Letter to the Citizens of Hancock County, circa 2 July 1842

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Letter to the Citizens of Hancock County, circa 2 July 1842
Source Note

JS, Letter, [
Nauvoo
Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....
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, Hancock Co., IL], to the Citizens of
Hancock County
Formed from Pike Co., 1825. Described in 1837 as predominantly prairie and “deficient in timber.” Early settlers came mainly from mid-Atlantic and southern states. Population in 1835 about 3,200; in 1840 about 9,900; and in 1844 at least 15,000. Carthage ...
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, IL, ca. 2 July 1842. Featured version published in “To the Citizens of Hancock Co.,” Wasp, 2 July 1842, vol. 1, no. 12, [2]. For more complete source information, see the source note for Notice, 28 Apr. 1842.

Historical Introduction
The 2 July 1842 issue of the Wasp published a letter from JS to the citizens of
Hancock County
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, Illinois, regarding the upcoming state election, to be held on 1 August. At a public meeting in
Nauvoo
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on 26 May, JS had vowed not to support or “vote with either the Whig or Democratic parties as such” in the election.
1
Minutes, 26 May 1842.
Nauvoo residents at that meeting and a meeting held less than a week later nominated a separate ticket of candidates to fill the
state
Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...
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and county offices, not all of whom were Latter-day Saints.
2
Minutes, 26 May 1842; “Public Meeting,” Wasp, 4 June 1842, [3].
Comprehensive Works Cited
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.
On 29 May, the county’s Anti-Mormon Party held a convention and nominated its own slate of candidates.
Thomas C. Sharp
25 Sept. 1818–9 Apr. 1894. Teacher, lawyer, newspaper editor and publisher. Born in Mount Holly, Burlington Co., New Jersey. Son of Solomon Sharp and Jemima Budd. Lived at Smyrna, Kent Co., Delaware, June 1830. Moved to Carlisle, Cumberland Co., Pennsylvania...
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, editor of the Warsaw Signal and consistent critic of the Latter-day Saints, asserted that the Anti-Mormon convention had been organized in response to the move by JS and Nauvoo citizens to nominate a separate ticket.

Despite
Sharp
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’s assertion, the Anti-Mormon Party had been active for more than a year.
3
[Thomas C. Sharp], “The Last Move,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 July 1842, [2].
Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.
The party, which emerged in the summer of 1841, had been championed by Sharp and the Warsaw Signal.
4
See Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 276–277.
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.
In May 1841, the paper described the Latter-day Saints as a political threat and pledged “to oppose the concentration of political power in a religious body.”
5
[Thomas C. Sharp], “The Mormons,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 19 May 1841, [2].
A few weeks later, Sharp warned readers that the Saints voted according to JS’s dictates.
6
[Thomas C. Sharp], “The Mormons,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 June 1841, [2].
Sharp also reported on a recent
Warsaw
Located at foot of Des Moines rapids of Mississippi River at site of three military forts: Fort Johnson (1814), Cantonment Davis (1815–1818), and Fort Edwards (1816–1824). First settlers participated in fur trade. Important trade and shipping center. Post...
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meeting in which the assembled group resolved to oppose candidates seeking Latter-day Saint support.
7
“Public Meeting,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 June 1841, [3].
At another meeting, held on 19 June, William H. Roosevelt, a local Democrat, proposed a convention to nominate candidates critical of Latter-day Saint influence.
8
“Anti-Mormon Meeting,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 23 June 1841, [3].
On 28 June 1841, the Anti-Mormon Party held its first convention in
Carthage
Located eighteen miles southeast of Nauvoo. Settled 1831. Designated Hancock Co. seat, Mar. 1833. Incorporated as town, 27 Feb. 1837. Population in 1839 about 300. Population in 1844 about 400. Site of acute opposition to Latter-day Saints, early 1840s. Site...
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, Illinois; attendees nominated Richard Wilton and Robert Miller for school and county commissioner, respectively.
9
“To the Citizens of Hancock County,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 21 July 1841, [3].
Convention speakers called on citizens to favor candidates adhering to the “principles of Anti-Mormonism.”
10
“Address of the Convention to the Anti-Mormon Citizens of Hancock County,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 7 July 1841, [2].
In July, the Signal reminded readers that JS’s followers “have allowed him to dictate how they should vote,” referencing the Saints’ voting patterns in
Missouri
Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...
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and in the previous two
Illinois
Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...
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elections.
11
“Fellow Citizens,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 28 July 1841, [2].
Both Wilton and Miller were elected that August.
12
Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 449.

