Mexican-American war: patriotism despite religious persecution

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Title Mexican-American war: patriotism despite religious persecution
Publication Type thesis
School or College College of Humanities
Department History
Author Matson, Richard James
Date 2008-10-28
Description The purpose of this thesis is to provide a comparative case study of two distinct units consisting of American soldiers who fought in religiously designated units, but on opposite sides during the Mexican-American War: the Mormon Battalion and the San Patricio Battalion. Both units are unique to American history. Yet despite their uniqueness, there are a surprising number of similarities between them. From their history of persecution, predating the war, to the common suffering and experiences all the soldiers endured, their similar circumstances continued (along with noted differences) until each U.S. soldier made the fateful decision of either remaining loyal or defecting to the enemy. This, however, was not the end to their similarities. Both units had government leaders assigned to command them; following the war, they received poor receptions from the people they defended; and the soldiers of both units are now revered as ethnic heroes. This study is taken from an American perspective of the war and focuses on Mormon Battalion soldiers' trend toward national allegiance to the United States of America from 1846 to 1847. Although this conflict occurred over 160 years ago, a comparative case study can still teach Americans some important lessons. Governments must demonstrate tolerance and respect for peoples' ethnicity and religious faiths to ensure conflicts do not appear as cultural or "holy" wars. Religious influences, soldier solidarity, and individual upbringings are important, but good, fair leadership, provided by competent officers, is the best motivator that can inspire national allegiance.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Mexican War; Mormon Battalion
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name MA
Language eng
Relation is Version of Digital reproduction of "Mexican-American war: patriotism despite religious persecution" J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections E13.6 2008 .M38
Rights Management © Richard James Matson
Format application/pdf
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 65,889 bytes
Identifier us-etd2,114576
Source Original: University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections
Conversion Specifications Original scanned on Epson GT-30000 as 400 dpi to pdf using ABBYY FineReader 9.0 Professional Edition.
ARK ark:/87278/s6fb5hm5
Setname ir_etd
ID 193790
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6fb5hm5
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