Speaker 1: They called it the burned Over District. It's a nod
Speaker 1: to a statement by revivalist preacher Charles Grandison Finney, who
Speaker 1: felt that the Hydesville, New York area had been consumed
Speaker 1: by a forest fire of holy fervor. It was a
Speaker 1: condition that left residents hardened to religious authority. When those
Speaker 1: flames died down and the ashes cooled, the ground became
Speaker 1: fertile for new religious beliefs. During the harsh winter of
Speaker 1: eighteen forty seven into eighteen forty eight, for example, the
Speaker 1: Fox family, John, Margaret, and their daughters Kate and Maggie
Speaker 1: moved to an unassuming house there, hoping to find a
Speaker 1: place to live out their days in peace. But peace
Speaker 1: would prove to be elusive. In March of eighteen forty eight,
Speaker 1: wrapping sounds seemed to come from the girl's bedroom. A
Speaker 1: search of the home turned up nothing. On March thirty first,
Speaker 1: Kate imitated the sound by snapping her fingers and clapping
Speaker 1: through a series of questions, requiring the spirit to tell
Speaker 1: twice for yes and once for no. The family learned
Speaker 1: that this ghost was that of a thirty one year
Speaker 1: old man. He had been murdered in their house and
Speaker 1: buried in the cellar. It seemed that Hydesville had a
Speaker 1: haunted house, and through them, America had found a new obsession.
Speaker 1: When Kate and Maggie eventually moved away, the spirit went
Speaker 1: with them, helping them blaze a career that lasted decades.
Speaker 1: Only later did the pair admit that all of it
Speaker 1: had been a hoax. Surprisingly, though their confession did little
Speaker 1: to stem the popularity of spiritualism, that's probably because people
Speaker 1: weren't really looking for a new religious experience. What they'd
Speaker 1: actually been searching for were answers, and knowing the history
Speaker 1: of the American West, that's easy to understand why I'm
Speaker 1: Aaron Mankee and welcome to the Wild West. From its
Speaker 1: very beginnings, the idea of the New World and America's
Speaker 1: westward expansion were closely intertwined with religious conviction. The belief
Speaker 1: that western expansion represented the fulfillment of a divine mission, however,
Speaker 1: known as manifest destiny, did not appear until eighteen forty five. Still,
Speaker 1: its roots can be traced back to Europe and the
Speaker 1: idea that God had appointed English settlers for a special purpose.
Speaker 1: The Spanish and French monarchs, and later the British settlers
Speaker 1: themselves believed their mission was to spread Christianity to America's
Speaker 1: indigenous people. This belief that God had chosen the British
Speaker 1: colonies for an extraordinary destiny received a major overhaul during
Speaker 1: the American Revolution and the creation of the United States
Speaker 1: as a new and unique, independent nation. By seventeen eighty nine,
Speaker 1: Americans considered their new country a blessed entity, charged to
Speaker 1: develop and maintain itself as the beacon of liberty and
Speaker 1: democracy to the entire world. In the decades following the
Speaker 1: American Revolution, the population of the Nited States exploded, and
Speaker 1: with it, American Christianity became a massive enterprise. The number
Speaker 1: of Christian ministers in the country skyrocketed from less than
Speaker 1: two thousand and seventeen seventy five to nearly forty thousand
Speaker 1: in eighteen forty five. Competition between different denominations was fierce,
Speaker 1: with upstarts like the Free Will Baptists nipping at the
Speaker 1: heels of more established groups like the Episcopalians. New movements
Speaker 1: like the Methodists, Baptists and the Mormons shared a common characteristic,
Speaker 1: a tireless work ethic, a drive for expansion, a rejection
Speaker 1: of orthodox beliefs, and styles, and an unyielding zeal for
Speaker 1: religious reconstruction. These changes led to confusion and heated debates
Speaker 1: over the purpose and function of the church, and at
Speaker 1: the same time, a new style of religious leadership, often
Speaker 1: seen as untutored or irregular, started to gain overwhelming success,
Speaker 1: and through it all ministers vied for the role of
Speaker 1: divine spokesperson. Now, it's important to step back and remember
Speaker 1: that the American Revolution and the ideas it propagated had
Speaker 1: sparked a cultural upheaval around the meaning of the word freedom.
