When a neighboring realm petitioned to join the Union of the Sons of Liberty, my voice would be, come—yea, come Texas, come Mexico, come Canada, and come all the world; let us be brethren, let us be one great family, and let there be a universal peace.[[4]]
On the seventeenth of June, 1844, a State convention was held at Nauvoo, which ratified the views of Joseph on the "Powers and Policy of the Government," passed a series of resolutions inviting all men of all parties to assist in the work of reforming the government, and in a formal manner putting in nomination General Joseph Smith for President of the United States, and Sidney Rigdon for vice-president.
James Arlington Bennett, of New York, was asked to take the second place on the ticket first; but, he being of foreign birth, was not eligible. Then the position was offered to Colonel Solomon Copeland, but for some reason he did not accept; so the next choice was Sidney Rigdon, who by that time had removed from Nauvoo to Pennsylvania.
Arrangements were entered into, to hold a national convention in New York on the thirteenth of July following, and preparations were made for an active campaign in favor of the Prophet-nominee; but before the time for the national convention had arrived, the standard bearer of the new party of reform, Jeffersonian Democracy,[[5]] free trade and sailors' rights, fell pierced by assassins' bullets—the victim of a cruel mob.
Of course Joseph had no hope that he would be elected to the presidency, but by becoming a candidate, he gave the citizens of Nauvoo an opportunity to act consistently with their views of what ought to be done for the general good of the nation, and at the same time, avoid the wrath of the political parties in the State of Illinois by affiliating with neither of them in the ensuing election; for whenever they voted with one of those parties the other became enraged and vice versa. Doubtless the best reasons for, and the best justification of, this movement on the part of the people of Nauvoo is to be found in an editorial article from the Times and Seasons for February, 1844—with which I close this chapter:
WHO SHALL BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT?
This is an inquiry which to us as a people is a matter of the most paramount importance, and requires our most serious, calm, and dispassionate reflection. Executive power, when correctly wielded, is a great blessing to the people of this great commonwealth, and forms one of the firmest pillars of our confederation. It watches the interests of the whole community with a fatherly care; it wisely balances the other legislative powers when overheated by party spirit or sectional feeling; it watches with jealous care our interests and commerce with foreign nations, and gives tone and efficacy to legislative enactments.
The President stands at the head of these United States, and is the mouth-piece of this vast republic. If he be a man of an enlightened mind and a capacious soul,—if he be a virtuous man, a statesman, a patriot, and a man of unflinching integrity,—if he possess the same spirit that fired the souls of our venerable sires, who founded this great commonwealth, and wishes to promote the universal good of the whole republic, he may indeed be made a blessing to the community.
But if he prostrates his high and honorable calling to base and unworthy purposes,—if he makes use of the power which the people have placed in his hands for their interests to gratify his ambition, for the purpose of self-aggrandizement or pecuniary interest,—if he meanly panders with demagogues, loses sight of the interest of the nation, and sacrifices the Union on the altar of sectional interests or party views, he renders himself unworthy of the dignified trust reposed in him, debases the nation in the eyes of the civilized world, and produces misery and confusion at home. "When the wicked rule the people mourn."
There is perhaps no body of people in the United States who are at the present time more interested about the issue of the presidential contest than are the Latter-day Saints. And our situation in regard to the two great political parties is a most novel one. It is a fact well understood that we have suffered great injustice from the State of Missouri, that we petitioned to the authorities of that State for redress in vain, that we have also memorialized Congress under the late administration, and have obtained the heartless reply that "Congress has no power to redress your grievances."
After having taken all the legal and constitutional steps that we can, we are still groaning under accumulated wrongs. Is there no power anywhere to redress our grievances? Missouri lacks the disposition, and Congress lacks both the disposition and power (?); and thus fifteen thousand inhabitants of these United States can with impunity be dispossessed of their property; have their houses burned, their property confiscated, many of their numbers murdered, and the remainder driven from their homes and left to wander as exiles in this boasted land of freedom and equal rights: and after appealing again and again to the legally constituted authorities of our land for redress, we are coolly told by our highest tribunals, "We can do nothing for you."
We have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars into the coffers of Congress for their lands, and they stand virtually pledged to defend us in our rights, but they have not done it. If a man steals a dollar from his neighbor, or steals a horse or a hog, he can obtain redress; but we have been robbed by wholesale, the most daring murders have been committed, and we are coolly told that we can obtain no redress. If a steamboat is set on fire on our coast by foreigners, even when she is engaged in aiding and abetting the enemies of that power, it becomes a matter of national interference and legislation; or if a foreigner, as in the case of McLeod, is taken on our land and tried for supposed crimes committed by him against our citizens, his nation interferes, and it becomes a matter of negotiation and legislation. But our authorities can calmly look on and see the citizens of a country butchered with impunity: they can see two counties dispossessed of their inhabitants, their houses burned, and their property confiscated; and when the crys of fifteen thousand men, women and children salute their ears, they deliberately tell us that we can obtain no redress!
