin ththee adjoiningadjoining counties,counties, hadhad lonlongg watchewatchedd ouourr increasinincreasingg powepowerr anandd prosperityprosperity witwithh jealousyjealousy,, andand witwithh greedgreedyy anandd avariciouavariciouss eyeseyes.. ItIt wawass a commoncommon boasboastt thatthat,, aass soonsoon aass wwee hahadd completedcompleted ouourr extensiveextensive improvements,improvements, andand madmadee a plentifuplentifull cropcrop,, thetheyy woulwouldd drivdrivee usus 331 fromfrom ththee State,State, andand onconcee moremore enricenrichh themselvethemselvess witwithh ththee spoils. )
28 JohJohnn HamerHamer,, "Mapping"Mapping MormoMormonn SettlementSettlement iinn CaldwelCaldwelll CountyCounty,, Missouri,Missouri,"" Mormon HistoricalHistorical Studies 9 (Sprin(Springg 2008)2008):: 15-4015-40;; StepheStephenn CC.. LeSuerLeSuer,, "Missouri's"Missouri's FaileFailedd Compromise:Compromise: ThThee CreatioCreationn ofof CaldwelCaldwelll CountyCounty foforr ththee Mormons,Mormons,"" 134;134; SmithSmith,, History of the Church.Church, 4:27-284:27-28;; The HandybookHandybookfor for Genealogists, United States of America, 8thth EdEd.. (Logan,(Logan, UTUT:: EvertoEvertonn PublishersPublishers,, Inc.Inc.,, 1997),1997), 143-4.143-4.
2299 History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, Missouri: Including a History of Their Townships,Townships, Towns, and Villages, Together with a Condensed History of Missouri. Missouri . ... . Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens; General and Local Statistics . ... . Incidents and Reminiscences (St(St.. LouisLouis:: NationalNational HistoricalHistorical Co.,Co., 1886)[886),, 121121..
3030 Ibid.,Ibid., 118.118.
31 31 ParleyParley P.P. Pratt,Pratt, ed.ed.,, Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt (Sal(Saltt LakeLake CityCity:: DeseretDeseret BookBook CompanyCompany,, 1975),1975), 174.174. 1212
HostilitieHostilitiess witwithh localocall residentresidentss werweree compoundecompoundedd byby ththee facfactt thathatt severalseveral highlhighlyy respecterespectedd MissourMissourii MormonMormon leaderleaderss hahadd becombecomee disaffecteddisaffected fromfrom ththee ChurchChurch andand hadhad,, subsequently,subsequently, turneturnedd theitheirr attentionsattentions ttoo filinfilingg lawsuits,lawsuits, condemningcondemning currentcurrent leadersleaders,, andand generallgenerallyy harassinharassingg ththee Saints.Saints. AAss tensiontensionss mountemountedd manymany ChurchChurch membersmembers becambecamee determineddetermined ttoo ususee whatevewhateverr meanmeanss necessarnecessaryy ttoo ensureensure thathatt theythey wouldwould nonott bbee drivendriven fromfrom theitheirr homehomess yeyett againagain.. EveEvenn somesome ChurchChurch leadersleaders,, whowho hadhad discouragediscouragedd ananyy typtypee ooff retaliatioretaliationn againsagainstt persecutiopersecutionn inin ththee pastpast,, nonoww openlyopenly calledcalled foforr violenviolentt responseresponsess ttoo attacksattacks.. ParticularlyParticularly significantsignificant isis SidneySidney Rigdon'sRigdon's JulyJuly 4,4,
1838,1838, speechspeech givengiven ttoo a larglargee congregationcongregation ofof SaintSaintss atat FarFar WestWest.. RigdonRigdon,, thenthen FirstFirst
CounselorCounselor ttoo PresidenPresidentt JosepJosephh Smith,32Smith,32 toltoldd listenerlistenerss thatthat
WWee wilwilll beabearr iitt nnoo moremore,, ouourr rightrightss shalshalll nnoo mormoree bbee trampletrampledd oonn withwith impunityimpunity.. ThThee mamann oror ththee setset ooff menmen,, whwhoo attemptattemptss itit,, doesdoes iitt atat thethe expenseexpense ooff theitheirr liveslives.. AnAndd thathatt momobb thathatt comecomess onon uuss toto disturdisturbb usus;; itit shalshalll bbee betweebetweenn uuss andand thethemm a wawarr ooff exterminationextermination;; forfor wwee willwill follofolloww themthem,, tiltilll ththee laslastt drodropp ooff theitheirr bloobloodd iiss spilled, ...... WWee willwill neveneverr bbee ththee aggressorsaggressors,, wwee wilwilll infringeinfringe oonn ththee rightrightss ooff nnoo people;people; bubutt shallshall standstand foforr ourour owownn untiuntill death...... AnAndd wwee pledgpledgee thithiss dayday toto oneone another,another, ouourr fortunesfortunes,, ouourr liveslives,, andand ouourr sacredsacred honorshonors,, ttoo bebe deliveredeliveredd fromfrom ththee persecutionpersecutionss whicwhichh wwee havhavee hahadd ttoo endureendure,, foforr thethe laslastt ninninee yearsyears,, oorr nearlnearlyy thatthat.. NeitheNeitherr wilwilll wwee indulgeindulge ananyy manman,, oror setset ooff menmen,, iinn institutinginstituting vexatiouvexatiouss lawlaw suitsuitss againstagainst usus,, ttoo cheatcheat usus ououtt ooff ouourr jusjustt rightsrights,, iiff thetheyy attemptattempt iitt wwee sasayy wwoo untuntoo them.them. 33
ThisThis typtypee ooff rhetorirhetoricc diddid littlelittle ttoo protecprotectt ththee MormoMormonn community.community. InsteadInstead,, itit furtherfurther angereangeredd theitheirr MissourMissourii enemiesenemies anandd leledd ttoo increasedincreased violenceviolence.. OveOverr thethe nextnext fewfew monthmonthss severalseveral ofof ththee MormoMormonn settlementsettlementss werweree attackedattacked bbyy mobs,mobs, anandd thethe residentresidentss werweree forceforcedd ttoo fleeflee.. ThThee SaintsSaints diddid attempattemptt ttoo defenddefend themselvesthemselves,, albeitalbeit
32 Church News EditorialEditorial StaffStaff witwithh ththee FamilFamilyy anandd ChurcChurchh HistorHistoryy DepartmentDepartment ooff ThThee ChurchChurch ofof JesuJesuss ChrisChristt ooff Latter-daLatter-dayy SaintsSaints,, eds.eds.,, 2008 Church Almanac (Sal(Saltt LakeLake City:City: DesereDeserett MorninMorningg News,News, 2008)2008),68., 68.
33 33 PetePeterr CrawleyCrawley,, "Two"Two RarRaree MissourMissourii Documents,Documents,"" BYU Studies 1414 (Summer(Summer 1974):1974): 527.527. 1313 unsuccessfullyunsuccessfully.. FoForr exampleexample,, DaviDavidd WW.. PattenPatten,, MormoMormonn apostleapostle anandd MissourMissourii militiamilitia
CaptainCaptain,, leledd a smallsmall banbandd ooff soldierssoldiers iinn anan efforeffortt ttoo rescurescuee threthreee churcchurchh membersmembers beinbeingg helheldd prisonerprisoner.. TheThe detachmentdetachment endedended uupp facinfacingg anotheanotherr MissourMissourii militimilitiaa iinn a battlbattlee thathatt resulteresultedd inin ththee deatdeathh ofof oneone MissouriaMissouriann anandd twtwoo MormonsMormons,, ononee ooff whichwhich
34 waswas PattePattenn himself. 34 DurinDuringg thithiss perioperiodd somesome MormonMormonss turneturnedd ttoo vigilantisvigilantismm aass a meanmeanss ooff defensedefense.. TheThe violenviolentt vigilantvigilantee grougroupp thetheyy formedformed,, commonlycommonly referrereferredd ttoo asas ththee DanitesDanites,, soughsoughtt ttoo exacexactt revengrevengee againsagainstt ththee Church'sChurch's enemieenemiess bbyy anyany meansmeans necessary;necessary; howeverhowever,, theitheirr aggressiveaggressive activitieactivitiess dididd littllittlee ttoo protecprotectt thethe Saints,Saints, andand onlyonly servedserved ttoo increasincreasee hostilities.3535 UltimatelyUltimately,, ththee SaintsSaints werweree nnoo matchmatch againstagainst ththee deepdeep anandd governmengovernmentt backebackedd resourceresourcess ooff ththee Missourians.Missourians.
OneOne particularlparticularlyy damagindamagingg blobloww camcamee onon OctoberOctober 27,27, 1838,1838, whewhenn MissouriMissouri
GovernorGovernor LilburLilburnn BoggsBoggs issueissuedd hihiss infamousinfamous "Order"Order ooff Extermination."Extermination." ReactinReactingg toto one-sidedone-sided reportreportss thathatt ththee MormonMormonss werweree makinmakingg "open"open warwar"" upouponn ththee peoplpeoplee ofof
MissouriMissouri,, BoggBoggss decreeddecreed:: "The"The MormonMormonss musmustt bbee treatetreatedd aass enemieenemiess andand must be exterminated oorr drivedrivenn frofromm ththee state,state, iiff necessarnecessaryy forfor ththee publipublicc good."good. ,,3636 IInn spitespite ofof
BoggsBoggs'' decreedecree,, ththee nexnextt dadayy a smalsmalll communitcommunityy ooff abouaboutt thirtthirtyy MormoMormonn familiesfamilies onon
ShoalShoal CreeCreekk madmadee a peacpeacee treattreatyy witwithh militimilitiaa leadersleaders.. 377 OnlOnlyy twtwoo daydayss laterlater,, howeverhowever,, betweebetweenn twtwoo hundrehundredd anandd threthreee hundrehundredd militiamemilitiamenn attackeattackedd ththee settlementsettlement
3344 StepheStephenn CC.. LeSuer,LeSuer, The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri (Columbia(Columbia:: UniversityUniversity ooff MissouriMissouri PressPress,, 1987),1987), 125,125, 138-42.138-42.
3355 Ibid.Ibid.,, 114.114.
3366 Smith,Smith, History of the Church, 3:3:175 175;; AlexandeAlexanderr LL.. BaughBaugh,, A Call to Arms: The 1838 MormonMormon Defense ofo.fNorthern Northern Missouri, DissertationDissertationss inin LDLDSS HistorHistoryy (Provo:(Provo: JosepJosephh FieldinFieldingg SmithSmith InstituteInstitute forfor Latter-daLatter-dayy SaintSaint HistorHistoryy anandd BYBYUU Studies,Studies, 2000)2000),, 109.109.
3737 AlexandeAlexanderr L.L. BaughBaugh,, A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, 117117.. 1414 anandd killekilledd eighteen,eighteen, includingincluding sixty-two-year-olsixty-two-year-oldd ThomaThomass McBridMcBridee whowho wawass hackedhacked ttoo deathdeath witwithh a corncorn cutter,cutter, andand ten-year-olten-year-oldd SardiusSardius SmithSmith whwhoo wawass discovereddiscovered
"cowering"cowering andand tremblingtrembling"" beneatbeneathh ththee furnacefurnace bellowbellowss ooff a blacksmitblacksmithh shoshopp andand waswas subsequently shot to death at point blank range while pleading for his life. 3838 subsequently shot to death at point blank range while pleading for his life. Although this massacre likely occurred without knowledge of Boggs' extermination Although this massacre likely occurred without knowledge of Boggs' extermination order, the Mormons in Far West viewed it as evidence of how far the Missourians order, the Mormons in Far West viewed it as evidence of how far the Missourians were willing to go to bring about their removal, and, hoping to avoid the loss of more were willing to go to bring about their removal, and, hoping to avoid the loss of more lives, essentially surrendered. 39 On November 1sl the state militia rode into Far West lives, essentially surrendered.39 On November 1st the state militia rode into Far West and took custody of Joseph Smith and four other church leaders. Residents were then and took custody of Joseph Smith and four other church leaders. Residents were then forced to give up their arms and watch as the militia ravaged both their town and forced to give up their arms and watch as the militia ravaged both their town and some of their women. 40 Moreover, several hundred were compelled to sign away some of their women.40 Moreover, several hundred were compelled to sign away rights to their land. The Missourians quick purchase of this property suggests that rights to their land. The Missourians quick purchase of this property suggests that one of their primary motivations in expelling the Mormons was to purchase improved one of their primary motivations in expelling the Mormons was to purchase improved land at public sale prices.41 Mob violence continued through early 1839 and by April land at public sale prices.41 Mob violence continued through early 1839 and by April nearly all of the LDS community had sought refuge in and around Quincy, Illinois. nearly all of the LDS community had sought refuge in and around Quincy, Illinois.
3838 Ibid.Ibid.,, 121-123.121-123.
3939 IbidIbid.,140.,140..
4400 Ibid.Ibid.,, 154-156154-156,, 158158..
4141 Ibid.Ibid.,, 156.156. HANCOCHANCOCKK COUNTCOUNTYY HISTORYHISTORY
WheWhenn ththee SaintSaintss arrivearrivedd iinn westerwesternn IllinoisIllinois,, thetheyy founfoundd themselvethemselvess inin anan areaarea whoswhosee historhistoryy wawass ververyy mucmuchh a storystory ooff competincompetingg interestinterest groupsgroups.. UntiUntill 1815,1815, whenwhen
CongresCongresss setset iitt asideaside aass militarymilitary bountbountyy landland forfor veteranveteranss ofof ththee WaWarr ofof 1812,1812, NativeNative
AmericanAmericanss werweree virtuallvirtuallyy thethe solsolee inhabitantinhabitantss ooff ththee territorterritoryy nonoww knowknownn asas HancockHancock
CountyCounty.. AfteAfterr 18151815 ththee areaarea begabegann attractingattracting botbothh southersouthernn andand northernnorthern U.SU.S.. immigrants.immigrants. IInn additioadditionn ttoo competincompetingg amongstamongst themselvethemselvess forfor resources,resources, thesthesee earlyearly settlerssettlers hahadd ttoo deadeall witwithh larglargee numbernumberss ofof BlackhawBlackhawkk IndianIndianss whwhoo dididd notnot appreciateappreciate ththee steadsteadyy streastreamm ofof neneww settlersettlerss takintakingg uupp residencresidencee iinn whawhatt thetheyy considereconsideredd ttoo bebe theitheirr territory.territory. ThThee BlackhawksBlackhawks foughtfought fiercelyfiercely ttoo retairetainn controcontroll oftheof the areaarea,, bubutt inin
SeptemberSeptember 18331833 thetheyy werweree forcedforced toto concedeconcede theitheirr IllinoiIllinoiss landslands anandd subsequentlysubsequently leftleft ththee state.state. OnceOnce ththee IndianIndian WarWarss werweree over,over, immigrationimmigration increasedincreased dramatically.dramatically. InIn
18201820 thertheree waswas approximatelapproximatelyy 1 settlersettler peperr squarsquaree milemile,, whicwhichh grewgrew ttoo 2.82.8 settlerssettlers perper squarsquaree milmilee iinn 1830,1830, andand bbyy 18401840 thertheree werweree 8.58.5 settlerssettlers peperr squaresquare mile.4242
WitWithh ththee influxinflux ofof immigrantimmigrantss camcamee increasinincreasingg powepowerr strugglesstruggles.. DuDuee ttoo thethe laclackk ooff adequatadequatee frontiefrontierr lawlaw enforcement,enforcement, bandbandss ooff maraudermarauderss werweree amongsamongstt ththee firstfirst ttoo exertexert a measurmeasuree ooff controcontroll oveoverr ththee area.area. BesideBesidess stealinstealingg horsehorsess anandd otherother items,items, thesthesee groupgroupss generallgenerallyy harasseharassedd ththee locallocal populatiopopulationn andand eveevenn murderemurderedd whewhenn iitt suitedsuited
42 RoberRobertt BrucBrucee FlandersFlanders,, Nauvoo: Kingdom on the Mississippi (Urbana(Urbana andand Chicago:Chicago: UniversitUniversityy ofof IllinoiIllinoiss PressPress,, FirstFirst PaperbackPaperback EditionEdition,, 1975),1975), 1616.. 1616 theitheirr purposespurposes.. TheTheyy alsalsoo hahadd significantsignificant controlcontrol oveoverr thethe courtcourt systemsystem andand ththee fewfew lalaww enforcemenenforcementt officials.officials. IInn factfact,, iinn 18411841 whewhenn severalseveral maraudermarauderss werweree finallyfinally jailedjailed foforr infractionsinfractions,, otherotherss ooff theitheirr banbandd burneburnedd ththee jailhousjailhousee ttoo ththee groungroundd inin orderorder ttoo freefree them.4343 WearWearyy andand concerneconcernedd forfor theitheirr owownn well-beinwell-beingg amongstamongst ththee rampantrampant lawlessness,lawlessness, settlerssettlers sasaww nono alternativalternativee bubutt ttoo ararmm themselvethemselvess andand forformm vigilantevigilante groupsgroups..
ThThee areaarea alsoalso facedfaced economieconomicc troubletroubless aass iitt struggledstruggled ttoo emergemergee frofromm itsits frontiefrontierr stage.stage. ThThee statestate ooff IllinoiIllinoiss hahadd investeinvestedd heavilheavilyy iinn a systemsystem ooff interrelatedinterrelated railroadrailroadss anandd canalscanals.. HoweverHowever,, soarinsoaringg landland pricepricess anandd ththee economieconomicc panicpanicss ooff 18371837 andand 18391839 puputt aann enendd ttoo ththee endeavoendeavorr andand leftleft ththee statestate oonn ththee brinbrinkk ooff bankruptcybankruptcy.. ItIt waswas widelwidelyy believebelievedd thathatt large-scallarge-scalee immigratioimmigrationn wawass ththee onlonlyy wawayy IllinoiIllinoiss asas a wholewhole couldcould savsavee itselitselff frofromm ruin.4444 SoSo,, whewhenn ththee MormonMormonss begabegann toto arrivearrive iinn HancockHancock
CountyCounty iinn ththee latlatee 1830s,1830s, thetheyy werweree givegivenn "a"a cordialcordial,, eveevenn enthusiasticenthusiastic welcome.,,45welcome."45
TherTheree werweree alsoalso politicapoliticall reasonreasonss forfor welcominwelcomingg ththee MormonMormon communitycommunity toto
HancocHancockk County.County. DuDuee ttoo ththee populatiopopulationn anandd economiceconomic growtgrowthh ooff ththee 1840s,1840s, Illinois,Illinois, andand ththee entirentiree MidwestMidwest,, acquiredacquired nationanationall politicapoliticall significance.significance. Consequently,Consequently, thethe regioregionn becambecamee "a"a kinkindd ooff storstormm centecenterr foforr nationanationall politics. 4646 HancocHancockk CountyCounty waswas nnoo exceptioexceptionn ttoo thithiss politicapoliticall fervor.fervor. SeveraSeverall volatilvolatilee issueissuess suchsuch aass slaveryslavery divideddivided thethe
WhiWhigg andand DemocratiDemocraticc agendaagendass anandd encourageencouragedd impassioneimpassionedd alliancesalliances.. IInn thethe latelate
4433 ThomaThomass FordFord,, History of Illinois (Chicago:(Chicago: S.CS.c.. GriggGriggss & Co.,Co., 1854),231.1854), 231.
4444 FlandersFlanders,, Nauvoo, 1919..
4455 Ibid.Ibid.
4466 Ibid.Ibid.,, 212.212. 1717
1830s1830s HancocHancockk CountCountyy votevotedd WhigWhig,, bubutt thetheyy diddid soso againsagainstt a statewidestatewide DemocraticDemocratic trendtrend.. Hancock'Hancock'ss WhiWhigg supporterssupporters hopehopedd ttoo maintaimaintainn theitheirr politicapoliticall powepowerr withinwithin thethe countcountyy andand alsoalso soughsoughtt ttoo makmakee alliancealliancess thathatt woulwouldd improveimprove theitheirr positiopositionn withiwithinn thethe statestate.. ConverselyConversely,, HancocHancockk CountCountyy DemocratDemocratss hopehopedd ttoo overturoverturnn WhiWhigg controcontroll ofof thethe areaarea.. ItIt wawass durinduringg thithiss criticacriticall politicapoliticall perioperiodd thathatt MormoMormonn immigratioimmigrationn toto HancockHancock
CountCountyy began.began.
ThThee MormonsMormons,, principallprincipallyy DemocratiDemocraticc supporterssupporters iinn MissouriMissouri,, hahadd turnedturned againsagainstt ththee partpartyy afteafterr twtwoo bittebitterr experiences.experiences. TheThe firstfirst wawass DemocratiDemocraticc MissouriMissouri
GovernorGovernor LillburLillburnn Bogg'Bogg'ss 18381838 exterminatioexterminationn order. 4747 ThThee secondsecond wawass DemocraticDemocratic
PresidenPresidentt MartiMartinn VaVann Buren'Buren'ss refusalrefusal,, iinn FebruarFebruaryy 1840,1840, ttoo assistassist ththee SaintsSaints inin seekingseeking redresredresss foforr theitheirr losseslosses inin MissouriMissouri.. AfteAfterr thesthesee twtwoo eventsevents ththee MormonMormonss shiftedshifted theirtheir supportsupport ttoo ththee WhiWhigg PartyParty.. HancocHancockk CountCountyy WhigsWhigs,, eageeagerr toto expanexpandd theitheirr votingvoting powerpower,, initiallinitiallyy welcomewelcomedd ththee powerfupowerfull Mormon-votinMormon-votingg bloc.bloc. 48
WheWhenn ththee MormonMormonss begabegann arrivingarriving iinn ththee latelate 1830s,1830s, abouaboutt 9,0009,000 peoplpeoplee livedlived iinn HancocHancockk County.County.4949 WarsaWarsaww wawass ononee ofof ththee county'county'ss mosmostt prosperouprosperouss townstowns,, hahadd a populatiopopulationn ofof abouaboutt eigheightt hundredhundred,, anandd commandecommandedd mosmostt ofof ththee areareaa businessbusiness.. TheThe growingrowingg citcityy hadhad
2 steamsteam sawsaw mills,mills, oneone steamsteam merchantmerchant flouringflouring millmill ofof thethe firstfirst order,order, capablecapable ofof manufacturinmanufacturingg 8080 ttoo 100100 barrelbarrelss ooff superfinesuperfine flouflourr peperr day,day, oneone newspapenewspaperr andand jojobb printinprintingg officeoffice,, 1212 stores,stores, 3 hotelshotels,, 2 gunsmithsgunsmiths,, 3 blacksmithsblacksmiths,, 4 cooperscoopers,, 2 cabinecabinett makersmakers,, 1 tannerytannery,, 3 tailorstailors,, 1 bakerybakery,, 2 booboott andand shoshoee makersmakers,, 2 plasterersplasterers,, anandd 2 wagonwagonss makermakerss ...... 1 silversilver
4477 BushmanBushman,, Rough Stone Rolling, 365365..
4488 HallwaHallwass anandd LauniusLaunius,, Cultures in Conflict: A DocumentaryDocumentmy History of the Mormon War in Illinois,Illinois, 2121..
