Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, circa 16 December 1843–12 February 1844, Thomas Bullock Second Copy
Source Note
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , JS, , and , Memorial, , Hancock Co., IL, to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, [], 21 Dec. 1843; handwriting of ; notation and docket in handwriting of ; seventeen pages; Adams Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA. Transcription from a digital color image obtained from the Massachusetts Historical Society in 2025.
dragging them across the upon their inhospitable shores, where they are tortured, whipped, immured in dungeons and finally hung by the neck without any legal process whatever. We have memoralized the former Executive of this upon these Lawless ourtages committed upon our Citizens but he rendered us no protection. receiving no check in her murderous career continues her depredations. Again and again kidnapping our Citizens and robbing us of our property while others who fortunately survived the executions of her bloody edicts are again and again demanded by the of that on pretence of some crime said to have been committeed by them during the exterminating expedition against our people. As an instance, General Joseph Smith one of your Memoralists has been three times demanded tried and acquitted by the Courts of this upon investigation under writs of once by the Court for the district of , again by the Circuit Court of the State of and lastly by the Municipal Court of the City of when at the same time a had been entered by the Courts of upon all the cases of that against Joseph Smith and others. Thus the said Joseph Smith has been several times tried for the same alleged offence, put in Jeopardy of life and limb contrary to the fifth Article of the Amendments to the— Constitution of these and thus we have been continually harassed and robbed of our money to defray the expences of those vexatious prosecutions And what at the present time seems to be still more alarming is the hostility manifested by some of the authorities and Citizens of this . Conventions have been called Inflamatory speeches made and many unlawful and unconstitutional resolutions adapted to deprive us of our rights our liberties and the peaceable enjoyment of our possessions From the present hostile aspect and from bitter experience in the State of [p. [6]]