The Mormon Rebellion: America's First Civil War, 1857-1858 Rating :
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47 of 61 people found the following review helpful.
A must read about the American west
By book'em Joe
I received my copy of Mormon Rebellion yesterday and read chapters one and seven last night.
Chapter one gives an overview on why the Mormons left the United States and headed to Mexican territory. Bigler and Bagley provide excellent detail on the conflicts between Mormons and the earlier settlers in both Missouri and Illinois. The next chapter then looks at the conflicts once Utah comes under U.S. control following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Chapter seven is one of the best pieces of historical writing I have ever read. In 24 pages Bigler and Bagley detail the events of Mountain Meadows Massacre in a clear and thorough way that I have never seen in any work on the subject. Do they believe Young is responsible, clearly they do. This chapter will stand up to the scrutiny of western historians and be a benchmark for future writing about this awful tale of blood.
Both historians are experts when it comes to 19th century Utah history and their confidence in the subject material shines through with their writing. Much of this source material comes directly from the extensive Brigham Young collections found in Utah repositories.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful.Not for Mormon Apologists
By Newsraptor
"The Mormon Rebellion" convincingly documents and the reasons the government in Washington thought the Mormons in Utah were in open rebellion to federal authority. Simply put, it's because they were.
Attempts to impose federal control (some would say "Constitutional liberties") on Brigham Young's theocratic state met with resistance and even violence. This narrative doesn't square with the LDS version that the perpetually persecuted Mormons in Utah were minding their own business and were the victims of nefarious, over-sexed carpetbaggers. While there is no argument that the LDS Church was often the object of cruel persecution in its early history, Bagley and Bigler show that the "Saints" could dish it out as well as take it. For instance, Brigham's blatant attempts to manipulate the Indians and incite them into hostile acts, while at the same time telling the government in Washington that he was doing all he could to keep them in hand but couldn't answer if they started attacking American emigrant trains, is a study in dangerous cynicism. Add to that the corroborating stories that resident non-Mormons told about the state of justice in Utah and the reason for sending in the U.S. Army is clear. Faithful Mormons may not like this book, but those honestly interested in Western history will find it a compelling and fascinating read.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful.The Real Story of an Important Part of the History of the West
By D. Hocking
Travelers going west to Oregon and California didn't have just Indians, deserts and mountains to contend with. There were also the Mormons and they may have been the greatest threat of all for they tried to raise the Indians against the whites. Bigler and Bagley have produced a factual account of the Mormon War documenting their research at every turn. Brigham Young and his henchmen drove out duly appointed territorial officials and confronted the Union with a demand for statehood or independence. They attempted to take most of the land won from Mexico in the Mexican-American War of 1846-47 with them. They closed the overland roads to Oregon and California harassing, raiding and killing immigrants. The Mormon church claimed all land, land belonging to the United States, as church property and only granted rights of use to their members effectively denying private property rights. In preparation for war they raised armies, conducted a bloody purge of their ranks and sold their people on the fantasy that the U.S. Army was coming to kill them all. They sold the world on the idea that they were being harassed because of their religion and polygamy. Bigler and Bagley say that the massacre of the Francher Party, known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre, was carried out to intimidate travelers.
The book is excellently documented at every step. The authors have been granted unprecedented access to LDS church records allowing the reader to see for him or herself exactly what Brigham Young and other church leaders were doing and saying. These leaders convict themselves in their own words and deeds. We know when the Mormon War began but when did it end? The authors say not until the death of Brigham Young because he carried with him an apocalyptic vision that called for the triumph of Mormonism and the destruction of the United States. Doctrine only changed after his death. Perhaps the unprecedented access the authors have enjoyed is due to a change in the LDS church and a further attempt to leave Brigham Young behind them.
The authors show how dangerous the situation really was and how long it endured. Ignoring this piece of history leaves a vacuum in our understanding. The War wasn't just 1857 to 1858. It began when the Mormons arrived in 1857 and endured until the death of Young in 1877.
You'll note other reviews that give this book one or two stars. Ignore them. Note that the those who produced them live in Utah and take that as explanation enough that the obfuscation of history continues. Take note of those who say there are too many footnotes. When each stings like a fresh pinprick, I suppose we can accuse the authors of having too many.
Product Description
America s first civil war played out in the Far West
In 1857 President James Buchanan ordered U.S. troops to Utah to replace Brigham Young as governor and restore order in what the federal government viewed as a territory in rebellion. In this compelling narrative, award-winning authors David L. Bigler and Will Bagley use long-suppressed sources to show that contrary to common perception the Mormon rebellion was not the result of Buchanan s blunder, nor was it a David-and-Goliath tale in which an abused religious minority heroically defied the imperial ambitions of an unjust and tyrannical government. They argue that Mormon leaders had their own far-reaching ambitions and fully intended to establish an independent nation the Kingdom of God in the West.
Long overshadowed by the Civil War, the tragic story of this conflict involved a tense and protracted clash pitting Brigham Young s Nauvoo Legion against Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston and the U.S. Army s Utah Expedition. In the end, the conflict between the two armies saw no pitched battles, but in the authors view, Buchanan s decision to order troops to Utah, his so-called blunder, eventually proved decisive and beneficial for both Mormons and the American republic.
A rich exploration of events and forces that presaged the Civil War, The Mormon Rebellion broadens our understanding of both antebellum America and Utah s frontier theocracy and offers a challenging reinterpretation of a controversial chapter in Mormon annals.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1117157 in Books
- Published on: 2011-04-15
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.02" h x6.26" w x1.50" l,1.58 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 384 pages
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