4499 HallwaHallwass anandd LauniusLaunius,, Cultures in Conflict, 1818.. 1818
smithsmith;; 1 tintin,, coopercooper,, anandd sheetsheet iroironn manufactorymanufactory,, besidebesidess a greatgreat numbernumber ooff otheotherr mechanicsmechanics,, suchsuch aass houshousee carpentercarpenterss anandd joinersjoiners,, bricbrickk andand stonestone masonsmasons,, &c.,&c, 3 physiciansphysicians,, andand ththee necessarnecessaryy complementcomplement ooflawyers.f lawyers.5050
MormoMormonn leadersleaders purchasepurchasedd larglargee tracttractss ofof lanlandd onon botbothh sidessides ooff ththee MississippMississippii andand callecalledd oonn faithfufaithfull SaintsSaints worldwidworldwidee ttoo gathegatherr ttoo theitheirr neneww andand prosperinprosperingg citycity ofof
NauvooNauvoo.. ByBy 18411841 NauvoNauvooo accountedaccounted forfor nearlynearly halhalff ooff ththee 22,5522,5599 residentresidentss ofof
HancocHancockk County.County. AddinAddingg inin ththee rurarurall populationpopulation,, ththee totatotall numbenumberr ooff MormonsMormons inin
HancockHancock CountyCounty wawass aann estimatedestimated 15,000.5151 TheThe industriouindustriouss SaintsSaints puputt theitheirr energiesenergies towardtowardss buildinbuildingg uupp theitheirr neneww homehome,, anandd NauvooNauvoo,, onceonce uninhabitableuninhabitable swampland,swampland, rapidlrapidlyy becambecamee a beautifubeautifull andand prosperouprosperouss city.52city.52 TheThe locallocal newspapernewspaper,, ththee NauvooNauvoo
Wasp, boasteboastedd thatthat ththee towntown hadhad,, amongstamongst otherother industriesindustries,, a matcmatchh factory,factory, a leatherleather manufactorymanufactory,, a tanyardtanyard,, severalseveral brickyardsbrickyards,, a glovglovee anandd strawbonnetstrawbonnet shop,shop, a brewery,brewery, a bakerybakery andand confectionery,confectionery, a spinning-wheelspinning-wheel maker,maker, a cabinetcabinet maker,maker, a printingprinting officeoffice andand boobookk binderybindery,, severaseverall tailorstailors,, weaversweavers,, cobblerscobblers,, cordwainerscordwainers,, anandd wagoners.5353
ChurchChurch leaderleaderss encourageencouragedd culturalcultural artsarts anandd NauvoNauvooo soonsoon hahadd brasbrasss bandsbands,, vocalists,vocalists, andand instrumentalistinstrumentalistss asas welwelll aass a theatetheaterr compancompanyy providinprovidingg regularegularr performances.performances. 5454
InIn additionaddition toto craftsmencraftsmen anandd artistsartists,, ththee MormoMormonn communitycommunity includedincluded doctors,doctors,
5050 Ibid.,Ibid., 18-19.18-19.
5511 Leonard,Leonard, Nauvoo, 179.179.
5252 HallwaHallwass anandd LauniusLaunius,, Cultures in Conflict, 42-43.42-43.
5353 FlandersFlanders,, Nauvoo, 154154..
5454 RicharRichardd L.L. JensenJensen,, "Transplanted"Transplanted ttoo ZionZion:: ThThee ImpacImpactt ofof BritisBritishh Latter-daLatter-dayy SaintSaint ImmigrationImmigration upouponn Nauvoo,Nauvoo,"" BYU Studies 3131,, nono.. 1 (1991):(1991): 44;; NolNolaa DianDianee Smith,Smith, "Readin"Readingg AcrosAcrosss ththee Lines:Lines: MormonMormon TheatricaTheatricall FormationFormationss iinn NineteentNineteenthh CenturyCentury NauvooNauvoo,, IllinoisIllinois"" (Ph(PhDD diss.diss.,, BrighaBrighamm YoungYoung University,University, 2001)2001),3., 3. 1919 midwivesmidwives,, dentistsdentists,, lawyerslawyers,, barbersbarbers,, anandd undertakers;undertakers;5555 and,and, educatoreducatorss immigratinimmigratingg toto area made it possible to establish the University of the City of Nauvoo. 5566 area made it possible to establish the University of the City of Nauvoo. In sum, Nauvoo very quickly grew to be the largest city in the area, and it did In sum, Nauvoo very quickly grew to be the largest city in the area, and it did not take long for this growth to arouse jealousies among residents of the rest of not take long for this growth to arouse jealousies among residents of the rest of Hancock County.57 In addition to feeling their own towns' successes diminished by Hancock County.57 In addition to feeling their own towns' successes diminished by that of Nauvoo's, many area residents also felt threatened economically. 58CO Nauvoo thawast oessentiallyf Nauvoo's a, boomingmany are Mississippia residents alsRivero fel townt threatene and wasd economically economically. "outpacing"Nauvoo waothers essentiall cities similarlyy a boomin 10cated.g Mississipp59 In fact,i Riveby 1842r tow farmersn and wa froms economicall as far as oney "outpacing hundred "
59 othemilesr citieuseds Nauvoo'ssimilarly located.three gristmills In fact exclusively.60, by 1842 farmer Warsaw'ss from a citizens,s far as on ine particular, hundred
60 mile"felts their used town's Nauvoo' losss threof statuse gristmill and feareds exclusively. Nauvoo's riseWarsaw' woulds citizensimperil ,their in particular ambition, to"fel becomet their town' an importants loss of Mississippistatus and feare riverd port.,,61Nauvoo' s rise would imperil their ambition to become an important Mississippi river port."61 Before long, several of the forces that had long been contenders for power in Before long, several of the forces that had long been contenders for power in Hancock County united against a common enemy - the Mormons. The marauders who Hancock County united against a common enemy - the Mormons. The marauder62s who still inhabited the area cast blame upon the Mormons for many of their offenses. After still inhabited the area cast blame upon the Mormons for many of their offenses.62 After
55 Leonard,Leonard, Nauvoo, 160160..
5566 FlandersFlanders,, Nauvoo, 52;52; HallwaHallwass anandd LauniusLaunius,, Cultures in Conflict, 26-27.26-27.
5577 OaksOaks andand HillHill,, Carthage Conspiracy, 11;11; KennetKennethh HH.. WinnWinn,, Exiles in a Land of Liberty: MormonsMormons in America, 1830-1846 (Chape(Chapell HilHilll andand LondonLondon:: ThThee UniversitUniversityy ooff NortNorthh CarolinCarolinaa PressPress,, 1989),1989), 160.160.
58 LeonardLeonard,, Nauvoo,Nauvoo, 160;160; FawFawnn MM.. BrodieBrodie,, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph SmithSmith nd The Mormon Prophet, 2nd EditioEditionn (Ne(Neww YorkYork:: VintagVintagee BooksBooks,, a DivisioDivisionn ofof RandoRandomm HouseHouse,, Inc.Inc.,, 1995),1995), 258-259258-259;; WinnWinn,, Exiles in a Land of Liberty, 160.160.
5599 Leonard,Leonard, Nauvoo, 160.160.
60 Ibid.
6611 WinnWinn,, Exiles in a Land of Liberty, 160.160. 2020 ththee SaintsSaints votevotedd iinn ththee electionelection ofof 18401840 foforr candidatecandidatess sympatheticsympathetic ttoo theirtheir cause,cause, irrespectivirrespectivee ofof partpartyy affiliation,affiliation, botbothh ththee WhigWhigss anandd ththee DemocratDemocratss becambecamee convincedconvinced thathatt ththee MormoMormonn votvotee wawass "potentially"potentially greatergreater thathann theitheirr ownown"" andand,, consequently,consequently, joinedjoined
/TO together to form an anti-Mormon political party in early 1841.63 The "old citizens" of together to form an anti-Mormon political party in early 1841. The "old citizens" of the county blamed the continuing economic problems on the Mormons who, from their the county blamed the continuing economic problems on the Mormons who, from their point of view, had tried to build a community with too little capital and brought large point of view, had tried to build a community with too little capital and brought large numbers of unskilled immigrants into the area thereby placing too much stress on the numbers of unskilled immigrants into the area thereby placing too much stress on the local economy. 64 County newspapers, which had initially sympathized over the local economy.64 County newspapers, which had initially sympathized over the Mormon plight, now declared Joseph Smith to be a rogue dictator who exerted complete Mormon plight, now declared Joseph Smith to be a rogue dictator who exerted complete psychological control over his church members and sought to destroy all that was good psychological control over his church members and sought to destroy all that was good and right in America. 65 and right in America.65 The Mormons reacted to the growing resentment by, amongst other actions, The Mormons reacted to the growing resentment by, amongst other actions, destroying a press that was being used to print anti-Mormon literature and calling destroying a press that was being used to print anti-Mormon literature and calling Nauvoo's militia into action. These events only further infuriated Hancock County Nauvoo's militia into action. These events only further infuriated Hancock County residents. Tensions mounted so high that even the 1844 murders of Joseph and Hyrum residents. Tensions mounted so high that even the 1844 murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith did little to assuage them. It was not until virtually all the Mormons were Smith did little to assuage them. It was not until virtually all the Mormons were forcibly removed from the state in 1846 that Hancock County residents became forcibly removed from the state in 1846 that Hancock County residents became mollified.66 mollified.66
62 KennethKenneth WW.. GodfreyGodfrey,, "Crim"Crimee andand PunishmenPunishmentt inin ModerModernn NauvooNauvoo,, 1839-1846,"1839-1846," BYU Studies 3232,, nono.. 1-21-2 (1991)(1991):: 1-2.1-2.
6363 FlandersFlanders,, Nauvoo, 221221..
6464 WinnWinn,, Exiles in a Land of Liberty, 159159..
65 Warsaw Signal, MaMayy 19,19, 1841,1841, andand JunJunee 99,, 18411841;; Alton Telegraph, JulJulyy 2,2, 18421842,, andand JulJulyy 2323,, 1842.1842. IDENTIFYINGIDENTIFYING MEMBERMEMBERSS OFOF THETHE CARTHAGECARTHAGE MOBMOB
TheThe firstfirst stepstep inin studyingstudying thosethose menmen whwhoo participateparticipatedd inin thethe murdermurderss ofof JosephJoseph andand HyrumHyrum SmithSmith is,is, obviously,obviously, ttoo identifyidentify themthem.. This,This, however,however, isis nonott anan easyeasy task.task.
TherTheree areare severalseveral listslists ofof participantsparticipants,, notnot equallyequally crediblecredible oror confirming.confirming. TwoTwo veryvery similarsimilar listslists werweree createdcreated bbyy MormoMormonn ChurchChurch membersmembers WilliaWilliamm ClaytonClayton andand WillardWillard
Richards.Richards. AsAs a closclosee associateassociate ofof JosepJosephh Smith,Smith, whwhoo oftenoften actedacted asas hihiss scribe,scribe, ClaytonClayton wawass wellwell informedinformed ofof ththee publicpublic,, andand moremore privateprivate,, happeningshappenings ofof ththee church.church.
NeverthelessNevertheless,, itit iiss uncleaunclearr howhow hehe obtainedobtained ththee namenamess ofof thethe twenty-ninetwenty-nine peoplepeople recorderecordedd inin hihiss journaljournal,, especiallyespecially sincesince hehe waswas inin Nauvoo,Nauvoo, notnot Carthage,Carthage, whenwhen thethe murdersmurders occurred.6767 EarlEarlyy inin ththee springspring ofof 1844,1844, churchchurch leadersleaders becambecamee awareaware thatthat a groupgroup ofof ex-Mormonsex-Mormons ledled byby WilliamWilliam LawLaw werweree plottinplottingg ttoo taktakee JosephJoseph Smith'sSmith's life.life.6868
AlthougAlthoughh itit appearsappears thathatt mostmost ofof ththee WilliamWilliam LawLaw groupgroup waswas notnot inin CarthageCarthage whenwhen thethe mobmob attacked,attacked, thethe namenamess ofof thethe menmen andand womenwomen whowho werweree parpartt ofof thatthat ploplott appearappear onon
Clayton'Clayton'ss list. 6969 ClaytonClayton maymay havehave simplysimply assumedassumed thesthesee knownknown conspiratorsconspirators werewere involveinvolvedd inin ththee CarthageCarthage attack.attack. Or,Or, perhapperhapss hhee failedfailed ttoo distinguishdistinguish betweebetweenn thosethose hehe
676/ WilliaWilliamm Clayton,Clayton, "Journal,""Journal," 2288 JuneJune 1844,1844, http://www.helpingmormons.org/TLC_Manti/http://www.helpingmormons.org/TLC_Manti/RefLibraryFolder/Historical%20Documents/HistClaytonJ^ ournallHournal/HistClayton istC layton l1844-l.html 844-1.html (accessed(accessed 2200 ApriAprill 2005).2005).
6868 JuniuJuniuss FF.. WellsWells,, ed.,ed., "The"The NauvooNauvoo Conspiracy,"Conspiracy," Contributor 5 (1884):(1884): 250.250.
6969 WilliaWilliamm Clayton,Clayton, "Journal,""Journal," 2828 JunJunee 1844;1844; LyndonLyndon W.W. Cook,Cook, William Law (Grandin(Grandin PublishingPublishing Co.,Co., 1994),60.1994), 60. 2222 believebelievedd ttoo bbee instigatorinstigatorss ooff ththee attackattack andand ththee perpetratorsperpetrators.. ItIt iiss interesting,interesting, though,though, thathatt ClaytoClaytonn specificallyspecifically labellabelss fivefive memenn oonn hihiss listlist "mobocrats""mobocrats" (none(none ooff whowhomm waswas involvedinvolved iinn ththee WilliaWilliamm LaLaww plot)plot).. TheThe namenamess ofof thesthesee fivfivee memenn appeaappearr oonn otheotherr lists.lists.
TheyThey areare:: "Alexander"Alexander Sympson,Sympson, ThosThos.. CC.. Sharp,Sharp, ColonelColonel WilliamsWilliams,, WalteWalterr BagbyBagby,, andand
O.C.O.C. Skinner."Skinner." 7070
AlthougAlthoughh WilliaWilliamm ClaytoClaytonn wawass nonott inin CarthageCarthage whewhenn ththee SmithSmith brotherbrotherss werewere murderedmurdered,, WillarWillardd RichardRichardss waswas.. IInn factfact,, RichardRichardss wawass inin ththee samesame roomroom witwithh thethe
SmithSmithss whewhenn ththee mobmob attackedattacked.. HHee wawass ththee onlonlyy ononee ttoo survivesurvive ththee incidenincidentt relativelyrelatively unharmedunharmed.. HoweverHowever,, hihiss eyewitneseyewitnesss accusationaccusation ooff ththee perpetratorperpetratorss iiss flawedflawed,, tootoo similarsimilar ttoo Clayton'sClayton's lislistt nonott ttoo suggessuggestt contaminationcontamination.. TablTablee 1 showsshows botbothh listlistss sideside bbyy sideside.. RichardsRichards'' lislistt appearappearss ttoo bbee a shortenedshortened versionversion ooff Clayton's;Clayton's; particularlyparticularly tellintellingg iiss ththee factfact thathatt alalll bubutt oneone ofof ththee namenamess appeaappearr iinn ththee samesame apparentlyapparently randomrandom
71 order. 71 Possibly, the two collaborated on the list, or one created it and provided a order. Possibly, the two collaborated on the list, or one created it and provided a copy for the other. 72 Determining what actually happened, however, is complicated by copy for the other.72 Determining what actually happened, however, is complicated by the fact that the list attributed to Richards, available in the History of the Church, is the fact that the list attributed to Richards, available in the History of the Church, is not dated, thereby making it impossible to determine if it was created before or after not dated, thereby making it impossible to determine if it was created before or after 73 the one attributed to Clayton.73 Consequently, the true authorship of these two lists is thunknown.e one attribute Theyd may to Clayton very well. haveConsequently originated, th withe tru Clayton,e authorshi whop owasf thes note twano lists is unknown. They may very well have originated with Clayton, who was not an
70/0 Clayton,Clayton, "Journal,""Journal," 2288 JunJunee 1844.1844.
7711 SmithSmith,, History of the Church, 7:1457:145-- 46.46.
7722 ThereThere areare,, iinn realityreality,, numerounumerouss possibilitiepossibilitiess regardinregardingg ththee similaritiesimilaritiess ooff thesethese lists.lists. OnOnee iiss thathatt thethe compilerscompilers ooff ththee History of the Church madmadee anan errorerror.. PerhapPerhapss WillarWillardd RichardRichardss neveneverr compiledcompiled a listlist anandd ththee lislistt creditecreditedd ttoo hihimm wawass actuallactuallyy ththee ononee recorderecordedd bbyy WilliaWilliamm ClaytoClaytonn iinn hihiss journal.journal.
7373 SmithSmith,, History of the Church, 7:1457:145-- 4646.. 23
TablTablee 11
ComparisoComparisonn ooff WilliaWilliamm ClaytoClaytonn anandd WillarWillardd RichardsRichards'' ListListss
WilliaWilliamm Clayton'Clayton'ss ListList:: WillarWillardd RichardsRichards'' ListList::
WilliaWilliamm LaLaww WilliaWilliamm LaLaww WilsoWilsonn LaLaww WilsoWilsonn LaLaww RoberRo bertt DD.. FosteFosterr RoberRobertt DD.. FosteFosterr CharleCharless AA.. FosteFosterr CharleCharless AA.. FosteFosterr FranciFranciss MM.. HigbeHigbeee FranciFranciss MM.. HigbeHigbeee ChanceChanceyy LL.. HigbeHigbeee ChaunceChaunceyy LL.. HigbeHigbeee AustiAustinn CowleCowless JosepJosephh H.H.Jackso Jacksonn JosepJosephh H.H.Jackso Jacksonn JohJohnn MM.. FinchFinch JohJohnn MM.. FincFinchh WmWm.. AA.. RollasonRollason WmWm.. AA.. RollasonRollason WmWm.. HH.. JJ.. MarMarrr WmWm.. HH.. JJ.. ManMarr- SS.. MM.. MarMarrr SylvesteSylvesterr EmmonsEmmons.. SylvesteSylvesterr EmmonsEmmons.. AlexandeAlexanderr SympsonSympson AlexandeAlexanderr SympsonSympson SS.. MM.. MarrMarr JohJohnn EagleEagle JohJohnn EagleEagle HenrHenryy 0O.. NortonNorton HenrHenryy 0O.. NortonNorton AugustinAugustinee SpencerSpencer AugustinAugustinee SpencerSpencer CharleCharless IvinIvinss anandd familyfamily CharleCharless IvinIvinss anandd familyfamily PP.. TT.. RolfeRolfe PP.. TT.. RolfeRolfe N.JN.J.. HigbeeHigbee N.JN.J.. HigbeeHigbee WilliaWilliamm CookCook WilliaWilliamm CookCook SaraSarahh (wif(wifee oofWiJliamf William Cook)Cook) SarahSarah (wife(wife ofof WilliaWilliamm Cook)Cook) JameJamess BlakesleeBlakeslee A bandband ofof mobocratsmobocrats scatteredscattered throughthrough thethe country:country: AlexandeAlexanderr SympsonSympson Thos.Thos. C.C. SharpSharp ColonelColonel WilliamsWilliams WalterWalter BagbyBagby O.0. C.C. SkinnerSkinner 2424 eyewitnesseyewitness ttoo ththee murdermurderss andand,, thereforetherefore,, obtainedobtained ththee namenamess fromfrom anan unknownunknown sourcesource.. TherTheree alsalsoo remainremainss ththee probleproblemm mentionementionedd earlier—therearlier-theree araree peoplpeoplee oonn thethe lislistt whowho werweree nonott inin CarthagCarthagee whewhenn thethe mobmob attacked.attacked. ThusThus,, thethe Clayton/RichardsClayton/Richards listlist cannocannott bbee reliereliedd upouponn aass a crediblcrediblee source.source.
AnotheAnotherr listlist,, ooff sortssorts,, wawass createcreatedd bbyy JohJohnn TayloTaylorr whwhoo wawass alsoalso inin thethe roomroom witwithh ththee SmithsSmiths whenwhen ththee momobb attacked.attacked. AlthougAlthoughh hhee waswas seriouslyseriously woundewoundedd iinn thethe attackattack,, TayloTaylorr survivesurvivedd andand latelaterr wrotwrotee aann accounaccountt oofthef the murders.murders. Taylor'Taylor'ss storystory isis focusefocusedd onon thethe fourfour MormonMormonss iinn ththee jailjail;; howeverhowever,, hhee doedoess specificallyspecifically statestate thatthat
"Captain"Captain SmithSmith ofof ththee 'Carthag'Carthagee Greys'Greys' ...... assisteassistedd inin ththee murder.murder."" TayloTaylorr alsoalso signedsigned aann affidavitaffidavit beforbeforee JusticJusticee ooff ththee PeacePeace AaroAaronn JohnsonJohnson onon SeptemberSeptember 2121,, 1844,1844,
74 thathatt namenamedd LevLevyy [sic][sic] WilliamWilliamss anandd ThomaThomass CC.. SharpSharp asas participantparticipantss iinn ththee murders. 74
TheThe facfactt thathatt TayloTaylorr wawass aann eyewitnesseyewitness makesmakes hihiss accounaccountt credible.credible. PlusPlus,, ththee memenn hehe namenamess werweree eventualleventuallyy trietriedd foforr ththee murders.murders.
TheThe triatriall iiss anotheanotherr sourcesource ooff informatioinformationn oonn ththee CarthageCarthage mobmob.. FivFivee memenn werewere formallyformally trietriedd foforr ththee SmithSmith brothersbrothers'' murdersmurders:: WilliaWilliamm NN.. GroverGrover,, JacoJacobb C.C. Davis,Davis,
MarMarkk AldrichAldrich,, ThomaThomass C.C. SharpSharp,, anandd LevLevii WilliamsWilliams.. JohJohnn WillWillss oorr WellsWells,, WilliamWilliam
VoraVorass oror VorheesVorhees,, anandd twtwoo memenn knowknownn onlonlyy asas GallaheGallaherr andand AllenAllen,, werweree alsoalso chargedcharged witwithh ththee murdersmurders;; howeverhowever,, thetheyy fledfled andand werweree neveneverr broughbroughtt ttoo trial.tria1. 7575 AlthoughAlthough thethe five memenn trietriedd werweree clearlyclearly guiltyguilty,, ththee anti-Mormoanti-Mormonn jurjuryy accepteacceptedd thethe
74 OatOathh iinn supporsupportt ooff "Wri"Writt forfor Murder,Murder,"" datedatedd SeptemberSeptember 2121,, 1844,1844, inin cascasee file,file, People v. LeviLevi Williams, HancocHancockk CountCountyy CourthouseCourthouse,, CarthageCarthage,, ILIL,, quotequotedd iinn OakOakss anandd HillHill,, Carthage Conspiracy,Conspiracy, 3838..
75 75 MinutesMinutes ooff triatriall ooff membermemberss ofof momobb whwhoo helpehelpedd kilkilll JosepJosephh SmithSmith 1844-1845,1844-1845, MSMS 264,264, carboncarbon copcopyy ofof typescripttypescript,, LDSLDS ChurchChurch HistorHistoryy Library,Library, SaltSalt LakLakee CityCity;; OakOakss anandd HillHill,, Carthage Conspiracy,Conspiracy, 51.51. 2255
defense'sdefense's argumenargumentt thathatt "no"no oneone individuaindividuall coulcouldd bbee responsiblresponsiblee foforr deathsdeaths accomplishedaccomplished ttoo satisfysatisfy ththee willwill ooff ththee people.people.,,76" ConsequentlyConsequently,, alalll fivfivee werewere
77 acquitted. 77
StillStill anotheranother lislistt waswas createdcreated byby HancocHancockk CountCountyy SheriffSheriff JacoJacobb Backenstos.Backenstos.
BackenstosBackenstos'' listlist iiss ththee mosmostt extensiveextensive bbyy far,far, containingcontaining ththee namenamess ofof eighty-nineeighty-nine men.men.
