The Nauvoo Expositor was a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois that published only one issue, which was dated June 7, 1844. A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint. There is also a Nauvoo Alabama, and a Nauvoo Pennsylvania Nauvoo ( is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins Year 1844 ( MDCCCXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The Expositor was founded by several disaffected associates of Joseph Smith, Jr., some of whom claimed that Smith had attempted to seduce their wives in the name of plural marriage.

The bulk of the Expositor's single issue was devoted to criticism of Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement and the mayor of Nauvoo. Please see the talk page for this article and the "See also" list before adding content or adding a hyphen to Latter Day Saint A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government After two days of consultation, Smith and the Nauvoo city council voted on June 10, 1844 to declare the paper a public nuisance, and ordered the paper's printing press destroyed. A city council is a form of Local government, usually covering a City or other Urban area, such as a Town. Events 1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem Year 1844 ( MDCCCXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Printing is a process for reproducing text and image typically with ink on Paper using a printing press ^[1] The town marshal carried out the order that evening. Marshal (also sometimes spelled marshall in American English, but not in British English) is a word used in several official titles of various branches ^[2] These actions generated considerable disturbance, and culminated in Smith's assassination by a vigilante group while he was in legal custody and awaiting a trial in nearby Carthage. Preparation for succession See also Succession crisis (Mormonism Joseph's brother Hyrum Smith, the Assistant President of the Church, was Carthage is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States.

The paper's criticism of Smith was focused on three main points: (1) the opinion that Smith had once been a true prophet, but had become a fallen prophet because of his introduction of plural marriage, exaltation and other controversial doctrines; (2) the opinion that as church president and Nauvoo mayor, Smith held too much power and desired to create a theocracy (see also Council of Fifty, Theodemocracy); and (3) the belief that Smith was corrupting young women by forcing, coercing or introducing them to the practice of plural marriage. In Religion, a prophet (or prophetess) is a person who has encountered the Supernatural or the divine and serves as an intermediary Exaltation or Eternal Life is a Belief among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church that mankind can return to live in In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church Theocracy is a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler The Council of Fifty (also known as the Living Constitution, the Kingdom of God, or its name by revelation The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and Theodemocracy is a political system theorized by Joseph Smith Jr

Nauvoo's charter granted the city council powers equal to the Illinois legislature within the jurisdiction of Nauvoo. The Illinois General Assembly is the Legislative branch of the Government of the state of Illinois in the United States, created by the Power was granted to the city council to pass ordinances for the order and welfare of the city. For two days, Smith and the city council debated and discussed the matter. Ultimately, after considering William Blackstone's canon, the council declared the press a nuisance and ordered Smith, as Nauvoo's mayor, to order the city marshall to destroy the paper and the press. Sir William Blackstone (originally pronounced Blexstun ( 10 July 1723 &ndash 14 February 1780) was an English Jurist and The Commentaries on the Laws of England are an influential 18th century treatise on the Common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally ^[2]

Critics regarded the press's destruction as an ethical affront to the freedom of the press. Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life Freedom Constitutional or statutory protections pertaining to freedom of the press However, since the events there has been much discussion as to whether the council's actions were legal insofar as the law would have been contemporarily understood. In any event, whether or not the council's actions were strictly legal, there is general agreement among historians that the press's destruction escalated the continuing conflict between the Mormon community and their critics, leading ultimately to Smith's assassination. TalkMormon#Latter Day Saint vs Latter-day Saint --> Mormon

Contents 1 Origin of the paper and reasons for its destruction 2 Legal opinions and analyses 2.1 Oaks' analysis 3 References 4 External links

Origin of the paper and reasons for its destruction

The Expositor was published by William Law and six associates. William Law (1809–1892 was an important figure in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement, holding a position in the early church's First Presidency under Law had been a former member of the First Presidency and a close associate to Smith. In the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (or the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) was the highest governing body in the Latter Day Saint church During the course of his association with Smith, Law came to believe that Smith had made several proposals to Law's wife Jane, under the premise that Jane Law would enter a polygamous marriage with Smith. The term polygamy (a Greek word meaning "the practice of multiple marriage" is used in related ways in Social anthropology, Sociobiology, and ^[3] Law claimed that when he confronted his wife, she told him that Smith had "asked her to give him half her love; she was at liberty to keep the other half for her husband. " Some historians have also concluded that Smith had also planned to ask Smith's own wife, Emma, to enter a similar polygamous relationship with William Law, but was directed by revelation not to follow through. Emma Hale Smith Bidamon ( 10 July 1804 – 30 April 1879) was married to Joseph Smith Jr ^[4] As a result of what William Law came to believe about Joseph Smith, Law became disaffected with Smith and left the church. See also Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (disambiguation The Church of Christ, later called Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was the The Expositor was planned as an exposé of the church's practices which Law opposed. ^[3]

