Nauvoo, Illinois

:There is also a Nauvoo, Alabama.

History

Commerce City

Hancock County was created in 1825 and organized in 1829, eleven years after Illinois became a state. In 1834, absentee investors A. White and J. B. Teas platted the town of Commerce on a bend of the Mississippi River in Hancock County, some fifty-three miles north of Quincy (Linn, p 219). By 1839, the town had failed to attract settlers and only a few frame houses had been built.

Related Topics:
Hancock County - Illinois - Quincy

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Nauvoo founded by the Latter Day Saints

In early 1839, Latter Day Saints were fleeing Missouri as a result of the 1838 Mormon War. They regrouped in Quincy, whose non-Mormon citizens opened their homes to the refugees. Joseph Smith, Jr., president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, remained imprisoned in Missouri, but his chief counselor in the First Presidency, Sidney Rigdon, had been released and had rejoined the main body of the church in Quincy. A land agent named Isaac Galland, approached Rigdon and offered church leaders title to land in Hancock County and additional land across the river in the Iowa Territory's Lee County. Church leaders purchased this land as well as the mostly vacant Commerce plat in 1839, and Latter Day Saints began to settle the area immediately (Flanders, p. 32).

Related Topics:
Latter Day Saints - Missouri - Mormon War - Quincy - Joseph Smith, Jr. - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - Imprisoned - First Presidency - Sidney Rigdon - Iowa Territory's - Lee County - Latter Day Saints

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Smith and other leaders escaped from prison in Missouri and rejoined the Latter Day Saints in Commerce by May of 1839. He renamed the town "Nauvoo" which he translated to mean "beautiful location," but the site was, at first, an undeveloped swamp. Epidemics of cholera, malaria and typhoid took their toll on the struggling Mormons (Brooks, pp. 47-48).

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Building up the city

Daguerreotype of the city in 1846 at the time of the Mormon exodus (LDS Church Archives). In the spring of 1840, John C. Bennett, the Quarter Master General of the Illinois State Militia converted to Mormonism and became Joseph Smith's closest friend and confidante. Bennett's experience with Illinois' government allowed him to help Smith craft a city charter for Nauvoo. Based closely on the Springfield, Illinois charter, the document gave the city a number of important powers, including the establishment of municipal court, a university, and an independent militia unit. At the time, the Illinois state government was closely balanced between members of the Democratic party and members of the Whig party. Both hoped to attract Mormon votes and both were quick to vote the charter into effect. After the charter was passed, Bennett was elected Nauvoo's first mayor and Smith made Bennett a member of the church's First Presidency. A militia unit, named the "Nauvoo Legion" was established, and Smith and Bennett were made its commanding generals.

Related Topics:
Daguerreotype - 1846 - Mormon - John C. Bennett - Charter for Nauvoo - Springfield, Illinois - Democratic party - Whig party - First Presidency - Nauvoo Legion

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The city grew quickly as Mormons gathered to the area, and at its height Nauvoo's population, although smaller than contemporary Chicago's, was as large as Quincy's or Springfield's (Arrington and Bitton, p. 69). Many of the new converts came from the British Isles, as a result of a successful mission established there (Arrington and Bitton, p. 68). The church published two newspapers in the city, the Times and Seasons and the Nauvoo Wasp (later called the Nauvoo Neighbor). Although it mostly existed on paper, a University of Nauvoo was established, with Bennett as its Chancellor.

Related Topics:
British Isles - Times and Seasons

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On April 6, 1841, the Nauvoo Legion drilled in a great parade to honor the laying of the cornerstone for a new temple and Sidney Rigdon gave the dedicatory speech. The foundation of the Nauvoo Temple was 83 ft. by 128 ft. and, when finished, its steeple rose to a height of over 100 ft.. Church elder Alpheus Cutler was put in charge of the construction of the impressive stone edifice. Another church committee began construction of a large hotel on the city's Water Street, to be called the "Nauvoo House." John D. Lee was put in charge of constructing a meeting hall for the quorums of the Seventies.