LundwallLundwall includeincludedd a copcopyy ooff BackenstosBackenstos'' listlist iinn Fate ofa/the the Persecutors; howeverhowever,, iitt erroneouslyerroneously appearsappears iinn ththee formform ofof a letteletterr addresseaddressedd ttoo BrighaBrighamm YounYoungg andand iiss dateddated
JuneJune 2929,, 1844.7878 BecausBecausee ththee listlist alsoalso containscontains notationnotationss regardinregardingg eventsevents occurringoccurring asas latelate aass NovemberNovember 1845,1845, thethe earlierearlier datdatee iiss problematiproblematicc anandd hahass leledd historianshistorians RobertRobert S.S.
WickWickss andand FreFredd RR.. FoisteFoisterr ttoo questioquestionn ititss credibility.79credibility.79 WicksWicks andand Foister'Foister'ss concernsconcerns areare unwarrantedunwarranted,, however,however, sincesince thethe LundwalLundwalll versioversionn iiss inaccurate—thinaccurate-thee actuaactuall letterletter itselitselff iiss undatedundated.. InIn fact,fact, iitt waswas probablprobablyy writtewrittenn inin ththee sprinspringg ooff 18461846 atat ththee requesrequestt ofof
WillardWillard Richards,Richards, whwhoo recorderecordedd iinn hihiss journajournall oonn MarcMarchh 10,10, 1846,1846, thathatt hhee hahadd soughtsought suchsuch aann iteitemm fromfrom Backenstos.8o80
76 LeonardLeonard,, Nauvoo, 415415..
77 77 MinuteMinutess ofof triatriall ofof membermemberss ooff momobb whwhoo helpehelpedd killkill JosepJosephh SmithSmith 1844-1845.1844-1845. MormonMormonss werewere deliberatelydeliberately excludedexcluded fromfrom ththee juryjury.. SeeSee ThomasThomas FordFord,, "Mormon"Mormon DifficultiesDifficulties.. ReportReport ooff ththee governorgovernor iinn relatiorelationn ttoo ththee difficultiesdifficulties iinn HancocHancockk CountyCounty.. SenateSenate,, DecDec.. 1010,, 1846,"1846," SpeciaSpeciall CollectionsCollections,, J.J. WillarWillardd MarriotMarriottt LibraryLibrary,, UniversitUniversityy ofof UtaUtahh SpeciaSpeciall CollectionsCollections,, SalSaltt LakLakee CityCity;; BushmanBushman,, JosephJoseph Smith, 552.552.
78 78 LundwallLundwalI,, Fate a/theof the Persecutors, 269-71269-71.. Lundwall'Lundwall'ss listlist,, aass welwelll aass a numbenumberr ooff otherother secondarsecondaryy sources,sources, containscontains twtwoo errorserrors thathatt originateoriginatedd iinn SmithSmith,, History o/theof the Church, 7:142-1447:142-144:: JohnJohn MaithMaith shouldshould reareadd JohJohnn Marsh,Marsh, anandd NickersoNickersonn WrighWrightt shoulshouldd reareadd HickersonHickerson Wright.Wright.
79 79 LundwallLundwall,, Fate o/theof the Persecutors, 269-70269-70;; WicksWicks anandd Foister,Foister, Junius and Joseph, 219219,, footnotefootnote 11.11.
8080 JacoJacobb BackenstosBackenstos letterletter ttoo WillarWillardd RichardsRichards,, SprinSpringg 18461846,, unprocesseunprocessedd document,document, LDSLDS ChurchChurch HistorHistoryy Library,Library, SaltSalt LakLakee CityCity [hereafter[hereafter citecitedd aass BackenstosBackenstos letter]letter];; RonRon BarneyBarney (Manager(Manager,, HistoricalHistorical 2626
AlthougAlthoughh datedatedd nearlnearlyy twtwoo yearyearss afterafter ththee incidentincident,, SheriffSheriff Backenstos'Backenstos' listlist appearsappears ttoo bbee highlhighlyy crediblcrediblee forfor a numbenumberr ooff reasonsreasons.. FirsFirstt ofof all,all, BackenstoBackenstoss appearsappears
81 to have been fair and unbiased in regard to his duties as sheriff. 81 He tried to protect to have been fair and unbiased in regard to his duties as sheriff. He tried to protect Joseph Smith and the Mormon community from the extralegal activities of the mob, Joseph Smith and the Mormon community from the extralegal activities of the mob, but he also arrested Mormons when necessary. In fact, one of his last actions as but he also arrested Mormons when necessary. In fact, one of his last actions as sheriff was to arrest Orrin Porter Rockwell for harassing "one of Joseph Smith's old sheriff was to arrest Orrin Porter Rockwell for harassing "one of Joseph Smith's old enemies, Chauncy Higbee, while he conducted business in Nauvoo." When Rockwell enemies, Chauncy Higbee, while he conducted business in Nauvoo." When Rockwell pulled a gun on Backenstos, he turned to his deputy and stated, '" When he shoots me, pulled a gun on Backenstos, he turned to his deputy and stated, '"When he shoots me, kill him.' Faced with Backenstos' willingness to die doing his duty, Rockwell kill him.' Faced with Backenstos' willingness to die doing his duty, Rockwell conceded: 'I will go with yoU.",82 There is no reason to suppose Backenstos did not conceded: T will go with you.'"82 There is no reason to suppose Backenstos did not create the list of mob participants with the same even-handedness with which he create the list of mob participants with the same even-handedness with which he carried out his law enforcement responsibilities, thereby enhancing the credibility of carried out his law enforcement responsibilities, thereby enhancing the credibility of his list. his list. Other factors bolster the Backenstos' list. Most importantly, he seems to have Other factors bolster the Backenstos' list. Most importantly, he seems to have had access to militia lists that no longer exist. Specifically, he states that his list had access to militia lists that no longer exist. Specifically, he states that his list includes the "Roll of the Carthage Greys and Officers June 2ih. A.D. 1844,,,83 and that includes the "Roll of the Carthage Greys and Officers June 27th. A.D. 1844,"83 and that the militia companies of Captains Weir, lC. Davis, Wm N. Grover, and Mark Aldrich the militia companies of Captains Weir, J.C. Davis, Wm N. Grover, and Mark Aldrich were also active in the massacre at Carthage. 84 It should be noted that trial testimony were also active in the massacre at Carthage. It should be noted that trial testimony
DepartmentDepartment,, ChurcChurchh ooff JesuJesuss ChristChrist ooff Latter-daLatter-dayy Saints)Saints),, e-maile-mail messagemessage ttoo DaviDavidd BB.. MarshMarsh,, ApriAprill 27,27, 2006.2006.
8811 Leonard,Leonard, Nauvoo, 528;528; OrnerOmer (Greg)(Greg) WW.. WhitmaWhitmann anandd JameJamess L.L. VarnerVarner,, "Sheriff"Sheriff JacoJacobb B.B. Backenstos:Backenstos: DefenderDefender ooff ththee Saints,Saints,"" Journal of Mormon History 29 (Spring(Spring 2003)2003):: 157.157.
8822 WhitmaWhitmann andand VarnerVarner,, "Sheriff"Sheriff Backentos,Backentos,"" 165165..
8833 ItalicItalicss addeaddedd foforr emphasis.emphasis. 2727 clearlclearlyy indicateindicatess aatt leasleastt portionportionss ofof thethe aforementionedaforementioned militarmilitaryy unitunitss werweree presentpresent duringduring ththee attacattackk oonn CarthagCarthagee Jail,Jail, anandd thereforthereforee serveservess ttoo supporsupportt Backenstos.Backenstos.
BackenstosBackenstos'' lislistt alsoalso suggestssuggests thathatt hhee wawass carefulcareful abouaboutt whowhomm hhee incriminated.incriminated.
AlthougAlthoughh hhee listlistss foufourr militarmilitaryy unitunitss bbyy ththee namnamee ofof theitheirr captaincaptain onlyonly,, hhee notenotess thatthat tetenn specifispecificc gentlemen,gentlemen, presumablpresumablyy regularregularss inin oneone companycompany,, diddid nonott participatparticipatee inin thethe
CarthageCarthage attack.attack. BackenstosBackenstos'' lislistt alsoalso leaveleavess WilliaWilliamm LaLaww anandd mosmostt ooff hishis conspiratorconspiratorss ofofff ththee list.list. HHee additionalladditionallyy notenotess thatthat,, "there"there areare otherotherss ooff ththee smallersmaller fryfry whicwhichh I deedeemm unworthyunworthy ofof noticenotice,, inasmucinasmuchh aass thetheyy werweree ledled oonn througthroughh ththee influenceinfluence ooff ththee leadersleaders,, andand whiskey.,,85whiskey."
FurthermoreFurthermore,, BackenstosBackenstos'' lislistt iiss remarkablremarkablyy thorough.thorough. AlAlll ofof ththee menmen triedtried forfor ththee murdermurderss appeaappearr onon hihiss listlist,, aass ddoo ththee fivfivee "mobocrats""mobocrats" oonn ththee Clayton/RichardsClayton/Richards list.list.
HeHe alsoalso tootookk ththee timtimee ttoo notenote ththee occupatiooccupationn andand residencresidencee ooff mosmostt ofof ththee memenn hehe listed. 8686
BackenstosBackenstos'' listlist hashas,, ssoo far,far, stoodstood uupp ttoo ththee scrutinyscrutiny ofof independentindependent corroboration.corroboration. BesideBesidess substantiatingsubstantiating thathatt variouvariouss militarmilitaryy unitunitss werweree aatt ththee CarthageCarthage
84 SmithSmith,, History of the Church, 7:1427:142.. IllinoiIllinoiss GovernorGovernor ThomaThomass ForFordd hahadd assigneassignedd ththee CarthageCarthage GreyGreyss ththee tastaskk ooff guardinguardingg ththee jailjail.. ProfesseProfessedd enemieenemiess ooff ththee SmithSmith brothersbrothers,, thetheyy feignedfeigned resistanceresistance whewhenn ththee momobb arrivearrivedd anandd thethenn purportedlpurportedlyy joinejoinedd iinn oonn ththee assault.assault. ThThee otheotherr militimilitiaa unitunitss werewere campecampedd outsideoutside ofof CarthageCarthage whewhenn aann orderorder camcamee frofromm GovernorGovernor FordFord toto disbanddisband.. AlthougAlthoughh formallyformally disbandeddisbanded,, ththee majoritmajorityy oftheseof these memenn thethenn marchedmarched toto ththee jaijaill wherwheree ththee SmithSmith brotherbrotherss werweree beinbeingg held.held. SeeSee LeonardLeonard,, Nauvoo, 393;393; MinuteMinutess ofof triatriall ofof membermemberss ooff momobb whwhoo helpehelpedd kilkilll JosepJosephh Smith,Smith, 1844-1844- 1845.1845.
8585 BackenstosBackenstos Letter,Letter, 5.5.
8686 BackenstosBackenstos dididd nonott includincludee ththee namenamess ofof ththee fourfour menmen whwhoo werweree indicteindictedd bubutt notnot trietriedd forfor thethe murders—Johmurders-Johnn WillWillss oorr WellsWells,, WilliaWilliamm VoraVorass oror VorheesVorhees,, Gallaher,Gallaher, andand AllenAllen.. ThThee triatriall testimonytestimony indicateindicatess thesthesee memenn werweree relativelrelativelyy unknowunknownn ttoo ththee otheotherr momobb participantparticipantss andand quicklyquickly lefleftt thethe areareaa afterafter ththee murdermurderss ooff JosepJosephh andand HyruHyrumm SmithSmith.. BackenstoBackenstoss mamayy havhavee nonott beebeenn familiafamiliarr witwithh thesthesee menmen,, oror thetheyy mamayy havhavee fallefallenn intintoo ththee categorcategoryy ooff memenn whowhomm hhee consideredconsidered "smaller"smaller fryfry ...... unworthunworthyy ooff noticenotice inasmucinasmuchh asas thetheyy werweree leledd oonn througthroughh ththee influencinfluencee ofof ththee leaderleaderss anandd whiskey.whiskey."" SeeSee BackenstosBackenstos LetterLetter.. 2828 jailjail,, trialtrial testimontestimonyy confirmsconfirms sixteesixteenn ooff ththee namenamess onon BackenstosBackenstos'' listlist,, andand biographicabiographicall sketchesketchess iinn HancocHancockk CountyCounty historieshistories,, obituaries,obituaries, andand familyfamily historieshistories verifverifyy anan additionaladditional five. 8787 FurthermoreFurthermore,, ththee occupationoccupationss hhee listedlisted forfor momobb membersmembers werweree comparecomparedd ttoo thosthosee availablavailablee iinn ththee 18501850 U.SU.S.. FederaFederall CensuCensuss anandd foundfound ttoo bebe accurate. 8888
BackenstosBackenstos'' lislistt alsalsoo gaingainss credibilitcredibilityy fromfrom ththee factfact thathatt WillarWillardd RichardsRichards,, whowho wawass presenpresentt aatt CarthageCarthage JailJail,, wrotwrotee ttoo hihimm askinaskingg foforr a lislistt ofof momobb participants.participants.
RichardRichardss musmustt havhavee believebelievedd BackenstoBackenstoss capablecapable ofof creatincreatingg anan accurateaccurate list.list.
MoreoverMoreover,, professionaprofessionall historianhistorianss sucsuchh asas RichardRichard BushmaBushmann anandd GlenGlen LeonardLeonard generallygenerally accepacceptt iitt asas accurate.8989
LundwallLundwall iiss anotheranother sourcsourcee forfor informatioinformationn abouaboutt momobb participantsparticipants.. HHee doesdoes notnot,, however,however, providprovidee anythinanythingg ooff reareall valuevalue.. ChapteChapterr OneOne ofof Fate of the Persecutors,Persecutors, entitleentitledd "Th"Thee IdentityIdentity anandd TriaTriall ooff ththee Murderers,Murderers,"" includeincludess a portionportion ofof triatriall testimonytestimony frofromm a witneswitnesss whwhoo namenamedd a numbenumberr ooff momobb membersmembers.. ThisThis particulaparticularr witnesswitness was,was, howeverhowever,, largellargelyy discrediteddiscredited undeunderr cross-examination.9o90 LundwalLundwalll alsoalso includesincludes
WillarWillardd RichardsRichards'' questionablequestionable lislistt ooff momobb participantparticipantss andand BackenstosBackenstos'' listlist,, althoughalthough
87 MinuteMinutess ofof triatriall ofof membermemberss ooff momobb whwhoo helpehelpedd kilkilll JosepJosephh SmithSmith 1844-1845;1844-1845; ThomaThomass Gregg,Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois (Chicago(Chicago:: ChasChas.. CC.. ChapmaChapmann & Co.,Co., 1880),1880), 728,728, 858;858; WilmaWilma BrunennBrunenn,, Pioneers of the Prairie (Astoria(Astoria,, ILIL:: StevenStevenss PublishingPublishing,, n.d.)n.d.),, 379379;; RoberRobertt MM.. CochranCochran,, etet aI.,al., History of Hancock County, Illinois, IllinoiIllinoiss SesquicentennialSesquicentennial EditioEditionn (Hancock(Hancock CountyCounty:: HancockHancock BoarBoardd ooff Supervisors,Supervisors, 1968);1968); ObituaryObituary ooff ThomaThomass BoxBox Griffits,Griffits, The Carthage Republican, JanuarJanuaryy 2525,, 1911:4,1911:4, http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~laura/thomas.htmhttp://homepages.rootsweb.com/~Iaura/thomas.html(accessedl (accessed ApriAprill 2020,, 2006);2006); KristKristii HamiltonHamilton (descendent(descendent ofof JohJohnn McAuley)McAuley),, e-maie-maill messagmessagee ttoo authorauthor,, MaMayy 1,2006.1, 2006.
8888 TheThe 18501850 censucensuss diddid includincludee ththee occupationoccupationss ofof certaincertain memenn BackenstoBackenstoss notenotedd asas beinbeingg engageengagedd iinn "no"no business.business."" TheseThese instancesinstances werweree nonott considereconsideredd discrepancies.discrepancies.
8899 BushmanBushman,, Joseph Smith, 552; LeonardLeonard,, Nauvoo, 413413..
9900 OakOakss anandd HillHill,, Carthage Conspiracy, 157157.. 2929
Lundwall'sLundwall's versioversionn ofof ththee SheriffsSheriffs lislistt doesdoes contaicontainn ththee errorserrors mentionementionedd above.above.
LundwallLundwall additionalladditionallyy listslists twenty-fivtwenty-fivee memenn whoswhosee namenamess ddoo nonott appearappear oonn ananyy otherother lists.lists. UnfortunatelyUnfortunately,, virtuallvirtuallyy allall ofof ththee evidencevidencee forfor thesthesee memenn isis largellargelyy hearsay,hearsay, rumorrumor,, andand seconsecondd andand thirthirdd hanhandd accountaccountss ofof peoplpeoplee whwhoo "were"were acquainted"acquainted" withwith someonsomeonee whwhoo "was"was acquainted"acquainted" witwithh a momobb member.9191 FoForr twtwoo ofof thesethese twenty-fivetwenty-five allegedalleged momobb participantsparticipants,, BrowBrownn andand McCartMcCartyy (no(no first namenamess araree given),given), LundwallLundwall doedoess proffeprofferr supposedlsupposedlyy signedsigned testimontestimonyy frofromm a witneswitnesss whowho claimsclaims ttoo havhavee heardheard thethemm confessconfess ttoo participatioparticipationn inin ththee murders.9292 HoweverHowever,, ththee unreliabilitunreliabilityy ofof
Lundwall'Lundwall'ss otheotherr evidencevidencee anandd ththee absencabsencee ooff ananyy confirminconfirmingg datadata makmakee thesthesee finalfinal twtwoo namesnames,, anandd alalll ooff ththee twenty-fivtwenty-fivee thatthat ddoo nonott appeaappearr onon ananyy otherother listlist,, suspect.suspect.
BackenstoBackenstoss providesprovides namenamess foforr eighty-nineeighty-nine,, oorr roughlroughlyy 4455 percentpercent,, ofof ththee overover twotwo hundrehundredd memenn iinn ththee mobmob,, certainlcertainlyy enoughenough ttoo enableenable a studystudy ofof thethe mobmob participants.participants. ToTo datedate,, ththee namenamess ofof ththee remainingremaining 5555 percentpercent oftheof the momobb areare eithereither unknowunknownn oror unsubstantiatedunsubstantiated.. SinceSince BackenstosBackenstos'' lislistt seemseemss toto bbee thethe mosmostt thoroughthorough anandd crediblecredible ofof thosthosee availableavailable,, ththee namenamess thereothereonn havhavee beebeenn useusedd ttoo compilecompile thethe collectivcollectivee biographbiographyy ofof ththee CarthagCarthagee mobmob.. TableTable 2 listslists ththee namenamess ofof thesthesee eighty-nineeighty-nine menmen..
9911 SomeSome ofof thesthesee namenamess mamayy bbee accurataccuratee eveneven thougthoughh ththee supportinsupportingg evidencevidencee iiss weak.weak.
9922 LundwallLundwall,, Fate of the Persecutors, 303303,317., 317. 3300
TablTablee 2 MeMenn NameNamedd bbyy BackenstosBackenstos 93
Abernathy,Abernathy, WilliaWilliamm D.D. Cole,Cole, CalvinCalvin HosfordHosford,, TruemanTrueman SmithSmith,, RoberRobertt F.F. AldrichAldrich,, MarkMark Dale,Dale, RichardRichard JonesJones,, EdwardEdward Stephens,Stephens, HenryHenry
Athey,Athey, J.W.J.W. Dale,Dale, ThomasThomas LoringLoring,, FrederickFrederick Stevenson,Stevenson, LewiLewiss C.C. iAustin,Austin, ErastusErastus S.S. Davis,Davis, JacoJacobb C.C. MarshMarsh,, JohJohnn W.W. Street,Street, LeviLevi iAustinAustin [Probabl[Probablyy FrancisFrancis DoolittleDoolittle,, LeGrandLeGrand MathewsMathews,, DaviDavidd W.W. Sympson,Sympson, AlexanderAlexander B.]B.] !Backman,Backman, GeorgeGeorge DouglassDouglass,, WilliamWilliam MatthewsMatthews,, JameJamess B.B. ThatcherThatcher,, GeorgeGeorge W.W.
Bagby,Bagby, WalterWalter Dunn,Dunn, JameJamess E.E. McAuleyMcAuley,, JohnJohn ThompsonThompson,, AlbertAlbert
Baldwin,Baldwin, EdwinEdwin Elliot,Elliot, JohJohnn C.C. McClaughryMcClaughry,, MatthewsMatthews WaggonerWaggoner,, GeorgeGeorge C.C.
BaldwinBaldwin,, WilliamWilliam FinchFinch,, JohJohnn M.M. MellenMellen,, JohJohnn D.D. WarrenWarren,, CalviCalvinn A.A.
BarkmanBarkman,, AnthonyAnthony FlemingFleming,, SamuelSamuel MontagueMontague,, JohnJohn WarrenWarren,, W.B.W.B. [o[orr Backman]Backman] BarnesBarnes,, JameJamess D.D. FreemanFreeman,, ElamElam ShawShaw MorrisonMorrison,, ThomasThomas WierWier,, CaptainCaptain
BarnesBarnes,, MichaelMichael,, Jr.Jr. Garnett,Garnett, HenryHenry MosMosss oorr MorseMorse WilliamsWilliams,, ElElii HughesHughes
BarnesBarnes,, ThomaThomass L.L. Gettis,Gettis, ThomasThomas Prentiss,Prentiss, LymanLyman Williams,Williams, LeviLevi [or[or Geddis]Geddis] BartlettBartlett,, FrankliFranklinn J.J. Gould,Gould, EmersoEmersonn W.W. RandRand,, EbenezerEbenezer WilliamsWilliams,, SamuelSamuel O.0.
BartlettBartlett,, SylvesterSylvester Graves,Graves, ReubenReuben ReckardReckard,, MichaelMichael Wilson,Wilson, ClabournClabourn
BeckBeck,, JacobJacob Gregg,Gregg, JamesJames ReckardReckard,, NoaNoahh M.M. WilsonWilson,, CrocketCrocket
Brattle,Brattle, JameJamess W.W. GriffitsGriffits,, ThomasThomas BoxBox RhodesRhodes,, FranklinFranklin WilsonWilson,, HarmonHarmon T.T.
CatlinCatlin,, JoelJoel Grover,Grover, WilliaWilliamm N.N. Rockwell,Rockwell, GeorgeGeorge WilsonWilson,, JohnJohn
Chipley,Chipley, WilliaWilliamm BB.. Hamilton,Hamilton, MarvinMarvin Rollason,Rollason, WilliamWilliam H.H. WilsonWilson,, ValentineValentine
FouFourr ooff ththee ChittendensChittendens Hawley,Hawley, JosephJoseph SharpSharp,, ThomaThomass CokeCoke Wood,Wood, JamesJames HenryHenry [Most[Most likelylikely candidates:candidates: AbrahamAbraham,, Edward,Edward, Hay,Hay, CharlesCharles Sherman,Sherman, JasoJasonn H.H. WorrellWorrell,, FranklinFranklin A.A. George,George, HenryHenry,, William]William] Higbee,Higbee, FrancisFrancis M.M. Skinner,Skinner, OniaOniass C.C. WrightWright,, HickersonHickerson
93 MoreMore completcompletee namesnames werewere usedused wherwheree possiblepossible.. SeeSee alsalsoo footnotefootnote 27 ... A COLLECTIVCOLLECTIVEE PORTRAITPORTRAIT OFOF THETHE MOBMOB
A commocommonn perceptionperception ofof momobb violencviolencee iiss thathatt iitt isis perpetrateperpetratedd byby "the"the rabble"rabble" oorr "th"thee taitaill ofof society.society."" ThiThiss samsamee characterizatiocharacterizationn iiss generallygenerally appliedapplied toto thethe
CarthagCarthagee mobmob.. InIn ththee introductionintroduction ttoo ththee History ofa/the the Church, volumvolumee six,six, B.H.B.H.
