What Was the Relationship Between Mormons and the Federal Government in the 19th Century?

LDS Perspective

The relationship between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the federal government of the United States during the 19th century was complex and often marked by deep tension, persecution, and eventual accommodation. The Church’s official Gospel Topics essay on “Peace and Violence among 19th-Century Latter-day Saints” documents that early Latter-day Saints repeatedly sought redress from local, state, and federal authorities for violent persecution, but these appeals largely failed. In Missouri, for instance, Governor Lilburn Boggs issued an “extermination order” in 1838, and federal authorities did not intervene to protect the Saints or prosecute their attackers. This pattern of government inaction or hostility—including the failure to protect Joseph and Hyrum Smith from mob

Historical Perspective

The relationship between Mormons and the federal government during the 19th century evolved from local conflicts into sustained constitutional and territorial crises, ultimately requiring federal military intervention and legislative sanctions to resolve. Initially, tensions remained localized: in Missouri during the 1830s, friction between Mormon settlers and older residents over voting blocs and land speculation culminated in Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issuing Executive Order 44 in 1838, decreeing that Mormons must be "exterminated or driven from the state." Federal authorities declined to intervene in this state-level persecution, establishing a pattern of non-protection that continued when Joseph Smith was murdered by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, in 1844 while under the protection of a