The Mormons - Source related study.

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The Mormons

a) Study Sources A and B. Explain the attitude of most people in the East towards the Mormon practice of polygamy. Use Sources A and B and your own knowledge to explain your answer. (5)

In Source A, the cartoon illustrates the Mormon practice of polygamy in the 1840’s. It is most likely to be a non-Mormon view on polygamy because a Mormon would probably not disrespect their way of life like this. The cartoon shows a lot of women frantically moving around on a bed. It shows that there were a lot of women around but hardly any men, possibly because a lot of women. It shows that the babies and children were left uncared for and ignored and this is possibly what non-Mormons thought the consequences of polygamy would be. The whole cartoon just looks very chaotic and out of control. The cartoon also shows that the man, who is just watching all of the women, shows no interest in any of his wives and pays them no individual attention. This is also what people in the East believed what would happen when polygamy was practised. They thought women would not be cared for and respected in the way that a wife would be treated in a non-Mormon community.

People living in he East of America had trouble accepting the Mormon’s views on polygamy because to them it was unnatural and an absurd idea. People in the East did not practice polygamy so were not used to this kind of practice in religion. Once they heard news of the Mormons now practising polygamy, they were out raged and they thought it was immoral and they felt worried and threatened that it would lead to a rapid increase in Mormon population.

Source B highlights the fact that polygamy in this religion would bring far more followers and supporters than someone who did not practice polygamy. The extract from the Mormon newspaper states that a Mormon with forty wives and four hundred sons could add over three million Saints to God’s kingdom by the age of seventy eight but a non Mormon with one wife and five sons could only produce one hundred and fifty two descendants by that age. This shows that Mormons were very proud of the fact that over time they could produce so many followers by practising polygamy. This was the main reason why non-Mormons felt so threatened by the Mormons because they were increasing rapidly and they thought that they could soon take over America.

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The overall attitude of most people in the East towards the Mormon practice of polygamy was that it was an unnatural practice that would lead to the Mormons gaining more power over the rest of America. They also thought that by having lots of children, it would lead to children and babies being ignored and not cared for properly.

b) Study Source C. If Salt Lake Valley was so ‘desolate’, why did the Mormons settle there? Use your own knowledge to support your answer.

        Despite the opinion of a Mormon woman in Source C who would “rather go ...

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