Speaker 1: People had been empowered to think for themselves about issues
Speaker 1: of equality, sovereignty, representation, and liberty. As a result, overall
Speaker 1: respect for ideas like authority, tradition, and education started to dwindle.
Speaker 1: The traditional authorities of the church had very few resources
Speaker 1: to hold back the surge of these new movements. By
Speaker 1: the time of Jefferson's election in eighteen hundred, the notion
Speaker 1: of dissent in America had become outdated, as if there
Speaker 1: were still a commonly recognized center against which all new
Speaker 1: or innovative religious movements could be measured. In the midst
Speaker 1: of all of this, one man, Lorenzo Dow emerged as
Speaker 1: a notable example of populist religious fervor, Dow played a
Speaker 1: significant role in the growth of American Methodism. He traveled
Speaker 1: thousands of miles yearly to preach tirelessly at hundreds of meetings,
Speaker 1: and he had a particular disdain for traditional author including clergymen.
Speaker 1: As the country expanded westward, religious life became less centralized
Speaker 1: than in the established East Coast cities. Clerics and pioneer
Speaker 1: rabbis took to the road to serve their scattered congregations.
Speaker 1: In the West, religion took on a unique path compared
Speaker 1: to the East. In the process, churches and synagogues became
Speaker 1: central in forging the social boundaries that Western settlers needed.
Speaker 1: Religious identity became the lens through which most Western settlers
Speaker 1: viewed their world, and regardless of their denomination, clergy were
Speaker 1: among the most highly educated people out there and were
Speaker 1: sought after for everything from spiritual guidance to farming advice.
Speaker 1: But nowhere in the nation did religious fervor and upheaval
Speaker 1: seem as prevalent as in western New York. This was
Speaker 1: the tumultuous religious environment that Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism,
Speaker 1: was born into in eighteen oh five. Now, the Smith
Speaker 1: family of eleven was poor, and years of hardship and
Speaker 1: illness forced them to move from Vermont to New York.
Speaker 1: Along the way, an unscrupulous land agent swindled the family
Speaker 1: out of their property, leaving Smith's parents destitute. In their
Speaker 1: time of need, the devoutly religious Smith family turned toward
Speaker 1: the Church, but Joseph had become disillusioned by the sheer
Speaker 1: number of religions out there, so he started exploring the
Speaker 1: more unusual beliefs at the time, things like folk magic
Speaker 1: and superstition, and looking back, that wasn't surprising. Dreams and
Speaker 1: visions were actually pretty common within the Smith family. Joseph
Speaker 1: even claimed that he could talk to angels. But he
Speaker 1: also began to look outside Christianity at more occult sciences
Speaker 1: to find the religious truth that he was After he
Speaker 1: was so convincing that his family believed his gift would
Speaker 1: lead them to financial security. Instead, the authorities arrested Joseph
Speaker 1: for disturbing the peace. Joseph Smith was just a teen
Speaker 1: when he had his first spiritual vision. It was eighteen twenty,
Speaker 1: and he was struggling to make sense of the way
Speaker 1: the many sects competed against each other, dividing the people
Speaker 1: they converted. He also struggled with what he believed was
Speaker 1: a wickedness within himself. Smith gave various accounts of what
Speaker 1: happened next. In one telling, distressed and convicted of his
Speaker 1: sins and fearing for his soul, he went into the
Speaker 1: woods to pray, and there a pillar of lights appeared,
Speaker 1: and Jesus came and spoke to him and forgave his sins.
Speaker 1: In another version, Joseph said, a darkness surrounded him, and
Speaker 1: he called out to God. A burst of lights appeared,
Speaker 1: and within it stood God the Father and Jesus the Son.
Speaker 1: Smith asked them which church he should join. The two
Speaker 1: divine personages, as he referred to them, forbade him to
Speaker 1: join any existing sect, for not only were they all wrong,
Speaker 1: but they were all corrupt. On the night of September
Speaker 1: twenty first of eighteen twenty three, another personage, this time
Speaker 1: an angel named Moroni, appeared before him with the message
Speaker 1: that God had chosen Smith to translate a book written
Speaker 1: on gold plates that contained his gospel. Smith was warned
Speaker 1: not to use the plates to obtain wealth, though, or
Speaker 1: even show them to anyone or else he would be destroyed.
