| Description |
This work examines the influence of the frontier on the rise and fall of Mormon Nationalism as seen through the eyes of Dr. John Milton Bernhisel. It argues that the failings of the social, political, and economic institutions of antebellum America prompted the Latter-day Saints to attempt to carve out an exclusive homeland on the western frontier and rule it according to theopolitical principles. They soon came into conflict with existing settlers however, who were attempting to create their own alternative institutions in response to the deficiencies of frontier governments. Like the Mormons, these settlers often created private militias, operated extralegal justice systems, and claimed certain rights not articulated in law. Not surprisingly, these two competing polities soon came into violent conflict. In the absence of the rule of law, the will of the majority prevailed and frontier settlers drove the Mormons from their lands. In response, the Latter-day Saints retreated into the isolation of the Great Basin. They soon discovered that they had only traded conflicts with frontier settlers for a more serious confrontation with Washington. In response, Mormon leaders turned to John Bernhisel for help in navigating the treacherous political waters of antebellum America. For some twenty years, Dr. John Milton Bernhisel negotiated between the Mormons and the country's political leaders. Through his eyes we see the impact of frontier dynamics on the formation of Mormon society and the conflicts that the Latter-day Saints experienced with outsiders. In Illinois, Bernhisel witnessed the violence that attended Joseph Smith's attempt to create an American Zion on the frontier. He later served in Congress and continually warned Mormon leaders of the need to negotiate the boundaries of Mormon Nationalism with the reality of Washington's power. The Latter-day Saints resisted compromise however. When Washington sent troops to Utah Territory to enforce federal power, Brigham Young blocked their entrance into Latter-day Saint settlements. Bernhisel worked frantically to keep the confrontation from exploding into violence. Thanks in part to his efforts, both sides backed down from an armed confrontation and sought a peaceful resolution. Peace would come with a price however. Federal power steadily eroded Mormon Nationalism. As a result, the Latter-day Saints gradually succumbed to established cultural expectations until they became among the most typically American of peoples to come out of the West. |