RobertRobertss wrotwrotee ththee followinfollowingg abouaboutt westerwesternn IllinoiIllinoiss mobs:mobs:
...... itit wawass largellargelyy ththee criminacriminall elemenelementt amonamongg ththee 'old'old citizenscitizens'' thatthat wawass arrayedarrayed againstagainst ththee SaintSaintss (with(with unprincipleunprincipledd politicianpoliticianss andand a fewfew bigotebigotedd andand jealoujealouss religioureligiouss leaderleaderss added)added),, soso wawass itit ththee conservativeconservative anandd law-abidinlaw-abidingg portioportionn ofof ththee communitycommunity amongamong whowhomm thetheyy hadhad manmanyy friends;friends; andand nearlnearlyy alalll ofof whowhomm werweree aatt leasleastt soso farfar friendlfriendlyy withwith ththee SaintsSaints thathatt thetheyy coulcouldd nonott bbee induceinducedd ttoo opposopposee themthem,, mucmuchh lessless joijoinn iinn actactss ooff momobb violencviolencee ttoo ththee injurinjuryy ooff theitheirr personpersonss oror property.94property.94
InIn Carthage Conspiracy, OakOakss andand HilHilll statstatee thathatt ththee murdermurderss ofof JosephJoseph anandd HyrumHyrum
SmithSmith werweree committecommittedd bbyy a "respectabl"respectablee sesett ofof men;men;"" howeverhowever,, theitheirr relativelyrelatively limitedlimited focufocuss onon thosthosee whwhoo werweree putput onon triatriall doesdoes littlelittle ttoo diminishdiminish ththee popularpopular
MormoMormonn beliebelieff thathatt ththee CarthagCarthagee momobb waswas composedcomposed ofof rabblerabble andand ruffians.9595 Yet,Yet, violencviolencee scholarsscholars contencontendd thathatt vigilantvigilantee groupsgroups,, liklikee ththee CarthagCarthagee mobmob,, largelylargely consisteconsistedd ooff "gentleme"gentlemenn ofof propertpropertyy anandd standing"standing" iinn theitheirr communities.9696
So,So, ththee questionquestion remainsremains,, whawhatt kinkindd ooff memenn killekilledd ththee SmithSmith brothersbrothers?? InIn ordeorderr ttoo answeranswer thathatt question,question, thithiss studystudy offersoffers a socio-economicsocio-economic analysisanalysis ofof thethe
9494 Smith,Smith, History of the Church, 7:xxvii.7:xxvii.
95 95 OakOakss anandd HillHill,, Carthage Conspiracy, 2222;; GarGaryy CookCook,, Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration,Restoration, dirdir.. T.C.T.C. ChristenseChristensenn (Provo(Provo,, UTUT:: LDLOSS MotioMotionn PicturPicturee StudioStudio,, 2005)2005)..
6 96 RichardsRichards,, Gentlemen of Property and Standing.Standing. 3232
CarthageCarthage mob.mob. ResearcResearchh uncovereuncoveredd atat leastleast somesome statisticastatisticall informatioinformationn foforr seventy-seventy- sixsix ofof thethe knowknownn momobb participantsparticipants.. NNoo additionaladditional informationinformation,, besidebesidess thathatt providedprovided bbyy BackenstosBackenstos,, couldcould bbee founfoundd foforr thirteenthirteen.. WhaWhatt emergeemergess frofromm ththee censuscensus,, marriage,marriage, newspapernewspaper,, anandd genealogicalgenealogical recordrecordss iiss a cleareclearerr portraiportraitt ooff whwhoo ththee momobb participantsparticipants werweree andand theitheirr positionpositionss withiwithinn HancocHancockk CountyCounty politicalpolitical,, socialsocial,, anandd economiceconomic circles.circles.
InIn regardregardss toto age,age, fifteen-year-oldfifteen-year-old MarviMarvinn HamiltonHamilton,, sosonn ooff "Carthage"Carthage Hotel"Hotel" proprietoproprietorr ArtoiArtoiss HamiltonHamilton,, waswas ththee youngestyoungest membememberr ofof thethe mob;mob;9797 fifty-eightfifty-eight yearyear oldold ReubeReubenn GravesGraves waswas ththee 0ldest;98oldest;98 anandd ththee averagaveragee agagee ooff momobb membermemberss wawass thirty-thirty- four. 9999 TToo puputt theitheirr collectivcollectivee ageage inin perspectiveperspective,, iinn 1840,1840, whewhenn ththee federalfederal decennialdecennial
100 censuscensus wawass takentaken,, 7755 percenpercentt ooff HancocHancockk County'sCounty's malesmales werweree undeunderr thirty. 100 TheThe mob'smob's averageaverage ageage iinn 18401840 woulwouldd havhavee beenbeen thirtythirty;; thereforetherefore,, ththee mob,mob, aass a collectivecollective cohort,cohort, waswas oldeolderr thathann 7575 percenpercentt ofof ththee malemaless iinn theitheirr community.community. (The(The 18401840 federalfederal censuscensus wawass taketakenn fourfour yearyearss priopriorr ttoo thethe murdermurderss ooff JosepJosephh anandd HyruHyrumm Smith;Smith;
97 ArtoisArtoisee HamiltoHamiltonn householdhousehold,, HancockHancock CountyCounty,, IllinoisIllinois,, 18501850 U.SU.S.. FederaFederall CensusCensus,, stampestampedd pagepage nono.. 7373,, dwellingdwelling nono.. 45,45, familyfamily nono.. 4545;; "The"The CholeraCholera EpidemiEpidemicc iinn CarthagCarthagee 1851,1851,"" The CarthageCarthage Republican, SeptemberSeptember 1II, 1 , 1878,1878 , http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bryant/obits/cholera.htmlhttp://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bryant/obits/ cho lera.htm. I.
9898 ReubenReuben GraveGravess householdhousehold,, HancocHancockk CountyCounty,, IllinoisIllinois,, 18501850 U.SU.S.. FederaFederall Census,Census, stampedstamped pagepage no.no. 282282,, dwellindwellingg nono.. 181,181, familfamilyy nono.. 181181..
99 AveragAveragee agagee wawass calculatedcalculated fromfrom approximatapproximatee birtbirthh yearyearss foundfound forfor seventy-sixseventy-six,, oorr 8585 percentpercent,, ofof thethe eighty-nineeighty-nine momobb participantsparticipants.. BirthBirth informationinformation wawass founfoundd iinn ththee followinfollowingg sourcessources:: 1840 u.s.U.S. Federal Census, HancocHancockk CountyCounty,, Illinois,Illinois, populatiopopulationn schedulesschedules;; 1850 u.s.U.S. Federal Census, HancockHancock CountyCounty,, IllinoisIllinois,, populatiopopulationn schedules;schedules; WickWickss anandd FoisterFoister,, Junius and Joseph; OakOakss anandd HillHill,, CarthageCarthage Conspiracy; ThomasThomas GreggGregg,, History of Hancock County, Illinois (Chicago(Chicago:: ChasChas.. CC.. ChapmaChapmann & Co.,Co., 1880);1880); WilmWilmaa BrunennBrunenn,, Pioneers of the Prairie (Astoria,(Astoria, IL:IL: StevensStevens PublishingPublishing,, n.d.)n.d.);; RoberRobertt M.M. Cochran,Cochran, etet al.aI.,, History of Hancock County, Illinois, IllinoiIllinoiss SesquicentenniaSesquicentenniall EditioEditionn (Hancock(Hancock County:County: HancocHancockk BoarBoardd ooff Supervisors,Supervisors, 1968).1968).
100 100 Compendium of the Enumeration of the Inhabitants and Statistics of the United States, as obtained at the Department of State, fromfrom the Returns of the Sixth Census (Washington(Washington:: ThomaThomass Allen,Allen, 1841),84.1841), 84. 3333 however,however, non-Mormonon-Mormonn immigrationimmigration intintoo ththee countycounty hahadd virtuallyvirtually ceasedceased betweenbetween
18401840 anandd 1844,1844, ssoo iitt servesserves aass a googoodd comparativecomparative model.)model.)lol101 CalculateCalculatedd a differentdifferent wayway,, ththee mediamediann agagee iinn 18401840 forfor HancocHancockk CountCountyy malemaless fallfallss somewheresomewhere withiwithinn thethe censucensuss categorcategoryy ofof "fifteen"fifteen ttoo undeunderr twenty."twenty.,,102102 ThThee mediamediann ageage ooff ththee momobb wawass thirtythirty iinn 1844,1844, andand thereforthereforee woulwouldd havhavee beebeenn twenty-sitwenty-sixx iinn 1840,1840, oorr sixsix toto eleveelevenn yearsyears olderolder thathann ththee county'scounty's mediamediann age.age. IInn botbothh instances,instances, ththee collectivecollective CarthageCarthage mobmob wawass olderolder thathann ththee typicatypicall HancocHancockk CountCountyy malemale.. AAss demonstrateddemonstrated,, thertheree werweree menmen inin theitheirr teenteenss anandd earlyearly twentietwentiess thathatt participateparticipatedd iinn ththee murdermurderss ooff ththee SmithSmith brothers,brothers, bubutt thertheree werweree alsalsoo a definingdefining numbenumberr whwhoo werweree mucmuchh older.older.
IInn additioadditionn ttoo thethe mob'mob'ss averagaveragee ageage,, atat leasleastt 6262 percenpercentt ofof thethe eighty-nineeighty-nine knowknownn momobb membermemberss werweree (or(or hahadd beenbeen)) marriemarriedd whewhenn thetheyy stormedstormed ththee CarthageCarthage
Jail,Jail,103103 andand alalll werweree borbornn iinn ththee UniteUnitedd StatesStates witwithh ththee exceptioexceptionn ooff JohJohnn WW.. MarshMarsh whwhoo wawass Canadian. 104104 (Se(Seee TablTablee 3 foforr ththee distributiondistribution amongamong states.)states.) TenTen percenpercentt ofof ththee momobb wawass borbornn iinn ththee mid-westmid-west;; 5533 percenpercentt werweree NeNeww EnglanEnglandd emigrants;emigrants; andand 3737
101101 FlandersFlanders,, Nauvoo, 1616..
102 102 Compendium of the Enumeration of the Inhabitants and Statistics of the United States, as obtained at the Department of State, fromfrom the Returns of the Sixth Census, 84.84.
103103 TherTheree mamayy bbee additionaladditional marriagemarriagess amonamongg momobb membermemberss thathatt werweree nonott recorderecordedd iinn earlyearly IllinoisIllinois recordsrecords oorr thathatt occurreoccurredd outsidoutsidee ooff IllinoisIllinois.. MarriagMarriagee informationinformation wawass foundfound inin ththee followinfollowingg sources:sources: IllinoiIllinoiss StatStatee ArchivesArchives,, Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900, availableavailable onlinonlinee atat http://www.ilsos.gov/GenealogyMWeb/marrsrch.htmlhttp://www.ilsos.gov/GenealogyMWeb/marrsrch.html., (las(lastt accesseaccessedd JulyJuly 2007)2007);; 1840 Us.U.S. FederalFederal Census, HancocHancockk County,County, IllinoisIllinois,, populatiopopulationn schedulesschedules;; 1850 Us.U.S. Federal Census, HancocHancockk County,County, Illinoislllinois,, populatiopopulationn schedules;schedules; ThomaThomass Gregg,Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois; WilmWilmaa Brunenn,Brunenn, Pioneers of the Prairie; RoberRobertt MM.. Cochran,Cochran, etet al.a!.,, History of Hancock County, lllinIllinois. 0 is.
104104 LocatioLocationn ooff birtbirthh wawass founfoundd foforr seventyseventy ofof ththee eighty-nineighty-ninee momobb participantparticipantss iinn ththee followingfollowing sources:sources: 1850 Us.U.S. Federal Census, HancocHancockk CountyCounty,, Illinois,Illinois, populatiopopulationn schedules;schedules; I8601860 Us.U.S. Federal Census, HancocHancockk CountyCounty,, IllinoisIllinois,, populatiopopulationn schedules;schedules; WickWickss anandd FoisterFoister,, Junius andand Joseph; OakOakss anandd HillHill,, Carthage Conspiracy; ThomaThomass GreggGregg,, History of Hancock County, lllinois;Illinois; WilmaWilma BrunennBrunenn,, Pioneers of the Prairie; RoberRobertt MM.. CochranCochran,, eett a!.,al., History of Hancock County,County, Illinois. 34
TableTable 3
KnowKnownn GeographiGeographicc OriginsOrigins ooff MobMob
STATSTATEE ~UMBERNUMBER BORNBORN THERETHERE NewNew YorkYork 1313
VirginiVirginiaa 1133
KentuckyKentucky 7
ConnecticuConnecticutt 6
OhioOhio 5
MassachusettMassachusettss 4
NorthNorth CarolinaCarolina 3 lNewNew HampshireHampshire 3
PennsylvaniaPennsylvania 3
MaineMaine 2
NewNew JerseyJersey 2 rrennesseeTennessee 2
VermontVermont 2?
DelawareDelaware 1
IllinoiIllinoiss 1
IndianIndianaa 1
MarylanMarylandd 1
SoutSouthh CarolinaCarolina 1 3535 percenpercentt claiclaimm southernsouthern roots.roots. IInn thithiss respecrespectt ththee momobb wawass nnoo differentdifferent frofromm thethe areaarea
105 populouspopulous,, whicwhichh hahadd fefeww foreign-borforeign-bornn residentresidentss priopriorr ttoo 1840.105
ItIt wawass alsoalso possiblpossiblee ttoo identifidentifYy occupationoccupationss foforr sixty-sixsixty-six momobb members.members.
FourteeFourteenn werweree farmerfarmerss whwhoo ownedowned theitheirr owownn landland,, twelvtwelvee werweree lawyerslawyers,, andand sevenseven werweree merchantsmerchants.. ThThee othersothers werewere engageengagedd inin a varietyvariety ooff agriculturalagricultural,, commercial,commercial,
106 skilledskilled,, andand professionaprofessionall occupations. 106 (See(See TablTablee 4.4.)) AAnn analysisanalysis ofof thesethese occupationoccupationss showshowss somsomee cleaclearr differencesdifferences betweebetweenn ththee momobb anandd HancockHancock CountyCounty residentresidentss inin general.general. OneOne majomajorr differencdifferencee pertainpertainss ttoo thethe numbenumberr engageengagedd inin agriculture.agriculture. IInn 18401840 approximatelyapproximately 7788 percenpercentt ooff HancocHancockk CountCountyy malemaless werewere employedemployed iinn agricultureagriculture,, bubutt onlyonly abouaboutt 3030 percenpercentt ofof ththee momobb wawass whewhenn theythey stormestormedd ththee CarthagCarthagee Jail.107107 AnotheAnotherr majomajorr differencedifference iiss ththee numbernumber ofof "learned"learned professionalsprofessionals"" iinn ththee mobmob.. AccordinAccordingg ttoo ththee censuscensus,, onlonlyy thirty-fouthirty-fourr "learned"learned
105 ThomaThomass GreggGregg,, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 638638..
106106 OccupationOccupationss werweree founfoundd forfor sixty-sixsixty-six ooff ththee eighty-nineeighty-nine momobb participantsparticipants.. OccupationsOccupations werewere determineddetermined frofromm ththee followinfollowingg sources:sources: BackenstoBackenstoss letter;letter; 1850 u.s.U.S. Federal Census, HancockHancock CountyCounty,, IllinoisIllinois,, populatiopopulationn schedulesschedules;; 1860 U.S.u.s. Federal Census, HancocHancockk County,County, Illinois,Illinois, populationpopulation schedulesschedules;; WickWickss anandd FoisterFoister,, Junius and Joseph; OakOakss andand HillHill,, Carthage Conspiracy;Conspiracy; ThomasThomas GreggGregg,, History of Hancock County, Illinois; WilmWilmaa BrunennBrunenn,, Pioneers of the Prairie; RobertRobert MM.. CochranCochran,, eett al.aI.,, History of Hancock County, Illinois, IllinoiIllinoiss SesquicentenniaSesquicentenniall EditionEdition;; The Wasp;Wasp; Warsaw Signal, JunJunee 14,14, 1844;1844; Portrait and Biographical Record of Hancock, McDonough andand Henderson Counties, Illinois: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and RepresentativeRepresentative Citizens of the County (Chicago(Chicago:: LakeLake CityCity PubPub.. Co.,Co., 1894);1894); Biographical Review of Hancock County,County, Illinois, containing Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of Many of the Prominent Citizens ofToof To day and Also of the Past (Chicago:(Chicago: HobarHobartt PublishingPublishing,, Co.Co.,, 1907);1907); ElElii HugheHughess WilliamWilliamss ObituaryObituary,, The Republican,RepUblican, OctoberOctober 16,16, 1895;1895; KennetKennethh VV.. Crossley,Crossley, "The"The OlOldd PioneerPioneer CemeteryCemetery ofof GreenGreen Plainsville,Plainsville, IllinoisIllinois"" (n.p.(n.p.,, 2003)2003).. IIff ththee onlonlyy availablavailablee sourcsourcee diddid nonott specifspecifYy preciselpreciselyy whewhenn ththee momobb membermember engageengagedd inin a particulaparticularr occupationoccupation,, a judgmenjudgmentt calledcalled wawass mademade,, i.e.i.e.,, ifif thetheyy werweree ololdd enoughenough ttoo havehave beebeenn inin thathatt occupatiooccupationn iinn 1844,1844, iitt wawass assumeassumedd thetheyy werewere.. ThisThis,, howeverhowever,, occurredoccurred inin a limitedlimited numbenumberr ofof cases.cases.
107 107 Compendium of the Enumeration of the Inhabitants and Statistics of the United States, as obtained at the Department of State, fromfrom the Returns of the Sixth Census, 8787.. TheThe percentagepercentage foforr thethe momobb wawass calculatecalculatedd frofromm ththee totatotall knowknownn occupations.occupations. 3636
TableTable 4
i108 no KnownKnown OccupationsOccupations oofMobf Mob
OCCUPATIOOCCUPATIONN NUMBENUMBERR FarmeFarmerr (who(who ownedowned owownn land)land) 1144 LawyerLawyer 1212 MerchantMerchant 7 FarmerFarmer (wh(whoo diddid nonott owownn land)land) 6 ConstableConstable 3 IPhysicianPhysician 3 TaverTavernn KeeperKeeper 3 ~lacksmithBlacksmith 2 landLand investorinvestor 2 !NewspaperNewspaper editoreditor 2 pruggistDruggist 1 CabinetmakerCabinetmaker 1 CarpenterCarpenter 1 HotelHotel KeeperKeeper 1 IllinoisIllinois SupremeSupreme CourCourtt ClerkClerk 1 MillerMiller 1 !NurserymanNurseryman 1 SchoolmasterSchoolmaster 1 ShoemakerShoemaker 1
108 SomSomee ooff ththee momobb engageengagedd iinn mormoree thathann ononee profession.profession. 3737 professionalprofessionalss andand engineersengineers"" livedlived iinn HancocHancockk CountCountyy inin 1840. 109109 AlthoughAlthough categorizationcategorization wawass subjectsubject ttoo ththee interpretatiointerpretationn ofof ththee individualindividual censuscensus taker,taker, lawyerslawyers,, physiciansphysicians,, andand schoolmastersschoolmasters seeseemm ttoo havhavee beebeenn commonlcommonlyy countedcounted amongsamongstt ththee "learne"learnedd professions.professions."" ItIt iiss thereforthereforee likellikelyy thathatt editorseditors anandd druggists,druggists, oror anyonanyonee engageengagedd iinn a professioprofessionn thathatt necessitatenecessitatedd a relativelrelativelyy advancedadvanced degreedegree ofof literacyliteracy,, woulwouldd alsalsoo qualify.qualify. AccordinglyAccordingly,, ththee collectivecollective momobb wawass comprisedcomprised ofof atat leasleastt nineteenineteenn "learned"learned professionalsprofessionals"" oorr twelvtwelvee lawyerlawyerss (on(onee ofof whowhomm waswas alsoalso anan
IllinoisIllinois StateState SupremeSupreme CourtCourt Clerk)Clerk),, threthreee physiciansphysicians,, twtwoo newspapenewspaperr editorseditors,, a druggistdruggist,, anandd a schoolmaster.schoolmaster. IInn totaltotal,, leslesss thathann 1 percenpercentt ooff ththee 18401840 adultadult malemale populatiopopulationn ofof HancocHancockk CountyCounty engageengagedd iinn a learnedlearned professionprofession,, whilwhilee overover 2828 percentpercent ooff thethe mobmob did. 110110 TheThe momobb clearlyclearly includeincludedd a relativelrelativelyy highighh numbenumberr ofof professionalprofessional anandd educatededucated men.men.
AAtt leastleast thirty-onthirty-onee momobb membermemberss ownedowned propertpropertyy inin 1844. 111111 SomeSome ooff thesethese werweree localocall businessmenbusinessmen.. ThereThere werweree atat leasleastt thirteethirteenn businessmebusinessmenn (seven(seven merchants,merchants, threthreee TaverTavernn KeepersKeepers,, twtwoo lanlandd investorsinvestors,, andand ononee HotelHotel KeeperKeeper)) inin ththee mobmob.. SinceSince educateeducatedd professionalprofessionalss anandd businessmebusinessmenn araree usuallusuallyy parpartt ofof a community'community'Ss leadingleading citizenrycitizenry,, wwee cacann concludconcludee thathatt atat leastleast 4488 percenpercentt ofof ththee momobb wawass amongsamongstt HancockHancock
112 • County's elite. 112 It is also possible that some or all of the farmers who owned their County's elite. It is also possible that some or all of the farmers who owned their
109 Ibid.
110 TheThe percentagepercentage forfor ththee momobb wawass calculatecalculatedd frofromm ththee totatotall knowknownn occupations.occupations.
111111 IllinoisIllinois StatStatee ArchivesArchives,, IllinoisIllinois PubliPublicc DomainDomain LanLandd TractTract SalesSales DatabaseDatabase,, availableavailable onlinonlinee atat http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/data_lan.htmlhttp://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/data_lan.html;; HancocHancockk CountyCounty,, Illinois,Illinois, RecordeRecorderr ooff DeedsDeeds,, GeneraGenerall IndexIndex 1817-18501817-1850 (Sal(Saltt LakLakee CityCity:: FilmeFilmedd bbyy ththee GenealogicalGenealogical SocietySociety ofof UtahUtah,, 1974,1974, 1984),1984), FHFHLL US/CAUS/CANN microfilmicrofilmm nono.. 954183954183.. 3838 owownn lanlandd werweree amongsamongstt ththee county'county'ss eliteelite,, whicwhichh coulcouldd raisraisee ththee percentagpercentagee ofof prominenprominentt citizencitizenss iinn ththee momobb ttoo aass mucmuchh aass 7700 percent.percent.