Speaker 1: Smith claimed that he found the plates in a box
Speaker 1: under a large rock on a hillside near Manchester, New York.
Speaker 1: He wrote that many others wanted the books, but he
Speaker 1: hid them, and once he finished the translations, he returned
Speaker 1: the golden book to the Angel. While the Book of
Speaker 1: Mormon would become the basis of a brand new religious faith,
Speaker 1: it also served as a document of social protest against
Speaker 1: traditional and complacent figures and structures of power. Smith believed
Speaker 1: that the clergymen were the primary source of these sins.
Speaker 1: In his eyes, the Book of Mormon suggested that God
Speaker 1: would restore the ancient order of things and empower the underprivileged.
Speaker 1: Upon the publication of the book, Smith and a small
Speaker 1: group of followers promoted this newfound religion. Drawing from his
Speaker 1: own life experience, He emphasized people's rights to shape their
Speaker 1: own faith and take charge of their religious destiny. His
Speaker 1: earliest disciples were poor, uprooted, unschooled, and unsophisticated people a
Speaker 1: lot like him. The Mormon Church began evangelizing and growing
Speaker 1: rapidly in April of eighteen thirty. The Latter day Saints
Speaker 1: were first organized on the Whitmer farm with approximately fifty attendees. Eventually, though,
Speaker 1: they moved farther west, focusing their operations in Ohio. By
Speaker 1: eighteen thirty seven, they were even expanding into England. The
Speaker 1: Mormons were generally not welcomed by the locals in the
Speaker 1: places that they settled. Most folks didn't share their beliefs
Speaker 1: in communalism and complete submission to the prophet. Then they
Speaker 1: especially did not take the Mormon claims that God had
Speaker 1: consecrated to them the land belonging to their non Mormon neighbors.
Speaker 1: As you might imagine, this tension inevitably led to violence.
Speaker 1: In eighteen thirty eight, Smith and many other Mormons moved
Speaker 1: their home base from Ohio to Missouri, but friction between
Speaker 1: his followers and the locals there persisted, in part because
Speaker 1: the Mormons insisted on settling anywhere they wished, even if
Speaker 1: the land was already owned by someone else. So Smith
Speaker 1: organized a private army of men who ended up in
Speaker 1: an altercation with non Mormons, beating in the skulls of
Speaker 1: nine men. Tensions between Mormons and their neighbors only continued
Speaker 1: to get worse, so bad that the state of Missouri
Speaker 1: issued a warrant for Smith's arrest and the governor issued
Speaker 1: in order that all Mormons must leave the state or
Speaker 1: face consequences. After losing what was called the Mormon War,
Speaker 1: Smith's followers agreed to leave Missouri, eventually settling in Illinois
Speaker 1: in a town they named Navu, which they saw as
Speaker 1: a kind of autonomous theocracy ordained by God. Smith's ever
Speaker 1: changing theology, though included the belief that his followers should
Speaker 1: not be restrained from using acts of violence. Such unorthodox
Speaker 1: ideas couldn't help but lead to conflict at many points,
Speaker 1: which is why, for example, in eighteen forty two, his
Speaker 1: bodyguards attempted to assassinate the governor. In eighteen forty four,
Speaker 1: he unsuccessfully ran for president, and amidst all of these things,
Speaker 1: relations with their non Mormon neighbors and even some dissenting
Speaker 1: Mormon groups once again deteriorated. Tensions reached a boiling point
Speaker 1: that same year when Mormons destroyed the Navu Expositor, which
Speaker 1: had printed stories the Mormons considered unfair persecution. Smith eventually surrendered, though,
Speaker 1: and was taken into custody at the Carthage Jail in
Speaker 1: Illinois A short time later, on June twenty seventh, of
Speaker 1: eighteen forty four, a mob of approximately two hundred men
Speaker 1: barged into that jail and murdered Joseph Smith and his brother.
Speaker 1: Newspapers wrote that the Mormons would soon cease to exist.
