The Mormon Question

Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth-Century America

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Family Law, Legal History, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Denominations, Mormonism
Cover of the book The Mormon Question by Sarah Barringer Gordon, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sarah Barringer Gordon ISBN: 9780807875261
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: January 14, 2003
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Sarah Barringer Gordon
ISBN: 9780807875261
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: January 14, 2003
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

From the Mormon Church's public announcement of its sanction of polygamy in 1852 until its formal decision to abandon the practice in 1890, people on both sides of the "Mormon question" debated central questions of constitutional law. Did principles of religious freedom and local self-government protect Mormons' claim to a distinct, religiously based legal order? Or was polygamy, as its opponents claimed, a new form of slavery--this time for white women in Utah? And did constitutional principles dictate that democracy and true liberty were founded on separation of church and state?

As Sarah Barringer Gordon shows, the answers to these questions finally yielded an apparent victory for antipolygamists in the late nineteenth century, but only after decades of argument, litigation, and open conflict. Victory came at a price; as attention and national resources poured into Utah in the late 1870s and 1880s, antipolygamists turned more and more to coercion and punishment in the name of freedom. They also left a legacy in constitutional law and political theory that still governs our treatment of religious life: Americans are free to believe, but they may well not be free to act on their beliefs.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

From the Mormon Church's public announcement of its sanction of polygamy in 1852 until its formal decision to abandon the practice in 1890, people on both sides of the "Mormon question" debated central questions of constitutional law. Did principles of religious freedom and local self-government protect Mormons' claim to a distinct, religiously based legal order? Or was polygamy, as its opponents claimed, a new form of slavery--this time for white women in Utah? And did constitutional principles dictate that democracy and true liberty were founded on separation of church and state?

As Sarah Barringer Gordon shows, the answers to these questions finally yielded an apparent victory for antipolygamists in the late nineteenth century, but only after decades of argument, litigation, and open conflict. Victory came at a price; as attention and national resources poured into Utah in the late 1870s and 1880s, antipolygamists turned more and more to coercion and punishment in the name of freedom. They also left a legacy in constitutional law and political theory that still governs our treatment of religious life: Americans are free to believe, but they may well not be free to act on their beliefs.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Southern Cultures: The Photography Issue by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book The Marines of Montford Point by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book Making Machu Picchu by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book The Formation of Candomblé by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book A Chosen Path by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book Lovie by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book The Inner Islands by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book The Most Valuable Asset of the Reich by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book Cheddi Jagan and the Politics of Power by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book The Black Bard of North Carolina by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book Hiking and Traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book From Belloc to Churchill by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book GIs and Fräuleins by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book Time Full of Trial by Sarah Barringer Gordon
Cover of the book A Different Shade of Justice by Sarah Barringer Gordon
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy