Exiles in a Land of Liberty: Mormons in America, 1830-1846

by Kenneth H. Winn

Overview

Using the concept of "classical republicanism" in his analysis, Kenneth Winn argues against the common view that the Mormon religion was an exceptional phenomenon representing a countercultural ideology fundamentally subversive to American society. Rather, he maintains, both the Saints and their enemies affirmed republican principles, but in radically different ways.

Winn identifies the 1830 founding of the Mormon church as a religious protest against the pervasive disorder plaguing antebellum America, attracting people who saw the libertarianism, religious pluralism, and market capitalism of Jacksonian America as threats to the Republic. While non-Mormons shared the perception that the Union was in danger, many saw the Mormons as one of the chief threats. General fear of Joseph Smith and his followers led to verbal and physical attacks on the Saints, which reinforced the Mormons' conviction that America had descended into anarchy. By 1846, violent opposition had driven Mormons to the uninhabited Great Salt Lake Basin.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807866351
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	11/09/2000
Series:	Studies in Religion
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
Lexile:	1500L (what's this?)
File size:	3 MB

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
	Introduction	1
1.	The Origins of Mormonism	6
2.	The Book of Mormon as a Republican Document	18
3.	Social Disorder and the Resurrection of Communal Republicanism among the Mormons	40
4.	The Rise of Anti-Mormonism	63
5.	Anti-Mormonism Becomes Violent	85
6.	Republican Dissent in the Kingdom of God	106
7.	Republican Virtue "Exterminated" in Missouri	129
8.	Anti-Mormonism Reappears in Illinois	152
9.	To Redeem the Nation	182
10.	America the Corrupt	208
	Notes	239
	Bibliography	261
	Index	277

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

[This book] is well researched and well written, inviting us to look at a dimension of the relationship between Mormonism and American culture that certainly merits attention.—American Historical Review

[Winn's] ability to place Mormon aspirations within different intellectual, religious and social contexts marks his approach and underscores the importance of his volume.—Canadian Review of American Studies

A useful contribution to our understanding of a singular people and their antagonists. . . . [Winn] captures the details . . . of the Mormon's travails very well.—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A study that must be read by all students of early Mormon history.—Illinois Historical Journal

Full of stimulating insights, fresh interpretations, and new ways of understanding the early Mormons and their neighbors. Indispensable reading on early Mormon history.—Leonard Arrington

Editorial Reviews

[Winn's] ability to place Mormon aspirations within different intellectual, religious and social contexts . . . underscores the importance of his volume.

"Canadian Review of American Studies"

ÝThis book¨ is well researched and well written.

"American Historical Review"

ÝWinn's¨ ability to place Mormon aspirations within different intellectual, religious and social contexts . . . underscores the importance of his volume.

"Canadian Review of American Studies"

"[Winn's] ability to place Mormon aspirations within different intellectual, religious and social contexts . . . underscores the importance of his volume.

"Canadian Review of American Studies""

[This book] is well researched and well written.

"American Historical Review"

A study that must be read by all students of early Mormon history.

"Illinois Historical Journal"

A useful contribution to our understanding of a singular people and their antagonists.

"St. Louis Post-Dispatch"

Indispensable reading on early Mormon history.

Leonard Arrington

From the Publisher