The Politics of American Religious Identity: The Seating of Senator Reed Smoot, Mormon Apostle [Paperback]

Kathleen Flake (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 3, 2003

Between 1901 and 1907, a broad coalition of Protestant churches sought to expel newly elected Reed Smoot from the Senate, arguing that as an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Smoot was a lawbreaker and therefore unfit to be a lawmaker. The resulting Senate investigative hearing featured testimony on every peculiarity of Mormonism, especially its polygamous family structure. The Smoot hearing ultimately mediated a compromise between Progressive Era Protestantism and Mormonism and resolved the nation's long-standing "Mormon Problem." On a broader scale, Kathleen Flake shows how this landmark hearing provided the occasion for the country--through its elected representatives, the daily press, citizen petitions, and social reform activism--to reconsider the scope of religious free exercise in the new century.

Flake contends that the Smoot hearing was the forge in which the Latter-day Saints, the Protestants, and the Senate hammered out a model for church-state relations, shaping for a new generation of non-Protestant and non-Christian Americans what it meant to be free and religious. In addition, she discusses the Latter-day Saints' use of narrative and collective memory to retain their religious identity even as they changed to meet the nation's demands.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This outstanding historical study focuses on the national outrage a century ago when Reed Smoot, an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was elected to serve as a Senator from Utah. Millions of Americans signed petitions urging the Senate to unseat Smoot, who endured several years of hearings to determine his status. Although he was not a polygamist, his opponents claimed that his alliance with the Mormon hierarchy would prevent him from being a faithful and patriotic Senator. Flake, a lawyer and professor of American religious history at Vanderbilt Divinity School, draws upon her legal expertise to help readers understand the trial testimony. She discusses the practice of Mormon polygamy, which had been officially abandoned in 1890 but was secretly continued by some church leaders, who persisted in taking multiple wives. Because of the scrutiny and public uproar when this fact became public knowledge during the Smoot hearings, the Church was forced to take more decisive action against polygamy in 1904. The Mormons' sudden sacrifice of their defining ideals raised an urgent question: how could they retain their distinctiveness when polygamy and theocracy, their two most singular features in the 19th century, were removed? In a particularly brilliant chapter, Flake traces the rise of Mormon restorationist impulses in the early 20th century—the period during and just after the Smoot hearings. A new emphasis on founding prophet Joseph Smith and his "First Vision" allowed Mormons to remain theologically unique while making themselves politically non-threatening.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Flake tells a little-known yet very important story about the development of American pluralism. . . . [Smoot] deserves national affection, as the central figure in a key incident in the growth of religious tolerance in the United States."
-National Review

"[Flake] tells the story of Smoot and the anti-Mormon prejudice he faced in a style that is straightforward, unadorned, and inviting. Her book is a balanced and readable rendition of an important and sometimes neglected chapter in Utah and American history."
-Salt Lake Tribune

"[An] outstanding historical study. . . . [Flake] draws upon her legal expertise to help readers understand the [Smoot] trial testimony. . . . In a particularly brilliant chapter, Flake traces the rise of Mormon restorationist impulses in the early 20th century."
-Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Serious students of Mormon history should read and emulate Flake's placement of Mormon history in a larger context of the American experience."
-Utah Historical Quarterly

"[This] sharp, short book not only reinterprets the transition [to modernity] but also suggests a general proposition about religious and political authority in modern America. The Politics of American Religious Identity will have a wide readership."
-Journal of American History

"Flake's excellent monograph illustrates the significance of religion in the Progressive Era and brilliantly puts it into context by linking it to critical themes. . . . Flake deserves high praise for assembling a creative, insightful project supported by thorough, balanced research and for using her legal background to craft a clear discussion of complex events."
-BYU Studies

"Flake knows the power of narrative. She is steeped in the practice of law and in the study of constitutional history, religion, feminist theory, ritual, and identity formation. No more sophisticated mind has turned its attention to the history of the Latter-day Saints."
-American Historical Review

"The first book-length account of the trial . . . an important study--wide-ranging, deeply researched, and full of insight."
-Western Historical Quarterly

"This highly informative and enjoyable book may appeal equally to both scholars and readers interested in American political or religious history in general and Mormon studies in particular."
-Nova Religio

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (December 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807855014
• ISBN-13: 978-0807855010
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #406,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful look at the church in transition September 29, 2005

By Eric Bekins

Format:Paperback

I've grown up in the LDS church, served a mission, am married in the temple, but I never really knew much about church history past 1847 and the arrival of the saints in the Salt Lake valley. I've started to become more interested in how the isolated Rocky Mountain church has grown into the worldwide organization that it is. At the same time, I'm also interested in politics, having studied law. This book was a real eye-opener for me. I found the explanation about the church deciding to reach back east across the Rockies to find acceptance to be very interesting. I also learned a great deal about Joseph F. Smith. He realized that the controversy surrounding polygamy was so great that it was taking away from the mission of the church to continue to proselytise and grow the kingdom.

