Missouri Executive Order 44

Missouri Executive Order 44
Title	Missouri Executive Order 44
Issuer	Governor of Missouri
Othernames	"Extermination Order"
Dateissued	December 27, 1838
Jurisdiction	Missouri
Status	repealed

Missouri Executive Order 44 was an 1838 directive issued by the Governor of Missouri that commanded the expulsion and severe measures against members of the Latter Day Saint movement in Jackson County, Missouri and other counties. The order emerged amid violent confrontations involving settlers, militia units, and followers of Joseph Smith and generated national controversy involving political figures, regional newspapers, and legal actors. It became a focal point in debates over civil liberties, state authority, and the treatment of religious minorities in the antebellum United States.

Background

Tensions leading to the order grew from clashes between settlers in Jackson County, Missouri, Clay County, Missouri, Caldwell County, Missouri, and Daviess County, Missouri and adherents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints led by Joseph Smith. Conflicts like the Battle of Crooked River and incidents at Diahman Mill and Gallatin, Missouri drew militia responses from figures aligned with the Missouri State Guard and local militias organized by county officials. Political actors such as Governor Lilburn Boggs faced pressure from newspapers like the St. Louis Enquirer and the Western Monitor, as well as from politicians in Jefferson City, Missouri and representatives to the United States Congress. National attention from newspapers in New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore exacerbated debates involving leaders of the Democratic Party (United States), regional abolitionists, and proponents of states' rights.

Contents of the Order

The directive asserted that the presence of Latter Day Saint movement adherents constituted a threat to public peace and instructed militia officers and county sheriffs to take action. It authorized the expulsion of Mormons from designated counties and directed officials to treat them as enemies, calling for their removal by force if necessary. The language of the order referenced local incidents and invoked the authority of the Governor of Missouri to quell insurrection and disorder. The text implicated county officials in Jackson County, Missouri, Ray County, Missouri, and Caldwell County, Missouri, and called upon militia leaders linked to the Missouri Volunteer Militia and local sheriff offices to carry out expulsions.

Enforcement and Implementation

Enforcement relied on militia detachments, county sheriffs, and posse comitatus actions coordinated from Independence, Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, and other county seats. Militia captains and officers with ties to families such as the Pettis family and participants in regional militias executed removals, while local courts in Jackson County, Missouri and Clay County, Missouri sometimes issued writs or failed to restrain actions. Agents associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and local civic associations also played peripheral roles in logistics for expelled communities. The expulsions led to forced marches and seizure of Latter Day Saint movement property, with leaders attempting negotiations via envoys to Governor Lilburn Boggs and petitioning for relief in newspapers and appeals to political allies in St. Louis, Missouri.

Immediate Impact and Local Responses

Immediate consequences included mass flight of Latter Day Saint movement members to Illinois, land forfeitures in Jackson County, Missouri, and establishment of refugee settlements around Nauvoo, Illinois and Quincy, Illinois. Local officials in Ray County, Missouri and Daviess County, Missouri reported casualties from skirmishes like the Battle of Crooked River, fueling retaliatory raids and vigilante reprisals. Newspapers in Springfield, Illinois, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati reported outrage and support in varying measures, while political figures such as Thomas Reynolds (governor) and members of the Missouri General Assembly debated militia authority. The expelled communities sought relief through leaders including Brigham Young and Sidney Rigdon, and appealed to national figures and diplomats in Washington, D.C..

Legal Challenges and Judicial Responses

Legal challenges arose as displaced adherents pursued petitions, lawsuits, and appeals to state and federal courts, invoking protections associated with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and habeas corpus principles rooted in earlier cases like Commonwealth v. Rush. Cases involving property restitution and wrongful seizure reached county courts in Jackson County, Missouri and attracted attorneys connected to the American Civil Liberties Union precursors and prominent legal advocates who later participated in national jurisprudence. Decisions by judges in Boone County, Missouri and circuits that included St. Louis, Missouri grappled with the balance between executive emergency powers and individual rights. Subsequent petitions to the United States Supreme Court were discussed in legal commentary and influenced later doctrines concerning religious freedom and state suppression.

Long-term Consequences and Legacy

The order's long-term legacy influenced migration patterns, contributing to the establishment of Nauvoo, Illinois as a major Latter Day Saint movement center and the eventual westward trek to Utah Territory led by Brigham Young. It affected historiography involving scholars at institutions like Brigham Young University, University of Missouri, and Harvard University, and featured in biographies of Joseph Smith and studies by historians such as Juanita Brooks and Fawn M. Brodie. Politically, the episode informed later debates over executive power used by figures like Abraham Lincoln and state responses to sectarian conflict. In modern times, reconciliatory gestures and repudiations by later Missouri administrations, civic organizations in Independence, Missouri, and statements by religious leaders have framed the order as a cautionary case in American legal and religious history. The episode continues to appear in museum exhibits in Independence, scholarship at the Smithsonian Institution, and public discussions involving religious liberty and minority protections.

Category:1838 in Missouri Category:Legal history of the United States Category:Latter Day Saint movement