First, let's kill all the Mormons

A movie that appears to be a hit piece against the Mormon Church and religion called September Dawn is here at Libertas. The really good part is the comments section, where you will get an education on American History. I urge you to read them. First, let me direct you to the "Extermination Order" issued by Governor Boggs of Missouri wherein he ordered the murder of all Mormons in his state and directed bounty hunters to kill all Mormons fleeing the state and those that left the state. As a prelude note that the movie is about the Mountain Meadows Massacre an event in which 157 Christian settlers were slaughtered by what everyone assumes were Mormons dressed as Indians or a mixture of Mormons and Indians.

The Mormons had suffered the most audacious religious and political persecution in American history at that time (aside from the Native Americans), and in 1838 the Governor of Missouri, Gov. Boggs, issued what is known as an Extermination Order in which a duly elected governor of one of the United States authorized expulsion or extermination to include the killing of any Mormon (men, women, and children). They received no protection or assistance of any kind from the Congress or President. In fact, Gov. Boggs authorized Bounty hunters to track down Mormons when they fled the territory. There were also several Massacres in which mobs and militia killed Mormon settlers (Hauns Mill Massacre and others never discussed in the movie).

Sometime later, the Mormons moved to Illinois and settled a swamp area they called Nauvoo. It was there that Joseph Smith and several other leaders of the Mormons were assassinated by a mob.

In 1844-45, The Illinois legislature and the Governor rescinded the Nauvoo charter and eventually passed a removal order, meaning that the Mormons were evicted from their land..

With even more mobs and local militia gearing up and calling for another extermination, the Mormons moved west, outside the legal construct of the formal US. Given this context, and the fact that Pres. James K. Polk initiated one of the largest annexations (through war) of American territory--the Mexican War-- (in which the Mormons raised a regiment for the US Military); it is really no wonder that there were huge fears that were later manifested in the now notorious Meadows Massacre.

Regarding the Meadows Massacre itself, which is the the subject of the movie: Political and legal actions were being threatened against the Mormons that had been somewhat similar to what they had experienced in the past. There are many conflicting historical sources regarding the Meadows Massacre, the least of which is the government documentation. (Gov. Young was pretty much declared an instigator by some in Washington D. C. before any formal military or government action or review even occurred.

Really great stuff, hope you go there. The increasingly inaccurate O'Reilly on FOX praised the Mormon trashing Dawn (without seeing it naturally) and had the star of the movie, John Voight, slobbering all over the set. Malkin, always ready to kiss O'Reilly's Irish ass, thinks his praise of the movie is great, which tells you more than you need to know about Malkin and her research. The sorry fact is that I'm relatively uneducated and I knew about Boggs and the order so why don't the FOX people?

All this doesn't make the Mountain Meadows Massacre OK, but it does explain some context, something neither Malkin nor O'Reilly bother to do. No discussion of the Massacre would be complete without mentioning Juanita Brooks' book on the subject, the definitive examination of the incident and the book that made her famous (a long long time ago). A synopsis of what she discovered.....

The Mormons of the southern colonies were in a highly aroused state knowing that the army of the United States was marching their way. The emigrant party was overly boisterous, deriding the Mormons, their leaders, and threatening to raise an army in California to return to destroy Utah. The Indians wanted some "action" against the "Merrycats" (Americans) in retaliation for the poisoning death of some of their tribe, and the Mormons new they needed the alliance of the Chiefs if they were to offer any kind of effective resistence to the army that would arrive that next spring. All of this contributed to a sense of mob action that every one of the participants would later regret. The action was not a mere malicious act of vengence or wickedness; it came in the context of war, among a group of frightened farmers who had been driven from their homes by violent mobs at least two or three times in the past 15 years.

Of course, it doesn't minimize the heinous act.....