[], An Appeal to the American People: Being an Account of the Persecutions of the Church of Latter Day Saints; and of the Barbarities Inflicted on Them by the Inhabitants of the State of Missouri, second edition; i-vi, 7–60 pp.; Cincinnati, OH: Shepard and Stearns, 1840. The copy used herein is held at CHL.
A manuscript draft of this pamphlet, simply titled “To the Publick” was presented to a conference of church members at , Illinois, on 1 November 1839. The conference voted to approve the manuscript and authorized its publication on behalf of the church. The pamphlet, when published, carried the endorsement of JS, , and as “Presidents of said Church.”
and collaborated on the publication of the text, which was available in print by May 1840. Though no author is named on the title page, was acknowledged as author in an 1840 Times and Seasons newspaper article, and when the pamphlet was advertised in that church periodical in 1841. JS and held some expectation that funds from the sale of An Appeal would eventually help defray costs of their late-1839 trip to .
By July 1840, and had been authorized to produce a second, revised edition to be published by Shepard & Stearns in . Page related some of the circumstances surrounding its publication and circulation in a letter sent to JS, “. . . at [Ohio] we parted for a few days . . . Elder Hyde went to Cincinnati where in my absince he published a second Edition of the ‘Apeal to the American people’ (2000 copies)[.] when I arrived the work was about completed[.] after disposing of as many of them as posible and suplying the market about cincinnati and the adjacient country he left me with some fourteen or fifteen hundred on hand, to dispose of” (John E. Page, Philadelphia, PA, to JS et al., Nauvoo, IL, 1 Sept. 1841, JS Collection, CHL). Funds from this printing were to be for the express purpose of subsidizing Hyde and Page’s imminent mission to in Palestine.
The second edition was essentially a lightly edited reprint of the first, with a four-page “Publisher’s Preface” added. In the preface, and noted the purpose of the publication, explained the severe hardships imposed by the persecutions upon Page’s own family, provided a detailed account of a vision experienced by Hyde, and expressed enthusiasm about the prospects of the mission. The preface also contained a copy of an official letter of appointment and commendation for Hyde and Page from an April 1840 church conference at , Illinois, signed by JS, and a letter of reference from , governor of .
Although many of the events reported in both editions of ’s pamphlet can be corroborated from other sources, his chronology of events is often inaccurate. However, Rigdon’s account does contain the texts of several significant documents. Among these are JS’s September 1838 affidavit concerning the 7 August 1838 visit to and those of and regarding the massacre. Consequently, though in many respects Rigdon’s document from a historical perspective is more advocacy than history, it offers access to some important material not readily found elsewhere.
soon were taken into the tavern house. A man was appointed to see that we had every thing we wanted. They dispensed with their guards, and we were at liberty to go where we pleased, and return when it suited us. These privileges were not granted us at first, but after we had been there a few days. At first we were put into an old house and closely guarded. While we were there, , a lawyer of celebrity, and leader of the mob, confessed in our presence, and in the presence of many others, that the mob, was a wanton attack upon the saints without cause, and he said he presumed that the attack then made was of the same character.
We state this to show that the men of intelligence in , knew that they were again engaged in robbing a people of their rights. Indeed, went so far as to say, that if ever the mobs attacked us again, he would fight for us. We will leave here the prisoners and relate what took place in . After ’s arrival at , , I think, was the General’s name, that was sent to . On his arrival there, he placed guards around the town, so that no person might pass out or in without permission. All the men in town were then taken and put under guard, and a court of inquiry was instituted, with on the bench; the said belonged to the mob and was one of the leaders of it from the time mobbing first commenced in . The Attorney’s name I have forgotten, if I ever knew, but belonged to ’s army.
After two or three days’ investigation, every man was honorably acquitted. then ordered every family to be out of in ten days, with permission to go to , and there tarry until spring, and then leave the under pain of extermination. This was on the first of November, the weather was very cold, more so than usual, for that season of the year; and, in keeping this order of ’s they had to leave their crops and houses, and to live in tents and wagons in this inclement season of the year. As for their flocks and herds the mob had delivered them from the trouble of taking care of them, or from the pain of seeing them starve to death, by stealing them. An arrangement was made in which it was stipulated that a committee of twelve, which had been previously appointed, should have the privilege of going from to for the term of four weeks, for the purpose of conveying their crops from to . The committee were to wear white badges on their hats for their protection.
But in a short time after this arrangement was made, withdrew with his army, and the mob rose up as soon as the army had gone, and forbid the committee from coming again into under pain of death. By this the mob secured unto themselves several hundred thousand bushels of corn, besides large quantities of oats, and the saints were left to seek their bread and shelter where they could find it.
We will now return to the prisoners in . Shortly after our arrival in , Colonel from the army of , came with orders from who was commander-in-chief of the expedition, to have us forwarded forthwith [p. 46]