The Mountain Meadows Massacre - Research Paper Example

The Mountain Meadows massacre was a microcosm for what was happening in America during this time. Since the time of colonial America, the citizens believed that they had a right to take up arms and take the law into their hands as a protest against unjust conditions. This was known as the “right of the riot” . This belief led to many riots, against negros, Catholics, and anti-abolitionists, as well as riots concerning labor and elections. This was a time of mob rule, where individuals took up arms to put down anybody they did not like, and lax law enforcement enabled this to occur .

It was this mentality that led not only to the massacre itself, but to the persecutions that the Mormons faced that made up the justification for the massacres. In the weeks leading up to the massacre, there were a great deal of events that occurred. On July 24, 1857, the Mormons were celebrating Pioneer Day, with speeches and cannon salutes and “three groans” for the state of Missouri . The “three groans” was a reference to the state of Missouri and how they treated the Mormons – threatening them, subjecting them to rape and beatings, stripping them of their land, imprisoning Smith, and forcing them to leave the state.