Speaker 1: They were wrong about that, though members voted to replace
Speaker 1: Smith with one of his devout followers, a man named
Speaker 1: Brigham Young. After that, Smith's followers moved on, and by
Speaker 1: December of eighteen forty seven, around two thousand of them
Speaker 1: began settling in Salt Lake City, Utah. Within just three years,
Speaker 1: their community reached a population of nearly twelve thousand members,
Speaker 1: and it was here that they sought to establish their
Speaker 1: own recognized territory. Brigham Young did one other significant thing
Speaker 1: early on. He added something called the Oath of Vengeance
Speaker 1: as part of the church's initiation rights translation. The hostilities
Speaker 1: between Mormons and outsiders were about to reach a tipping point.
Speaker 1: Many of the Mormon beliefs created distrust among the other settlers.
Speaker 1: They established the act of lying for the Lord, which
Speaker 1: meant followers could lie to protect each other, and the church.
Speaker 1: Insiders who wanted to leave were reluctant to do so,
Speaker 1: as the land that they bought had been consecrated to
Speaker 1: the church. Private land ownership was prohibited, and stewards of
Speaker 1: the church had that property taken away if they sinned.
Speaker 1: Followers had specific jobs within the communal hive, as they
Speaker 1: called it, from working fields to hunting and gathering. Trade
Speaker 1: outside the community was strongly discouraged. For the most part,
Speaker 1: the Mormons craved isolation. Bigham Young portrayed the United States
Speaker 1: government as an enemy, claiming that they'd had a hand
Speaker 1: in Joseph Smith's death. He also appointed church officials to
Speaker 1: certify elections, attempts from US federal agents to uphold laws
Speaker 1: the Mormons disagreed with or met with threats of violence. Now,
Speaker 1: these actions and beliefs alone might have been the reason
Speaker 1: for the distrust, but it was the Mormons proclivity to
Speaker 1: violence that worried outsiders. The most Young and some other
Speaker 1: church leaders advocated a doctrine referred to as blood atonement,
Speaker 1: which held that certain sins could only be atoned for
Speaker 1: by shedding that sinner's blood. It was only meant to
Speaker 1: apply to Mormons, by the way, but some took it
Speaker 1: as a license for violence toward anyone they felt as
Speaker 1: a threat. So when the gold rush kicked off. It
Speaker 1: brought up a lot of questions about the Mormons relationship
Speaker 1: with the US government. Most outsiders traveling to California needed
Speaker 1: to cross through the Salt Lake area, and for Young
Speaker 1: and his highly indoctrinated followers, this just would not do.
Speaker 1: The culture that Young created led followers to believe that
Speaker 1: they had a religious right to kill criminals and hostile
Speaker 1: outsiders who had harmed or persecuted them to the US government,
Speaker 1: though Young was a religious dictator with a stranglehold on
Speaker 1: his followers. In April of eighteen fifty seven, a group
Speaker 1: of farming families totaling roughly one hundred and thirty five people,
Speaker 1: met in Caravan Springs, Arkansas. The group set out toward California,
Speaker 1: taking their livestock with them. To the Mormons, this was
Speaker 1: considered a hostile force due to an unrelated incident is
Speaker 1: He a popular Mormon apostle named Parley Pratt had recently
Speaker 1: been killed in Arkansas. As a result, Young had declared
Speaker 1: martial law in Utah forbidding any outsider to pass through
Speaker 1: without a permit. Mormon apostle George Smith made the rounds
Speaker 1: to warn others of the impending traveler's arrival and to
Speaker 1: not trade with them, reportedly suggesting that these outsiders' bones
Speaker 1: would make really good fertilizer for their crops. He found
Speaker 1: and the flames even more by telling the local Pyute
Speaker 1: tribe that the US military was following those travelers, planning
Speaker 1: to kill everyone they encountered, and let's just make sure
Speaker 1: that we're clear on this. George Smith and other Mormons
Speaker 1: lied to the Piute, claiming that they were at risk
Speaker 1: of being attacked, putting them on edge and dragging them
Speaker 1: into the upcoming conflict. Unaware of their impending doom, the
Speaker 1: travelers from Arkansas pressed onward. When they reached the area
Speaker 1: of Mountain Meadows, those Pyute, dressed in warpaint were already
Speaker 1: waiting for them. Brigham Young's adoptive son, John Lee, had
Speaker 1: orders to round up other local Native Americans and supply
Speaker 1: them with weapons to help kill the travelers. Apostle George
Speaker 1: Smith also delivered a letter to the native tribes urging
Speaker 1: them that they could either help the Mormons or be
Speaker 1: killed by the US military alongside them. The massacre happened
Speaker 1: just before daybreak. The travelers fought off their attackers as
Speaker 1: best they could and sent a messenger back to get help. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: a more Mormon outrider shot and killed that messenger. Young
Speaker 1: men informed another writer that the Mormons should encourage the
Speaker 1: Native Americans to handle the problem without their interference. Some
Speaker 1: historians believe many Mormons even disguised themselves as Native Americans
Speaker 1: and then joined in on the attack. Surrounded and running
Speaker 1: out of ammunition, the travelers surrendered, but surrender wasn't enough.