In late 1841, when JS announced the Saints would support Democratic candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, some perceived the potential for Latter-day Saint bloc voting as a growing threat.
13
Letter to Friends in Illinois, 20 Dec. 1841. Religious bloc voting was a notable feature of antebellum politics, and Illinois was no exception. In 1841, for example, Archbishop John Hughes successfully marshalled Irish Catholic voters to elect candidates who would support the reorganization of New York City’s public schools. The next year, the new legislature accomplished the desired reorganization. Though Irish Catholics also voted as a bloc in Illinois, the Latter-day Saints were perceived as the greater political threat. Some contemporary newspapers, including Horace Greeley’s New-York Tribune, commented on Latter-day Saint bloc voting. (Murphy, American Slavery, Irish Freedom, 79–82; Flanders, “Kingdom of God in Illinois,” 153; “The August Election,” New-York Tribune, 17 Aug. 1841, [2].)
Murphy, Angela F. American Slavery, Irish Freedom: Abolition, Immigrant Citizenship, and the Transatlantic Movement for Irish Repeal. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2010.
Flanders, Robert Bruce. “The Kingdom of God in Illinois: Politics in Utopia.” In Kingdom on the Mississippi Revisited: Nauvoo in Mormon History, edited by Roger D. Launius and John E. Hallwas, 147–159. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1996.
New-York Tribune. New York City. 1841–1842.
In response to this political threat,
Sharp
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repeatedly emphasized the importance of taking combined action against Latter-day Saint political influence.
14
“Great Mass Convention,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, [13] Apr. 1842, [2]; 20 Apr. 1842, [3]; 27 Apr. 1842, [2]; 4 May 1842. [2].
At the Anti-Mormon Party convention held in
Carthage
Located eighteen miles southeast of Nauvoo. Settled 1831. Designated Hancock Co. seat, Mar. 1833. Incorporated as town, 27 Feb. 1837. Population in 1839 about 300. Population in 1844 about 400. Site of acute opposition to Latter-day Saints, early 1840s. Site...
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on 29 May 1842, the assembly nominated a full ticket, which appeared in subsequent issues of the Signal along with the Whig and Democratic tickets.
15
“The Last Move,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 July 1842, [2]; “August Election,” Warsaw Signal, 9 July 1842, [3]; “August Election,” Warsaw Signal, 16 July 1842, [3]; “August Election,” Warsaw Signal, 23 July 1842, [3]; “August Election,” Warsaw Signal, 30 July 1842, [3].
In response to the convention, JS published the letter featured here, which called for independent candidates. He declared that candidates who rejected the principles of the Anti-Mormon Party and met certain qualifications would receive the support of the Latter-day Saints in the
county
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.

Perhaps in response to JS’s letter, many men announced their candidacy in the next two issues of the Wasp. The candidates either omitted their party affiliation, appealed to independent voters, ran as independents, or added “independent” to their affiliation.
16
Notices, Wasp, 9 July 1842, [2]; Notices, Wasp, 16 July 1842, [2]. In response to a letter to the editor, Sharp printed the “Peoples’ Independent Ticket” below the other tickets in the 16 July issue of the Warsaw Signal. After an initial rise of announcements for new candidates, such announcements soon dramatically declined, as seen in the 23 July issue of the Wasp, and a few candidates even withdrew their names, perhaps sensing that Nauvoo citizens were leaning Democratic. Of the five announcements in the Wasp on that date, four were for candidates included in the Democratic ticket, which appeared under a separate heading of the same issue. (“To the Editor of the Signal,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 16 June 1842, [3]; “August Election,” Wasp, 23 July 1842, [2]; Notices, Wasp, 23 July 1842, [3].)
Ultimately,
Nauvoo
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citizens and Latter-day Saints in the surrounding region overwhelmingly supported the Democratic ticket in the August election, helping to ensure that party’s success and the Anti-Mormon Party’s defeat.
17
“Election Returns,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 6 Aug. 1842, [2]; Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 283, 449; Pease, Illinois Election Returns, 126–131, 351, 363.
Pease, Theodore Calvin, ed. Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923.
After the election,
Sharp
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lamented that the whole Democratic ticket, or “more properly Mormon ticket,” as he described it, “is elected.”
18
“The Election,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 6 Aug. 1842, [2].