ThThee momobb alsalsoo includedincluded a significantsignificant numbenumberr ooff politicallpoliticallyy activactivee menmen,, somesome ofof whowhomm madmadee politicpoliticss a careercareer.. BetweeBetweenn ththee yearyearss ooff 18391839 anandd 1844,1844, sixteesixteenn rarann forfor politicapoliticall officeoffice,, anandd tetenn wowonn positionpositionss suchsuch asas:: StateState RepresentativeRepresentative,, CountyCounty
CommissionerCommissioner,, SchoolSchool Commissioner,Commissioner, StateState SenatorSenator,, anandd UniteUnitedd StatesStates
Representative.11311 (See(See TablTablee 5 foforr completcompletee list.list. AlsoAlso seseee TableTable 6 foforr a listlist ofof thosethose officeofficess soughsoughtt forfor bubutt nonott won.)won.) FoForr twtwoo ofof ththee menmen whwhoo helheldd politicapoliticall officofficee nnoo otherother occupatiooccupationn priopriorr ttoo 18441844 hashas yetyet beebeenn identifiedidentified,, anandd twtwoo werweree farmersfarmers whwhoo diddid notnot owownn theitheirr owownn landland.. AddinAddingg thethemm ttoo ththee numbenumberr ooff elitelitee momobb membermemberss wouldwould increasincreasee thathatt percentagpercentagee eveevenn fartherfarther - ttoo 5544 percentpercent,, whewhenn excludingexcluding farmersfarmers whowho owneownedd theitheirr land.land.
WhileWhile itit iiss difficuldifficultt ttoo knowknow wherwheree mosmostt ooff ththee farmerfarmerss whwhoo dididd notnot owownn theirtheir owownn landland fifitt intointo HancocHancockk County'County'ss socialsocial structure,structure, aatt leastleast twtwoo laterlater purchasepurchasedd landland andand werewere,, thereforetherefore,, probablprobablyy amongsamongstt ththee county'county'ss middle-clasmiddle-classs whewhenn theythey stormedstormed thethe CarthagCarthagee Jail. I11 144 ThThee blacksmithblacksmith,, carpentercarpenter,, shoemaker,shoemaker, anandd otheotherr skilleskilledd laborerslaborers allall likellikelyy helheldd respecterespectedd middle-clasmiddle-classs positionpositionss iinn ththee communitcommunityy aass well. 115115
ConsidereConsideredd togethertogether,, ththee middle-clasmiddle-classs constituteconstitutedd somewhersomewheree betweebetweenn eighteeneighteen andand
4444 percenpercentt ooff ththee mob.mob.
111122 RichardsRichards,, Gentlemen of Property and Standing, 132-33132-33..
113 II) Gregg,Gregg, History of Hancock County, 447-49.AA1-A9.
111144 IInn thithiss instancinstancee ththee middle-clasmiddle-classs iiss definedefinedd aass ththee grougroupp ooff peoplpeoplee whwhoo areare nonott amongsamongstt thethe upperupper oorr elitelitee societalsocietal clasclasss bubutt stillstill retairetainn a respectablrespectablee positiopositionn iinn society.society.
115115 RichardsRichards,, Gentlemen of Property and Standing, 132-33132-33.. 3939
TableTable 5
PubliPublicc OfficeOfficess HelHeldd bbyy CarthagCarthagee MoMobb ParticipantParticipantss 1834-18561834-1856
MoMobb ParticipantParticipant PositioPositionn LocatioLocationn ~earYear AbernethyAbernethy,, WilliamWilliam SheriffSheriff HancockHancock,IL, IL 18401840 AldrichAldrich,, MarkMark FirsFirstt PostmasterPostmaster WarsawWarsaw,lL, IL 18341834 IllinoilIinoiss LegislatureLegislature 18318366 IllinoisIllinois LegislatureLegislature 18381838 PostmastePostmasterr TucsonTucson,, AZAZ
~udgeJudge TucsonTucson,, AZAZ MayoMayorr TucsonTucson,, AZAZ ~ZAZ LegislatureLegislature ArizonArizonaa 3 termsterms BagbyBagby,, WalterWalter ITreasurerTreasurer HancockHancock,IL, IL 1834-371834-37 SchooSchooll CommissionerCommissioner HancockHancock,IL, IL 1840-411840-41 BartlettBartlett,, FrankliFranklinn J.J. SchooSchooll CommissionerCommissioner Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18421842 Brattle,Brattle, JameJamess W.W. ITreasurerTreasurer anandd AssessorAssessor Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18461846 Chittenden,Chittenden, EdwarEdwardd F.F. !TreasurerTreasurer Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18371837 Davis,Davis, JacoJacobb C.C. StatStatee SenatorSenator IllinoiIllinoiss 18421842 StatStatee SenatorSenator Illinoillinoiss 18461846 StatStatee SenatorSenator IllinoilIinoiss 18501850 StatStatee SenatorSenator IllinoisIllinois 18541854 U.SU.S.. CongressCongress Illinoillinoiss 18561856 MarshMarsh,, JohJohnn W.W. CircuiCircuitt JudgeJudge HancockHancock,, IIL L.. 18551855 McAuleyMcAuley,, JohnJohn CountCountyy CommissionerCommissioner Hancock,lLHancock, IL 18381838 CountCountyy CommissionerCommissioner Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18391839 Morrison,Morrison, ThomasThomas StateState LegislatureLegislature IllinoiIllinoiss 18461846 !Rickard,Rickard, MichaelMichael CountyCounty CommissionerCommissioner HancockHancock,IL, IL 18361836 SchooSchooll CommissionerCommissioner Hancock,lLHancock, IL 18471847 SchoolSchool CommissionerCommissioner Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18491849 Sharp,Sharp, ThomasThomas lDelegateDelegate ttoo StateState Cons.Cons. Hancock,IL.Hancock, IL. 18418477 ConventionConvention JusticeJustice ofof ththee PeacePeace lHancock,Hancock, ILIL 18511851 MayorMayor WarsaWarsaww 18531853 4400
TableTable 5 (continued)(continued)
MoMobb ParticipantParticipant PositionPosition !LocationLocation lYearYear th SkinnerSkinner,, OniaOniass CC.. JudgJudgee 15 th JudiciaJudiciall DistrictDistrict [Hancock,Hancock, IILL 18511851 SupremSupremee JudgeJudge HancockHancock,IL., IL. 18551855 SmithSmith,, RoberRobertt FF.. RecorderRecorder Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18461846 ThatcherThatcher,, GeoGeo.. WW.. CountyCounty ClerkClerk HancockHancock,IL, IL 18431843 ClerkClerk ofof CommissioneCommissionerr CtCt.. [Hancock,Hancock, IILL 18471847 WarrenWarren,, CalviCalvinn AA.. State'State'ss AttorneyAttorney Hancock,IL.Hancock, IL. 18518522 MasterMaster iinn ChaunceryChauncery !Hancock,Hancock, ILlL.. ? WilliamsWilliams,, LeviLevi PostmastePostmasterr GreenGreen Plains,Plains, ? WilsonWilson,, HarmoHarmonn T.T. CoroneCoronerr [Hancock,Hancock, IILL 18401840 WilsonWilson,, ClaiborneClaiborne CountCountyy ClerkClerk Hancock,Hancock, ILIL.. 18531853 4411
TablTablee 6 PubliPublicc OfficeOfficess SoughtSought bubutt LosLostt bbyy MoMobb ParticipantParticipantss 18341834 - 18561856
MobMob ParticipantParticipant OfficeOffice !LocationLocation lYearYear AbernethyAbernethy,, WmWm.. D.D. SchoolSchool CommissionerCommissioner ~ancock,Hancock, ILIL 18421842 ClerClerkk ooff CommissionerCommissioner Ct.Ct. ~ancock,Hancock, ILIL 18471847 AldrichAldrich,, MarkMark SherifSherifff Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18461846 BagbyBagby,, WalterWalter RecordeRecorderr !Hancock,Hancock, ILIL 18351835 TreasureTreasurerr ~ancock,Hancock, ILIL 18371837 SchooSchooll CommissionerCommissioner ~ancock,Hancock, ILIL 18411841 BarnesBarnes,, MichaelMichael TreasureTreasurerr anandd AssessorAssessor ~ancock,Hancock, ILIL 18491849 BartlettBartlett,, FrankliFranklinn 1.J. CountCountyy ClerkClerk !Hancock,Hancock, ILIL 18431843 CountCountyy CommissionerCommissioner Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18441844 BrattleBrattle,, JameJamess W.W. TreasurerTreasurer Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18431843 TreasurerTreasurer Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18418477 Catlin,Catlin, JoelJoel CountCountyy CommissionerCommissioner Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18361836 StateState LegislatureLegislature Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18441844 Chittenden,Chittenden, AbraAbramm 1.I. CountCountyy CommissionerCommissioner Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18391839 Chittenden,Chittenden, GeorgeGeorge A.A. SheriffSheriff HancockHancock,IL, IL 18421842 Chittenden,Chittenden, HenrHenryy R.R. ClerkClerk ooff CommissionerCommissioner ct.Ct. Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18471847 ~ole,Cole, CalvinCalvin CountyCounty CommissionerCommissioner Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18481848 AssociateAssociate JusticeJustice Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18491849 DavisDavis,, JacoJacobb C.C. !DelegateDelegate ttoo ConsCons.. Conv.Conv. Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18471847 ~ongressCongress IllinoiIlinoiss 18581858 Geddes,Geddes, ThomasThomas DelegateDelegate ttoo Cons.Cons. Conv.Conv. HancockHancock,IL, IL 18471847 GroverGrover,, WmWm.. N.N. RepresentativRepresentativee Hancock,IL.Hancock, IL. 18521852 4422
TableTable 6 (continued)(continued)
MobMob ParticipantParticipant OfficeOffice LocationLocation lYearYear MathewsMathews,, DaviDavidd WW.. StateState LegislatureLegislature IllinoilIinoiss 18361836 StateState LegislatureLegislature IllinoilIinoiss 18421842 lRand,Rand, EbenezerEbenezer ProbatProbatee JudgeJudge lHancock,Hancock, I L 18431843 SurveyoSurveyorr !Hancock,Hancock, IILL 18431843 SchooSchooll CommissionerCommissioner !Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18511851 Sharp,Sharp, ThomaThomass CC.. RecordeRecorderr Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18461846 DelegateDelegate ttoo Const.Const. Conv.Conv. lHancock,ILHancock, IL 18471847 CircuiCircuitt ClerkClerk lHancock,Hancock, ILIL.. 18521852 CongresCongresss (Rep(Rep.. candidate)candidate) IllinoilIinoiss 18561856 Sherman,Sherman, JasoJasonn HH.. SchooSchooll CommissionerCommissioner Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18471847 Skinner,Skinner, OniaOniass CC.. StatStatee LegislatureLegislature lHancock,ILHancock, IL 18441844 Smith,Smith, RoberRobertt FF.. RecordeRecorderr HancockHancock,IL, IL 18471847 rrreasurerTreasurer anandd AssessorAssessor !Hancock,Hancock, IILL 18491849 ~reasurerTreasurer [Hancock,ILHancock, IL 18511851 Stephens,Stephens, HenryHenry SenatoSenatorr IllinoisIllinois 18501850 Thatcher,Thatcher, GeoGeo.. WW.. CountyCounty ClerkClerk lHancock,ILHancock, IL 18491849 WilsonWilson,, ClaybourneClaybourne ClerkClerk ofof CommissioneCommissionerr CtCt.. lHancock,ILHancock, IL 18471847 WilsonWilson,, HarmonHarmon TT.. SherifSherifff lHancock,Hancock, IILL 18381838 WilsonWilson,, JohnJohn CountyCounty ClerkClerk lHancock,Hancock, ILIL.. 18531853 WilsonWilson,, ValentineValentine StatStatee LegislatureLegislature IllinoiIlinoiss 18361836 4433
SomeSome ooff ththee fourfour non-lannon-landd owninowningg farmerfarmerss mamayy havhavee beebeenn squatterssquatters,, dayday laborerslaborers,, oror otherother typetypess whwhoo fitfit intintoo ththee lowelowerr rankrankss ofof society.society. RegardlessRegardless,, theythey constituteconstitutedd a smalsmalll portioportionn ofof ththee mobmob,, 6 percenpercentt oror less.less.
IInn sumsum,, whilwhilee thertheree wawass a greagreatt diversitdiversityy ooff occupationoccupationss amongstamongst ththee mobmob membersmembers,, thetheyy collectivelcollectivelyy differedifferedd significantlysignificantly frofromm HancockHancock CountyCounty inin general.general.
TherTheree werweree considerablyconsiderably fewefewerr momobb membermemberss engagedengaged inin agriculturagriculturee andand manmanyy moremore learnedlearned professionalsprofessionals.. TherTheree werweree alsoalso anan appreciableappreciable numbenumberr ofof businessmebusinessmenn andand politicianpoliticianss whowho,, whewhenn combinecombinedd witwithh ththee learnedlearned professionalsprofessionals,, constitutedconstituted oveoverr halfhalf ofof ththee mobmob.. Land-owninLand-owningg farmersfarmers,, non-land-owninnon-Iand-owningg farmers,farmers, anandd middlmiddlee classclass laborerlaborerss constituteconstitutedd mosmostt ththee remainderemainderr ofof ththee mob.mob. AlAlll iinn allall,, ththee momobb waswas largelylargely comprisecomprisedd ofof memenn frofromm ththee middlmiddlee andand eliteelite classeclassess ooff HancockHancock CountCountyy societysociety whowho werweree nativnativee bornborn,, marriedmarried,, anandd roughlroughlyy sixsix ttoo eleveelevenn yearyearss olderolder thanthan thethe medianmedian
HancocHancockk CountCountyy male.male.
ThThee CarthagCarthagee momobb waswas,, essentiallyessentially,, a ververyy typicaltypical antebelluantebellumm mob.mob.
AccordinAccordingg ttoo violencviolencee historiahistoriann RicharRichardd MaxwelMaxwelll BrownBrown,, a typicatypicall vigilantvigilantee mobmob mosmostt ofteoftenn includeincludedd "leadin"leadingg businesbusinesss menmen,, plantersplanters,, anandd professionals." I 11166 TheseThese
"elite""elite" citizencitizenss servedserved aass ththee momobb leaderleaderss whilwhilee ththee "middle"middle levelevell [of[of ththee community]community]
117 suppliedsupplied ththee rank-and-file.rank-and-file."" 117 WhilWhilee somsomee leslesss sociallsociallyy acceptablacceptablee memenn sometimesometimess participateparticipatedd iinn momobb activity,activity, thetheyy rarelrarelyy startedstarted it.it.ll811
A comparablecomparable socio-economicsocio-economic studystudy completecompletedd bbyy historianhistorian LeonarLeonardd L.L.
116116 BrownBrown,, Strain of Violence, 9393.. SeSeee also:also: GordoGordonn S.S. WoodWood,, Creation of the American Republic,Republic, 1776-1787 (New(New YorkYork:: W.WW.W.. NortoNortonn & CompanyCompany,, 1969)1969),321., 321.
117117 BrownBrown,, Strain of Violence, 105.105.
111188 RichardsRichards,, Gentlemen of Property and Standing, 132-33132-33.. 4444
RichardRichardss furthefurtherr illustratesillustrates ththee similaritsimilarityy betweebetweenn ththee CarthageCarthage anandd otherother antebellumantebellum mobsmobs.. InIn hihiss boobookk entitleentitledd Gentlemen of Property and Standing, Richards'Richards' demonstratedemonstratess thathatt a majoritmajorityy ooff ththee participantparticipantss iinn botbothh ththee abolitionisabolitionistt anandd antianti- abolitionistabolitionist riotsriots inin JacksonianJacksonian OhioOhio andand NeNeww YorYorkk werweree "commercial"commercial andand professionalprofessional"" menmen,, asas wawass ththee casecase withwith ththee CarthagCarthagee mob. 11911 IInn regardregardss ttoo ageage,, thethe northeasternnortheastern rioterrioterss hahadd a mediamediann ageage ofof thirty-sevethirty-sevenn comparecomparedd ttoo thirtthirtyy foforr thethe
CarthageCarthage mobmob.. RegardlesRegardlesss ofof thethe seven-yearseven-year differencedifference,, botbothh calculationscalculations reveareveall thatthat ththee respectiverespective momobb actionactionss werweree ththee "responses"responses ooff maturmaturee men."men.,,120120 RichardRichardss alsoalso discovereddiscovered thathatt aboutabout 8585 percenpercentt ofof ththee anti-abolitionistsanti-abolitionists rioterrioterss werweree native-bornnative-born
AmericansAmericans,, asas werewere virtuallvirtuallyy alalll ooff ththee CarthageCarthage participantsparticipants.. AndAnd,, 3131 percenpercentt ofof
RichardsRichards'' samplsamplee hahadd heldheld oneone oorr moremore politicalpolitical offices.offices. AgainAgain,, statisticalstatistical findingsfindings ververyy similarsimilar ttoo thathatt ofof thethe CarthageCarthage mob.mob.
ThusThus,, ththee CarthageCarthage momobb sharesharess manmanyy commonalitiecommonalitiess witwithh otheotherr antebellumantebellum mobs.mobs. ItIt mamayy havhavee includeincludedd a ververyy smalsmalll numbenumberr ooff memenn whwhoo couldcould bbee consideredconsidered ththee "rabble""rabble" oror "the"the taitaill ooff society,"society," bubutt iitt alsalsoo includeincludedd a definindefiningg numbenumberr ooff menmen whwhoo werweree amongstamongst thethe middlmiddlee anandd uppeupperr societasocietall classesclasses.. OverallOverall,, itit wawass comprisedcomprised ofof ververyy respectablrespectablee peoplpeoplee whwhoo sharedshared a commoncommon concerconcernn abouaboutt ththee growinggrowing presencepresence ooff MormonMormonss iinn theitheirr community.community.
119119 RichardsRichards,, Gentlemen of Property and Standing, 136136..
120120 Ibid.Ibid.,, 141141.. THETHE MOMOBB AFTEAFTERR CARTHAGECARTHAGE
ThThee MormoMormonn communitycommunity wawass iinn shocshockk anandd mourninmourningg afterafter thethe deatdeathh oftheirof their belovebelovedd leadeleaderr JosephJoseph SmithSmith andand hihiss brothebrotherr HyrumHyrum.. TheyThey experienceexperiencedd furtherfurther turmoiturmoill aass variouvariouss individualsindividuals trietriedd ttoo taktakee controlcontrol ooff ththee ChurchChurch.. MosMostt ChurchChurch membermemberss camcamee ttoo believbelievee thatthat,, inin ththee monthmonthss beforbeforee hihiss deathdeath,, JosephJoseph SmithSmith hadhad givegivenn ththee QuorumQuorum ofof ththee TwelvTwelvee ApostleApostless ththee necessarnecessaryy powepowerr ttoo lealeadd iinn hihiss absence.absence.
OthersOthers,, includinincludingg prominenprominentt churcchurchh membermemberss SidneSidneyy RigdoRigdonn andand WilliaWilliamm SmithSmith
(Josep(Josephh anandd Hyrum'Hyrum'ss brother),brother), disagreeddisagreed.. RigdoRigdonn claimeclaimedd ttoo havhavee receivereceivedd a revelationrevelation tellintellingg hihimm thathatt hhee wawass ttoo succeedsucceed JosepJosephh Smith.Smith. WheWhenn hhee wawass notnot ablablee toto convincconvincee ththee QuoruQuorumm ooff ththee TwelveTwelve ttoo lelett hihimm lealeadd ththee church,church, hhee startedstarted hihiss ownown
121 congregation 121 William Smith first supported the revelatory claims of James J. congregation William Smith first supported the revelatory claims of James J. Strang and moved to Wisconsin with the "Strangite" dissenters. Later, however, he Strang and moved to Wisconsin with the "Strangite" dissenters. Later, however, he began promoting himself as the appropriate successor to his brother Joseph. 122 began promoting himself as the appropriate successor to his brother Joseph.122 Ultimately, as many as fifteen such schismatic groups emerged in the aftermath of the Ultimately, as many as fifteen such schismatic groups emerged in the aftermath of the Smith brothers' deaths.123 Smith brothers' deaths.123 This splintering was precisely what the Hancock County anti-Mormons had This splintering was precisely what the Hancock County anti-Mormons had
121121 LeonardLeonard,, Nauvoo, 446446,449-50., 449-50.
122122 Ibid.Ibid.,, 453-4.453-4.
123123 RogeRogerr DD.. LauniuLauniuss anandd LindLindaa Thatcher,Thatcher, "Introduction:"Introduction: MormonisMormonismm anandd ththee DynamicDynamicss ofof Dissent,"Dissent," inin Differing Visions (Champaign(Champaign,, ILIL : UniversitUniversityy ooff IllinoiIllinoiss PressPress,, 1998)1998),, 1111.. 4466 hopehopedd for. 124124 HoweverHowever,, iitt diddid nonott ggoo deedeepp enougenoughh ttoo arresarrestt ththee collectivecollective MormonMormon influencinfluencee iinn IllinoisIllinois.. UndeUnderr ththee leadershileadershipp ooff BrighaBrighamm YoungYoung,, PresidenPresidentt ooff thethe
TwelvTwelvee ApostlesApostles,, ththee majoritmajorityy ooff MormonMormonss remaineremainedd inin ththee NauvoNauvooo vicinitvicinityy andand tenaciousltenaciouslyy continuecontinuedd ttoo protecprotectt theitheirr interestsinterests mucmuchh asas thetheyy hahadd whewhenn JosepJosephh SmithSmith wawass alivealive.. IInn 18451845 ChurchChurch membermemberss trietriedd ttoo gegett ththee countycounty seatseat relocaterelocatedd ttoo Nauvoo.Nauvoo.
AlthougAlthoughh thetheyy presentepresentedd ththee statstatee legislaturelegislature witwithh a petitiopetitionn anandd ththee requisitrequisitee amountamount ooff signatures,signatures, ththee legislaturlegislaturee simplysimply failefailedd ttoo act.act. BrighaBrighamm YounYoungg alsoalso madmadee anan attempattemptt ttoo inviteinvite SaintSaintss livingliving iinn ththee EasternEastern UniteUnitedd StatesStates ttoo movmovee ttoo NauvoNauvooo andand
"buyout"buyout ththee anti-Mormonsanti-Mormons inin HancockHancock County.County."" StateState officialsofficials inin SpringfieldSpringfield quicklyquickly stifledstifled thesthesee planplanss anandd urgeurgedd ththee SaintsSaints ttoo "ceas"ceasee ttoo gathegatherr iinn ononee place."place.,,]25125 AAss a resulresultt ofof thesthesee anandd otheotherr effortsefforts ChurchChurch membermemberss onconcee againagain foundfound themselvethemselvess underunder attacattackk frofromm hostilhostilee localslocals whwhoo nonoww feltfelt ththee onlyonly wawayy ttoo removeremove thethe MormonMormon influencinfluencee fromfrom IllinoisIllinois wawass ttoo removremovee thethe Mormons.Mormons.
IInn SeptemberSeptember ooff 18451845 bandbandss ofof maraudersmarauders,, whicwhichh includeincludedd manmanyy CarthageCarthage momobb membersmembers,, begabegann attackinattackingg MormoMormonn settlementssettlements,, burninburningg buildingsbuildings,, andand drivingdriving churchchurch membersmembers fromfrom theitheirr homeshomes.. UndeUnderr increasinincreasingg pressurepressure fromfrom localocall hostilitieshostilities andand governmentgovernment officials,officials, iinn JanuarJanuaryy ooff 18461846 ththee SaintsSaints begabegann ththee lonlongg slosloww exodusexodus outout ooff IllinoisIllinois.. BByy 18471847 ththee HancocHancockk CountyCounty anti-Mormonsanti-Mormons hahadd effectivelyeffectively succeedesucceededd atat riddinriddingg theitheirr statstatee ofof MormonMormon influence.influence.
