A remarkably misleading summation of the violence leading up to the expulsion of the Mormons from MO.
When I toured the SLC visitor center, the only reason dwelt on by the staff for the Missourians opposition to Mormons was that the Mormons were opposed to slavery.
In actual fact other issues were much more important, with views on slavery being secondary at best.
Gov. Ford (Dem) knew about the mob's intention to kill Joseph (Court affadavits compared to his cowardly liberal lies follow below).
Gov. Ford attended the 1844 Democratic National Convention in Baltimore, Maryland May 27 to 29, 1844.
So in your opinion that Joseph Smith was shot a month after the DNC discussed his candidacy for President was totally unrelated? Ford deliberately reduced the gaurd at the jail and made comments that the mob should take care of the problem.
Unfortunately Dem lies and murders didn't start or end with the Clintons.
Nothing to see here move along.
Ford denied being responsible. However, two men later gave affidavits suggesting Ford knew of the plot and could have approved of it. Dan Jones, a riverboat captian and one of the few eyewitnesses to both sides of the event, repeatedly warned Ford throughout the day of comments he heard from the guards and jailkeepers concerning their plot to assassinate the Mormon leaders. In response, Ford replied, "You are unnecessarily alarmed for your friends safety sir. The people are not that cruel." Irritated by the remark, Jones urged the necessity of placing better men than professed assassins to guard them. He stressed that they [the Smiths] were American citizens surrendered to his [Ford's] pledged honour. When Ford showed little interest in Jone's concerns, Jones commented "[I] had then but one request to make; if you [Ford] left their lives in the hands of those men to be sacrificed, that the Almighty will preserve my life to a proper time and place to testify that you have been timely warned of their danger." Later that day, returning to Nauvoo on horseback, Jones passed Ford's company while it passed by a painted mob ready to enter Carthage to kill the Mormon leaders. Jones records that while the assassination was taking place in Carthage, Ford addressed the citizens of Nauvoo saying that a "severe atonement must be made so prepare your minds for the emergency." The officials of the governor were heard urging him to hasten from there assuring him that the deed (that is the assassination) "was sure of having been accomplished by then." Both Ford's statement and the comments of his supporting officials provide strong evidence of Ford's involvement. [1] He was later claimed to have said, "it's all nonsense; you will have to drive the Mormons out yet." This is exactly what happened. Several residents of Hancock County, and many residents from several surrounding counties, met and decided on a plan of action that later forced the Mormon retreat into Utah, led by Brigham Young, by 1846.
Ford defended his meek actions during the crisis, saying hated minorities are never safe from hostile majorities. He said, "Men engaged in unpopular projects expect more protection from the laws than the laws are able to furnish in the face of popular excitement." He believed that a politicized militia and court system, as well as weak powers granted him by state law, prevented him from doing more to stop the Illinois Mormon War.
Spoken like a true DEM