Cephalopods 3 of 4: Octopus Maps

Seeing as how it?s ?Mormonism and Politics? month at JI, let?s talk about spineless carnivores with sucker-covered tentacles. One of the most common forms of octopus propaganda was a labeled octopus on a map representing an ?imperial? power of some sort—a nation or company or, in the Mormon case, a church/theocracy—that controlled various geographic areas politically or economically. Michelle Farran at Vulgar Army provides several examples (see image below).

Mormon political hegemony was a major theme in anti-Mormon discourse in the decades around 1900. Heebie-jeebies were given, hands were clutched to bosoms, and smelling salts were deployed on account of Mormonism?s actual and alleged political influence. [1] As early as 1861 writers spoke of Mormonism?s ?tentacles? reaching out geographically [2] and various authors—of fiction and (ostensible) non-fiction—referred to something like ?that great Mormon octopus stretching out its tentacles from State to State and enfolding in an almost undetachable grip that which it seizes.? [3] The graphic instantiation of this idea, the Mormon ?devil-fish map? (see image below) and its kin, played a significant role in anti-Mormon efforts from 1898 into the 1910s. [4]

The Political Culture of Mormon History

[This is the first post in our “Mormonism & Politics” series for the month of July; it also repeats and expands articles from a roundtable on “The New New Political History,” hosted at The Junto in January.]

This political sketch of Joseph Smith leading a Nauvoo Legion filled with women embodies the intersecting categories of gender, power, and politics of political culture.

Methodological and historiographical trends tend to lag behind in Mormon scholarship, but many new theories typically do end up taking root and making an impact. The New Social History move of the 1970s became nearly synonymous with New Mormon History, post-structuralism influenced discussions of Mormon founding narratives, and phenemonological approaches have recently taken hold of projects that attempt to capture the lived experience of Latter-day Saints. These methods have all enriched the scholarship on the pages of Journal of Mormon History and enlivened the halls of the Mormon History Association, though incorporation remains stagnant and uneven, primarily due to the mixed nature of the field. The further progression of Mormon scholarship within the broader academy will depend on its ability to better appropriate these and numerous other methodological tools in order to produce a more sophisticated corpus.

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For the Yanks: Happy We?re-Not-British Day

While looking for something else this morning, I came across the lyrics of a composed-by-a-Mormon song  from 1876 about the Fourth of July. Peter McBride wrote ?The Fourth of July Song? while living in Brigham City, a United Order community in what is now Arizona. Since it?s a holiday and I?m lazy, I present the text below without comment. [1]

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July Theme: Mormonism and Politics

[This post is co-authored by Ben Park and Joey Stuart, the two conveners for this month’s topical series.]

In the 19th Century, Americans feared foreign “reptiles” like the Mormons and Catholics would infiltrate national politics.

Tomorrow, we celebrate the Fourth of July. In certain ways, the celebration embodies many aspects of our historical memory: the focus on the decisions made by white men separated from combat instead of the individuals who had risked their lives in battle for over a year, the sacralization of ideals that remained divorced from reality for many decades, and, most importantly, the emphasis on political language and principles over the practical ramifications and cultural experiences that resulted from those decisions. The document, words, and ideas of the Declaration of Independence are important, of course, but our narrow focus on a simple parchment written as a de-facto justification for actions that had already been taking place for months before, and would continue for years after, on our celebration of the nation?s ?founding? highlights the limited nature of not only our historical memory, but also the way in which we define ?politics. 

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Conference Report: Society for the History of Childhood and Youth

Last week I was finally able to attend the biennial conference for the Society for the History of Childhood and Youth (SHCY). I have been eager to attend this conference for a few years. This year the conference was held at the University of Nottingham, which allowed the Society to highlight its international focus.

I noticed several themes throughout the panel that I thought could enhance the study of children and religion?and in specific case, Mormonism. Before going any further, it would be remiss not to point out Rebecca de Schweinitz?s article on the historiography of Mormon childhood in the Spring 2012 issue of the Journal of Mormon History, which provides a detailed overview of work on Mormon children, childhood, and youth to the recent present.[1] De Schweinitz was also a founding member of SHCY when it first began in the early 2000s.

The first thematic question that drew my attention was

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Cephalopods 2 of 4: Devil Fish and Octopuses

Last week I posted on the cuttlefish and a few weeks ago I posted on the upas tree. The upas post was prompted by a line from Edgar Folk: ?[Mormonism] is the Upas tree of our civilization, the octopus of our political life.? [1] Having treated the vegetable, I now turn to the animal.

The octopus has had a long career as a symbol. [2] Beginning in the late nineteenth century and persisting to the present, various factions have used the octopus to represent their (almost always) enemies (see images below and Vulgar Army). [3]

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Baptizing the royal family

This post is part of International Mormonism month.

A little over a year ago, newspaper headlines in the Netherlands read:

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Guest Post: Audrey Bastian, From Siamese Prison to Mormon Memory

Note: This post is part of our international Mormonism month.  Audrey Bastian is a freelance writer and interpreter speaking Mandarin, Arabic and American Sign Language.  She lived in various countries in Asia eight years and received her masters degree in International Law and World Order from the University of Reading in England.  Her bachelors degree is in History with a minor in Arabic.  She won an honorable mention in 2006 in the Writer?s Digest 75th Annual Writing Competition for a memoir entitled, ?Japanese Carp?.  She currently owns her own business and resides in Washington, DC.

?…the King confined bro. [Trail] 71 days in a Siamese prison, 14 feet square, with 50 other prisoners, some were confined for debt others for stealing &c several ware put to the rack to draw out a fu [teekals (tikal money)]…?  –Elam Luddington April 1854

A day after Elam Luddington baptized his first and only convert in Siam, Captain James Trail, the King of Siam thrust the convert into a debtor?s prison without food.  The captain?s crime was misunderstanding a command and firing a salute from his ship in the rhodes of Singapore.  

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From the Archives: Joseph H. Dean and Joseph F. Smith on Mexico/Polygamy

On September 24, 1890, Joseph H. Dean returned home from Samoa, where he had been serving as mission president. He returned to Salt Lake City to report on his duties to the First Presidency. After briefly speaking to Wilford Woodruff and George Q. Cannon, Dean sat down with Joseph F. Smith. Dean knew Smith from Smith’s time in the South Pacific.[1] “At his invitation,” Dean wrote in his journal, “I took supper with him, just he and I alone.”During supper, they spoke about:

“nearly every subject, among other things the advisability of my going to Mexico. The Church a ranch or rally there, where a member of the Church in good standing can settle and have all the land he can take care of. He [must][2] till the land, however, but pays a nominal [fee] for the payment of the interest in the money invested. That is so that no outsiders can get footing there and also so that an apostate could not stay there, as the laws of the state give the owners of the land the privilege of “firing” any renter that doesn’t suit them. A many can have as many wives there as he pleases so long as he only acknowledges one as such, that is, there is a tacit understanding between the church and the Mexican government, that we only practice plural marriage but must outwardly appear to have by one wife. Good land, delightful climate, and all together a desirable place to locate. I fell favorably impressed with the idea of going there.”[3]

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