The Expositor was declared a nuisance in part because it was deemed that if it were not immediately checked, it would inflame either Nauvoo's Mormon citizens or non-Mormon mobs and lead to public disorder or violence such as the Mormons had experienced during the Mormon War in Missouri. In a letter to Governor Thomas Ford written four days after the destruction of the press, Smith described the city council’s opinion of the paper and its authors:

In the investigation it appeared evident to the council that the proprietors were a set of unprincipled men, lawless, debouchees, counterfeiters, Bogus Makers, gamblers, peace disturbers, and that the grand object of said proprietors was to destroy our constitutional rights and chartered privileges; to overthrow all good and wholesome regulations in society; to strengthen themselves against the municipality; to fortify themselves against the church of which I am a member, and destroy all our religious rights and privileges, by libels, slanders, falsehoods, perjury & sticking at no corruption to accomplish their hellish purposes. The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction as prescribed in the Thomas Ford ( December 5, 1800 - November 3, 1850) was a Democrat and Governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846 remembered and that said paper of itself was libelous of the deepest dye, and very injurious as a vehicle of defamation,—tending to corrupt the morals, and disturb the peace, tranquillity and happiness of the whole community, and especially that of Nauvoo. ^[5]

Assuming that the mayor's declaration and order passed the ex post facto legal hurdle, it also needed to meet the Nauvoo Charter's requirement that new ordinances must be published under certain criteria and could only become effective 30 days after the ordinance was passed. This requirement was not met.

Legal opinions and analyses

Apart from its ethical implications, there has been some debate about whether the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor was legal. At the time, the United States Constitution did not prohibit states and local governments from infringing the freedom of the press. The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government Freedom Constitutional or statutory protections pertaining to freedom of the press This First Amendment protection only applied to the federal government until the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was enacted in 1868, and U. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress The federal government of the United States is the central United States Governmental body established by the United States Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment ( Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution is one of the post- Civil War Reconstruction Amendments, first Year 1868 ( MDCCCLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap S. courts did not consistently enforce the First Amendment against states and localities until about 1931. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Thus, whether or not the destruction of the press was legal depends primarily on the laws of the state of Illinois and the Nauvoo Charter. Among the rights enacted in the 1818 Constitution of Illinois were a prohibition against ex post facto laws^[6] and a provision for the freedom of the press. Year 1818 ( MDCCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The Constitution of the State of Illinois is the governing document of the state of Illinois. ^[7] It is clear that the city of Nauvoo's actions against the Expositor violated the Illinois constitution's freedom-of-press provision. This provision read as follows:

"22. The printing presses shall be free to every person, who undertakes to examine the proceedings of the general assembly or of any branch of government; and no law shall ever be made to restrain the right thereof. The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man, and every citizen may freely speak, write, and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty.

"23. In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the official conduct of officers, or of men acting in a public capacity, or where the matter published is proper for public information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence. And in all indictments for libels, the jury shall have the right of determining both the law and the fact, under the direction of the court as in other cases. " (Art. VIII, cl. 22–23).

The destruction may also have violated Illinois' prohibition against ex post facto laws. Even without a specific ordinance, the city of Nauvoo could have tried to rely upon the existing common law doctrines of nuisance and libel, but it is doubtful whether they were applicable. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive Nuisance (through Fr noisance nuisance from Lat nocere to hurt is a Common law Tort. The city might also have acted under the common law doctrine of eminent domain, which allows the government to take private property for public use. Eminent domain ( United States) compulsory purchase ( United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland) resumption/compulsory acquisition Such a taking, however, would have required, under the Illinois "Takings Clause", that the taking be approved by the Illinois general assembly, and that just compensation be given. ^[8]

Oaks' analysis

A detailed legal analysis of the Nauvoo City Council's actions was undertaken by Dallin H. Oaks, then a professor at the University of Chicago Law School. Dallin Harris Oaks (born August 12, 1932) is an American attorney jurist and religious leader The University of Chicago Law School, having recently celebrated its centennial in the 2002-2003 school year has established itself as a high profile part of the University of ^[9] Oaks opined that while the destruction of the Expositor's printing press was legally questionable, under the law of the time the newspaper certainly could have been declared libelous and therefore a public nuisance by the Nauvoo City Council. As a result, Oaks concludes that while under contemporaneous law it would have been legally permissible for city officials to destroy, or "abate," the actual printed newspapers, the destruction of the printing press itself was probably outside of the council's legal authority, and its owners could have sued for damages. ^[10]

References

External links

• Nauvoo Expositor : complete text of the Expositor, with original columns and formatting.
• Nauvoo Charter : from History of the Church, Vol. This article is about a book that chronicles the early history of the LDS Church 4, Ch. 13.
• Illinois Constitution : the full text of the 1818 Illinois Constitution.

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