Skip to main content

Letter from Orson Hyde, 9 June 1844

  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Letter from Orson Hyde, 9 June 1844

Source Note

, Letter, , to “Dear Brethren” [the (including JS)], , Hancock Co., IL, 9 June 1844; handwriting and signatures of ; eight pages; JS Collection, CHL. Included enclosure (not extant); includes address, postal stamps, docket, and notations.
Two bifolia measuring 10 × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). A rectangular and mostly illegible embossment is present in the top left corner of the recto of the first leaf, and faint impressions of the embossment appear on other leaves. Pages 1–3 are ruled with twenty-seven horizontal lines printed in blue ink, pages 4–6 are similarly ruled with approximately twenty-eight lines per page, and page 7 is partially ruled on its right margin. The document was inscribed by first filling one bifolium, paginated 1–3 (with the verso of the second leaf left blank for addressing) and then continuing on to the second bifolium, paginated 4–7. The bifolia were gathered, with the second inside of the first, and then trifolded twice in letter style. The letter also contained a newspaper clipping, which is not extant, from the National Intelligencer. The verso of the second leaf of the outer bifolium, when folded, was addressed, sealed with a red adhesive wafer (which remains on that page), and postmarked. When the letter was opened, a hole was torn in the second leaf of the outer bifolium, resulting in the loss of text on page 3. At one point in time, the document was trifolded for storage; at another, the leaves were fastened together with staples or possibly pins and separated multiple times. The letter also underwent some conservation.
The letter was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. This may be one of two 1844 documents from listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. By 1973 it had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket, its possible listing in the circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  2. “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [4], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  3. See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 9 June 1844, wrote from to the , including JS, in , Illinois, responding to their criticism of his decision to alter JS’s 26 March 1844 memorial to Congress. Under the direction of the Council of Fifty, Hyde had traveled to Washington DC to present copies of JS’s memorial to both houses of Congress and to president , leaving on 4 April and arriving in Washington on 23 April. In part, the memorial requested that JS be granted membership in the United States Army and authorized to raise one hundred thousand volunteers to protect American citizens emigrating to and . In a 25 April letter, Hyde informed the council that he planned to strike out the memorial’s request to make JS a member of the army. On 13 May the council responded to Hyde’s decision with “dis-approbation and indignation,” informing him that “to throw away that one item, is to throw away the whole Memorial.”
answered the council’s reprimand with this letter, indicating that he altered the document after a meeting with Senator , which likely occurred on 24 April. Semple told Hyde that “Mr. Smith could not constitutionally be constituted a member of the Army.” Although article 1, section 8, of the Constitution empowered Congress “to raise and support Armies,” the Constitution did not authorize the House of Representatives or the Senate to appoint military officers. Article 2, section 2, on the other hand, named the president the “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States” and gave him authority, “with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,” to appoint “all other Officers of the United States.” Semple, moreover, viewed himself as a representative of all those living in and expressed concern that the memorial focused too much on JS’s interests: it failed to consider the needs of other religious groups and citizens of Illinois and benefited the alone. Hyde explained to the council that he had acted to protect JS’s reputation, which he believed would have suffered if the unedited memorial had been submitted. He also indicated that he intended to submit the memorial to unaltered.
addressed the letter to , who was a member of the and ’s postmaster, with franking privilege, or the privilege of free mail delivery. It was postmarked 10 June in . Given that Hyde’s previous letters from Washington took approximately two to three weeks to reach Nauvoo, the letter probably arrived, at the earliest, sometime in late June or early July. It is unlikely that JS saw this letter before leaving Nauvoo for , Illinois, on 24 June or before his death there on 27 June 1844.

Footnotes

  1. JS, Journal, 31 Mar. and 4 Apr. 1844; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 21 Mar. 1844; Letter from Orson Hyde, 25 Apr. 1844; Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844; JS, Memorial to the President of the United States of America, 30 Mar. 1844, draft, JS Collection, CHL. Hyde also carried a letter of introduction signed by JS. (Authorization for Orson Hyde, 30 Mar. 1844, draft, JS Collection, CHL.)

  2. Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844; JS, Memorial to the President of the United States of America, 30 Mar. 1844, draft, JS Collection, CHL.

  3. Letter from Orson Hyde, 25 Apr. 1844; see also Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844.

  4. Letter to Orson Hyde and Orson Pratt, 13 May 1844, underlining in original.

  5. Letter from Orson Hyde, 25 Apr. 1844.

  6. Each of the memorial’s five sections focused on JS; two sections discussed the implications of JS’s petition for Congress to appoint him a member of the army. (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 24–26 Mar. 1844.)

