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Book

James Jesse Strang : the rise and fall of Michigan's Mormon king

Author

Don Faber

Call Number

  • H 921 S8962FA (CEN)

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Publication Information

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [2016]

Physical Description

xii, 221 pages, [12] pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Summary

"Few lives experience a meteoric rise and fall like that of James Jesse Strang's. An unsuccessful lawyer from upstate New York, he converted to Mormonism in 1844 and quickly entered the inner circle of the controversial new faith's founder, Joseph Smith Jr. Upon Smith's assassination, Strang sought to be named his successor as leader of the Mormons. Instead, he was excommunicated in 1850, though not before gathering a group of followers, who settled with him on remote Beaver Island in northern Lake Michigan and ordained Strang king of the small enclave. King Strang elicited both ire and stubborn admiration from an ever-growing list of opponents, his actions closely monitored by President Millard Fillmore himself. In 1866, Strang was assassinated, seemingly with the assistance of federal authorities."--Book cover.

Contents

  • James Strang's America
  • Formative years
  • The diary
  • Pivotal meeting : James Strang and Joseph Smith Jr
  • The succession crisis
  • Strang makes his move
  • Arrival on Beaver Island
  • Mormons vs. gentiles
  • Polygamy : Strang's reversal
  • His Majesty, King James
  • The king on trial
  • The honorable James Strang
  • Pine River
  • Assassination
  • Aftermath
  • A man of settled purpose.

Subjects