Speaker 1: Mormon Major John Higbee ordered his men to kill the survivors.
Speaker 1: The native tribes and the Mormons took to hatchets and knives,
Speaker 1: brutally slaughtering the men and women. Even children were dragged
Speaker 1: from their hiding places and killed. Mormon leader John Lee,
Speaker 1: according to many witnesses, behaved like a demon. In the slaughter.
Speaker 1: Only seventeen people, all children, were left alive and placed
Speaker 1: into Mormon homes. Historians put the final death toll at
Speaker 1: roughly one hundred twenty innocent lives. On the morning of Saturday,
Speaker 1: September twelfth, Lee and other local leaders rode out to
Speaker 1: the field and spent a moment gazing upon the scattered
Speaker 1: bodies of their victims. Then after the dead were thrown
Speaker 1: into ravines and covered with a light layer of dirt.
Speaker 1: The killers gathered together for prayer. They gave thanks to
Speaker 1: God for delivering their enemies into their hands. Using the
Speaker 1: practice of lying for the Lord. They all agreed that
Speaker 1: the blame for the massacre should be shifted away from
Speaker 1: the Mormons, who planned, organized and led it, and the
Speaker 1: lie they spread to say themselves. The Indians, they said,
Speaker 1: did it alone. Every decision has an impact, like ripples
Speaker 1: in a pond. The birth of the United States, for example,
Speaker 1: had far reaching effects, even extending into the religious world.
Speaker 1: It helped create a crisis of authority in religious life
Speaker 1: that called for prophets who could give guidance. New religious
Speaker 1: movements such as the Mormons, the Shakers, and the Oneida
Speaker 1: community emerged as a result, but not all leaders were
Speaker 1: entirely happy with a peaceful existence. Brigham Young, for example,
Speaker 1: waged a decade's long struggle for Mormon autonomy in the
Speaker 1: face of federal sovereignty. He demonized his enemies, employed violent rhetoric,
Speaker 1: and encouraged murder. US President James Buchanan, convinced that Young
Speaker 1: was leading a rebellion against the federal government, even sent
Speaker 1: an army to Utah along with a replacement for Governor.
Speaker 1: Young eventually learned to live with the presence of US
Speaker 1: soldiers and officials, and in other ways, though he defended
Speaker 1: his kingdom with growing desperation for the rest of his life.
Speaker 1: But the most shocking event in Mormon history was the
Speaker 1: Mountain Meadows massacre. Although Young blamed Native Americans for the atrocity,
Speaker 1: the actual evidence suggested otherwise, and despite the perpetrators packed
Speaker 1: to keep their involvement in the massacure a secret, the
Speaker 1: truth eventually came out. In eighteen fifty nine, several US
Speaker 1: government officials were sent to investigate what they thought were
Speaker 1: Indian depredations at the massacre site. Instead, they discovered a
Speaker 1: different story. Entirely, those who died in the initial attack
Speaker 1: had been shot through the skull, and only those who
Speaker 1: surrendered had met a different fate. Native Americans weren't known
Speaker 1: to use guns with any regularity at that time and
Speaker 1: weren't typically such expert marksmen. After noting their findings, these
Speaker 1: investigators collected the bones of thirty four victims and buried
Speaker 1: them in a common grave. Over the remains, they erected
Speaker 1: a monument surmounted by a twelve foot cross. Sometime later,
Speaker 1: when Brigham Young saw the monument, he ordered his men
Speaker 1: to rip it down. As more and more of the
Speaker 1: story was revealed, though, protests spread and outrage grew. The
Speaker 1: tragedy even threatened to put an end to Utah's efforts
Speaker 1: to achieve statehood. Surprisingly, though, when pressure for an investigation
Speaker 1: and punishment arrived, it came from within the faith itself.