So,So, whawhatt happenehappenedd ttoo ththee CarthageCarthage mobmob,, manmanyy ooff whwhoo alsalsoo participateparticipatedd iinn thethe violenviolentt expulsioexpulsionn ofof ththee SaintsSaints frofromm NauvooNauvoo?? DiDidd anan unseeunseenn hanhandd executeexecute vengeancevengeance
121244 LeonardLeonard,, Nauvoo, 445445..
121255 Ibid.Ibid.,, 510.510. 4477 upouponn thesethese individualindividualss forfor theitheirr murderoumurderouss momobb activitiesactivities?? TheThe answeranswer isis,, quitequite simplysimply,, nono.. InsteadInstead,, mosmostt ooff thesthesee individualindividualss seemseem ttoo havhavee livelivedd normanormall lifelife spansspans inin whicwhichh thetheyy prospered.prospered.
ThThee averageaverage CarthagCarthagee momobb membememberr livelivedd ttoo bbee nearlnearlyy sixty-sixsixty-six yearyearss 01d.old.126126
BetweeBetweenn 18401840 anandd 1849,1849, ththee averagaveragee UniteUnitedd StateStatess malmalee whwhoo hahadd livedlived ttoo thethe ageage ofof thirtthirtyy (the(the mediamediann agagee ooff ththee momobb cohortcohort)) couldcould expectexpect ttoo livlivee approximatelapproximatelyy anotheranother thirty-fivthirty-fivee yearsyears.. 127 ThusThus,, ratheratherr thathann dyingdying early,early, ththee collectivcollectivee momobb livelivedd slightlyslightly longerlonger thathann mosmostt AmericanAmerican males.males. TherTheree waswas,, ooff coursecourse,, a spectrumspectrum ofof ageagess atat death.death.
FranFrankk WorrellWorrell,, a guardguard aatt ththee CarthagCarthagee JailJail,, wawass shoshott andand killekilledd inin SeptemberSeptember 18451845 whilwhilee pursuinpursuingg HancocHancockk CountCountyy SheriffSheriff JacoJacobb BackenstoBackenstoss witwithh a loadeloadedd gun. 128128 HeHe wawass twenty-fivtwenty-fivee aatt ththee timetime.. OtherOtherss livelivedd mucmuchh longer,longer, liklikee ThomasThomas BoBoxx GriffittsGriffitts whwhoo livelivedd ttoo bbee nearlnearlyy eighty-five.eighty-five.129129
LengtLengthh ofof lifelife doedoess nonott necessarilnecessarilyy translattranslatee intintoo googoodd fortunefortune.. HoweverHowever,, ifif financial well-beingwell-being iiss anyany indicatorindicator oofthef the qualitqualityy ooff one'one'ss lifelife,, ththee collectivecollective
CarthagCarthagee momobb livelivedd wellwell.. IInn 18501850 ththee averagaveragee valuvaluee ofof theitheirr collectivecollective propertpropertyy waswas
$2,140$2,140;; alreadalreadyy welwelll abovabovee ththee nationanationall averageaverage of$I,050.of $1,050. BByy 1860,1860, however,however, whenwhen ththee nationanationall averagaveragee wawass $1,540$1,540,, ththee averagaveragee valuvaluee oofthef the mob'mob'ss reareall estateestate hahadd risenrisen
126 DeatDeathh informatioinformationn wawass derivedderived frofromm ththee followingfollowing sources:sources: WickWickss andand FoisterFoister,, Junius andand Joseph; OaksOaks andand HillHill,, Carthage Conspiracy; ThomaThomass Gregg,Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois;Illinois; WilmWilmaa BrunennBrunenn,, Pioneers of the Prairie; RoberRobertt MM.. Cochran,Cochran, etet al.a!.,, History of Hancock County,County, Illinois, IllinoisIllinois SesquicentenniaSesquicentenniall Edition.Edition.
127127 ClaynClaynee LL.. PopePope,, "Adult"Adult MortalitMortalityy iinn AmericAmericaa BeforBeforee 1900,"1900," iinn Strategic Factors in NineteenthNineteenth Century American Economic History,HistOlY, A Volume to Honor Robert W. Fogel, ed.ed. ClaudiClaudiaa GoldinGoldin andand HughHugh RockoffRockoff (Chicago(Chicago:: UniversitUniversityy ooff ChicagChicagoo PressPress,, 1992),282.1992), 282.
121288 LeonardLeonard,, Nauvoo, 529.529.
129129 PassinPassingg ooff a PioneerPioneer,, The Carthage Republican, Wednesday,Wednesday, JanuarJanuaryy 25,25, 19111911.. 4488
242499 percentpercent,, ttoo $7,842$7,842 —- a figurfiguree welwelll oveoverr fivfivee timetimess thethe nationanationall average.l3O130 A fewfew ooff ththee momobb membersmembers,, sucsuchh aass MarMarkk AldrichAldrich,, proveprovedd especiallespeciallyy ambitiouambitiouss anandd movedmoved ttoo CaliforniCaliforniaa durinduringg ththee golgoldd rushrush.. DissatisfieDissatisfiedd witwithh ththee goldgold fields,fields, AldricAldrichh laterlater settlesettledd iinn TucsonTucson,, ArizonaArizona,, wherwheree hhee becambecamee a successfusuccessfull merchanmerchantt witwithh aann 18601860 personapersonall estateestate valuevaluedd atat $50,000.131131 AnotheAnotherr merchantmerchant,, EmersoEmersonn GouldGould,, movemovedd ttoo St.St.
LouiLouiss anandd alsalsoo amassedamassed a personapersonall estateestate valuevaluedd aatt $50,000$50,000 iinn 1860.I860.132132
ManManyy ooff ththee CarthageCarthage momobb membermemberss continuedcontinued ttoo runrun foforr andand holholdd publicpublic officofficee iinn ththee decadedecadess followinfollowingg ththee murdermurderss ooff JosepJosephh anandd HyruHyrumm Smith.Smith. (See(See TableTable
5.5.)) SpecificallySpecifically,, CarthagCarthagee momobb participantparticipantss wowonn twenty-foutwenty-fourr publipublicc officesoffices betweenbetween ththee yearyearss 18441844 andand 1856.1856. ThThee mosmostt illustriousillustrious politiciapoliticiann ooff ththee groupgroup waswas JacobJacob C.C.
DavisDavis,, ononee ofof ththee five whwhoo werweree actuallyactually trietriedd forfor ththee murdermurderss ofof JosephJoseph andand HyrumHyrum
Smith.Smith. HHee wawass electeelectedd ttoo ththee IllinoiIllinoiss StatStatee SenateSenate foforr fourfour consecutiveconsecutive termsterms anandd inin
18561856 toto ththee U.SU.S.. Congress.133133
AllAll inin all,all, thertheree isis nnoo reareall evidenceevidence ttoo supportsupport ththee notionotionn thathatt thosthosee whowho murderemurderedd JosepJosephh anandd HyruHyrumm SmitSmithh experiencedexperienced greatgreat sufferingsuffering andand dieddied horriblehorrible deathsdeaths aass punishmenpunishmentt foforr theitheirr bloodbloodyy deeddeed.. InIn factfact,, ththee oppositeopposite mamayy havhavee occurred.occurred.
]30 ReaReall estatestatee valuevaluess werweree gatheregatheredd frofromm ththee 1850 and 1860 U.S.u.s. Federal Census populationpopulation schedulesschedules whereiwhereinn datdataa wawass founfoundd foforr fifty-eightfifty-eight andand forty-twforty-twoo momobb participantparticipantss respectivelyrespectively.. GeneralGeneral U.SU.S.. statisticsstatistics werweree foundfound iinn "Wealth"Wealth andand ItsIts Distribution,Distribution,"" availablavailablee onlineonline atat http://www.answers.com/topic/wealth-and-its-distributionhttp://www.answers.com/topic/wealth-and-its-distribution.. SomSomee ooff ththee momobb membermemberss movemovedd outout ofof HancocHancockk CountyCounty,, soso ththee comparisocomparisonn withwith ththee UniteUnitedd StateStatess iiss mormoree accurateaccurate thathann witwithh HancockHancock CountyCounty alone.alone.
13]131 MarMarkk AldricAldrichh householdhousehold,, Tucson,Tucson, ArizonArizonaa Territory,Territory, 18601860 U.SU.S.. FederaFederall CensusCensus,, pagpagee nono.. 1818,, dwellingdwelling nono.. 168168,, andand familfamilyy nono.. 174.174.
132 ndnd 132 E.WE.W.. GoulGouldd householdhousehold,, St.St. LouiLouiss CountyCounty,, Missouri,Missouri, 18601860 U.SU.s.. FederaFederall CensusCensus,, 2 WarWardd CityCity ofof St.St. LouisLouis,, pagpagee 341,341, dwellingdwelling nono.. 1456,1456, familfamilyy nnoo 31533153..
133133 OakOakss anandd Hill,Hill, Carthage Conspiracy, 217217.. 4499
AAss witwithh manmanyy otherother antebellumantebellum mobsmobs,, thosthosee whwhoo tootookk parpartt inin ththee murdermurderss ofof JosephJoseph andand HyrumHyrum SmithSmith reportedlreportedlyy felfeltt thetheyy "would"would nonott onlyonly bbee protectedprotected,, bubutt honoredhonored"" forfor murderinmurderingg ththee SmithSmith brothers. 134134 ThesThesee expectationexpectationss camecame iinn parpartt frofromm ththee facfactt thatthat manymany oofthef the momobb membermemberss believebelievedd thetheyy werweree performinperformingg a servicservicee forfor theirtheir communitycommunity.. WarsawWarsaw druggistdruggist GeorgeGeorge Rockwell,Rockwell, jusjustt a fewfew daydayss beforbeforee thethe murders,murders, expresseexpressedd hihiss feelingsfeelings thus:thus:
I havehave beenbeen calledcalled onon byby ththee citizenscitizens ofof WarsawWarsaw toto taketake anan activeactive andand responsibleresponsible parpartt iinn [these][these] proceedingproceedingss [against[against ththee Mormons]Mormons] andand I cacann assureassure yoyouu thathatt I taktakee mucmuchh pleasurpleasuree iinn lendinlendingg mmyy humblhumblee aiaidd toto expeexpell a banbandd ofof citizencitizenss frofromm ththee State,State, ththee leaderleaderss ooff whowhomm areare deservindeservingg a thousanthousandd deaths.deaths. I havhavee beebeenn constantlyconstantly engagedengaged foforr thethe laslastt twotwo weekweekss tryintryingg ttoo accomplisaccomplishh it,it, andand nonoww taktakee pleasurpleasuree inin sayingsaying thathatt I havhavee nnoo doubdoubtt aass ttoo ouourr ultimatultimatee successsuccess.. SinceSince I enlisteenlistedd mymy selfself iinn thithiss causecause,, I havhavee ...... traveletraveledd oonn horsebachorsebackk mormoree thathann 300300 milesmiles iinn variouvariouss directiondirectionss ttoo raisraisee memenn anandd meanmeanss ttoo accomplisaccomplishh ourour 135 ends,ends, knowinknowingg thathatt ouourr causecause wawass just.just. 135
TheThe subsequensubsequentt acquittaacquittall ofof ththee fivfivee memenn trietriedd foforr thethe murdermurderss providesprovides evidencevidencee thathatt ththee mob'mob'ss expectationexpectation ofof beinbeingg protecteprotectedd waswas accurate,accurate, andand thertheree areare severalseveral indicationindicationss thathatt soso wawass theitheirr expectationexpectation ofof beinbeingg honoredhonored.. First,First, mobmob membermemberss stilstilll rarann forfor anandd wowonn politicapoliticall officesoffices afteafterr storminstormingg CarthageCarthage Jail.Jail. Second,Second, eveneven severalseveral decadedecadess latelaterr a numbenumberr ofof momobb membermemberss werweree stillstill proudlproudlyy proclaimingproclaiming theitheirr involvementinvolvement iinn ththee murdermurderss anandd forceforcedd removaremovall oofthef the Mormons.Mormons. InIn factfact,, inin thethe
History ofo/Hancock Hancock County, publishepublishedd inin 1880,1880, severalseveral ofof ththee momobb members'members' biographicabiographicall sketchesketchess listlist participationparticipation inin ththee "Mormo"Mormonn difficultiesdifficulties"" aass ononee ofof theirtheir
134 Warsaw Signal, JulJulyy 10,10, 1844.1844. SeSeee also:also: Richards,Richards, Gentlemen of Property and Standing, 8484 andand Wood,Wood, Creation of the American Republic,Republic. 321321..
135135 WickWickss anandd FoisterFoister,, Junius and Joseph, 152.152. 5050 notablnotablee achievementsachievements inin life. 136136 FoForr exampleexample,, witwithh aann obviouobviouss feelinfeelingg ooff pridpridee andand accomplishment,accomplishment, GeorgGeorgee Waggoner'Waggoner'ss biographicabiographicall sketchsketch statesstates thathatt hhee wawass anan activeactive operatoroperator iinn ththee MormoMormonn difficulties,difficulties, nonott oneone ooff thosthosee whwhoo dididd ththee shooting,shooting, bubutt thethe manman whwhoo haulehauledd ththee ammunitionammunition foforr thosthosee whwhoo diddid.. HHee wawass firsfirstt intintoo ththee jaijaill whenwhen ththee SmithsSmiths werewere killedkilled,, andand pickinpickingg uupp ththee revolverrevolver,, whicwhichh SmithSmith hahadd emptied,emptied, presentepresentedd iitt ttoo ththee authoritiesauthorities whenwhen calledcalled on. 137137 EveEvenn ththee obituaryobituary ofof mob-membermob-member
EliEli WilliamWilliamss mentionsmentions hihiss participationparticipation.. Specifically,Specifically, iitt statestatess thatthat:: "In"In 18441844 Mr.Mr.
WilliamWilliamss wawass a membememberr ofof ththee CarthageCarthage GraysGrays,, andand wawass presenpresentt atat ththee killinkillingg ofof
JosepJosephh Smith...... HHee saidsaid ththee killinkillingg ofof SmithSmith wawass pre-arrangepre-arrangedd betweebetweenn ththee soso- called mob and the guards.,,1381 ^8 Thus, rather than expressing remorse, these men called mob and the guards." Thus, rather than expressing remorse, these men remained proud of their mob involvement. remained proud of their mob involvement. To summarize, the Carthage mob members lived normal life spans during To summarize, the Carthage mob members lived normal life spans during which they prospered financially. They ran for and won political offices, and, they which they prospered financially. They ran for and won political offices, and, they generally appear to have been protected and honored by their fellow citizens for their generally appear to have been protected and honored by their fellow citizens for their participation in the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and the forcible removal of participation in the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and the forcible removal of the Mormons from Hancock County. the Mormons from Hancock County.
136 Gregg,Gregg, History of Hancock County, 728728,, 748-755,748-755, 808808,, 858.858.
137 Ibid.Ibid.,, 858.858.
138 DeathDeath ofof a Pioneer,Pioneer, The Carthage Republican, OctobeOctoberr 16,16, 18951895.. LUNDLUNDWAL WALLL
ThThee factfact thathatt ththee momobb membermemberss dididd nonott meemeett witwithh horrifichorrific deathsdeaths largelylargely discreditdiscreditss Fate of the Persecutors of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Lundwall'Lundwall'ss downfalldownfall seemsseems ttoo havhavee beebeenn hihiss inabilitinabilityy ttoo distinguisdistinguishh betweebetweenn crediblcrediblee anandd noncrediblenoncredible sources.sources. HisHis documentdocumentss andand paperpaperss araree availablavailablee aatt ththee LDLDSS ChurcChurchh ArchivesArchives,, andand thetheyy makemake itit cleaclearr hhee triedtried ttoo bbee meticuloumeticulouss andand carefulcareful iinn hihiss researchresearch.. HHee hahadd thethe storiesstories peoplpeoplee recountedrecounted toto hihimm writtewrittenn outout andand eveevenn notarizednotarized.. HoweverHowever,, thisthis meticulousnesmeticulousnesss diddid nonott changechange ththee facfactt thathatt nearlnearlyy allall ooff thesthesee storiestoriess werweree secondsecond andand thirthirdd hanhandd accounts.accounts. EvenEven ththee informationinformation hhee diddid gegett rightright iiss tingetingedd withwith inaccuraciesinaccuracies duedue toto erroneouserroneous sourcesourcess oorr interpolation.interpolation.
LeviLevi Williams'Williams' andand ThomasThomas Sharp'sSharp's storiesstories providprovidee googoodd examplesexamples ooff howhow
LundwallLundwall mixemixedd thethe accurataccuratee anandd inaccurateinaccurate.. LundwalLundwalll correctlycorrectly statestatess thathatt LeviLevi
WilliamWilliamss dieddied inin 1858;1858; howeverhowever,, hhee alsalsoo assertassertss thathatt "Col."Col. WilliamWilliamss ...... diediedd enjoyingenjoying thethe respecrespectt ofof nnoo one.,,139one." IInn additionaddition ttoo ththee facfactt thathatt thithiss laslastt statemenstatementt wawass reportedlyreportedly takentaken frofromm anan articlearticle iinn anan 18701870 editionedition ooff The Deseret News writtewrittenn twelvtwelvee yearsyears afterafter Williams'Williams' deathdeath,, itit iiss creditecreditedd ttoo a MrMr.. RiteRiterr whwhoo obtaineobtainedd ththee informatioinformationn fromfrom a friendfriend stillstill livingliving inin NauvooNauvoo (clearly(clearly notnot firstfirst handhand information).information). ItIt isis difficultdifficult toto believebelieve WilliamsWilliams,, a membememberr ofof thethe WarsaWarsaww MasoniMasonicc Lodge,Lodge, dieddied enjoyinenjoyingg ththee respectrespect
139 LundwallLundwall,, Fate ofo/the the Persecutors, 323323.. 5252 ofr- no one. [40140 oi no one. The same newspaper article that mentions Williams also states that Thomas The same newspaper article that mentions Williams also states that Thomas Sharp's "nose lengthens as he grows in years," and that none of the Carthage mob, or Sharp's "nose lengthens as he grows in years," and that none of the Carthage mob, or any of the Mormon persecutors, "ever enjoyed any social respect afterwards-nay any of the Mormon persecutors, "ever enjoyed any social respect afterwards—nay more, they were despised by their neighbors and former friends." [4[ In truth, after more, they were despised by their neighbors and former friends." 141 In truth, after participating in the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Sharp was elected to serve participating in the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Sharp was elected to serve as ajustice of the peace, a Hancock County judge, and, on three separate occasions, as a justice of the peace, a Hancock County judge, and, on three separate occasions, the mayor of Warsaw. [42 the mayor of Warsaw.142 The same informant who provided the above information about Williams and The same informant who provided the above information about Williams and Sharp also stated that "Francis Higbee died in New York," and that Sharp also stated that "Francis Higbee died in New York," and that John McAuley ... died a most miserable death about the year 1872. John McAuley . . . died a most miserable death about the year 1872. While lying on his death bed, suffering the most excruciating pains, he While lying on his death bed, suffering the most excruciating pains, he [said] that ifhe could only blot out five years of his life (referring to [said] that if he could only blot out five years of his life (referring to the time he fought the Mormons), he could die a happy man. [43 the time he fought the Mormons), he could die a happy man.143
AlthougAlthoughh nnoo specifispecificc evidencevidencee ttoo substantiatsubstantiatee oorr refutrefutee ththee statementsstatements aboutabout HigbeeHigbee anandd McAuleMcAuleyy hahass beenbeen found,found, hihiss otherother accountaccountss makmakee thithiss informantinformant unreliablunreliablee atat bestbest..
SoSo iitt isis witwithh nearlnearlyy allall ofof Fate of the Persecutors. IItt includeincludess numerousnumerous storiesstories ooff ththee horrifihorrificc sufferinsufferingg ofof momobb membersmembers:. YetYet,, ththee vasvastt majoritmajorityy areare fromfrom second-second- andand third-hanthird-handd hanhandd sources.sources. EveEvenn thosthosee fewfew thathatt appeaappearr ttoo bebe fromfrom first-first hanhandd sourcessources areare tingetingedd witwithh errorerror oorr difficuldifficultt ttoo believbelievee duedue ttoo ththee overalloverall
140140 WickWickss anandd FoisterFoister,, Junius and Joseph,Joseph. 291.291.
141141 Ibid.Ibid.
142142 OakOakss anandd HillHill,, Carthage Conspiracy, 218.218.
143143 Lundwall,Lundwall, Fate ofo/the the Persecutors, 315315.. 5353 incredibilitincredibilityy ofof ththee rest.rest.
InIn sumsum,, LundwallLundwall doedoess nonott presenpresentt anan accurataccuratee picturpicturee ofof ththee CarthagCarthagee mob.mob.
ItIt iiss neverthelesneverthelesss ththee inaccuraciesinaccuracies —- ththee gruesomegruesome anandd sensationalsensational fatesfates befallingbefalling momobb membermemberss -— thathatt madmadee itit ssoo popularpopular amongamong ththee MormonMormon community.community. ItIt isis humahumann naturnaturee ttoo believbelievee inin sensationalsensational eventsevents thathatt eitheeitherr validatvalidatee theitheirr spiritualspiritual beliefsbeliefs
oror providprovidee assurancassurancee thathatt aann unseeunseenn handhand iiss metinmetingg ououtt justicjusticee inin ththee world.world. WHYWHY??
FroFromm ouourr twenty-firstwenty-firstt centurycentury vantagvantagee poinpointt itit iiss easyeasy ttoo believbelievee thathatt a groupgroup ofof
"ne-r"ne-r ddoo wellwell"" reprobatesreprobates,, spurredspurred onon perhapperhapss bbyy drunkenness,drunkenness, stormedstormed ththee CarthageCarthage JailJail anandd murderemurderedd thethe SmithSmith brothersbrothers.. ItIt isis mucmuchh moremore difficultdifficult ttoo believbelievee thathatt a grougroupp ofof respectablerespectable memenn committecommittedd sucsuchh a violenviolentt andand illegaillegall act.act. NeverthelessNevertheless,, thetheyy did.did. So,So, thethe questioquestionn thathatt naturallnaturallyy followsfollows iiss whywhy?? WhWhyy woulwouldd a grougroupp ofof respectablrespectablee citizenscitizens,, manymany ooff whowhomm hahadd families,families, ownedowned businessesbusinesses,, oorr helheldd publipublicc officeoffice,, stormstorm a jailhousjailhousee andand killkill twotwo individuals?individuals? ThThee answeranswer iiss complexcomplex.. EveEvenn mormoree soso becausbecausee itit isis unlikelunlikelyy a groupgroup ofof oveoverr twtwoo hundrehundredd memenn sharedshared a singlsinglee motivemotive.. HoweverHowever,, byby placinplacingg ththee mobmob withiwithinn thethe largerlarger backdrobackdropp ofof nationanationall andand localocall historhistoryy somesome ofof itsits actionsactions begibeginn ttoo makemake sense.sense.
