A Study Of The Mormon Church's Indian Policy Under Brigham Young's Superintendence (1851-1857)

In 1830, Mormonism was founded by Joseph Smith in New York. Its formal name is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is the largest indigenous religion in the United States. Although Mormonism's development is still less than two centuries, it has gained a firm foothold in the sectarian American society and had a considerable influence.The thesis briefly narrates basic Mormon religious rules and early development, and then regards the Mormon Church's Indian policy from 1851 to 1857 as a research object. Utah is the stronghold of Mormonism, and the Utah Territory period (1850-1896) is the foundation times. Brigham Young, the second president of the church led the Mormons created this era. As Utah Territory Governor concurrently, he had absolute influence on the church's and legislature's decision-making. 1851-1857, Brigham Young concurrently served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Utah Territory. The implementation of Indian policy during Young's tenure laid the foundation for the church's Indian policy-making.The thesis includes four chapters with additional preface and conclusion.In the preface, the research meaning is firstly introduced and then present research situation is reviewed. On this basis, to continue Mormon research is feasible. Lastly, the basic clue and outline of the paper is introduced in this part.Chapter One is an overview on Mormonism, including the foundation and early development in New York, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois, as well as its special teachings, such as polygamy, and a more detailed description of the Mormons' views on Indians.Chapter Two, the research is focused on the background, content and impact of the Mormon adoption program. Mormons confronted the Indian slave trade soon after their arrival in Utah. Utah Territory Legislature passed the adoption program, which encouraged Mormons to adopt Indians into their families and assimilate them into their culture. But the adopted Indians faced many difficulties in the assimilation process, including the acceptance of the outside world and self-identity recognition. Generally speaking, the assimilation process derived from the adoption program is arduous for Indians.Chapter Three analyzes Walker War, a violent conflict between Mormons and Indians. Through analyzing the causes, process and result of the conflict, some Mormon-Indian contradictions can be revealed. During Walker War, Brigham Young's appeasement policy proved effective, and thus it affected the church's Indian policy-making thereafter.Chapter Four studies Mormon Indian missionary work. Establishing missions among Indians is an important part of Mormon Indian policy. This chapter focuses on the Elk Mountain Mission and Las Vegas Mission, and then discusses the Indian-White contradictions and the secularization of Mormonism. Meanwhile, in order to promote missionary work, the church encouraged Indian-White marriages and Indian farming policy. These policies have been implemented partly, but the actual effect was relatively limited.The concluding chapter evaluates the Mormon Church's Indian policy. It is positive that Indian policy-making of Mormon Church is much more moderate and humane than that of the federal government or Europeans in former times. But it's not proper to think that the church is so progressive that it opposes racial discrimination and slavery in that the essence of Mormon Indian policy is their religious practice and the need of reality.