Kirtland Safety Society

The Kirtland Safety Society (KSS) was first proposed as a bank in 1836, and eventually organized on January 2, 1837, as a , by leaders and followers of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. According to KSS's 1837 "Articles of Agreement", it was intended to serve the financial needs of the growing Mormon community in Kirtland, Ohio. Its preamble stated it was:

However, by November 1837, KSS failed and its business closed. In the aftermath, Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, was fined for "running an illegal bank," though he was employed as the institution's Cashier. While Smith appealed the fine and made arrangements to have Oliver Granger settle the affairs of the quasi-bank, many bankrupted Mormons left the church because they believed Smith had established the bank in order to enrich himself and the Mormon leadership.

By late 1836 many recent Latter Day Saint converts had gathered in Missouri and Kirtland, Ohio. The city of Kirtland experienced a significant population increase, growing from approximately 1,000 people in 1830 to 3,000 in 1836, with a similar increase in surrounding agricultural areas. The population growth was at least partially responsible for a rapid increase in land prices between 1832 and 1837. The average price per acre of land sold in Kirtland rose from approximately $7 in 1832 to $44 in 1837, only to fall back to $17.50 in 1839. (Ludlow, p. 283) Generalized inflation during the period accounted for between 25 and 40 percent of the price increase. Although the church held considerable real estate, estimated at approximately $60,000 in equity by historian Larry T. Wimmer, it also needed liquidity to repay outstanding loans. The credit needs of the church, growing population and ongoing land transactions required a local bank. Banks in the United States in the period before the Civil War issued and often backed their own currency.

After some discussion by the leadership of the Church, church apostle Orson Hyde went to the Ohio legislature to request a bank charter while Oliver Cowdery went to Philadelphia and acquired plates to print notes for the proposed Kirtland Safety Society bank. On January 2, Hyde returned to Kirtland emptyhanded. He had been unable to persuade any legislator to sponsor a bill giving KSS a bank charter. Church president and founder Joseph Smith attributed the lack of sponsorship to disfavor toward the Mormons.

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