| Description |
This cultural history of Mormonism in Kirtland, Ohio, from 1831 to 1837 uses Agenda Setting and Vilification Theories to analyze 1,617 articles from 325 newspapers published during those years. This unprecedented number of sources enabled the researcher to identify how nineteenth-century print culture and texts about and by the Mormons created, shaped, changed, and directed the trajectory of Mormonism in its formative years. The qualitative examination exposed the most recurring topics on Mormonism in papers across the country, including the phenomenon of editors' specific efforts to create a cultural enemy of Joseph Smith; the editorial tone used while writing about such news; the number of times identical or similar texts were reprinted in the newspaper exchange; and the dispersion and geographical reach of readers throughout the United States. It was discovered that American editors regularly employed six agendas when printing about the Mormons: dishonesty; criminality; fanaticism; credulity and gullibility; power; and vilification. Mormon reactions in their newspapers demonstrated a hypersensitivity to what was printed about them and revealed efforts to sway public perception with four of their own agendas: to dispel, correct, or offset incorrect perceptions; relay church doctrines and structure; unify scattered members; and portray a persecuted people. The focus on early years of the American entity that would become known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fills gaps in existing studies in American, religious, print, Mormon, and communication/journalism histories. Mormonism was a consistent topic in the American press during the seven years of this study. Newspapers in each state and territory addressed it on average every 1.5 days. Antebellum editors were unhindered by current First Amendment free press precedents and their viewpoints, opinions, and agenda-setting rhetoric were perpetuated in the minds of a voracious reading public as attitudes and understandings about Mormons were published, copied, and republished. The uniqueness and value of the research is the discovery and analysis of what was portrayed as truth about an American religion in thousands of printed pages and the reactions the texts evoked. Evidence of present-day agenda setting also is discussed in relation to the Mormons. |
