[], 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; 1–84 pp.; Cincinnati, OH: Glezen and Shepard, stereotypers and printers, 1840. The copy used herein is held at Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Historical Introduction
While incarcerated at , Missouri, in March 1839, JS addressed a letter to the church “at Illinois and scattered abroad and to in particular,” instructing the Saints to gather up “a knoledge of all the facts and sufferings and abuses put upon them by the people of this .” Edward Partridge responded with an account that became the three opening installments of “A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” an eleven-part series published in the church’s newspaper, Times and Seasons, between December 1839 and October 1840. “A History, of the Persecution” receives comprehensive treatment in volume 2 of the Histories series of The Joseph Smith Papers and is available on this website.
may have intended to tell the entire story himself, but he fell ill shortly after publication of “A History, of the Persecution” began and died on 27 May 1840. Prompted by Partridge’s illness and subsequent death, the editors of the Times and Seasons, and , sought elsewhere for source materials to continue the series. It is probable that they composed the fourth installment to provide a brief transition from Partridge’s account, which ends in 1836, and the conflicts in and adjoining counties in 1838. The fifth and seventh installments reprinted passages from ’s History of the Late Persecutions Inflicted by the State of Missouri upon the Mormons (Detroit: Dawson and Bates, 1839). In May 1840, the sixth installment reprinted passages from ’s eighty-four page pamphlet, 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 (Cincinnati: Glezan and Shepard, 1840). More of Rigdon’s work was reprinted in the eighth through tenth installments, published from July to September 1840. The series concluded with an eleventh installment in the October 1840 issue, featuring General ’s callous speech to the Saints after their surrender at , Missouri, in November 1838.
A manuscript version of ’s Appeal to the American People, referred to as the “petition draft” titled “To the Publick” and endorsed by JS, Rigdon, and , was read to a conference of Saints in , Illinois, on 1 November 1839. The conference voted to approve its publication in the name of the church. and then collaborated to arrange for publication of the text in late 1839 and early 1840. Though no author is named on the title page, Rigdon was acknowledged as author when the pamphlet was advertised in the Times and Seasons in 1840 and 1841. JS and Elias Higbee had some expectation that funds from the sale of the publication would help defray costs of their trip to in late 1839. In July 1840, a second edition was printed by Shepard & Stearns in to raise funds for Orson Hyde and ’s mission to .
Although many of the events reported in ’s pamphlet can be corroborated from other sources, his chronology is often inaccurate. (Consult the annotation in Histories, Volume 2 for correction to portions published as part of “A History, of the Persecutions.”) However, his account contains the text of several significant documents. Among these are JS’s 5 September 1838 affidavit concerning the 7 August 1838 visit to and those of and and regarding the massacre. Consequently, though in many respects Rigdon’s document is more advocacy than history, it offers access to some material not readily found elsewhere.
rage committed. We there learned that the mob was collected at Millport, to a considerable number; and that was at their head, and were to attack the saints the next day, at the place where we then were, called , this report, we were inclined to believe might be true, as this , who was said to be their leader, had been, but a few months before, engaged in endeavoring to drive those of the society who had settled in that vicinity, from the . This fact, had become notorious from the fact that said had personally ordered several of the said society to leave the . The next morning we despatched a committee to said ’s, to ascertain the truth of these reports, and to know what his intentions were: and, as we understood he was a Peace officer, we wished to know what we might expect from him. The committee returned in a short time, with an unfavorable report—that , instead of giving them any assurance of preserving the peace, insulted them, and gave them no satisfaction. Being desirous to know the feelings of for myself, and being in want of good water; and understanding that there was none nearer than ’s spring; myself, with several others, mounted our horses and rode up to ’s fence. , with one or two others who had rode ahead, went into ’s house; myself and some others went to the spring for water. I was shortly after, sent for by , and invited into the house, being introduced to by , wished me to be seated: We then commenced a conversation, on the subject of the late difficulties, and present excitement. I found quite hostile in his feelings, towards the saints; but he assured us he did not belong to the mob, neither would he take any part with them; but said he was bound by his oath, to support the constitution of the , and the laws of the State of . Deponent then asked him, if he would make said statements in writing, so as to refute the arguments of those who had affirmed that he, () was one of the leaders of the mob. , answered in the affirmative, accordingly he did so, which writing is in possession of the deponent. [p. 27]