Cultures in Conflict offers students of history an invaluable source of documents regarding the history of the Mormon presence in Illinois. Few local histories are so academically sound. —Illinois Times

Hallwas and Launius have compiled and written the most balanced and thorough account yet of the events and circumstances that led to the forced Mormon exodus from Nauvoo following the mini civil war that erupted in Illinois during the 1849s

• Contents 
• Preface
• Introduction
• Part I 
• The Coming of the Mormons
• Introduction
• 1. 
• The Lay of the Land
• 2. 
• Mormon Nauvoo
• 3. 
• The Nauvoo City Charter
• 4. 
• Mormon Leaders on the Gathering to Nauvoo
• 5. 
• A Non-Mormon Reminiscence of Nauvoo
• 6. 
• A Minister Criticizes Warsaw and Nauvoo
• 7. 
• Remarks of the Prophet to Saints Newly Arrived from England
• 8. 
• A Western Pennsylvanian Reports on Nauvoo
• 9. 
• Josiah Quincy on Joseph Smith
• 10. 
• An Iowa Sheriff on the Mormons
• 11. 
• Celebrating the Power of Mormon Nauvoo
• 12. 
• Life in Nauvoo from a Non-Mormon Perspective
• 13. 
• The Mormon Leadership on Nauvoo
• Part II 
• The Origins of the Conflict
• Introduction
• 1. 
• A Non-Mormon Report of Mormon Theft
• 2. 
• Oral History Accounts of Mormon Theft
• 3. 
• A Farmer's Wife on Mormon Theft
• 4. 
• An 1840 Assessment of Smith's Political Power
• 5. 
• “Our Position—Again”: An Editorial by Thomas Sharp
• 6. 
• A Brief Historical Sketch of the Anti-Mormon Party
• 7. 
• The Prophet on the Local Political Campaign
• 8. 
• The Prophet and the 1843 Congressional Race
• 9. 
• A Mormon Account of Smith's Missouri Troubles
• 10. 
• The Prophet's Speech on His Arrest and Habeas Corpus
• 11. 
• The State of Warsaw: A Lyceum Speech
• 12. 
• A Neighboring County Becomes Alarmed
• 13. 
• Concerns about Mormon Despotism: An 1844 Historical Account
• Part III 
• The Trouble in Nauvoo
• Introduction
• 1. 
• John C. Bennett's Exposé
• 2. 
• A Young Woman Rejects a Polygamous Relationship
• 3. 
• An Apostle's Wife Recalls Smith, Bennett, and Polygamy
• 4. 
• Polygamy and Politics: A Non-Mormon Response
• 5. 
• The Reformed Mormon Church
• 6. 
• An Exposé Poem on Smith's Polygamy
• 7. 
• The Prophet Denies “Spiritual Wifeism”
• 8. 
• The Nauvoo Expositor
• 9. 
• The Nauvoo City Council Acts against the “Expositor”
• 10. 
• A Dissenter Reports the Destruction of the “Expositor”
• 11. 
• John Taylor Defends the Destruction of the “Expositor”
• 12. 
• The Dissenters Flee to Burlington
• 13. 
• William Law Recalls the “Expositor”Affair
• 14. 
• Willard Richards Pleads for Help
• 15. 
• Isaac and Sarah Scott Comment on the Trouble in Nauvoo
• Part IV 
• The Murders in Carthage
• Introduction
• 1. 
• Fanning Flames
• 2. 
• Mormon Justifications
• 3. 
• The Last Speech of Joseph Smith
• 4. 
• “The Condition of Affairs in Nauvoo Were Very Critical”
• 5. 
• Non-Mormon Preparations
• 6. 
• The Last Letters of the Prophet to His Family
• 7. 
• An Official Explanation of the Trouble in Hancock County
• 8. 
• A Mormon Woman's Reflections on the Smith Murders
• 9. 
• The Official Mormon Rendition of the Murders
• 10. 
• Willard Richards's Eyewitness Account from Carthage Jail
• 11. 
• “Such an Excitement I Never Witnessed in My Life”
• 12. 
• “The Work of Death Has Commenced”
• 13. 
• A Youth's Recollection of the Smith Murders
• 14. 
• “An Authentic Account of the Massacre”
• 15. 
• A View from Warsaw
• 16. 
• A Heroic Poem of the Martyrdom
• Part V 
• The Trial and the Violence
• Introduction
• 1. 
• Thomas Sharp on the Hancock County Conflict
• 2. 
• The Mormons Call for Calmness
• 3. 
• Thomas Ford to the People of Warsaw
• 4. 
• Isaac and Sarah Scott on the Aftermath of the Murders
• 5. 
• John Hay on the Trial of the Smiths' Assassins
• 6. 
• The Anti-Mormons Demand an Investigation
• 7. 
• The Mormon Reaction
• 8. 
• The Repeal of the Nauvoo Charter
• 9. 
• Sheriff Minor Deming and the Resumption of Violence
• 10. 
• The Attack on the Durfee Settlement
• 11. 
• Thomas Sharp on the Killings of Worrell and McBratney
• 12. 
• The Disappearance of Phineas Wilcox
• 13. 
• Jacob Backenstos and his Proclamations
• 14. 
• An Eyewitness Account of the Military Occupation of Carthage
• 15. 
• An Anti-Mormon Plea for Support
• 16. 
• Mason Brayman Assesses the Situation
• Part VI 
• The Exodus and the Battle of Nauvoo
• Introduction
• 1. 
• The Mormons Decide to Leave Illinois
• 2. 
• The Proceedings of the Carthage Convention
• 3. 
• Eliza Snow's Poem “Let Us Go”
• 4. 
• Governor Ford Justifies the Use of Militia
• 5. 
• Continued Conflict in the Mormon Kingdom
• 6. 
• The Completion of the Temple
• 7. 
• A Mormon Interprets the Last Days of Nauvoo
• 8. 
• Brigham Young Describes the Exodus
• 9. 
• Nauvoo in the Spring of 1846
• 10. 
• The Battle of Nauvoo
• 11. 
• The Treaty That Ended the Conflict
• 12. 
• A Nauvoo Resident Who Tried to Stay Neutral
• 13. 
• A Mormon Woman Recalls the Battle of Nauvoo
• 14. 
• The Final Evacuation
• 15. 
• The Empty City
• 16. 
• Governor Ford Gets Reinvolved
• 17. 
• A Tourist Views Hancock County in 1852
• Bibliographic Note
• Index
• About the Authors