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The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth-Century America
From the Mormon Church's public announcement of its sanction of polygamy in 1852 until its formal decision to abandon the practice in 1890, people on both sides of the "Mormon question" debated central questions of constitutional law. Did principles of religious freedom and local self-government protect Mormons' claim to a distinct, religiously based legal order?...more
Paperback, 337 pages
Published
January 21st 2002
by University of North Carolina Press
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Fascinating stuff, this is. I only rated it 4 stars because it's hard to follow some of the legal jargon, and it left me with a distinctly uncomfortable and hunted feeling. BUT I think it's important for people to know how it all happened, and the changes it made to the way our country views the Constitution. Who knew that a small group of Mormons would change political and legal history to that extent? If you're Mormon, you might not love everything you see in the book, but the author backs...more
Gordon uses the legal and judicial struggle over Mormon polygamy to demonstrate the way a narrowly-interpreted Christian worldview can dictate American legislation. She shows how moral law became intertwined with secular law. The anti-polygamists' fear of spiritual, marital, and political danger on marriage and the State inspired their fight against Mormon plural marriage. Anti-polygamists used popular fiction to sway public opinion against the practice. Interestingly, in these novels, women...more
Brilliant and much needed book on the subject. Gordon explores the constitutional and legislative foundations for current debates over marriage, morality, and law. This book illuminates the events that transpired from the Mormon Church's public announcement of its sanction of polygamy in 1852 until its formal decision to abandon the practice in 1890, people on both sides of the "Mormon Question" debated central questions of constitutional law.
This book is brilliant -- Gordon’s years of study and thought have produced a singular work in legal history. In The Mormon Question, Gordon puts the polygamy debate of the 19th century in context by revealing the progression of statutory and case law that brought the demise of “The Principle.” To accompany each stage of legislation or court case, Gordon highlights debates on both sides of issue, with careful analysis of constitutional questions. She explores congressional debates and court b...more
A fantastic book for anyone interested in either the history of polygamy in America, or the broader history of attempts to regulate marriage. The issues are not only applicable to 19th century Utah, but touch on the fight over gay marriage today.
I'm a practicing Mormon without a legal background. What surprised me was how much the leaders of the church in the 19th century wanted to practice polygamy. I had a hard time understanding all the legal language in the book.
I am a lawyer and this book was very tedious. Dry, dry, dry. Gordon makes a great contribution to the legal/constitutional arguments made by Mormons and antipolygamists and makes a good case for the changing scope of federalism as a result of these cases. Read it for that. Don't read it to actually understand what happened. If you want that look to Carmen Hardy, Van Wagoner, or Kathleen Flake. They do a more thorough job. She pontificates ad nauseum about legal theory which really bogs down the ...more
Gordon deals brilliantly with both the legal and the religious aspects of the 19th-century debate over polygamy. A great read.
Excellent historical account of conflict between Mormons and the federal government by a noted law professor. Gordon gets underneath the surface and provides understanding to the depth and magnitude of the issues, which concern not just polygamy but problems of minority religious groups when then have or appear to have centralized power. It is the threat of such power centers that often drives the conflict.
This book concentrates on the Constitutionality questions of polygamy. I enjoyed the book, but not being a lawyer, it got a bit tedious at times.
Very dry reading, and did not help my paper one bit with worthy information.
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Sally Gordon is a widely recognized scholar and commentator on religion in American public life and the law of church and state. She researches and teaches extensively in American constitutional and legal history, religion and religious experience, and property. Her first book, The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth-Century America (University of North Carolina, 20...more
More about Sarah Barringer Gordon...
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