Joseph Smith for President

The Prophet, the Assassins, and the Fight for American Religious Freedom

By: Spencer W. McBride

Narrated by: Christopher Grove

By the election year of 1844, Joseph Smith, the controversial founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had amassed a national following of some 25,000 believers. In less than 20 years, Smith had helped transform the American religious landscape and grown his own political power substantially. Unable to garner federal protection, Smith decided to take matters into his own hands, launching his own bid for the presidency. While many scoffed at the notion that Smith could come anywhere close to the White House, others regarded his run - and his religion - as a threat to the stability of the young nation. Hounded by mobs throughout the campaign, Smith was ultimately killed by one - the first presidential candidate to be assassinated.

Though Joseph Smith's run for president is now best remembered for its gruesome end, the renegade campaign was revolutionary. Smith called for the total abolition of slavery, the closure of the country's penitentiaries, and the reestablishment of a national bank to stabilize the economy. But Smith's most important proposal was for an expansion of protections for religious minorities. At a time when the Bill of Rights did not apply to individual states, Smith sought to empower the federal government to protect minorities when states failed to do so.

©2021 Spencer W. McBride (P)2021 Tantor

Wow, I knew little bits and pieces of this story..

This is a great book, if you are like me and want to know more about the whole story of Joseph Smith wanting to run for President of the United States. I knew some of this story from years of Church History class in the Institute program. I always wanted to understand this part of Church History a lot better. The details here are just what I wanted to know. I strongly recommend this book to everyone.

Gripping listen

I was quite familiar with the life story of Joseph Smith, but McBride puts together the political story in a way that brings the entirety of it to life, including both the strengths of Joseph Smith as a leader and his mistakes.

The history is enraging to those that value liberty of conscience. It is an enlightening expose of another way in which the United States of the 19th century failed to live up to its promises. This is in part because the prose is accessible but beautifully structured and the audiobook performance strong.

The thesis of the book is that the experience of Mormons in the 1830s-40s is instructive for how we view the US and its incomplete mission. I find the thesis persuasive and it invites each of us, implicitly, to consider our values and role in the modern age.

Great read

I've always wondered about this subject. Thank you for the time that was out in to make this happen.

American bigotry

Conclusion was excellent and applies to all discrimination. Explains in detail rationale of Joseph Smith’s decision to run for president.

Incredible look at a fascinating time in history

I've read many books about Joseph Smith and early Mormon history, and most of them have spent some time on the presidential campaign. However, there was a tremendous amount of stuff that I didn't know.

This book did a great job at presenting a lot of material in an entertaining way. I'm pretty good at sniffing out an author's bias, and particularly with a book about politics you would expect that to be difficult to conceal entirely. however the author did a great job with this. there were a couple of tips of the hand, especially towards the end, but if you weren't looking for them you'd never notice.

The author did a great job at presenting the material in a fair and scholarly way. I would recommend this book to anybody with an interest in Mormon history, or even early 19th century history. people don't realize that Joseph s sat in the Whitehouse and talked to president Van Buren. he corresponded with great and powerful leaders. he even got a home visit from John Quincy Adams!

two thumbs up from me.