TheThe MormoMormonn sojournsojourn inin HancockHancock CountCountyy occurredoccurred durinduringg ththee JacksonianJacksonian era,era, a timtimee ooff extraordinaryextraordinary nationanationall expansionexpansion anandd materiamateriall progressprogress.. TheThe dynamicdynamic advancementadvancementss broughbroughtt onon bbyy ththee industrialindustrial,, marketmarket,, anandd transportatiotransportationn revolutionsrevolutions createcreatedd aann overridinoverridingg senssensee ooff optimisoptimismm duringduring thithiss era,era, andand fueledfueled ththee sensesense thatthat
AmericAmericaa wawass destineddestined forfor furthefurtherr greatnessgreatness.. ManManyy attributedattributed ththee nation'nation'ss progresprogresss ttoo a providentiaprovidentiall hanhandd thathatt wawass bestowinbestowingg blessingblessingss oonn AmericAmericaa forfor establishinestablishingg itselitselff onon righteourighteouss principleprincipless ooff liberty,liberty, andand likewislikewisee believebelievedd thathatt continuecontinuedd blessingblessingss andand
144 prosperitprosperityy werweree dependentdependent onon AmericanAmerican citizencitizenss remaininremainingg free. 144 LargelLargelyy definingdefining
144 DaviDavidd BrioBrionn Davis,Davis, "Some"Some ThemeThemess ooff Counter-SubversionCounter-Subversion:: AAnn AnalysiAnalysiss ooff Anti-MasonicAnti-Masonic,, AntiAnti- Catholic,Catholic, andand Anti-MormonAnti-Mormon Literature,Literature, ThThee MississippMississippii ValleYalleyy HistoricaHistoricall RevieRevieww 4747,, no.no. 2 (Sep.,(Sep., 5555 anandd protectinprotectingg thathatt freedofreedomm wawass ththee concepconceptt ooff populapopularr sovereignty,sovereignty, oror ththee premispremisee thatthat
"all"all powepowerr whatevewhateverr isis vestevestedd inin,, anandd immediatelimmediatelyy derivederivedd from,from, ththee peoplpeoplee only.,,[45only."145
WhaWhatt JacksoniaJacksoniann AmericanAmericanss knekneww anandd fearefearedd wawass thathatt populapopularr sovereigntysovereignty alsoalso heldheld withiwithinn iitt ththee powepowerr ttoo destrodestroyy theitheirr freedofreedomm shoulshouldd itit bbee ththee wilwilll ooff thethe peoplepeople.. HopeHope foforr a secursecuree anandd freefree futurefuture thereforthereforee resterestedd oonn ththee beliebelieff thathatt "when"when eacheach individualindividual wawass leftleft free toto pursupursuee happineshappinesss iinn hihiss ownown wayway,, unhampereunhamperedd bbyy ththee tyranntyrannyy ooff customcustom oorr specialspecial privilegeprivilege,, justicjusticee andand well-beinwell-beingg woulwouldd inevitablinevitablyy emerge.,,[46emerge."146
IntoInto thesthesee reigninreigningg philosophiephilosophiess emergedemerged ththee MormonsMormons,, whwhoo iinn manmanyy respectsrespects embodiedembodied ththee antitheseantithesess ooff JacksoniaJacksoniann AmericanAmerican ideals.ideals. ContrarContraryy ttoo ththee idealizedidealized imageimage ofof JacksoniaJacksoniann Democracy,Democracy, ththee MormonMormonss puputt loyaltyloyalty ttoo ononee manman,, theitheirr ProphetProphet
JosepJosephh Smith,Smith, aboveabove thathatt ooff theitheirr nationnation.. MoreoverMoreover,, thithiss loyaltloyaltyy ttoo JosepJosephh SmithSmith oftenoften resulteresultedd iinn collectivcollectivee votinvotingg accordinaccordingg ttoo hihiss instructions.instructions. ManyMany sawsaw thisthis asas evidenceevidence thathatt ththee MormonMormonss hahadd givegivenn awayaway theitheirr freedomfreedom inin submissionsubmission ttoo a tyrannicatyrannicall leader-preciselyleader—precisely oppositoppositee ooff whawhatt waswas seenseen aass necessarnecessaryy foforr a securesecure andand freefree future.future. MormoMormonn collectivenescollectivenesss anandd secretsecret ritualritualss onlonlyy accentuateaccentuatedd thisthis negativenegative image.image. ThThee generagenerall sentimentsentiment waswas:: "In"In a virtuouvirtuouss republirepublicc whwhyy shouldshould anyonanyonee fearfear publicitpublicityy oorr desiredesire ttoo conceaconceall activitiesactivities,, unlesunlesss thosthosee activitieactivitiess werweree somehowsomehow contrarcontraryy ttoo ththee publipublicc interest?,,[47interest?" 47
ThusThus,, ththee broabroadd perceptioperceptionn wawass thathatt MormonsMormons werweree a threathreatt ttoo ththee freedomfreedom anandd ththee futurfuturee ooff AmericaAmerica.. MormonMormonss werweree nonott ththee onlonlyy grougroupp ttoo bbee thuthuss categorized.categorized.
1960):I960): 205-224.205-224.
145145 BrownBrown,, Strain of Violence, 6161..
146146 DavisDavis,, "Som"Somee ThemeThemess ooff Counter-Subversion,Counter-Subversion,"" 209.209.
147147 Ibid.,Ibid., 211211.. 5566
MasonsMasons,, Catholics,Catholics, anandd otherotherss werweree similarlsimilarlyy regardedregarded.. Collectively,Collectively, ththee leadersleaders ofof thesthesee groups,groups, includinincludingg JosepJosephh Smith,Smith, werweree seeseenn aass "unscrupulous"unscrupulous leaderleaderss plottinplottingg toto subvertsubvert ththee AmericaAmericann sociasociall ordeorderr ...... becausbecausee controlcontrol ooff AmericAmericaa meanmeantt controlcontrol ofof ththee world'world'ss destiny.,,148destiny."148
ThoughThough [the][the] rank-and-filrank-and-filee membermemberss werweree nonott [seen[seen as]as] individuallyindividually evil,evil, thetheyy [were[were viewedviewed]] aass blindeblindedd anandd corruptedcorrupted bbyy a persuasivepersuasive ideologideologyy thathatt justifiejustifiedd treasotreasonn andand grosgrosss immoralityimmorality iinn ththee interesinterestt ofof ththee subversivesubversive group.group. TrappeTrappedd iinn ththee meshemeshess ofof a machine-likemachine-like organization,organization, deludedeludedd bbyy a falsefalse sensesense ooff loyaltloyaltyy andand moralmoral obligationobligation,, thesthesee dupedupess followefollowedd ordersorders likelike professionaprofessionall soldierssoldiers andand laborelaboredd unknowinglunknowinglyy ttoo abolisabolishh free societysociety,, ttoo enslaveenslave theitheirr fellowfellow menmen,, andand ttoo overthrooverthroww divindivinee principleprincipless ooff lalaww anandd justice. 149149
OnOnee resulresultt ooff thesthesee generalgeneral sentimentsentimentss wawass anan increasincreasee iinn organizationsorganizations andand literatureliterature devotedevotedd ttoo counter-subversioncounter-subversion.. TreatisesTreatises liklikee LymaLymann Beecher'sBeecher's A Plea forfor the West, publishepublishedd iinn 1835,1835, iinn whicwhichh hhee predictepredictedd aann evievill religioreligionn woulwouldd growgrow toto greatgreat powepowerr iinn ththee westwest,, werweree botbothh populapopularr anandd influential. 150150 AnotheAnotherr resulresultt waswas widespreawidespreadd persecutiopersecutionn anandd dislikdislikee ooff thesthesee groupsgroups deemedeemedd subversive.subversive.
SeveraSeverall statementstatementss madmadee bbyy momobb membermemberss clearlclearlyy indicatindicatee theythey werewere influenceinfluencedd bbyy thesthesee prevalenprevalentt anti-Mormoanti-Mormonn attitudesattitudes.. OneOne vigilantevigilante,, GeorgeGeorge
RockwellRockwell,, statedstated thathatt iiff ththee MormonMormonss werweree alloweallowedd ttoo increaseincrease anandd prospeprosperr theythey woulwouldd "sap"sap ththee ververyy foundatiofoundationn ofof [the[the nationalnational]] government.,,151government."151 AnotherAnother mobmob membermember,, ThomaThomass Sharp,Sharp, expressedexpressed hihiss thoughtthoughtss thithiss way:way:
148 Ibid.Ibid.,, 208208.. AlsAlsoo see:see: LeonardLeonard,, Nauvoo, 509509;; HillHill,, Joseph Smith, 37137l..
1499 Ibid.,Ibid., 208.208.
1500 LymanLyman BeecherBeecher,, A PleaPlealor for the West (Cincinnati:(Cincinnati: TrumanTruman andand Smith,Smith, 1835),1835), 11,11, 128.128.
1511 WicksWicks andand Foister,Foister, Junius and Joseph, 165.165. 5757
WhateverWhatever mamayy bbee thoughthoughtt ofof [the[the Mormon'sMormon's]] presenpresentt strengthstrength,, iitt isis certaincertain,, thathatt iiff nonott checkedchecked iinn anotheranother yearyear,, thetheyy wilwilll havhavee ththee decideddecided majoritmajorityy inin thithiss countycounty.. YesYes!! memenn whwhoo havhavee nnoo mindmindss ofof theitheirr ownown,, butbut movemove,, acactt anandd thinthinkk atat ththee biddinbiddingg ofof ononee manman,, araree ttoo bbee ouourr rulers ...... IIff iitt comescomes ttoo thisthis,, thathatt JoJoee SmitSmithh iiss ttoo controcontroll ththee majoritmajorityy ooff votevotess inin ouourr countycounty,, araree wwee nonott iinn effecteffect,, ththee subjectsubjectss ofof a despot?despot? --—might might wewe nonott asas welwelll bbee serfsserfs ttoo ththee AutocraAutocratt ofof RussiaRussia?? WhaWhatt neeneedd havhavee wwee ofof ththee electiveelective franchise,franchise, whewhenn a churcchurchh cacann risrisee uupp inin ourour midst,midst, controllecontrolledd bbyy ththee [mind][mind] ooff ononee manman,, ttoo dispensedispense politicapoliticall favors.favors. 152
OOff coursecourse,, membermemberss ooff ththee MormoMormonn ChurcChurchh vehementlvehementlyy denieddenied anyany subversivesubversive motivemotivess oorr actionsactions.. TheTheyy furthermorfurthermoree declaredeclaredd that,that, insteainsteadd ooff JosephJoseph
Smith,Smith, itit wawass ththee federalfederal governmengovernmentt thathatt wawass tyrannicaltyrannical,, especiallyespecially asas itit deniedeniedd themthem their• due rights* and privileges• to worship• as they chose.115533 their due rights and privileges to worship as they chose. Those who believed the Church to be plotting to overthrow the government of Those who believed the Church to be plotting to overthrow the government of the United States found ample evidence to back up their assertions. In every the United States found ample evidence to back up their assertions. In every circumstance, however, the Church had an entirely different point of view on the circumstance, however, the Church had an entirely different point of view on the matter. For example, the Mormons rejoiced when the Illinois State Legislature matter. For example, the Mormons rejoiced when the Illinois State Legislature granted Nauvoo a strong city charter believing "that beneficent legislators had granted Nauvoo a strong city charter believing "that beneficent legislators had empowered them to protect their own civil and religious rights and to defend empowered them to protect their own civil and religious rights and to defend themselves against opponents.,,154 However, when the charter was used to "defend themselves against opponents."154 However, when the charter was used to "defend Joseph Smith and his colleagues against legal attacks and vigilante threats," 155 locals Joseph Smith and his colleagues against legal attacks and vigilante threats,"155 locals interpreted it as anti-American and evidence that that "the Mormons were about to set interpreted it as anti-American and evidence that that "the Mormons were about to set
152 Warsaw Signal, JunJunee 99,, 18411841..
153 WinnWinn,, Exiles, 159159;; Smith,Smith, History of the Church, 6:499.6:499.
154 Leonard,Leonard, Nauvoo, 102-3.102-3.
155 Leonard,Leonard, Nauvoo, 103103.. 5858
. 156 uUpp a separateseparate governmengovernmentt foforr themselvethemselvess iinn defiancdefiancee ooff ththee lawlawss ofof ththee State." 156
ThesThesee polapolarr interpretationsinterpretations alsalsoo occurreoccurredd inin referencreferencee ttoo statementsstatements madmadee byby churcchurchh leadersleaders.. FoForr example,example, iinn ApriAprill ooff 1844,1844, apostlapostlee JohnJohn TayloTaylorr gavgavee a publicpublic conferencconferencee speechspeech iinn whicwhichh hhee statestatedd thathatt ththee foundinfoundingg fatherfatherss "were"were engageengagedd inin foundinfoundingg kingdomkingdomss andand empiresempires thathatt werweree destineddestined toto dissolutiodissolutionn andand decay...... [But[But thathatt ththee SaintsSaints werewere]] layinlayingg ththee foundatiofoundationn ooff a kingdokingdomm thathatt shalshalll laslastt forever-thatforever—that shallshall bloobloomm iinn timtimee andand blossoblossomm iinn eternity.eternity."" AndAnd,, aatt thathatt samesame conferenceconference,, SidneySidney
RigdoRigdonn taughtaughtt thatthat:: "When"When GoGodd setsetss uupp a systemsystem ooff salvation,salvation, HHee setssets upup a systemsystem ofof governmentgovernment.. WheWhenn I speakspeak ofof a government,government, I meameann whawhatt I saysay.. I meanmean a governmentgovernment thatthat shallshall rulrulee overover temporatemporall anandd spirituaspirituall affairs.157157 OOff coursecourse,, manymany non-Mormonsnon-Mormons interpreteinterpretedd thesthesee statementsstatements aass prooprooff ththee MormonMormonss werweree intentintent onon overthrowingoverthrowing ththee UnitedUnited States.States.
JosephJoseph SmithSmith trietriedd toto clarifclarifYy somsomee ofof thesthesee statementstatementss iinn a MayMay 18441844 speechspeech iinn whicwhichh hhee explainedexplained thathatt whawhatt ththee SaintsSaints werweree ttoo builbuildd wawass thethe kingdokingdomm ofof God,God, thathatt thithiss kingdokingdomm woulwouldd bbee builbuiltt througthroughh conversion,conversion, anandd thatthat theitheirr effortsefforts iinn nono wayway threatenethreatenedd ththee sovereigntysovereignty ofof ththee UniteUnitedd StatesStates.. Specifically,Specifically, hhee statedstated thatthat
I calculatecalculate toto bebe oneone ofof thethe instrumentsinstruments ofof settingsetting upup thethe kingdomkingdom ooff DanieDaniell bbyy ththee worwordd ooff ththee LorLordd anandd intendintend ttoo lalayy a foundationfoundation thathatt wilwilll revolutionizrevolutionizee ththee wholwholee world...... ItIt wilwilll nonott bbee bbyy swordsword oorr bbyy gugunn thathatt thithiss kingdokingdomm wilwilll rolrolll onon:: ththee powepowerr ooff truttruthh iiss suchsuch thathatt allall nationnationss wilwilll bebe undeunderr ththee necessitnecessityy ooff obeyinobeyingg thethe Gospel. 158158
FeFeww HancocHancockk CountCountyy residentresidentss believebelievedd Smith,Smith, andand mosmostt continuecontinuedd toto interpretinterpret
1156 6 FordFord,, HistoryHistory ofof Illinois, Illinois, 320320..
157157 Smith,Smith, History of the Church, 6:292-3.6:292-3.
158158 Ibid.Ibid.,, 6:365.6:365. 5959
MormoMormonn activitiesactivities througthroughh ththee lenslens ofof suspicion.suspicion.
Ultimately,Ultimately, whethewhetherr ththee MormonsMormons werweree actuallactuallyy planninplanningg andand implementingimplementing subversivesubversive activitiesactivities iiss nonott aass importanimportantt aass ththee perceptioperceptionn thathatt theythey werewere,, andand clearlyclearly aatt leastleast somesome HancocHancockk CountCountyy localslocals believebelievedd thithiss ttoo bbee thethe case.case. ItIt wawass veryvery dangeroudangerouss iinn JacksoniaJacksoniann AmericAmericaa ttoo bbee categorizedcategorized thuthuss sincesince subversivesubversive organizationorganizationss werweree seenseen aass "so"so menacinmenacingg thathatt thetheyy coulcouldd nonott bbee accordedaccorded thethe usualusual rightrightss andand privilegeprivilegess ooff a free society."society.,,]59159 MoreoverMoreover,, ththee feelinfeelingg existeexistedd thathatt therethere wouldwould bbee onlonlyy ononee survivorsurvivor iinn ththee conflicconflictt betweebetweenn frefreee institutioninstitutionss andand despoticdespotic societiessocieties suchsuch aass Mormonism.Mormonism.
ItIt wawass witwithh thithiss heavheavyy baggagbaggagee ooff alreadalreadyy developeddeveloped prejudicprejudicee thatthat thethe
MormonMormonss soughsoughtt refugrefugee inin HancocHancockk County.County. LocalLocalss aatt firstfirst seemedseemed ttoo bbee willinwillingg toto disregardisregardd generagenerall anti-Mormonanti-Mormon sentimentssentiments iiff ththee SaintsSaints woulwouldd helhelpp theitheirr partpartyy winwin electionselections.. HoweverHowever,, aass discussediscussedd earlier,earlier, ththee MormonMormonss quicklyquickly dominateddominated botbothh thethe politicapoliticall anandd economieconomicc realmrealmss iinn HancocHancockk County.County. LocalLocalss complainecomplainedd ooff beingbeing disenfranchisedisenfranchisedd aatt ththee pollpollss andand ofof losinlosingg electionselections duduee ttoo ththee powerfupowerfull MormonMormon votinvotingg blockblock.. Similarly,Similarly, businessebusinessess loslostt customercustomerss anandd werweree threatenethreatenedd bbyy thethe economieconomicc successsuccess ofof NauvooNauvoo.. OnOnee resulresultt wawass thathatt influentialinfluential menmen iinn HancockHancock
CountyCounty,, sucsuchh asas newspapenewspaperr editoeditorr ThomasThomas Sharp,Sharp, pickepickedd uupp ththee hammehammerr ofof anti-anti-
MormoMormonn rhetorirhetoricc anandd kepkeptt poundinpoundingg itit untiuntill ththee MormonMormonss werweree drivedrivenn fromfrom thethe
160 state. 160 IInn oneone ooff hihiss mormoree rousinrousingg articlesarticles,, oonn JuneJune 19,19, 1844,1844, SharpSharp printeprintedd thethe
159 DavisDavis,, Some Themes of Counter-Subversion.Counter-Subversion, 213213..
160160 MarshalMarshalll HamiltonHamilton,, "Thoma"Thomass Sharp'sSharp's TurninTurningg PointPoint:: BirtBirthh ooff anan Anti-Mormon,Anti-Mormon,"" Sunstone 7373 (Octobe(Octoberr 1989),1989), 16-22;16-22; RogeRogerr DD.. LauniusLaunius,, "Anti-Mormonis"Anti-Mormonismm iinn IllinoisIllinois:: ThomaThomass C Sharp'sSharp's UnfinishedUnfinished HistorHistoryy ooff ththee MormoMormonn WarWar,, 1845,"1845," Journal of Mormon History 1515 (1989)(1989),27-46., 27-46. 6060 followingfollowing:: "Strike"Strike themthem!! FoForr ththee timtimee hahass fullyfully comecorne...... WWee holholdd ourselveourselvess atat allall timetimess inin readinesreadinesss ttoo co-operatco-operatee witwithh ourour fellofelloww citizencitizenss ...... ttoo exterminate,exterminate, utterlyutterly exterminate,exterminate, ththee wickewickedd andand abominableabominable MormoMormonn leaders.,,161leaders."161
Thus,Thus, ononee reasoreasonn whwhyy ththee momobb stormedstormed ththee CarthagCarthagee JailJail wawass thathatt thethe
MormonsMormons werweree seenseen aass a seriousserious threathreatt ttoo thethe continuecontinuedd sovereigntysovereignty ooff ththee UnitedUnited
StatesStates.. OtheOtherr reasonreasonss exisexistt aass wellwell.. JusJustt asas ththee Mormon'Mormon'ss quickquick acquisitioacquisitionn ofof politicapoliticall anandd economiceconomic powepowerr wawass a primarprimaryy sourcesource ooff contentiocontentionn iinn virtuallvirtuallyy everyevery
otherother placplacee thetheyy lived,lived, soso iitt wawass iinn HancocHancockk CountyCounty.. OnOn thithiss topitopicc IllinoiIllinoiss GovernorGovernor
ThomasThomas ForFordd statedstated ththee following:following:
ThThee greagreatt causecause ofof populapopularr furfuryy waswas,, thathatt ththee MormonMormonss aatt severalseveral precedinprecedingg electionselections,, hahadd cascastt theitheirr votvotee asas a unitunit;; therebtherebyy makinmakingg thethe facfactt apparentapparent,, thathatt nnoo ononee coulcouldd aspiraspiree ttoo ththee honorhonorss oorr officeofficess ofof thethe countrcountryy withiwithinn ththee spheresphere ooff theitheirr influenceinfluence,, withouwithoutt theitheirr approbationapprobation anandd votes. 162162
ThThee MormonMormonss alsalsoo appeareappearedd toto bbee creatingcreating anan economiceconomic powepowerr blocbloc.. InIn earlyearly
1844,1844, MormonMormon ApostlApostlee JohJohnn TayloTaylorr describedescribedd NauvoNauvooo aass follows:follows:
GreaGreatt numbernumberss ooff merchantmerchantss havhavee settledsettled amonamongg uuss duringduring ththee pastpast yearyear,, anandd ththee amounamountt ooff merchandismerchandisee whicwhichh hahass beebeenn importedimported,, hashas placeplacedd goodgoodss withiwithinn ththee reacreachh ofof ththee citizencitizenss ofof NauvooNauvoo,, atat asas reasonablreasonablee a ratratee asas thetheyy cancan bbee purchasepurchasedd atat ananyy ooff ouourr westernwestern citiescities..
VigorouVigorouss effortsefforts areare beingbeing madmadee ttoo improveimprove ourour wharveswharves,, andand facilitatfacilitatee ththee landinlandingg ofof steamboatsteamboatss oonn ouourr shores.shores...... ThisThis workwork whewhenn completedcompleted,, wilwilll nonott onlonlyy forformm ononee ooff ththee besbestt harborsharbors oonn thethe MississippMississippii riverriver,, makinmakingg ththee wholwholee ooff ouourr shorshoree accessiblaccessiblee aatt allall timetimess ttoo ththee largestlargest clasclasss ooff boatsboats;; bubutt itit wilwilll aatt ththee samsamee timtimee affordafford ththee besbestt milmilll privilegesprivileges iinn ththee westerwesternn country.country.
1611 Warsaw Signal, JuneJune 19,1844.19, 1844.
1622 Ford,Ford, History of Illinois, 329.329. 6611
NoNorr havhavee ouourr farmerfarmerss beebeenn idleidle.. VerVeryy greatgreat improvementimprovementss havehave beenbeen madmadee durinduringg ththee lastlast yearyear,, iinn agriculturalagricultural pursuitspursuits.. ExtensivExtensivee farmfarmss areare beginninbeginningg ttoo spreaspreadd themselvethemselvess foforr milemiless inin evereveryy directiodirectionn fromfrom ourour city,city, oonn ththee bosobosomm ooff ththee greagreatt prairieprairie,, aass fafarr aass ththee eyeeye cancan reach;reach; fencing,fencing, ploughinploughingg [plowing][plowing] andand buildingbuilding,, seemsseems ttoo bbee ththee orderorder ofof ththee day.day.
ManManyy branchebranchess ooff mechanismechanismm areare goingoingg onon;; bricbrickk makersmakers,, carpenters,carpenters, brickbrick layers,layers, masonsmasons,, plaistererplaistererss [plasterers],[plasterers], blacblackk smiths,smiths, andand manymany otheotherr branchebranchess ofof businesbusinesss havhavee founfoundd abundanceabundance ofof employ.employ. 163163
IInn sumsum,, NauvoNauvooo appeareappearedd ttoo bbee experiencingexperiencing enormouenormouss economieconomicc success.success. AAss somesome ooff ththee leadingleading politicianpoliticianss andand businessmebusinessmenn inin HancocHancockk CountyCounty,, ththee momobb hahadd ttoo havehave beebeenn concernedconcerned abouaboutt ththee growingrowingg politicapoliticall anandd economieconomicc powepowerr ooff ththee Mormons.Mormons.
