[], An Appeal to the American People: Being an Account of the Persecutions of the Church of Latter Day Saints; and of the Barbarities Inflicted on Them by the Inhabitants of the State of Missouri, second edition; i-vi, 7–60 pp.; Cincinnati, OH: Shepard and Stearns, 1840. The copy used herein is held at CHL.
A manuscript draft of this pamphlet, simply titled “To the Publick” was presented to a conference of church members at , Illinois, on 1 November 1839. The conference voted to approve the manuscript and authorized its publication on behalf of the church. The pamphlet, when published, carried the endorsement of JS, , and as “Presidents of said Church.”
and collaborated on the publication of the text, which was available in print by May 1840. Though no author is named on the title page, was acknowledged as author in an 1840 Times and Seasons newspaper article, and when the pamphlet was advertised in that church periodical in 1841. JS and held some expectation that funds from the sale of An Appeal would eventually help defray costs of their late-1839 trip to .
By July 1840, and had been authorized to produce a second, revised edition to be published by Shepard & Stearns in . Page related some of the circumstances surrounding its publication and circulation in a letter sent to JS, “. . . at [Ohio] we parted for a few days . . . Elder Hyde went to Cincinnati where in my absince he published a second Edition of the ‘Apeal to the American people’ (2000 copies)[.] when I arrived the work was about completed[.] after disposing of as many of them as posible and suplying the market about cincinnati and the adjacient country he left me with some fourteen or fifteen hundred on hand, to dispose of” (John E. Page, Philadelphia, PA, to JS et al., Nauvoo, IL, 1 Sept. 1841, JS Collection, CHL). Funds from this printing were to be for the express purpose of subsidizing Hyde and Page’s imminent mission to in Palestine.
The second edition was essentially a lightly edited reprint of the first, with a four-page “Publisher’s Preface” added. In the preface, and noted the purpose of the publication, explained the severe hardships imposed by the persecutions upon Page’s own family, provided a detailed account of a vision experienced by Hyde, and expressed enthusiasm about the prospects of the mission. The preface also contained a copy of an official letter of appointment and commendation for Hyde and Page from an April 1840 church conference at , Illinois, signed by JS, and a letter of reference from , governor of .
Although many of the events reported in both editions of ’s pamphlet can be corroborated from other sources, his chronology of events is often inaccurate. However, Rigdon’s account does contain the texts of several significant documents. Among these are JS’s September 1838 affidavit concerning the 7 August 1838 visit to and those of and regarding the massacre. Consequently, though in many respects Rigdon’s document from a historical perspective is more advocacy than history, it offers access to some important material not readily found elsewhere.
had fairly commenced, great exertions were made by the different candidates and their friends, to obtain the votes of the saints; each man, in his turn, making application. , like the rest, made application also. , who was a man of influence among the saints, was the one to whom said made overtures. , knowing that had always been an enemy to the saints, took the liberty to ask about his former hostilities, and his previous attempt to drive them from their homes; as well as many abusive things which he had said. declared that he never had any intention of driving them from their homes; he only tried to scare them, and if he could not, he intended to let them alone: and as to the many abusive things which he had said; he said “they were very wrong; he had been deceived by false reports, without being acquainted with the people; and, since he had become acquainted with them, he found that they were first rate citizens.” And by many such sayings, he attempted to gain votes: but the saints, all the time knowing that he was corrupt man, and every way disqualified for the office after which he was struggling, would not be induced to vote for him at all. This he fully understood before the election, and made his arrangements accordingly: having his satelites at the election, to aid him in executing his purpose, in preventing the saints from voting. In the early part of the day, at the election, made a speech; the object of which was, to excite the indignation of the people, to such a degree, that he could get a sufficient number to join the mob, to keep the saints from voting, if they attempted it. In this speech, he used the most abusive language that he was the master of; denouncing the saints in round terms, in a most ridiculous manner. Having his party ready, at the end of the speech, they began to throw out their threats, that none of the G—d d—n Mormons, to use their own language, should vote. These threatenings began to assume a very serious tone, very soon. One kept exciting another, and drinking very freely, until a man by the name of Richard Weldon, attacked a man by the name of Samuel Brown, who was but just able to be about, after a very dangerous fit of sickness. The said Weldon began to insult Mr. Brown in a most insolent manner; Mr. Brown very mildly told him, that he did not wish to have any difficulty with him, or any other person; the other swore that the Mormons were no more fit to vote than the d—d niggers, and that he would knock him down; and made an attempt to strike him. A man by the name of , being near them, caught Weldon’s hand, and kept him from striking Brown. This was no sooner done, than was knocked down, and a number of men commenced beating him with clubs, boards, and any thing they could get. cried for help: several men ran into the midst of the crowd, to get out of their hands, for the cry was, “kill him, kill him, d—n him. The names of those who rushed into the crowd, were Jackson Steward, , Henry Ormsted , Abram Nelson, and one other man by the name of Nelson. They succeeded in saving the life of , but not until they had knocked down some twelve or fifteen men. A large number, of from twelve to twenty, rushed on to Steward, crying kill him, God d—n him, kill him. They had dirks and clubs, and other weapons; one of them dirked him under the shoulder blade; he called [p. 16]
This racial slur was commonly employed by white Americans by the nineteenth century to refer derogatorily to people of African descent. Black Americans strongly objected to the use of the term.a The Church Historian’s Press also condemns the use of this word but retains it in document transcripts to accurately present the historical record and to illuminate the oppressive racial landscape faced by Black Americans. Church leaders today have asked Latter-day Saints to “lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice,” which includes rejecting racist language.b
(aEaston, Treatise on the Intellectual Character, and Civil and Political Condition of the Colored People of the U. States, 40–41. bNelson, “Let God Prevail,” 94.)
Easton, Hosea. A Treatise on the Intellectual Character, and Civil and Political Condition of the Colored People of the U. States; and the Prejudice Exercised towards Them: With a Sermon on the Duty of the Church to Them. Boston: Isaac Knapp, 1837.
Nelson, Russell M. “Let God Prevail.” Ensign, Nov. 2020, 92–95.