Related Topics:
April 6 - Temple - Sidney Rigdon - Nauvoo Temple - Alpheus Cutler - John D. Lee - Seventies

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In October of 1841, a Masonic Lodge was established in Nauvoo. George Miller, one of the church's Presiding Bishops, was made its "Worshipful Master" or leader. The lodge admitted far more members than was normal Masonic practice and quickly elevated church leaders to high roles.

Related Topics:
Masonic - Lodge - Presiding Bishops - Worshipful Master

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Developments in the Church

At the time of Nauvoo's foundation, the church was led by a First Presidency, consisting of a Prophet and two Councillors. The Presiding High Council (known as the Nauvoo High Council), led by Nauvoo Stake President William Marks was next in administrative authority, overseeing the church's legislative and judicial affairs. The church's "Travelling High Council" (or Quorum of the Twelve) led by President Brigham Young oversaw the church's missionary activities.

Related Topics:
First Presidency - High Council - Stake - William Marks - Quorum of the Twelve - Brigham Young

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Joseph Smith, Jr. introduced and expanded a number of distinct practices while the Latter Day Saint church was headquartered in Nauvoo. These included Baptism for the dead, Rebaptism, the Nauvoo-era Endowment, and the ordinance of the Second Anointing. In addition, he created a new inner council of the church ? containing both men and women ? called the Anointed Quorum.

Related Topics:
Baptism for the dead - Rebaptism - Endowment - Second Anointing - Anointed Quorum

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Although not publicly acknowledged, Smith had been practicing plural marriage for some time, and in Nauvoo he began to teach other leaders the doctrine. Controversy arose because Smith's counselor in the First Presidency and Mayor, John C. Bennett, was caught in adultery (which Bennett considerd and referred to as "spiritual wifery" or having multiple "spiritual" wives) claiming that Joseph Smith endorsed it and practiced it himself. However, this was inaccurate as the doctrine of plural marriage involved an actual legal marriage whereas Bennett simply seduced the women for sexual favors. Bennett was subsequently expelled from Nauvoo in the summer of 1842 and Smith himself became the city's second mayor. Bennett's fall led to the beginning of Brigham Young's rise among Smith's confidents. In the end, Young proved more loyal than Bennett, helping Smith promote the practice of plural marriage with greater discretion.

Related Topics:
Plural marriage - Spiritual wifery

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In March of 1844, Smith organized council whose members were sworn to secrecy, known as the "Council of the Kingdom" or the "Council of Fifty" (Quinn, p. 120). This council acclaimed Smith as "Prophet, Priest and King" of the "Kingdom" (Quinn, p. 124) ? a practice later immitated by Smith's competing successors Brigham Young and James J. Strang.

Related Topics:
Council of Fifty - Brigham Young - James J. Strang

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Conflicts with neighbors

Whenever Latter Day Saints gathered in numbers, they met with opposition from neighbors who feared that Mormon block-voting would lead to theocracy. (In Nauvoo, Smith was not only President of the Church, he was Mayor, head of the municipal court, and general of the militia.) Non-Mormons in Hancock County, especially in the towns of Warsaw and Carthage, felt threatened by growing Mormon political power.

Related Topics:
Theocracy - Warsaw - Carthage

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Throughout much of the Nauvoo period, officials from Missouri attempted to arrest Joseph Smith Jr., and extradite him on charges relating to the Mormon War. Whenever he was apprehended, Smith would routinely appeal to the Nauvoo Municipal Court, which would issue writs of habeas corpus and force his release. The court regularly did the same whenever non-Mormons tried to arrest Latter Day Saints on any charge, and Illinoians began to consider this a subversion of the judiciary.

Related Topics:
Mormon War - Habeas corpus

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Dissatisfaction with the theocracy also arose from within. In 1844, First Presidency member, William Law — an important merchant and counselor to Smith — broke with the church president over the issue of plural marriage. Law was excommunicated and founded a reformed churched called the True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He also established a newspaper named the Nauvoo Expositor which threatened to expose both the practice of plural marriage and Smith's title of "King" of the Council of Fifty. On June 10, Smith held a meeting of the city council which condemned the Expositor as "a public nuissance" and empowered him to order the press destroyed. (See Nauvoo Expositor for more information on this event.)