  7. Hyde presented the memorial to President Tyler two days later. (Letter from Orson Hyde, 11 June 1844.)

  8. An Act to Reduce into One the Several Acts for Establishing and Regulating the Post Office Department [3 Mar. 1825], Laws and Regulations for the Government of the Post Office Department, p. 16, sec. 27.

    Laws and Regulations for the Government of the Post Office Department. Washington DC: Alexander and Barnard, 1843.

  9. See Historical Introduction to Letter from Orson Hyde, 26 Apr. 1844; Historical Introduction to Letter from Orson Hyde, 30 Apr. 1844.

skill and wisdom could not make “one hair white or black,” how can it be expected that I, with less skill and power, could make an impression upon the same flinty materials!! I do assure you that they are all little Matties in this respect here.
’s decission upon the unconstitutionality of that “one item” influenced my conduct <​me​> to do that which I shall probably never do again; that is, to alter the document. My reasons for doing it were these. As this appointment belongs to the Executive alone, I will erace that item, and let the bill try its luck in Congress: if it shall pass, then I will take that addressed to the executive and get his approval and Signature without that alteration, and thus between the two powers get the entire memorial passed, embracing through the Executive that “one item.” In case the bill should not pass in Congress, I still have the same opportunity to apply to the and get his approval if possible. I have now come here with the memorial to the pres’t. entire, without alteration, and shall probably present it tomorrow. The truth of the matter was, I wanted to save the knowledge of our prophet from being impeached by Congress, by his asking a thing not constitutional, and as it was the universal opinion of all with whom I conversed that the <​bill​> would not, nor could not pass any how, I thought there could be nothing lost by eracing that part, and there might be something saved. The bill has been rejected in both houses, and now I am prepared to go to the which will be tomorrow, and when [p. 4]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Orson Hyde, 9 June 1844
ID #
1386
Total Pages
8
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Orson Hyde

Footnotes

  1. See Matthew 5:36. This was also a common phrase of the time. (See, for example, M. L. Gardner, “A Sketch,” Voice of Freedom [Brandon, VT], 30 May 1844, 196; and Editorial, Louisville [KY] Daily Journal, 6 Jan. 1831, [2].)

    Voice of Freedom. Brandon, VT. 1839–1848.

    Louisville Daily Journal. Louisville, KY. 1830–1868.

  2. Hyde was likely alluding to Van Buren’s meeting with JS and Elias Higbee in 1839, during which he declared himself unable to assist the Saints: “What can I do? I can do nothing for you.” Van Buren, a staunch supporter of states’ rights, worried that any intervention on his part would pit his executive authority against the state of Missouri. During his visit to Washington DC, Hyde encountered a similar unwillingness among congressmen to employ federal power in behalf of the Saints. (Letter to Hyrum Smith and Nauvoo High Council, 5 Dec. 1839; Silbey, Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics, chaps. 3–4; see also Howe, What Hath God Wrought, 441–445.)

    Silbey, Joel H. Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002.

    Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848. The Oxford History of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

  3. Letter to Orson Hyde and Orson Pratt, 13 May 1844.

  4. U.S. Constitution, art. 2, sec. 2. Andrew Jackson’s and Van Buren’s administrations had nominated Americans to serve under various military appointments. This practice was discontinued in the early 1840s but resumed during James K. Polk’s administration. (Skelton, American Profession of Arms, 142–145.)

    Skelton, William B. An American Profession of Arms: The Army Officer Corps, 1784–1861. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1992.

  5. Hyde recounted his visit with United States president John Tyler in an 11 June letter to the Council of Fifty. (Letter from Orson Hyde, 11 June 1844.)

  6. Senator Semple presented a copy of the memorial to the Senate on 6 May 1844, after which it was “referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.” Representative John Wentworth of Illinois submitted the memorial to the House of Representatives on 25 May 1844; however, an objection from Representative Joseph R. Ingersoll of Pennsylvania prevented the memorial from being read in full to House members. (Congressional Globe, 28th Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 575, 624 [1844]; Letter from John Wentworth, 25 May 1844.)

    The Congressional Globe, Containing Sketches of the Debates and Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth Congress. Vol. 8. Washington DC: Blair and Rives, 1840.

Go to page