Hear it, therefore, ye mobbers! Proclaim it to all the scoundrels in the Union! Let a standard be erected around which shall rally all the renegadoes of the land: assemble yourselves and rob at pleasure; murder till you are satisfied with blood; drive men, women and children from their homes: there is no law to protect them, and Congress has no power to redress their grievances; and the great father of the Union (the President) has not got an ear to listen to their complaints.
What shall we do under this state of things? In the event of either of the prominent candidates, Van Buren or Clay, obtaining the presidential chair, we should not be placed in any better situation.
In speaking of Mr. Clay, his politics are diametrically opposed to ours. He inclines strongly to the old school of Federalists, and as a matter of course would not favor our cause; neither could we conscientiously vote for him. And we have yet stronger objections to Mr. Van Buren on other grounds. He has sung the old song of Congress—"Congress has no power to redress your grievances."
But did the matter rest here, it would not be so bad. He was in the presidential chair at the time of our former difficulties. We appealed to him on that occasion, but we appealed in vain, and his sentiments are yet unchanged.
But all these thing are tolerable in comparison to what we have yet to state. We have been informed from a respectable source that there is an understanding between Mr. Benton, of Missouri, and Mr. Van Buren, and a conditional compact entered into, that if Mr. Benton will use his influence to get Mr. Van Buren elected, Van Buren, when elected, shall use his executive influence to wipe away the stain from Missouri by a further persecution of the Mormons, and wreaking out vengeance on their heads, either by extermination or by some other summary process. We could scarcely credit the statement; and we hope yet for the sake of humanity, that the suggestion is false: but we have too good reason to believe that we are correctly informed.
If, then, this is the case can we conscientiously vote for a man of this description, and put the weapon in his hands to cut our throats with? We cannot. And however much we might wish to sustain the Democratic nomination, we cannot—we will not vote for Van Buren. Our interests, our property, our lives, and the lives of our families are too dear to us to be sacrificed at the shrine of party spirit and to gratify party feelings. We have been sold once in the State of Missouri, and our liberties bartered away by political demagogues, through executive intrigue, and we wish not to be betrayed again by Benton and Van Buren.
Under these circumstances, the question again arises, Whom shall we support? General Joseph Smith—a man of sterling worth and integrity and of enlarged views—a man who has raised himself from the humblest walks in life to stand at the head of a large, intelligent, respectable and increasing society, that has spread not only in this land, but in distant nations,—a man whose talents and genius are of an exalted nature, and whose experience has rendered him in every way adequate to the onerous duty. Honorable, fearless, and energetic, he would administer justice with an impartial hand, and magnify and dignify the office of Chief magistrate of this land; and we feel assured that there is not a man in the United States more competent for the task.
One great reason that we have for pursuing our present course is, that at every election we have been made a political target for the filthy demagogues in the country to shoot their loathsome arrows at. And every story has been put into requisition to blast our fame from the old fabrication of "walk on the water" down to "the murder of ex-Governor Boggs." The journals have teemed with this filthy trash, and even men who ought to have more respect for themselves—men contending for the gubernatorial chair have made use of terms so degrading, so mean, so humiliating, that a Billingsgate fisherwoman would have considered herself disgraced with. We refuse any longer to be thus bedaubed for either party. We tell all such to let their filth flow in its own legitimate channel, for we are sick of the loathsome smell.
Gentlemen, we are not going either to "murder ex-Governor Boggs, nor a Mormon in this State for not giving us his money," nor are we going to "walk on the water," nor "drown a woman," nor "defraud the poor of their property," nor send "destroying angels after General Bennett to kill him," nor "Marry spiritual wives," nor commit any other outrageous act this election to help any party with. You must get some other persons to perform these kind offices for you for the future. We withdraw.
Under existing circumstances, we have no other alternative; and if we can accomplish our object, well: if not, we shall have the satisfaction of knowing that we have acted conscientiously, and have used our best judgment. And if we have to throw away our votes, we had better do so upon a worthy rather than upon an unworthy individual, who might make use of the weapon we put in his hand to destroy us with.
Whatever may be the opinions of men in general in regard to Mr. Smith, we know that he needs only to be known to be admired; and that it is the principles of honor, integrity, patriotism, and philanthropy that have elevated him in the minds of his friends; and the same principles, if seen and known, would beget the esteem and confidence of all the patriotic and virtuous throughout the Union.
Whatever, therefore, be the opinions of other men our course is marked out, and our motto from henceforth will be—GENERAL JOSEPH SMITH.
Footnotes
[1]. History of Joseph Smith, Mill. Star, vol. xxi, p. 668.
The remarks were made at a public meeting soon after the Prophet's release by the municipal court of Nauvoo from the custody of Reynolds and Wilson.
[2]. See Appendix I.