The original letter is apparently not extant, but its contents were printed in the 2 July 1842 issue of the Wasp.
Footnotes
[1]
Minutes, 26 May 1842.
[2]
Minutes, 26 May 1842; “Public Meeting,” Wasp, 4 June 1842, [3].
[3]
[Thomas C. Sharp], “The Last Move,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 July 1842, [2].
[4]
See Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 276–277.
[5]
[Thomas C. Sharp], “The Mormons,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 19 May 1841, [2].
[6]
[Thomas C. Sharp], “The Mormons,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 June 1841, [2].
[7]
“Public Meeting,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 June 1841, [3].
[8]
“Anti-Mormon Meeting,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 23 June 1841, [3].
[9]
“To the Citizens of Hancock County,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 21 July 1841, [3].
[10]
“Address of the Convention to the Anti-Mormon Citizens of Hancock County,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 7 July 1841, [2].
[11]
“Fellow Citizens,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 28 July 1841, [2].
[12]
Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 449.
[13]
Letter to Friends in Illinois, 20 Dec. 1841. Religious bloc voting was a notable feature of antebellum politics, and Illinois was no exception. In 1841, for example, Archbishop John Hughes successfully marshalled Irish Catholic voters to elect candidates who would support the reorganization of New York City’s public schools. The next year, the new legislature accomplished the desired reorganization. Though Irish Catholics also voted as a bloc in Illinois, the Latter-day Saints were perceived as the greater political threat. Some contemporary newspapers, including Horace Greeley’s New-York Tribune, commented on Latter-day Saint bloc voting. (Murphy, American Slavery, Irish Freedom, 79–82; Flanders, “Kingdom of God in Illinois,” 153; “The August Election,” New-York Tribune, 17 Aug. 1841, [2].)
Murphy, Angela F. American Slavery, Irish Freedom: Abolition, Immigrant Citizenship, and the Transatlantic Movement for Irish Repeal. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2010.
Flanders, Robert Bruce. “The Kingdom of God in Illinois: Politics in Utopia.” In Kingdom on the Mississippi Revisited: Nauvoo in Mormon History, edited by Roger D. Launius and John E. Hallwas, 147–159. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1996.
New-York Tribune. New York City. 1841–1842.
[14]
“Great Mass Convention,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, [13] Apr. 1842, [2]; 20 Apr. 1842, [3]; 27 Apr. 1842, [2]; 4 May 1842. [2].
[15]
“The Last Move,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 July 1842, [2]; “August Election,” Warsaw Signal, 9 July 1842, [3]; “August Election,” Warsaw Signal, 16 July 1842, [3]; “August Election,” Warsaw Signal, 23 July 1842, [3]; “August Election,” Warsaw Signal, 30 July 1842, [3].
[16]
Notices, Wasp, 9 July 1842, [2]; Notices, Wasp, 16 July 1842, [2]. In response to a letter to the editor, Sharp printed the “Peoples’ Independent Ticket” below the other tickets in the 16 July issue of the Warsaw Signal. After an initial rise of announcements for new candidates, such announcements soon dramatically declined, as seen in the 23 July issue of the Wasp, and a few candidates even withdrew their names, perhaps sensing that Nauvoo citizens were leaning Democratic. Of the five announcements in the Wasp on that date, four were for candidates included in the Democratic ticket, which appeared under a separate heading of the same issue. (“To the Editor of the Signal,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 16 June 1842, [3]; “August Election,” Wasp, 23 July 1842, [2]; Notices, Wasp, 23 July 1842, [3].)
[17]
“Election Returns,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 6 Aug. 1842, [2]; Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 283, 449; Pease, Illinois Election Returns, 126–131, 351, 363.
Pease, Theodore Calvin, ed. Illinois Election Returns, 1818–1848. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923.
[18]
“The Election,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 6 Aug. 1842, [2].
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter to the Citizens of Hancock County, circa 2 July 1842 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”
Page [2]
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For the Wasp.

TO THE CITIZENS OF
HANCOCK CO.
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As a people, the
church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...
View Glossary
are found “more sinned against, than sinning.”
1
This common phrase is attributed to William Shakespeare. In King Lear, the titular figure describes himself as “a man more sinn’d against than sinning.” After an informant for the Daily Commercial Bulletin applied the phrase to the Latter-day Saints in Missouri in late September 1838, a host of newspapers reprinted the statement or otherwise reapplied the phrase to the Saints. (Shakespeare, King Lear, act 3, sc. 2, ll. 59–60, in Riverside Shakespeare, 1323; “Mormon Troubles Ended,” Daily Commercial Bulletin [St. Louis], 29 Sept. 1838, [2]; see also “The End of the Mormon Troubles,” Public Ledger [Philadelphia], 15 Oct. 1838, [2]; “The Mormon War Ended,” Boston Recorder, 30 Nov. 1838, 191; “The Mormons,” Sun [Baltimore], 20 Mar. 1839, [2]; and “The Mormons,” Daily National Intelligencer [Washington DC], 31 May 1839, [2].)
The Riverside Shakespeare: The Complete Works. Edited by G. Blakemore Evans, J. J. M. Tobin, Herschel Baker, Anne Barton, Frank Kermode, Harry Levin, Hallett Smith, and Marie Edel. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
Daily Commercial Bulletin. St. Louis, MO. 1835–1841.
Public Ledger. Philadelphia. 1836–1925.
Boston Recorder. Boston. 1830–1849.
Sun. Baltimore. 1837–2008.
Daily National Intelligencer. Washington DC. 1800–1869.
—In political affairs we are ever ready to yield to our fellow citizens of [t]he
2
While not present in this copy, the t in the appears in other copies of this issue of the Wasp.

county
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, equal participation in the selection of candidates for office—we have been disappointed in our hopes of being met with the same disposition on the part of some of the old citizens of the
county
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—they indeed seem to manifest a spirit of intolerance and exclusion, incompatible with the liberal doctrines of true republicanism.
3
Using the term republicanism to mean tolerance and inclusion was common in this period. Republicanism related to ideas of civic virtue and the inevitability of temporal vicissitude, which had important functions in antebellum America. Even so, the term was rather amorphous and had multiple meanings and uses during this time. (See Appleby, “Republicanism and Ideology,” 461–473; and Rodgers, “Republicanism,” 11–38; for more on the republican rhetoric used by Latter-day Saints and their appeal to the concepts associated with republicanism, see Winn, Exiles in a Land of Liberty, 1–5.)
Appleby, Joyce. “Republicanism and Ideology.” American Quarterly 37, no. 4 (Fall 1985): 461–473.
Rodgers, Daniel T. “Republicanism: The Career of a Concept.” Journal of American History 79, no. 1 (June 1992): 11–38.
Winn, Kenneth H. Exiles in a Land of Liberty: Mormons in America, 1830–1846. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989.
At the late Anti-Mormon convention,
4
The Anti-Mormon convention referred to here was held on 29 May 1842 in Carthage, Illinois. (“The Last Move,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 9 July 1842, [2].)
a complete set of candidates, pledged to a man to receive no support from, and to yield no quarters to, Mormons, are commended to all the citizens of this
county
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for their suffrages! As a portion of said citizens of
Hancock
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we embrace the occasion to decline this ticket
5
The Anti-Mormon ticket included William H. Roosevelt for senator, Wesley Williams and Edson Whitney for representatives, Stephen H. Tyler for sheriff, John J. Brent for county commissioner, William D. Abernethy for school commissioner, and Benjamin Avise for coroner. (“August Election,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 9 July 1842, [3].)
for the want of reciprocity in its term, [a]nd
6
While not present in this copy, the a in and appears in other copies of this issue of the Wasp.
honesty and intelligence in the character of some of its candidates.