Related Topics:
William Law - Plural marriage - True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - Nauvoo Expositor

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The destruction of the press was widely viewed as illegal and unconstitutional and non-Mormons throughout Illinois began to clamor for Smith's arrest. When he submitted to imprisonment in the county seat, Carthage, a mob attacked the jail and assassinated him.

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The "Mormon War in Illinois" and the Mormon Exodus

After Smith's death, the conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons continued and escalated into what was sometimes called the "Mormon War in Illinois." Opponents of the Mormons in Warsaw and Carthage began to agitate for the expulsion of the Latter Day Saints from Illinois. In October of 1844, a great gathering was announced in Warsaw. Although it was purported to be a "wolf hunt," it was known that the "wolves" to be hunted were the Mormons. When Governor Ford became aware of it, he sent militia troops to disperse the gathering. However, as he later recalled:

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:"The malcontents abandoned their design, and all the leaders of it fled to Missouri. The Carthage Greys fled almost in a body, carrying their arms along with them. During our stay in the county the anti-Mormons thronged into the camp and conversed freely with the men, who were fast infected with their prejudices, and it was impossible to get any of the officers to aid in expelling them" (Ford, p. 365).

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Vigilante bands continued to roam the county, forcing Latter Day Saints in outlying areas to abandon their homes and gather to Nauvoo for protection.

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When the Illinois state legislature met in December of 1844, there was great support for the repeal of the Nauvoo Charter. Governor Ford conceded that the charter's privileges had been "much abused" by the Mormons, but he urged that the legislature merely amend the document, saying "I do not see how ten or twelve thousand people can do well in a city without some chartered privileges" (Flanders, p. 324). However, on January 29, 1845, the repeal was overwhelming passed by a vote of 25-14 in the Senate and 75-31 in the House.

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After its disincorporation, Nauvoo was forced to operate extralegally. The forms of civil institutions were eroded or dissolved and the church operated as the government. Brigham Young, who gained control of Nauvoo after a succession crisis, established what were known as "whittling and whistling brigades." These vigilante were made up of Mormon men and boys who "whistled" while "whittling" with large knives that they held close to any non-Mormons who dared enter Nauvoo. According to one witness:

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:"The process of whittling out an officer was as follows: A great tall man by the name of Stout was the captain of the Whittling society, and he had about a dozen assistants. They all had great bowie knives and would get a long piece of pine board and get up close to the officer and pretend to be cutting the pine board, but would cut over it and cut near the officer. In the meantime, small boys would get tin pans, old bells and all sorts of things to make a noise with and surround the officer. No one would touch or say a word to him, but the noise drowned all that he would say" (Hallwas and Launius, pp. 54-55).

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By the end of 1845 it became clear that no peace was possible, and Mormon leaders negotiated a truce so that the Latter Day Saints could prepare to abandon the city. The winter of 1845-46 saw the enormous preparations for the Mormon Exodus across the Great Plains. In early 1846, the majority of the Latter Day Saints emptied the city. After the departure of the Mormons, their great temple stood empty until destroyed by arsonists on November 19, 1848.

Related Topics:
Mormon Exodus - Great Plains

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On April 1, 2004, the Illinois House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution of regret for the forced expulsion of the Mormons from Nauvoo in 1846.

Related Topics:
April 1 - 2004

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Subsequent History

In 1849, Icarians moved in from Icaria, Texas attempting to implement a utopian socialist commune based on the ideals of French philosopher Étienne Cabet.

Related Topics:
Icarian - Icaria, Texas - Utopian socialist - Commune - French - Étienne Cabet

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Emma Hale Smith, Joseph's widow, continued to live in Nauvoo with her family after the departure of the majority of the Latter Day Saints. In 1860, their son, Joseph Smith III claimed to receive a revelation to take his place as Prophet/President of a New Organization of the Latter Day Saint church. He continued to live in Nauvoo, which functioned as headquarters of this church (now known as the Community of Christ) until 1865.

Related Topics:
Emma Hale Smith - Joseph Smith III - Community of Christ

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