Speaker 1: In the end, one man was eventually chosen to pay
Speaker 1: the price for the massacre, Young's adopted son, John Lee.
Speaker 1: He was taken to mountain meadows and killed by firing
Speaker 1: squad guns. God and greed. There are a lot of
Speaker 1: ideas and concepts that found their intersection in the wild West,
Speaker 1: but these were some of the most volatile. I hope
Speaker 1: today's exploration of one violent religious groups clash with the
Speaker 1: world around them helped you see just how difficult it
Speaker 1: was to find peace in an expanding world. But it's
Speaker 1: not the only example of such a challenge. In fact,
Speaker 1: my teammate Ali Stead has one more tale to tell you.
Speaker 1: Stick around after this brief sponsor break to hear all
Speaker 1: about it.
Speaker 2: During the eighteenth century, the United States engaged in a
Speaker 2: fierce conflict known as the Northwest Indian War, lasting from
Speaker 2: seventeen eighty five to seventeen ninety five. It revolved around
Speaker 2: the control of the Northwest Territory, encompassing modern day Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin,
Speaker 2: and parts of Minnesota. George Washington sought US control over
Speaker 2: the region and dispatched the army, but the American forces
Speaker 2: suffered significant defeats, notably the devastating Saint Clair's defeat in
Speaker 2: seventeen ninety one. Undaunted, Washington appointed General mad Anthony Wayne
Speaker 2: to take charge. This time. The US was victorious at
Speaker 2: the Battle of Fallen Timbers in seventeen ninety four, forcing
Speaker 2: local tribes to sign the Treaty of Greenville in seventeen
Speaker 2: ninety five. According to its terms, Native American tribes were
Speaker 2: to relinquish all claims to present day Ohio and parts
Speaker 2: of Indiana, and for their part, the Americans agreed to
Speaker 2: relinquish any claims they had to land north and west
Speaker 2: of the territory that had been the heart of the dispute. However,
Speaker 2: there was a catch. The Native tribes must allow Americans
Speaker 2: to establish trading posts within Native territory. Where one American went,
Speaker 2: others were sure to follow. Plenty of Americans were willing
Speaker 2: to ignore the treaty and infringe on native lands. Hunters
Speaker 2: and fur traders depleted game resources, making it difficult for
Speaker 2: Natives to provide for their families. For the Shawneese, the
Speaker 2: treaties aftermath prompted deep introspection. Some believed that dark powers
Speaker 2: were at play and that the Americans represented evil forces
Speaker 2: disrupting their harmonious way of life. That's when a Native
Speaker 2: American prophet emerged. But he didn't start out with power.
Speaker 2: In fact, he lived in the shadow of his oldest brother, Tacumsa,
Speaker 2: a renowned Shawnee warrior chief, had always been regarded as
Speaker 2: a hero by Americans, particularly during the War of eighteen twelve.
Speaker 2: On the other hand, his younger brother seemed to get
Speaker 2: the short end of the stick at every turn. Born
Speaker 2: in eastern Ohio in seventeen seventy five, lala Itika, whose
Speaker 2: name means the noisemaker, struggled to find his place in
Speaker 2: the family. He didn't excel as a hunter or warrior,
Speaker 2: and had developed a drinking problem in adolescence. But then
Speaker 2: everything changed. One April day in eighteen o five, while
Speaker 2: sitting in his lodge, lighting his pipe, he suddenly collapsed.
