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Letter to Friends in Illinois, 20 December 1841

Source Note

JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to “my friends in ,” 20 Dec. 1841. Featured version published in “State Gubernatorial Convention,” Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1842, vol. 3, no. 5, 651. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

On 20 December 1841 JS wrote a letter to “friends in ,” expressing support for the Illinois Democratic Party’s nominees for governor and lieutenant governor, and . JS also articulated his position that the should back political candidates who supported the Saints. The letter was first published in the 1 January 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons and was reprinted in several other Illinois newspapers shortly thereafter.
JS’s endorsement of the two Democratic candidates, both of whom were members of the Senate, was likely based on the pair’s support of a bill the state legislature passed in December 1840 titled “An Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo”—often referred to as the . was first elected to the Illinois Senate in 1830 and then to the House of Representatives in 1837. After returning to the state senate in 1840, he was selected as chairman of the judiciary committee, which reviewed and recommended passage of the Nauvoo charter during his tenure. was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1836 and to the Illinois Senate in August 1840. As with Snyder, it appears that Moore played a significant role in shepherding the Nauvoo charter through the senate. In a letter printed in the January 1841 issue of the church newspaper Times and Seasons, identified Moore, Snyder, and a few other politicians—both Democrats and Whigs—who had “rendered us very essential services” in getting the bill passed “without a dissenting vote.” In the 20 December 1841 letter featured here, JS highlighted another prominent Democrat, , who also helped secure the bill’s passage.
Although church members had supported candidates from various political parties during the preceding decade, since their arrival in , Latter-day Saints had regularly voted for Whig candidates, and some citizens in Illinois perceived JS’s public endorsement of and as a departure from that practice. JS’s public declaration that the Latter-day Saints maintained no party loyalty—and his implication that the Saints would vote as a bloc for candidates who supported their causes—exacerbated fears about the Saints’ growing political power in and in the state overall. Shortly after JS’s letter was published in the Times and Seasons, several Whig newspapers reprinted it along with scathing critiques of what editors perceived as the church’s new, troubling political position. The editor of the , Illinois, Sangamo Journal, for example, asserted that “though we have no objection that they should act individually and independently, as their conscience dictates . . . when they attempt to join the civil power with the religious they attempt to destroy our hard-earned birth-right of liberty of conscience, and compel us to retaliate for the injury done.” The Quincy Whig warned its readers that “this clannish principle of voting in a mass, at the dictation of one man . . . is so repugnant to the principles of our Republican form of government, that its consequences and future effects will be disagreeable to think of.” While noting that they were not “apologists of the Mormons,” editors of the Peoria Democratic Press nevertheless defended the right of a church member to vote “on account of his religious belief.” Despite the largely negative press, the Latter-day Saints and other residents of Hancock County voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, as well as for state representative, in the August 1842 election.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.

  2. [2]

    Journal of the Senate . . . of the State of Illinois, 5 Dec. 1840, 45; Ford, History of Illinois, 263. Referring to the passage of the Nauvoo charter, Snyder’s biographer noted that “Mr. Snyder when chairman of the State Judiciary Committee, to which the infamous measures concocted by Senator [Sidney] Little were referred, had reported them favorably, and they were passed without roll call, or a dissenting vote from any member of either party.” (Snyder, Adam W. Snyder, 388.)

    Journal of the Senate of the Thirteenth General Assembly of the State of Illinois, at Their Regular Session, Begun and Held at Springfield, December 5, 1842. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1842.

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

    Snyder, John Francis. Adam W. Snyder, and His Period in Illinois History, 1817–1842. Virginia, IL: E. Needham, 1906.

  3. [3]

    John C. Bennett [Joab, pseud.], Springfield, IL, 16 Dec. 1840, Letter to the Editor, Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1841, 2:266–267, italics in original.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  4. [4]

    Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 273; Ford, History of Illinois, 263.

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

  5. [5]

    Pease, Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848, 117, 122.

    Pease, Theodore Calvin, ed. Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923.

  6. [6]

    Connecting JS’s religious and political clout to his authority to command the Nauvoo Legion, the Sangamo Journal also declared, “When he enters upon the duties of a civil office of the State, and as a Lieutenant General, speaks to his friends, whom he knows as a Prophet he can command, and uses the religious influence he possesses under the Military garb he has acquired, he becomes a dangerous man, and must look to the consequences.” (“Citizens of Illinois—Read and Consider!,” Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 21 Jan. 1842, [3], emphasis in original.)

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

  7. [7]

    “Joseph Smith,” Quincy (IL) Whig, 22 Jan. 1842, [2], italics in original. Echoing the fear that JS was now dictating how Latter-day Saints should vote, the Peoria Register remarked, “This is probably the first time that a public manifesto of this sort has been issued by a religious leader in this country. . . . We trust that all parties will see its dangerous tendency, and at once rebuke it.” (“The Mormons—Religion and Politics,” Peoria [IL] Register and North-Western Gazetteer, 21 Jan. 1842, [2].)

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

    Peoria Register and North-Western Gazetteer. Peoria, IL. 1837–1843.

  8. [8]

    Editorial, Peoria (IL) Democratic Press, 26 Jan. 1842, [2].

    Peoria Register and North-Western Gazetteer. Peoria, IL. 1837–1843.

