User:Klarsen/work in process/Carnegie Hall

References and Source Text

From City Saints; p.32 As the First World War ravaged Europe, there were many anti-Mormon activists attacking the Church. Perhaps the most notorious was former Senator Frank J. Cannon, a disenchanted member of the Church and the son of George Q. Cannon (a member of the Church’s First Presidency).

In April 1914, Frank Cannon chose New York City to launch a national crusade against the Mormons. In a ticket-only rally held at Carnegie Hall, roughly 1,000 people met to hear his strategy to curb growth of the Mormon Church. Nationally, Cannon demanded that President Woodrow Wilson not appoint Mormons to political office. He also asked Congress to amend the Constitution to prohibit polygamy; denounced the president of the Mormon Church, Joseph F. Smith, as a polygamist; and accused the Church of befriending 22 senators in order to gain political clout.

Locally, Cannon demanded a New York City law banning Mormon missionaries from holding street meetings, and barring the Church from ever owning a chapel on city grounds.

After two hours Cannon put his measures up for a theatrical vote that was overwhelmingly in favor of his demands. Immediately afterward, a small group of Mormon men rushed the stage, including Walter P. Monson, President of the Eastern States Mission, calling Cannon a “liar” and an “ingrate.” The New York Times reported, “for a time it appeared likely that blows would be struck, and that Frank J. Cannon of Utah, formerly U.S. Senator and once a Mormon, would get the brunt of the attack. Women and clergymen crowded about the Senator and shielded him while he shouted stinging rebukes to his attackers.”

Cannon returned to New York eight months later with news that “the Mormon Church is prepared to build a tabernacle in this city . . . The Mormons are all ready to make a determined effort here, and Mormonism will be exerting its political influence in New York before you know it.”

Sources to Review

Cannon, Frank J. "Under the Prophet in Utah" <No relevant information -- provides background on Cannon's views only>

Garr, Arnold K., "Answering the Anti-Mormon Magazine Crusade" in Theodore Roosevelt and the Latter-day Saints, in Out of Obscurity: The LDS Church in the Twentieth Century - The 29th Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 2000) pp 134-137.

Larsen, Kent S., The Life of Thomas Kearns (New York: Latter-day Renaissance, 2005).

CANNON EXCOMMUNICATED; New York Times; Mar 15, 1905 [Weber Stake High Council takes action on 14 March 1905, based on articles he wrote. Cannon claimed he should be permitted to prove truth of articles, but High Council declined to allow it.]

MOTHERS DENOUCE SMOOT; New York Times; Mar 18, 1905 [In middle of Smoot hearings, Mother's Congress demands Smoot's expulsion.]

CALLS SENATOR CANNON HERO; New York Times; Sep 20, 1905 [Speaker at National Mothers Conference hails Cannon for anti-Polygamy stance.]

"UTAH IN HER CHAINS" New York Times; Dec 17, 1911 [Review of Cannon's "Under the Prophet in Utah"]

APPROVE ANTI-MORMON FIGHT; New York Times; Jan 7, 1912 [Cardinal Gibbons (archbishop of Baltimore)and Princess Elizabeth of Schaumburg-Lippe support aims of Council of Women's Jan 10th meeting]

WOULD SUE MORMONS UNDER SHERMAN ACT; New York Times; Jan 11, 1912 [Mass Meeting sponsored by Interdenominational Council of Women for Christian and Patriotic Service calls for elimination of plural marriage.]

MORMONS BREAK UP ENEMIES' MEETING New York Times; Apr 24, 1914; pg. 14, 1 [Includes description of exactly what happened during the meeting]

MORMONS TO BUILD TABERNACLE HERE New York Times; Dec 14, 1914; pg. 1, 1 [Plan to build chapel in New York City called invasion by Cannon.]

NO MORMON "INVASION." by WALTER P. MONSON.; New York Times; Dec 20, 1914; pg. C2, 1 [Letter to Editor by Monson, Eastern States Mission President, on Cannon's opposition to LDS constructed meetinghouse in NYC]

HARVEY O'HIGGINS, AUTHOR, IS DEAD; New York Times; Mar 1, 1929 [Obituary of Cannon's co-author for "Under the Prophet in Utah"]

Obituaries; New York Times; Jul 27, 1933 [Cannon's Obituary]