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Tag: Mormons

Haun’s Mill Massacre

Haun’s Mill Massacre

On October 27, 1938, the Governor of Missouri, Lilburn Boggs, issued Executive Order 44, one of the most astonishing documents in the history of religious freedom in America. It declared,  “the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary.” Yes, the Governor of Missouri ordered the extermination of all Mormons.   The image above depicts what happened a few days later. About 250 vigilantes attacked a Mormon community called Hauns Mill and…

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Imprisoned Mormons

Imprisoned Mormons

This is a picture of Mormons who were arrested for the crime of polygamy.  From 1882 to 1892 nearly 1,000 Mormons were jailed for practicing what they considered an important element of their faith, “plural marriage.” Federal agents scoured Utah for Mormons unlawfully cohabitating. A polygamist wife described the feeling of desperation: “It is difficult to picture the unsettled conditions in Utah and Idaho during the raid against polygamists. Homes were broken up and families scattered among relatives or friends.……

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Parley Pratt and his great, great grandson

Parley Pratt and his great, great grandson

See the resemblance? Maybe in the nose and lips? The man on the left is Parley Pratt, Mitt Romney’s great, great grandfather.  Pratt was no run of the mill Mormon. He was one of the original “twelve apostles” who helped found the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Pratt was imprisoned in 1838 with Mormonism’s founder, Joseph Smith, and driven out of Missouri by mobs of angry Protestants. Pratt had twelve wives and was later murdered by the estranged…

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Reynolds v. United States

Reynolds v. United States

United States Supreme Court 1879 The Mormons argued that since polygamy was not only a belief but also a religious duty, it was protected by the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. On January 6, 1879, the Court ruled, unanimously, against the Mormon Church. Reynolds v. United States upheld all of the anti-Mormon legislation. The opinion of Chief Justice Morrison Waite stated: […] Laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions,…

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Speech of Hon. Justin S. Morrill, of Vermont, on Utah Territory and Its Law—Polygamy and Its License

Speech of Hon. Justin S. Morrill, of Vermont, on Utah Territory and Its Law—Polygamy and Its License

Justin S. Morrill February 24, 1857 We are told, because our Constitution declares that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” that we must tamely submit to any burlesque, outrage, or indecency which artful men may seek to hide under the name of religion! But it is impossible to twist the Constitution into the service of polygamy by any fair construction. The fullest latitude of toleration in the exercise of religion…

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First Annual Message by President James Buchanan

First Annual Message by President James Buchanan

President James Buchanan December 8, 1857 On July 18, 1857, President James Buchanan dispatched the Tenth Infantry Regiment from Fort Leavenworth, soon to be joined by the Fifth Infantry, 1,200 American soldiers. He exaggerated in calling the circumstance a “rebellion,” but it is true that Brigham Young was both the head of the church and the governor of the territory, and the church had been routinely undercutting the authority of the territorial courts and administrators. Here is Buchanan’s message to…

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Executive Order 44 — Mormon Extermination

Executive Order 44 — Mormon Extermination

Lilburn W. Boggs October 27, 1838 In the face of the rising unpopularity of the Mormons in Missouri, Governor Lilburn Boggs issued one of the most notorious edicts in the history of religious freedom. Headquarters of the Militia, City of Jefferson, Oct. 27, 1838. Gen. John B. Clark: Sir: Since the order of this morning to you, directing you to cause four hundred mounted men to be raised within your division, I have received by Amos Reese, Esq., of Ray…

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Letter from Citizens of Daviess and Livingston Counties to Governor Boggs, Jefferson City, Missouri

Letter from Citizens of Daviess and Livingston Counties to Governor Boggs, Jefferson City, Missouri

George T. Prichard September 12, 1838 In this blunt letter, the citizens of two counties in Missouri lay out why they loathe Joseph Smith and his followers. Daviess County – September 12 th . 1838 To his Excellency the Governor of the State of Missouri — We, the Citizens of the Counties of Daviess & Livingston represent to your honor, that a crisis has come, which we believe requires us, as the legitimate citizens of Missouri , to call on…

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