  9. [9]

    Pease, Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848, 127, 130, 351, 363. Snyder, who had suffered from health problems for years, passed away two and a half months before the election, at the age of forty-two; he was replaced on the ballot by Thomas Ford. (Snyder, Adam W. Snyder, 376, 394; Davidson and Stuvé, Complete History of Illinois, 462.)

    Pease, Theodore Calvin, ed. Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923.

    Snyder, John Francis. Adam W. Snyder, and His Period in Illinois History, 1817–1842. Virginia, IL: E. Needham, 1906.

    Davidson, Alexander, and Bernard Stuvé. A Complete History of Illinois from 1673 to 1873; Embracing the Physical Features of the Country; Its Early Explorations; Aboriginal Inhabitants; French and British Occupation; Conquest by Virginia; Territorial Condition and the Subsequent Civil, Military and Political Events of the State. Springfield, IL: Illinois Journal Co., 1874.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter to Friends in Illinois, 20 December 1841
History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 651

STATE GUBERNATORIAL CONVENTION.
City of , Illinois,
December 20th, A. D. 1841.
To my friends in :—
The Gubernatorial Convention of the State of have nominated Colonel for GOVERNOR, and Colonel for LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR of the State of —election to take place in August next. , like , and , was an intimate friend of long before that gentleman became a member of our community; and informs us that no men were more efficient in assisting him to procure our great chartered privileges than were , and .— They are sterling men, and friends of equal rights—opposed to the oppressor’s grasp, and the tyrant’s rod. With such men at the head of our State Government we have nothing to fear. In the next canvass we shall be influenced by no party consideration—and no Carthagenian coalescence or collusion, with our people, will be suffered to affect, or operate against, or any other of our tried friends already semi-officially in the field; so the partizans in this who expect to divide the friends of humanity and equal rights will find themselves mistaken—we care not a fig for Whig or Democrat: they are both alike to us; but we shall go for our friends, our tried friends, and the cause of human liberty which is the cause of God. We are aware that “divide and conquer” is the watch-word with many, but with us it cannot be done—we love liberty too well—we have suffered too much to be easily duped—we have no cat’s-paws amongst us. We voted for General [William Henry] Harrison because we loved him—he was a gallant officer and a tried statesman; but this is no reason why we should always be governed by his friends—he is now dead, and all of his friends are not ours. We claim the privileges of freemen, and shall act accordingly. is a Master Spirit, and his friends are our friends—we are willing to cast our banners on the air, and fight by his side in the cause of humanity, and equal rights—the cause of liberty and the law. , and , are his friends—they are ours. These men are free from the prejudices and superstitions of the age, and such men we love, and such men will ever receive our support, be their political predilections what they may. , and , are known to be our friends; their friendship is vouched for by those whom we have tried. We will never be justly charged with the sin of ingratitude—they have served us, and we will serve them.
JOSEPH SMITH.
Lieutenant-General of the . [p. 651]
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Page 651

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter to Friends in Illinois, 20 December 1841
ID #
729
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D9:34–37
Handwriting on This Page
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Footnotes

  1. [1]

    After the Illinois legislature appointed him to the Illinois Supreme Court in February 1841, Douglas visited Nauvoo in May and was given “freedom of the city.” In June 1841, when Missouri officials were attempting to extradite JS to Missouri, Douglas presided over JS’s habeas corpus hearing in Monmouth, Illinois, and ruled in his favor by declaring the writ against him dead and no longer actionable. (Letter to the Editors, 6 May 1841; “The Late Proceedings,” Times and Seasons, 15 June 1841, 2:447–449.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  2. [2]

    Warren was a partner in the Quincy, Illinois, firm Ralston, Warren & Wheat and was also part of the legal team that defended JS during the June 1841 habeas corpus hearing in Monmouth, Illinois. In August 1841 Warren wrote a letter to JS offering to sell property in nearby Warsaw to the church. (History of Adams County, Illinois, 707; JS History, vol. C-1, 1205; Letter from Calvin A. Warren, 31 Aug. 1841.)

    The History of Adams County, Illinois. Containing a History of the County—Its Cities, Towns, Etc. . . . Chicago: Murray, Williamson, and Phelps, 1879.

  3. [3]

    JS was likely referencing the Anti-Mormon Convention in Illinois. Initially comprising Warsaw residents, the political group convened its first convention in Carthage on 28 June 1841, where it selected candidates for the August 1841 election. (“Anti-Mormon Meeting,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 23 June 1841, [3]; “To the Citizens of Hancock County,” and “Anti-Mormon Nominations,” Warsaw Signal, 21 July 1841, [3].)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  4. [4]

    A cat’s paw is a “person used as a tool by another to accomplish a purpose.” The term derives from Jean de La Fontaine’s fable “The Monkey and the Cat.” (“Cat’s paw,” in Oxford English Dictionary, 2:189; Shapiro, Complete Fables of Jean de La Fontaine, 254–255.)

    Oxford English Dictionary. Compact ed. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971.

    Shapiro, Norman R., trans. The Complete Fables of Jean de La Fontaine. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2007.

  5. [5]

    In the 1840 election Hancock County residents voted overwhelmingly for Harrison, who was the Whig presidential candidate, and for the Whig candidate for the state legislature. Harrison took office on 4 March 1841 but died one month later, after contracting pneumonia. (Pease, Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848, 117, 346.)

    Pease, Theodore Calvin, ed. Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923.

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