Began as the 'Mormon Tribune'...
Item # 706962
April 09, 1872
SALT LAKE DAILY TRIBUNE & UTAH MINING GAZETTE, April 9, 1872
* "Expose of Polygamy in Utah" (plural marriages) released
* Woman author Fanny Stenhouse (eyewitness)
* Anti-Mormons - Mormonism - Latter Day Saints
The first 26 issues of this newspaper were titled "Mormon Tribune", following by the "Salt Lake Tribune" then the above title from 1871.
Various news items of the day, mostly from the West.
The front page has a report on the release of Fanny Stenhouse's book "Expose of Polygamy in Utah" under the heading: "Expose Of Polygamy" (see images)
Great to have this article in this publication, the home of the Mormon faith.
Four pages, never bound nor trimmed, a news agent's stamp at the top, very nice condition.
Background: The publication of Fanny Stenhouse’s "Exposé of Polygamy in Utah" in 1872 represented a pivotal moment in American religious and social history, as it provided one of the first credible, insider accounts of the domestic realities of Mormon plural marriage. Unlike the sensationalist "anti-Mormon" pulp fiction of the era, Stenhouse wrote from the perspective of a former high-ranking member—the wife of a prominent missionary and elder—which lent her critique a devastating level of authenticity and moral weight. The book served as a powerful catalyst for the growing anti-polygamy movement in the United States, framing the practice not merely as a theological dispute but as a profound human rights issue that inflicted systematic emotional trauma on women. By humanizing the "victims" of the system, Stenhouse's narrative helped galvanize federal legislative efforts, such as the Poland Act of 1874, and laid the groundwork for her 1874 international bestseller, "Tell It All." Ultimately, her work shifted the national discourse from curiosity to condemnation, playing a significant role in the socio-political pressure that eventually led the LDS Church to formally discontinue the practice of polygamy with the 1890 Manifesto.
* "Expose of Polygamy in Utah" (plural marriages) released
* Woman author Fanny Stenhouse (eyewitness)
* Anti-Mormons - Mormonism - Latter Day Saints
The first 26 issues of this newspaper were titled "Mormon Tribune", following by the "Salt Lake Tribune" then the above title from 1871.
Various news items of the day, mostly from the West.
The front page has a report on the release of Fanny Stenhouse's book "Expose of Polygamy in Utah" under the heading: "Expose Of Polygamy" (see images)
Great to have this article in this publication, the home of the Mormon faith.
Four pages, never bound nor trimmed, a news agent's stamp at the top, very nice condition.
Background: The publication of Fanny Stenhouse’s "Exposé of Polygamy in Utah" in 1872 represented a pivotal moment in American religious and social history, as it provided one of the first credible, insider accounts of the domestic realities of Mormon plural marriage. Unlike the sensationalist "anti-Mormon" pulp fiction of the era, Stenhouse wrote from the perspective of a former high-ranking member—the wife of a prominent missionary and elder—which lent her critique a devastating level of authenticity and moral weight. The book served as a powerful catalyst for the growing anti-polygamy movement in the United States, framing the practice not merely as a theological dispute but as a profound human rights issue that inflicted systematic emotional trauma on women. By humanizing the "victims" of the system, Stenhouse's narrative helped galvanize federal legislative efforts, such as the Poland Act of 1874, and laid the groundwork for her 1874 international bestseller, "Tell It All." Ultimately, her work shifted the national discourse from curiosity to condemnation, playing a significant role in the socio-political pressure that eventually led the LDS Church to formally discontinue the practice of polygamy with the 1890 Manifesto.
Category: The Old West
