tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post389307857020043552..comments2024-03-26T11:33:59.219-06:00Comments on Religion in American History: Is Mormon History American History? From the Juvenile InstructorPaul Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-62480031965923733732007-10-31T20:43:00.000-06:002007-10-31T20:43:00.000-06:00Maybe Wilentz overlooking the Utah War is part of ...Maybe Wilentz overlooking the Utah War is part of a larger pattern in which nineteenth-century historians who aren't explicitly historians of the West completely ignore everything that happens between the Mississippi and California? (Well, they don't necessarily *completely* ignore it, but I think there's definitely a feeling that what happens in the east is more important/significant for later events). Just a thought.Rebeccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08912365375190669226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-32467625702630462712007-10-31T13:10:00.000-06:002007-10-31T13:10:00.000-06:00Spencer -- good to hear from you in this venue. I...Spencer -- good to hear from you in this venue. <BR/><BR/>I don't disagree with you. Mormonism (and more particularly, anti-Mormonism) does have a lot to say about American History. The viciousness and pervasiveness of anti-Mormonism speaks volumes about American identity in the 19th century and how closely it was tied into Protestant Christianity. But in the context of Wilentz's rather strict focus on American politics, I don't blame him for ignoring Mormonism (although more on the 1856 Republican platform and the Utah War would have fit in fairly easily).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-85531906312843410012007-10-31T10:46:00.000-06:002007-10-31T10:46:00.000-06:00Spencer: Good to see you briefly retired from your...Spencer: Good to see you briefly retired from your touch football quarterbacking career to comment on this -- feel free to send me something to post on the subjects you're studying, or if not that hope we'll hear from you in the comments section further. Thanks, PaulPaul Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-29856206014168990552007-10-31T09:52:00.000-06:002007-10-31T09:52:00.000-06:00I guess I showed my hand on this one, John, when I...I guess I showed my hand on this one, John, when I titled my dissertation's introduction, "Mormon History as American History." For me, much of Mormonism's significance for the larger narrative is the ways which it provoked such intense hostility. Something that touches such a nerve surely merits some attention. I argue that, given the sheer volume of anti-Mormon writing, historians who ignore the Mormon story miss a critical window on some pretty salient dilemmas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-16070968898098271392007-10-30T15:59:00.000-06:002007-10-30T15:59:00.000-06:00To be fair to Wilentz, I must confess an error in ...To be fair to Wilentz, I must confess an error in my post on his book and allow that Mormonism briefly surfaces again in a second paragraph on the "twin relics of barbarism." However, he doesn't mention the Utah War, which probably deserved at least a word or two in his coverage of the Buchanan presidency. <BR/><BR/>This, however, illustrates the difficulty of the question. How much space should Mormonism (or, specifically, Nauvoo, the Utah War, or the Mountain Meadows Massacre) receive? I can hardly blame Wilentz for instead writing about Dred Scott and Kansas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com