MoreoverMoreover,, thesthesee werweree nonott memenn whwhoo woulwouldd standstand idlidlyy bbyy anandd watcwatchh theitheirr futurefuturess slipslip awayaway.. ManManyy hahadd proveprovenn themselvethemselvess ambitiouambitiouss bbyy movinmovingg ttoo ththee westerwesternn frontier,frontier, establishinestablishingg themselvethemselvess iinn respectablerespectable careers,careers, anandd runninrunningg forfor andand holdingholding publicpublic officeoffice.. YetYet,, iinn JunJunee ooff 18441844 theitheirr futurfuturee prosperitprosperityy appeareappearedd dependentdependent upouponn thethe
MormonMormonss beinbeingg removeremovedd frofromm theitheirr midst—clearlmidst-clearlyy a motivmotivee forfor stormingstorming thethe
CarthagCarthagee Jail.Jail.
TherTheree werweree alsalsoo a numbenumberr ofof otheotherr contributincontributingg factorfactorss suchsuch asas destructiondestruction ofof ththee Nauvoo Expositor, JosepJosephh Smith'Smith'ss candidaccandidacyy forfor PresidencyPresidency,, andand polygamy.polygamy. 164164
WhilWhilee thesthesee fueledfueled ththee firefiress ooff contentiocontentionn alreadalreadyy burninburningg iinn westernwestern IllinoisIllinois,, thetheyy dodo nonott appeaappearr ttoo bbee centralcentral motivatormotivatorss forfor ththee mobmob.. AfteAfterr all,all, threatthreatss anandd attemptsattempts ttoo taketake ththee SmithSmith brothersbrothers'' liveslives werweree commocommonn iinn everyevery placplacee ththee MormonMormonss hahadd livedlived,, longlong beforbeforee ththee Nauvoo Expositor wawass destroyedestroyedd anandd JosepJosephh SmithSmith announceannouncedd hishis
163163 JohJohnn Taylor,Taylor, "City"City ooff Nauvoo,Nauvoo,"" EditoriaEditoriall AddressAddress,, Times and Seasons, JanuarJanuaryy 1,1, 1844,391-1844, 391- 392.392.
164164 ThThee Nauvoo Expositor wawass anan anti-Mormoanti-Mormonn newspapernewspaper.. TheThe NauvoNauvooo CityCity CouncilCouncil orderedordered itsits prespresss destroyeddestroyed JunJunee 10,10, 1844,1844, afteafterr ititss firsfirstt anandd onlonlyy edition.edition. 6262 candidacy.165candidacy.165 ItIt isis alsoalso truetrue thatthat crediblecredible indicationsindications thethe SaintsSaints werewere practicingpracticing polygampolygamyy hahadd onlyonly recentlyrecently emerged,emerged, andand whilewhile somesome mobmob participantparticipantss mentionementionedd itit inin theitheirr writingwritingss andand correspondence,correspondence, theythey spentspent littllittlee timtimee onon thethe subject.subject.'66166
OneOne thingthing ththee mobmob waswas adamantadamant aboutabout waswas thatthat theirtheir actionsactions werewere notnot religiousreligious persecution. 167167 TheThe SaintsSaints believedbelieved otherwise.otherwise. TheThe welcominwelcomingg ofof FrenchFrench
IcariaIcariann immigrantsimmigrants intointo NauvoNauvooo inin 1849,1849, afterafter thethe MormoMormonn departure,departure, suggestssuggests thatthat
HancockHancock CountyCounty residentsresidents werewere toleranttolerant ofof unusuaunusuall religioureligiouss beliefsbeliefs.. TheThe Icarians,Icarians, whwhoo builbuiltt a strictstrict communistcommunist community,community, remainedremained inin NauvooNauvoo undisturbedundisturbed bbyy otherother countycounty residentsresidents untiuntill 18601860 whenwhen internalinternal dissentionsdissentions andand financialfinancial difficultiesdifficulties forcedforced themthem toto disband.disband. ItIt isis significantsignificant toto note,note, however,however, thatthat thethe IcarianIcarian populatiopopulationn nevernever reached above 500. 168168 Ultimately, in spite ofthe Icarians and the mob's adament reached above 500. Ultimately, in spite of the Icarians and the mob's adament assertions to the contrary, their crime was inherently religious simply as a result of assertions to the contrary, their crime was inherently religious simply as a result of whom they killed - a religious leader. whom they killed - a religious leader. Because modern Americans are used to looking suspiciously at big Because modern Americans are used to looking suspiciously at big corporations and special interests groups that seem to have enormous national power, corporations and special interests groups that seem to have enormous national power, it may not be difficult to relate to the fears and apprehensions Hancock County it may not be difficult to relate to the fears and apprehensions Hancock County residents had as they watched the growth and power of the Mormons erode their own residents had as they watched the growth and power of the Mormons erode their own
165165 ForFor examplesexamples ofof attemptsattempts onon thethe SmithSmith brothers'brothers' liveslives seesee LucLucyy MacMackk Smith,Smith, "The"The HistorHistoryy ofof LucyLucy SmSmith ith,, MotherMother ofof thethe Prophet,Prophet,"" 1844-451844-45 manuscript,manuscript, bookbook 15,15, pp.pp. 8-10,8-10, ChurchChurch ArchivesArchives,, TheThe ChurchChurch ofof JesusJesus ChristChrist ofof Latter-dayLatter-day Saints,Saints, SaltSalt LakeLake City,City, UtahUtah;; LucLucyy MacMackk Smith,Smith, The History of the Mormon Joseph Smith by His Mother and Devoted Member o[Theof The Church of Jesus Christ of LatterLatter Day Saints (Whitefish,(Whitefish, MTMT:: KessingeKessingerr PublishingPublishing,, 2004),2004), 67-68.67-68.
166 166 FlandersFlanders,, Nauvoo, 261-77;261-77; HallwasHallwas andand Launius,Launius, Cultures in Conflict, 326;326; Warsaw Signal, JuneJune 99,, 18411841..
167 Warsaw Signal, JunJunee 9,1841.9, 1841.
168168 RobertRobert PP.. Sutton,Sutton, Communal Utopias and the American Experience: Secular Communities,Communities, 1824-2000 (Westport,(Westport, CT:CT: PraegePraegerr PublishersPublishers,, 2004),58-64,67.2004), 58-64, 67. 6363 influencinfluencee inin theitheirr communitycommunity.. YetYet,, feafearr thatthat a grougroupp hahadd subversivesubversive motivationmotivationss oror wawass threateninthreateningg personapersonall endeavorendeavorss woulwouldd hardlhardlyy drivedrive mosmostt peoplpeoplee ttoo commitcommit murdermurder.. TheThe CarthageCarthage mobmob,, howeverhowever,, livelivedd inin a differendifferentt era.era.
AlAlll thingthingss consideredconsidered,, ththee singlsinglee mosmostt importantimportant influenceinfluence oonn ththee actionactionss ofof ththee CarthagCarthagee momobb hahass ttoo bbee ththee traditiotraditionn ofof mobbinmobbingg thathatt wawass thethenn presenpresentt iinn thethe
UnitedUnited States.States. AccordinAccordingg ttoo historiahistoriann GordonGordon S.S. WoodWood,, thithiss typtypee ofof violenviolentt AmericanAmerican grougroupp activitactivityy hahass ititss originoriginss inin EnglandEngland.. HeHe explainexplainss thatthat
thesthesee werewere nonott thethe anarchicanarchic uprisinguprisingss oftheof the poopoorr andand destitutedestitute;; ratheratherr theythey representerepresentedd a commocommonn formform ooff politicapoliticall protesprotestt andand politicapoliticall actioactionn iinn bothboth EnglandEngland anandd ththee coloniecoloniess durinduringg ththee eighteenteighteenthh centurcenturyy bbyy groupgroupss whowho couldcould findfind nnoo alternativealternative institutionalinstitutional expressioexpressionn forfor theitheirr demanddemandss andand 169 grievances,grievances, whicwhichh werweree mormoree ofteoftenn thathann nonott political. 169
AlthougAlthoughh AmericaAmerica trietriedd ttoo divesdivestt itselitselff ofof manmanyy EnglisEnglishh traditiontraditionss afterafter thethe
RevolutionRevolution,, iitt embracedembraced mobbingmobbing,, anandd ththee incidenceincidencess ofof mobbinmobbingg continuecontinuedd ttoo riserise untiuntill ththee CiviCivill War.War.l7O170
ItIt isis unlikelunlikelyy ththee CarthageCarthage MobMob membermemberss werewere strangerstrangerss ttoo thisthis traditiotraditionn ofof mobbingmobbing.. InIn 18371837 abolitionisabolitionistt editoeditorr ElijaElijahh LovejoyLovejoy wawass killekilledd bbyy a momobb iinn AltonAlton,, a smallsmall towntown onon ththee MississippMississippii RiveRiverr jusjustt soutsouthh ooff HancocHancockk County.171County.171 AdditionallyAdditionally,, inin
18411841 a grougroupp ofof memenn begabegann whawhatt laterlater becambecamee knowknownn aass ththee NortherNorthernn IllinoisIllinois
RegulatorRegulator MovementMovement.. ThroughThrough a campaigncampaign ofof "whipping,"whipping, hanginghanging,, andand firingfiring squads,squads,"" thithiss vigilantvigilantee momobb effectivelyeffectively riridd northernorthernn IllinoisIllinois ooff ganggangss andand
169 WoodWood,, Creation of the American Republic, 320.320.
170 170 MichaeMichaell FeldbergFeldberg,, The Turbulent Era: Riot and Disorder in Jacksonian America (Ne(Neww York:York: OxforOxfordd UniversitUniversityy Press,Press, 1980),5-6.1980), 5-6.
171171 RichardsRichards,, Gentlemen of Property and Standing, 3.3. 6464 counterfeiterscounterfeiters.. I72
ThusThus,, ththee CarthageCarthage momobb livelivedd iinn anan eraera whewhenn mobbinmobbingg wawass anan oft-usedoft-used wawayy toto seizseizee controcontroll ooff a situationsituation.. AlthougAlthoughh somesome prominenprominentt AmericanAmericanss sucsuchh asas AbrahamAbraham
LincolLincolnn spokespoke vigorouslvigorouslyy againsagainstt thithiss phenomenonphenomenon,, participantparticipantss justifiejustifiedd theirtheir activitieactivitiess iinn a numbenumberr ofof ways. 173173
RevolutionarRevolutionaryy WaWarr philosophiephilosophiess provideprovidedd ononee meanmeanss ooff justifyin justifyingg violentviolent momobb activityactivity.. AAss historiahistoriann PaulPaul GiljGiljee explains,explains, "under"under certaicertainn circumstances-tocircumstances—to opposopposee tyrannytyranny,, foforr instance—maninstance-manyy Anglo-AmericanAnglo-Americanss helheldd thathatt theythey hahadd a right,right, almosalmostt a duty,duty, ttoo riot."riot.,,174174 PopulaPopularr sovereigntsovereigntyy wawass anotheanotherr themthemee thathatt wawass commonlycommonly founfoundd justifyinjustifYingg momobb activity.activity. SpecificallySpecifically,, "thos"thosee whwhoo helheldd ttoo ththee ideologideologyy ofof
'popula'popularr sovereignty'—ansovereignty'-andd particularlparticularlyy thosthosee whwhoo proclaimeproclaimedd themselvethemselvess thethe vigilanvigilantt protectorprotectorss ofof propertyproperty,, lawlaw andand order—claimeorder-claimedd anan exclusiveexclusive democraticdemocratic heritagheritagee thathatt transcendetranscendedd ththee confineconfiness ooff ththee ordinaryordinary processeprocessess ofof government."government." 175175
AnAndd inin frontierfrontier regionregionss suchsuch aass HancocHancockk CountyCounty vigilantvigilantee mobmobss ofteoftenn justifiejustifiedd theirtheir existenceexistence bbyy pointinpointingg ttoo ththee laclackk ooff adequatadequatee lalaww enforcement.enforcement.176176
WitWithh a definitdefinitee awarenesawarenesss ofof reigninreigningg momobb philosophiesphilosophies,, ThomaThomass Sharp,Sharp, whowho serveservedd asas ththee voicvoicee ofof ththee mobmob,, wrotwrotee anandd publishepublishedd ththee followinfollowingg editorialeditorial justifYingjustifying
172 Brown,Brown, Strain of Violence, 119.119.
173173 PauPaull MM.. AnglAnglee anandd EarEarll SchencSchenckk MiersMiers,, comps.,comps., The Living Lincoln: The Man and His Times, in His Own Words (Ne(Neww BrunswickBrunswick,, NJNJ:: ThThee TrusteeTrusteess ooff RutgerRutgerss College,College, 1955),21.1955), 21.
171744 PauPaull AA.. GiljeGilje,, The Road to Mobocracy: Popular disorder in New York City, 1763-1834 (Chapel(Chapel HilHilll anandd LondonLondon:: ThThee UniversitUniversityy ofof NortNorthh CarolinaCarolina PressPress,, 1987),1987), 8.8.
171755 PauPaull AA.. GiljeGilje,, Rioting in America (Bloomingto(Bloomingtonn anandd IndianapolisIndianapolis:: IndianIndianaa UniversitUniversityy P;ess,Press, 1999),86.1999), 86.
171766 Brown,Brown, Strain of Violence, 96.96. 6565 thethe murdermurderss ofof JosepJosephh andand HyrumHyrum Smith:Smith:
WWee holholdd iitt ttoo bbee a self-evidenself-evidentt propositionproposition,, thathatt lawlawss araree enactedenacted forfor thethe safetsafetyy andand protectioprotectionn ofof ththee rightsrights,, livelivess anandd propertpropertyy ofof thosthosee whwhoo areare toto bbee governedgoverned bbyy themthem.. WWee holdhold,, moreovermoreover,, thathatt soso longlong asas thosethose lawslaws cancan afforaffordd suchsuch protectionprotection,, itit iiss ththee dutyduty ofof everyevery goodgood citizencitizen ttoo abideabide byby theitheirr directiondirection andand ttoo upholupholdd theitheirr supremacy;supremacy; bubutt thathatt whenever,whenever, bbyy a traitrainn ofof circumstances,circumstances, whicwhichh ouourr legislatorlegislatorss neveneverr coulcouldd havehave anticipated,anticipated, ththee lalaww iiss rendererenderedd ineffectuaineffectuall andand cheatedcheated ououtt ofof efficacy,efficacy, thertheree iiss anan impulseimpulse planteplantedd bbyy GoGodd anandd NaturNaturee inin everyevery bosombosom,, whichwhich promptpromptss memenn ttoo throthroww themselvesthemselves,, foforr protectionprotection,, oonn theitheirr reservedreserved rightsrights.. ThThee lalaww oweowess uuss protectionprotection,, iinn consideratioconsiderationn ofof whichwhich wewe owowee itit allegianceallegiance.. IIff itit failsfails ttoo perforperformm ititss officeofficess towardtowardss usus,, wwee areare,, ttoo thethe extentextent ooff thathatt failurefailure,, absolveabsolvedd frofromm ititss requisitions...... OurOur citizenscitizens havhavee regrettedregretted,, anandd stillstill regreregrett ththee necessitnecessityy thathatt existeexistedd forfor takintakingg thethe lalaww iinn thithiss particulaparticularr instanceinstance,, intintoo theitheirr owownn handshands;; bubutt thathatt iitt wouldwould soonesoonerr oror latelaterr havhavee ttoo bbee donedone,, nnoo ononee acquainteacquaintedd witwithh thethe factsfacts ooff thethe casecase,, coulcouldd denydeny.. ItIt wawass inevitableinevitable,, andand ththee onlyonly questionquestion wawass asas ttoo thethe propeproperr time.time.l77177
ThThee precedinprecedingg quotquotee makemakess iitt cleaclearr thathatt atat leasleastt somesome momobb membersmembers feltfelt thethe lawlawss hahadd failefailedd ttoo protecprotectt thethemm andand thathatt theitheirr onlonlyy option,option, inin factfact theitheirr duty,duty, wawass toto taktakee ththee lawlaw intintoo theitheirr owownn handshands.. ItIt isis alsalsoo cleaclearr thathatt theythey consideredconsidered themselvethemselvess toto bbee googoodd citizenscitizens whwhoo acteactedd iinn a noblnoblee mannemannerr ttoo protecprotectt andand maintaimaintainn theitheirr naturalnatural rights.rights. Sharp'sSharp's argumentargumentss couldcould bbee easileasilyy dismissedismissedd aass aann attempattemptt aatt escapingescaping justicejustice iiff thithiss samsamee typtypee ooff rhetorirhetoricc wawass nonott informininformingg momobb activitactivityy throughouthroughoutt thethe antebelluantebellumm UniteUnitedd States.States. ThesThesee samsamee attitudeattitudess werweree alsoalso prevalenprevalentt throughoutthroughout
HancocHancockk CountCountyy aass evidencedevidenced bbyy ththee facfactt thathatt ththee courtcourt sidesidedd withwith ththee accusedaccused assassinsassassins anandd ultimatelultimatelyy determinedeterminedd thathatt thetheyy hahadd performeperformedd a serviceservice forfor thethe community.community. IInn sum,sum, ththee CarthagCarthagee momobb wawass nonott alonealone inin itsits sentiments.sentiments. MobMob violenceviolence wawass a sociallysocially acceptableacceptable meanmeanss ooff dealindealingg withwith certaicertainn mattermatterss inin antebellumantebellum
177 Warsaw Signal, JulJulyy 10,10, 1844.1844. SeSeee alsalsoo RogeRogerr DD.. LauniusLaunius,, "Anti-Mormonis"Anti-Mormonismm inin Illinois:Illinois: ThomaThomass C Sharp'Sharp'ss UnfinisheUnfinishedd HistorHistoryy ooff ththee MormoMormonn WarWar,, 1845,"1845," Journal of Mormon History 1155 (1989)(1989):: 27-46.27-46. 6666
AmericaAmerica..
Essentially,, nationanationall anti-Mormoanti-Mormonn sentiment,, politicapoliticall disenfranchisement,disenfranchisement, anandd economieconomicc grievancegrievancess werweree amongstamongst ththee severaseverall reasonreasonss whwhyy ththee CarthagCarthagee mobmob stormedstormed ththee CarthagCarthagee Jail.Jail. SinceSince ththee momobb wawass composedcomposed ofof overover twtwoo hundrehundredd menmen,, itit iiss neverthelesneverthelesss likelylikely ththee specificspecific reasonreasonss forfor murderinmurderingg JosephJoseph anandd HyruHyrumm SmithSmith varievariedd frofromm mamann ttoo manman.. SomSomee mamayy eveevenn havhavee simplsimplyy beebeenn sweptswept uupp inin whawhatt isis nownow regarderegardedd asas "mob"mob mentality.mentality."" TheThe mob'mob'ss grievances,, howeverhowever,, woulwouldd probablprobablyy havehave nonott resulteresultedd iinn ththee deathdeathss ooff twtwoo individualsindividuals hahadd thetheyy nonott livedlived inin aann ereraa whenwhen collectivcollectivee violencviolencee wawass commocommonn andand eveneven justifiabljustifiablee inin certaicertainn circumstances.circumstances. SUMMARYSUMMARY ANANDD CONCLUSIONSCONCLUSIONS
ThiThiss studystudy disputesdisputes thethe generagenerall beliebelieff thathatt ththee memenn inin ththee CarthagCarthagee momobb werewere rabble-rousersrabble-rousers frofromm ththee loweslowestt socio-economisocio-economicc rankrankss ofof society.society. AlthougAlthoughh thisthis characterizatiocharacterizationn maymay accuratelaccuratelyy describdescribee a smallsmall numbenumberr ooff ththee participantsparticipants,, thethe mobmob overwhelminglyoverwhelmingly consisteconsistedd ooff memenn whwhoo rankerankedd amongsamongstt thethe middlmiddlee andand uppeupperr societalsocietal classes.classes. IInn fact,fact, a definingdefining numbenumberr werweree professionals,professionals, leadingleading businessmenbusinessmen,, and/orand/or politicianpoliticianss iinn HancocHancockk County.County.
ThiThiss studystudy alsalsoo disputedisputess ththee notionotionn thathatt thosethose responsiblresponsiblee foforr thethe deathsdeaths ofof
JosephJoseph anandd HyruHyrumm SmithSmith sufferedsuffered horrifihorrificc fatesfates.. CollectivelyCollectively speaking,speaking, thethe mobmob participantparticipantss livelivedd normanormall liflifee spansspans duringduring whicwhichh thetheyy prospereprosperedd economically.economically.
MoreoverMoreover,, manmanyy enjoyeenjoyedd successfulsuccessful careercareerss andand helheldd politicapoliticall officeoffice afterafter theirtheir participatioparticipationn atat Carthage.Carthage.
ThesThesee findingfindingss creatcreatee a neneww anandd mormoree accurateaccurate portraiportraitt ofof ththee CarthageCarthage mob,mob, ononee thathatt closelyclosely conformconformss ttoo thathatt ofof otherother antebelluantebellumm mobsmobs.. A lacklack ofof adequateadequate lawlaw enforcementenforcement,, widelwidelyy helheldd notionnotionss regardinregardingg populapopularr sovereigntysovereignty,, andand residualresidual postpost-
RevolutionaryRevolutionary WaWarr fervofervorr combinedcombined ttoo createcreate anan eraera inin whichwhich vigilantvigilantee mobmobss werewere commocommonn anandd largellargelyy supportesupportedd bbyy ththee generagenerall antebellumantebellum populouspopulous.. AdditionalAdditional factorsfactors,, suchsuch aass widespreawidespreadd anti-Mormoanti-Mormonn ideologiesideologies andand locallocal powepowerr struggles,struggles, alsoalso influencedinfluenced ththee CarthageCarthage mob.mob. 6868
FurtheFurtherr researcresearchh onon ththee CarthageCarthage momob shoulshouldd includeinclude a thorougthoroughh examinationexamination ooff onsitonsitee sourcessources iinn aann attemptattempt ttoo identifidentifyy mormoree membermemberss ooff ththee mobmob.. SinceSince JosephJoseph
SmithSmith wawass a MasteMasterr Mason,, anandd thertheree hahass beebeenn speculatiospeculationn thathatt hihiss laslastt wordwordss werweree a pleaplea foforr protectioprotectionn ttoo fellofelloww MasonMasonss inin ththee mob,mob, thathatt aspectaspect ooff ththee mob'mob'ss charactercharacter shouldshould alsalsoo bbee lookelookedd at.at. ItIt woulwouldd alsalsoo provprovee interestininterestingg ttoo comparecompare ththee CarthageCarthage momobb witwithh ththee mobmobss thathatt forceforcedd ththee MormonMormonss outout ooff OhioOhio anandd Missouri.. A fefeww ofof thethe questionsquestions thathatt mighmightt bbee answereansweredd frofromm suchsuch a studystudy are:: WaWass theitheirr collectivecollective profileprofile liklikee thathatt ofof ththee CarthagCarthagee mobmob?? WhaWhatt werweree theitheirr motivesmotives?? And,, diddid thetheyy prospeprosperr afterafter participatinparticipatingg inin vigilantvigilantee activities?activities? Clearly,, somesome interestinginteresting andand enlighteningenlightening researcresearchh lieslies ahead.ahead. SELECTEDSELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHYBIBLIOGRAPHY
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