1840 Sidney Rigdon Booklet

THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF SIDNEY RIGDON
The First Theologian of the Latter Day Saints

Sidney Rigdon.
(1793-1876)
Appeal to the American People
(Cincinnati: Glezen & Shepard, 1840)

page 01 Title-Page

page 03 Preface

page 05 Introduction

page 73 Appendix

Transcriber's Comments

Rigdon's 1838 Speeches in Senate Doc. 189 | 1844 Memorial to Penn. Legislature

A N A P P E A L

T O T H E A M E R I C A N P E O P L E

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.

BY AUTHORITY OF SAID CHURCH.

C I N C I N N A T I:

GLEZEN AND SHEPARD, STEREOTYPERS AND PRINTERS

1840.

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At a conference of the Church of Latter Day Saints, held in Quincy, Illinois, on Friday, the first day of November, 1839, the Manuscript of the following History of said Church was read and approved of, and was duly authorized by a vote of said Conference, to be published.

JOSEPH SMITH, Jr. | Presidents of
SIDNEY RIGDON, | said Church.
HYRAM SMITH. | said Church.

Attest,
GEORGE W, ROBINSON, Clerk.

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P R E F A C E.

T O T H E P U B L I C.

In presenting the following narrative, to the American people, it was the intention of the Author, to present facts, and only facts. He does not pretend to be personally acquainted with all the things written in the following account, nor with but few of them, except those which took place from the 4th of April, 1838; but he has documents on hand, from those who were eye witnesses to the whole scene, from the commencement in Jackson County, until the close.

From these documents, the greater part of which, has been attested under oath; and the remainder will be, as soon as the writers are called on for it, so that the public may rely on its truth.

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It is only an extract from those documents, and a limited one too: If all the account had been detailed in full, it would have made this a large volume.

The Author has induced to under to undertake this work, on account of the many enquries which were making, and the many false reports which had been put in circulation, about our persecutions in Missouri.

I is now presented to the public, claiming no merit but truth; but should it disabuse the public mind, and give a fair understanding of the matters and things therein contained; and gratify the enquirer; the Author will have accomplished his object.

The work is, therefore, submitted to the public, by their humble servant,

THE AUTHOR.

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AN APPEAL TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

_______________________

The "Latter Day Saints" commenced their settlements in Missouri, in the August of 1831. The first settlement was made in Jackson County, on the west line of the State; not far from the missionary station of the Rev. Isaac McCoy Baptist missionary among the Indians. At this time, Jackson County was very thinly settled; the quarter part of it, the settlers were what is called in the western country, "squatters;" that is, persons who settle on the public lands without purchasing them. Some considerable part of Jackson County had not come into market. On these lands considerable settlements had been made; cabins built, and some land cleared.

When the "Latter Day Saints" began to immigrate into the country, there was a good deal of uneasiness manifested by a certain portion of the settlers at first; principally by those who had settled on the public lands, lest the new settlers should be disposed to purchase at the land sales, which were expected to take place that season, the lands on which they had made improvements; or enter such lands as might be subject to entry, that had been taken possession of. But this uneasiness gradually lessened until it finally died away. The sales came on, purchases were made by every man as suited him; and no difficulty occurred: every man went to building on, and improving his land, as seemed good to himself.

Shortly after the first settlement was made, a considerable tide of immigration set in, which continued to increase until the summer of 1833; by this time, the immigration of the saints was far greater than that of all others. This began to create great uneasiness; murmurings, and complainings were heard continually about it; and about the rapid improvements which were making in that country. From murmurings they went to holding public meetings, to take measures to put a stop to the immigration, and not only put

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a stop to the immmigration, but drive those out of the country who were settled there.

These meetings were public things, called and held in the face of the government, published in the public papers. At these meetings, the publicly declared that they would put the laws of the country at defiance, in order to accomplish their object, as well as justice and humanity, which finally they did.

In order to justify themselves in violating the laws of both God and man, the laws, both of the State of Missouri and the United States, they had recourse to fabricating, and circulating the most foolish and senseless lies, that mortals could invent; thinking, by that means, to justify themselves before the public. Such as, the saints were building strong fortifications; bringing cannon and other military implements into the country; that wagons loaded with coffins were coming in great numbers, and that these coffins were full of ammunition and military stores -- that the saints are conniving with the Indians, and stirring up the negroes to rebel against their masters, with a multitude of things of a similar character: which all tens to establish the ignorance and corruption of their authors. To such low and mean subterfuges, were the principal men of Jackson County and vicinity, driven to accomplish an object at which humanity to the latest ages must recoil. We shall give the names of the principal actors in this scene of abomination, that the American people may hereafter know them.

After having, as they supposed, made a sufficient preparation to accomplish their object, and fabricated and circulated through the medium of their public papers, a necessary quantity of lies to blind the public mind, (for they verily supposed, that all the American people were as destitute of truth and humanity, as themselves) they commenced their operations.

These things transpired, between the first of July and the middle of November, 1833. The mob made their attack, by tearing down houses and destroying property. A printing office was torn down, the press broken, the type scattered through the streets; all the book work, papers, and materials that were in the office were destroyed, in all

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amounting to several. thousand dollars...