The Rise and Fall of Nauvoo

by B. H. Roberts

Colonel Frierson afterwards went to Nauvoo, met in council with the leading citizens, and drafted a memorial to Congress; a copy of which he took with him to Quincy to obtain signers, but I think it never reached the House of Representatives.

The incident, however, suggested to the Prophet the propriety of addressing letters to each of the candidates for the presidency—five in number, viz.,—John C. Calhoun, Lewis Cass, Richard M. Johnson, Henry Clay and Martin Van Buren—to ascertain what policy they would adopt respecting the Saints and redressing the wrongs done them by Missouri. Only two out of the number, however, gave a reply. They were Calhoun and Clay. The former was of the opinion that the general government possessed such limited and specific powers, that the Missouri troubles did not come within its jurisdiction. As to his treatment of the Latter-day Saints, as the Constitution and the laws of the Union made no distinction between citizens of different religious creeds, he should make none; but so far as the executive was concerned all should have the full benefit of both, and none should be exempted from their operation.^[[2]]

Clay partially disclaimed being a candidate for the presidency, but said if he ever entered into that high office, he must do so free and unfettered, with no guarantees but such as might be drawn from his whole life, character and conduct. But he was careful to say, that he had watched the progress of the Saints, and sympathized with them in their sufferings under injustice, which had been inflicted upon them; and thought that they, in common with other religious communities, should enjoy the security and protection of the Constitution and laws.

To these letters the Prophet Joseph wrote scathing replies. The particular portion of Calhoun's answer with which he dealt, was that which claimed that the general government had no jurisdiction in the case of the Saints and Missouri, and handled rather severely the senator's doctrine of the limited powers of the general government.^[[3]]

In reply to Henry Clay he dealt chiefly with his "no pledge nor guarantee" doctrine, only such as could be drawn from his whole life, character and conduct; and drew such a picture of that statesman's past conduct, that the Kentucky senator could not feel flattered withal, to say the least; and in good round terms he denounced the subterfuges of politicians, and demanded of the nation justice in behalf of his afflicted people. In reading this correspondence one cannot but think that the Prophet is unnecessarily harsh of expression, and some phrases we cannot help but feel are certainly unworthy of him. The faults of these letters, however, are not so much the fault of the individual as the fault of the times. Those were days when moderation in language was certainly not characteristic of the political literature of the times. Personal abuse often seems to have been mistaken for argument, and severity of expression was often thought to out-weigh reason. One other thing should be remembered also, and that is the Prophet Joseph very largely depended upon others for the expression, for the literary form of those ideas which he advanced, and these secondary persons yielded too often to the spirit of the times in what they set down as coming from the Prophet.

When it was ascertained that from none of the candidates in the field, the citizens of Nauvoo could hope for assistance in obtaining justice for the wrongs they suffered in Missouri, Joseph allowed a convention at Nauvoo to put his name in nomination for the office of president; and he published his "Views on the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States," a document of great strength and one which excited considerable comment from the press of the country, very much of which was favorable.

In this document the Prophet-candidate reviews the growth and development of the American government until it reached the "Acme of American glory, liberty, and prosperity" under the administration of General Jackson; and then the beginning of its decline under the "withering touch of Martin Van Buren." He advocated prison reform. Advised the people of the south to petition their respective legislatures to abolish slavery by the year 1850, or now, "and save the abolitionist from reproach and ruin, infamy and shame." He recommended the payment of a reasonable price to the slave-holders of the south for their slaves, to be paid by the surplus revenue, arising from the sale of public lands, and reduction in the wages paid to congress-men. The southern people, said he, are hospitable and noble. They will help to rid so free a country of every vestige of slavery, whenever they are assured of an equivalent for their property. He recommended more economy in the national and state governments, and more equality among the people.

For the accommodation of the people he proposed the establishment of a national bank, with branches in each State, the directors thereof to be elected yearly by the people; and the profits arising from the business to be used as revenue, in defraying the expenses of government, the profits from the branch banks, being used in the respective States where they existed; and those arising from the parent institution by the general government; and reduce taxation to the extent of the net profits of these institutions.

In the light of the experience he and the Latter-day Saints had passed through in Missouri, he advocated the idea of giving the president full power to send an army to suppress mobs, "and appealed to the States to repeal that relic of folly," which made it necessary for the governor of a State to make a demand of the president for troops in case of invasion or rebellion. "The governor himself," he goes on to say, "may be a mobber; and instead of being punished, as he should be, for murder or treason, he may destroy the very lives, rights and property he should protect."

He favored the annexation of Texas, and the extension of the authority of the United States over contiguous territory on the west, and said: