In the Nashville Republican Banner, on the 25th of August 1884, is a selection of excerpts from papers from across Tennessee. They are good sample of the sentiments held by many people in Tennessee at the time, which could be summarised as "Lewis County shouldn't have resorted to violence, but we are glad they did."
A SHREWD GUESS
Chester Citizen: Can a people afford to allow these lustful teachers to go on leading the young and unstable minds of boys and girls into a faith that is worse than heathen? We guess not.
'S'BLOOD, IAGO, S'BLOOD"
Waverly Times-Journal: Mormonism is a foul blot upon this country, and it will have to be removed someday even if it requires the shedding of blood to do it. It is a national disgrace and should be immediately removed.
JUSTIFIABLE HOMICIDE
Dresden Era: Nearly all the papers condemn the action of the Lewis County mob in killing three [two, actually] Mormon Elders, an account of which we published in our last issue. In our opinion, while we, as a rule, are opposed to mob law, the Lewis County men acted right.
A MENACE TO THE COUNTRY
Tullahoma Guardian: As long as polygamy and the other indecencies of Mormonism existed only in Utah, the country seemed careless about the spread of this so called religion, and it was thus allowed to grow up and thrive until now it has become bold and defiant and is a menace to the peace of the whole country.
1 year ago
2 comments:
Colorful background. I'm impressed by how widely you are casting your net for this story, and the bits and pieces you recognize as being relevant. You need to think about removing the "Amateur" from your blog title.
Thanks, I'll take that as a complement. I figure since history repeats itself, the part that makes it different is the context.
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