It was also interesting to see how members of the United States Senate were actually arguing that Mormons didn't deserve the basic rights of citizenship that we take for granted today. Even in today's heightened sensitivity to different religions of the world, I don't think anyone would suggest that non-Christians duly elected to public office should not be seated in the office to which they were elected. Yet many believed that Reed Smoot should have been ineligible to serve because he was Mormon. Ultimately he was seated due more to political pragmatism rather than because of a true belief in the First Amendment.

Kathleen Flake does an excellent job of presenting all sides of the issues, and provides a large amount of sources in the endnotes. I would definitely recommend this book to all members of the LDS church to help understand how today's worldwide church grew from that small group of "peculiar people" in 19th century Utah.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost perfect May 5, 2005

By I am the

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a superbly written book, and one of the few works of professional, objective history that examines 20th century Mormonism. Flake's central thesis is that pressure from the US Government in the form of the Smoot hearings forced the church to abandon polygamy once and for all. Faced with the loss of its most cogent identity marker, the Mormon hierarchy needed to find a way for the Latter-day Saints to distinguish themselves from other denominations. They did so by emphasizing the restoration message contained within Joseph Smith's 1838 account of his first vision. By pointing to the vision's statement that Mormonism was a unique restoration of primitive Christianity, the Saints were able to set aside the practice that had made them unique up to that point: polygamy. Flake's arguments are basically sound, but somewhat overstated. For instance, the first vision had been used for this purpose since at least the 1880s, and she selectively sorts through the existing scholarship on the vision to skirt this fact. She also places too much emphasis on the symbolic importance of the centennial of Joseph Smith's birth and the monument that commemorates it. Nevertheless, this book easily joins the pantheon of "must read" books in Mormon history, and no student of the early 20th century church can fail to grapple with Flake's conclusions. An excellent and highly recommended work.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars We still have a need to shed our religious bigotry July 6, 2007

By Michael Day

Format:Paperback

This is an excellent book by an expert historian on the events that began the integration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into American life. Kathleen Flake discusses in detail the three-year-long hearings to determine if Senator and LDS Apostle Reed Smoot should retain his senate seat.

This book is not only about Reed Smoot, but also about then Church President and Prophet Joseph F. Smith. Perhaps Smith is the most interesting person in the book. His 5-day testimony before the Senate committee shows the quandary of demonstrating that the church was no longer teaching polygamy without alienating church members who were then praciticing that doctrine, which many believed to be the crowning revelation of church founder Joseph Smith, Jr. Perhaps today's faithful may be surprised that the LDS presidency and quorum of the twelve performed plural marriages after the 1890 Manifesto. (An apologetic treatment of this era is located on the FAIR LDS web site under the title "Polygamy, Prophets, and Prevarication.") Despite his careful statements as a witness (to the point of deception), Smith satisfies no one: not the senate, not the American public, and not the Church membership.

The 1900-era LDS church is also an interesting element in this book. The tension between the pioneer generations and their offspring over polygamy and the 1890 Manifesto fits the enduring theme of generational conflict, but also the ability of the LDS church to evolve in response to changing societal conditions.

Joseph F. Smith ultimately led the church through the transition away from polygamy and into American Life by focusing on the First Vision of the church's founder, the Prophet Joseph (who was Joseph F. Smith's Uncle.) To understand why this was effective you will have to read the book. Flake's discussion of Joseph F. Smith's eventual success in this regard is insightful and was a new wrinkle to me. Not only did Joseph F. Smith lead the church away from polygamy but he also revitalized the church's European missions, changed the policy of the "gathering to Zion" into one of building an international church; and encouraged church members to reject their isolationism and engage with their fellow Americans. Joseph F. Smith's support of Smoot's senatorial service while Smoot retained his role as Apostle proves to be a stroke of genius and ranks as perhaps Joseph F. Smith's most daring and visionary act as the President of the LDS church.

Reed Smoot is shown to be a remarkable individual. His senate career was almost 30 years long and in that time he became one of the most powerful senators and an adviser to three presidents, all the while serving in the highest quorum of the LDS church. I would have welcomed more biographical information about Smoot. Indeed this is the one shortcoming of the book.

With regard to religious bigotry in America, this book is poignant. With the candidacy of Mitt Romney, a faithful Mormon, we see the same accusations that were raised 100 years ago against Smoot: Questions of allegiance to the United States, dark implications about sacred LDS temple ordinances, suggestions that the LDS church is a subversive organization that aims to undermine the U.S. government.

It is not surprising that these repeatedly discredited accusations are once again being made by Protestant Churches and individuals. Flake shows that the Smoot Hearings were initiated, articulated, and sponsored by the Protestant churches and leading ministers of the day. Such is the state we once again find ourselves in 2007.

The drive to unseat Smoot ultimately failed for a number of reasons, including a natural inclination of Americans to allow freedom of religion, a movement away from Polygamy by the LDS church (after which the accusations against Smoot changed to questioning his loyalty to the nation), and also by Smoot's engaging personality and exemplary service as a senator.

I would like to believe we have come a long way as a tolerant nation in the past 100 years. However, it appears that we have not.