If the old citizens of the
county
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are still desirous of equal participations with us in the choice of candidates, we are ready to co-operate with them—If independent gentlemen will announce themselves, and possess the requisite qualities, capacity and integrity, they will receive the united support of our people in the
county
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—The time for holding a convention seems to have already gone by—there is time enough for the friends of justice and fair play to elect a ticket, to be announced in the independent manner we have suggested. Let the gentlemen who have the courage to oppose the spirit of dictation which governed the Anti-Mormon convention candidates, show themselves, and we will exercise enough, on the terms proposed in this article, to ensure complete success.

JOSEPH SMITH.
7
TEXT: The capital T in “SMITH” and a number of subsequent uppercase T’s of the same font were set in italic type, suggesting that the Nauvoo printing office had exhausted its supply of uppercase T’s in roman type.
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Footnotes
[1]
This common phrase is attributed to William Shakespeare. In King Lear, the titular figure describes himself as “a man more sinn’d against than sinning.” After an informant for the Daily Commercial Bulletin applied the phrase to the Latter-day Saints in Missouri in late September 1838, a host of newspapers reprinted the statement or otherwise reapplied the phrase to the Saints. (Shakespeare, King Lear, act 3, sc. 2, ll. 59–60, in Riverside Shakespeare, 1323; “Mormon Troubles Ended,” Daily Commercial Bulletin [St. Louis], 29 Sept. 1838, [2]; see also “The End of the Mormon Troubles,” Public Ledger [Philadelphia], 15 Oct. 1838, [2]; “The Mormon War Ended,” Boston Recorder, 30 Nov. 1838, 191; “The Mormons,” Sun [Baltimore], 20 Mar. 1839, [2]; and “The Mormons,” Daily National Intelligencer [Washington DC], 31 May 1839, [2].)
The Riverside Shakespeare: The Complete Works. Edited by G. Blakemore Evans, J. J. M. Tobin, Herschel Baker, Anne Barton, Frank Kermode, Harry Levin, Hallett Smith, and Marie Edel. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
Daily Commercial Bulletin. St. Louis, MO. 1835–1841.
Public Ledger. Philadelphia. 1836–1925.
Boston Recorder. Boston. 1830–1849.
Sun. Baltimore. 1837–2008.
Daily National Intelligencer. Washington DC. 1800–1869.
[2]
While not present in this copy, the t in the appears in other copies of this issue of the Wasp.
[3]
Using the term republicanism to mean tolerance and inclusion was common in this period. Republicanism related to ideas of civic virtue and the inevitability of temporal vicissitude, which had important functions in antebellum America. Even so, the term was rather amorphous and had multiple meanings and uses during this time. (See Appleby, “Republicanism and Ideology,” 461–473; and Rodgers, “Republicanism,” 11–38; for more on the republican rhetoric used by Latter-day Saints and their appeal to the concepts associated with republicanism, see Winn, Exiles in a Land of Liberty, 1–5.)
Appleby, Joyce. “Republicanism and Ideology.” American Quarterly 37, no. 4 (Fall 1985): 461–473.
Rodgers, Daniel T. “Republicanism: The Career of a Concept.” Journal of American History 79, no. 1 (June 1992): 11–38.
Winn, Kenneth H. Exiles in a Land of Liberty: Mormons in America, 1830–1846. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989.
[4]
The Anti-Mormon convention referred to here was held on 29 May 1842 in Carthage, Illinois. (“The Last Move,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 9 July 1842, [2].)
[5]
The Anti-Mormon ticket included William H. Roosevelt for senator, Wesley Williams and Edson Whitney for representatives, Stephen H. Tyler for sheriff, John J. Brent for county commissioner, William D. Abernethy for school commissioner, and Benjamin Avise for coroner. (“August Election,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 9 July 1842, [3].)
[6]
While not present in this copy, the a in and appears in other copies of this issue of the Wasp.
[7]
TEXT: The capital T in “SMITH” and a number of subsequent uppercase T’s of the same font were set in italic type, suggesting that the Nauvoo printing office had exhausted its supply of uppercase T’s in roman type.