Electioneering Missionaries
Keyword(s):
New York
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This chapter describes the electioneering efforts of more than 400 missionaries that Mormon leaders dispatched throughout the United States to campaign for Smith, carrying copies of Smith’s political pamphlet aimed to win political support for their prophet. The experiences of these missionaries varied by location. One large rally led by campaign missionaries in Boston ended with a brawl between hecklers and the police. Other missionaries faced the threat of mob violence in the South because of their distribution of Smith’s pamphlet, which contained calls for the end of slavery. Missionaries in New York City created a campaign newspaper, The Prophet, to help boost Smith’s electoral profile.