Death of Joseph Smith, Jr.

Joseph Smith, the founder and leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his brother Hyrum Smith were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844. The brothers had been in jail awaiting trial when an armed mob of about 200 men stormed the facility, their faces painted black with wet gunpowder. Hyrum was killed first, having been shot in the face. After emptying the pistol with which he tried to defend himself, Joseph was then shot several times while trying to escape from a second-story window, and fell from the window as he died.

Joseph Smith, as mayor of the town of Nauvoo, Illinois, had ordered the destruction of the facilities producing the Nauvoo Expositor, a newly established newspaper set up by a group of non-Mormons and people who had seceded from the church. The newspaper's first (and only) issue was deeply critical of Smith and other church leaders—reporting that Smith was practicing polygamy and claiming he intended to set himself up as a theocratic king. In response, Smith declared the paper a public nuisance and ordered its press destroyed.

The destruction of the press led to charges of riot against the Smith brothers and other members of the Nauvoo City Council. The brothers voluntarily traveled to the county seat at Carthage and surrendered to the authorities to face the charges. After surrendering, the brothers were also charged with treason against Illinois. The brothers were in the Carthage jail awaiting trial when the mob attacked.

Five men were indicted for the killings, but were acquitted at a jury trial. At the time of his death, Joseph Smith was also running for President of the United States. Smith's death marked a turning point for the church, and since then, members of the Latter Day Saint movement have generally viewed the two men as religious martyrs.

The Mormons began to move into Hancock County in 1839; at the time, most were Democratic. After the Mormons' expulsion from Missouri, Joseph Smith went to Washington, DC and met with President Martin Van Buren, seeking intervention and compensation for lost property. Van Buren said he could do nothing to help. After returning to Illinois, Smith vowed to join the Whig Party. Most of his supporters switched with him, adding political tensions to the social suspicions in which this group were held.

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