Saints and the State

James Simeone is a professor of political science at Illinois Wesleyan University and the author of Democracy and Slavery in Frontier Illinois: The Bottomland Republic.

"Today, searing conflicts over who really belongs in America divide the nation. James Simeone's riveting analysis of the persecution of Mormons in antebellum Illinois details how and why these contests are all too deeply embedded in the dynamics of democratic societies. While struggles over who we are often spur great injustices, Simeone shows how we can draw lessons from them that provide paths to greater understanding, fairness, and civic community." "Thorough and evocative, Simeone's work on the Mormons in Illinois fits into a larger discourse on democracy and nationalism. Simeone provides a crucial context for our understanding of the forces and factors surrounding the role of law and order in frontier life. With his brilliant analysis of the interplay of citizenship and the creation of civic worth, Simeone opens new conversations and complicates old ones, and in the process he also presents a rich tapestry of characters. The Saints and the State is an essential contribution to Illinois history and to anyone interested in the intersection of religion and political power." "While the general contours of this history will not be new to students of the Latter-day Saint past, the explanation of the political forms of the story will provide for most readers a new angle to comprehend it. In that way, the book is a fresh look at events well told. Beyond this contribution, Simeone's book forces us to ask difficult questions that remain relevant in politics today. How do groups become polarized? How can groups improve toleration? When toleration breaks down, how equipped (and willing) is the state to protect and aid minority groups? Is the majority willing to accommodate the minority and on what, and whose, terms? How can we see and understand the civic worth of groups that are different from us? How groups become polarized within the context of the state's capacity and power to act to enforce the law is well illustrated by Simeone's analysis of the history of the Saints' difficulties in Nauvoo. The tension over political machinations, government institutions, and law enforcement in Illinois provides a powerful example to see how the state works and how it can be improved. These are just a few reasons why the Latter-day Saint experience in Nauvoo still has much to teach us." (BYU Studies Quarterly)