Speaker 2: When he regained consciousness, he told those who gathered around
Speaker 2: him that he died and visited heaven. This vision had
Speaker 2: a profound effect on Lalla Witika, and he vowed to
Speaker 2: never drink whiskey again. For months, the visions continued. He
Speaker 2: claimed that the Great Spirit had called on him to
Speaker 2: deliver the Shawnee from their bad habits and promote peace
Speaker 2: with all mankind. In addition to taking on this new
Speaker 2: prophetic role, he also took on a new name, tens Quattaua,
Speaker 2: meaning the open door. Ten's Quattua advocated for a return
Speaker 2: to traditional tribal culture. He emphasized communal living, sharing possessions,
Speaker 2: monogamous marriages, peace among warriors, and respectful treatment of wives
Speaker 2: and children. While guns could still be used in defense,
Speaker 2: hunting was to be done with bow and arrow. Except
Speaker 2: for weapons, all American made items were to be abandoned. Additionally,
Speaker 2: tense Quatauwa taught his followers prayers and rituals that he
Speaker 2: believed would restore the favor of the Master of Life
Speaker 2: upon the Shawnee. He said that his people, the British,
Speaker 2: the French, and the Spanish, were created by the Master
Speaker 2: of life, but Americans who took native land were children
Speaker 2: of the Great Serpent. He deemed those who disagreed with
Speaker 2: his philosophy as misguided, fools or in league with the
Speaker 2: Great Serpent, who spread disorder among the tribes. Those who
Speaker 2: opposed him, particularly among the Lenape tribes, faced grave consequences.
Speaker 2: Tens Quatua examined captives, condemning some and exonerating others. Converted
Speaker 2: Christians were especially at risk, and several individuals were burnt
Speaker 2: at the stake for witchcraft. Moravian missionaries who had connections
Speaker 2: with the l Lennape tribe promptly reported the situation to
Speaker 2: the government. Governor William Henry Harrison challenged tens Quatua, suggesting
Speaker 2: that a true prophet should be able to control the
Speaker 2: movements of celestial bodies, including the Sun and moon. Little
Speaker 2: did Harrison know that his challenge played right into tens
Speaker 2: Quatua's hands. During the spring of eighteen o six, astronomers
Speaker 2: traveled through Indiana and Illinois to study an upcoming solar
Speaker 2: eclipse that was scheduled for June sixteenth. The prophet, keenly
Speaker 2: aware of this celestial event, promised his followers that he
Speaker 2: would darken the sun. On the day of the eclipse,
Speaker 2: the noonday sun faded into an eerie twilight. News of
Speaker 2: the profit's ability to control the sun spread like wildfire.
Speaker 2: Tribes from far and wide flocked to him, seeking conversion
Speaker 2: to his new religion. Shortly afterwards, ten's Quattua and his
Speaker 2: followers moved to a new town called Prophetstown on the
Speaker 2: Tippecanoe River in Indiana, but even here tensions followed. Attacks on
Speaker 2: white settlers in the area increased, forcing Native Americans to
Speaker 2: sign the Treaty of Fort Wayne in eighteen o nine.
Speaker 2: Chief Tecumza emerged as a prominent figure after the treaty,
Speaker 2: traveling extensively and advocating for political and military solutions to
Speaker 2: protect Native American lands. Fights over Native territory continued, and
Speaker 2: Governor Harrison sent forces to Prophetstown. Outnumbered and outgunned, the
Speaker 2: Native tribes were soundly defeated and fled. The Battle of
Speaker 2: Tippecanoe effectively discredited tens Quatua's role as a prophet, while
Speaker 2: his brother became a legend. The remainder of tens Quatawa's
Speaker 2: life was marked by exile, removal and an Inglorious Death
Speaker 2: in Kansas In eighteen thirty six.
Speaker 1: Grimm and Moald Presents The Wild West was executive produced
Speaker 1: by me Aaron Manky and hosted by Aaron Manky and
Speaker 1: Alexandra Stead. Writing for this season was provided by Michelle Mudo,
Speaker 1: with research by Alexandra Steed, Sam Alberty, Cassandra de Alba,
Speaker 1: and Harry Marx. Fact checking was performed by Jamie Vargas,
Speaker 1: with sensitivity reading by Stacy Parshal Jensen. Production assistance was
Speaker 1: provided by Josh Stain, Jesse Funk, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick.
Speaker 1: To learn more about this and other shows from Grim
Speaker 1: and Mild and iHeartRadio, visit Grimandmild dot com