48. Season IV, Episode II: Joseph Smith for President (Spencer McBride)

This week, we are diving into a critical moment in the history of American politics: the Presidential Election of 1844. Often, when we consider elections, we limit our exploration to the candidates of the two major parties. But what of the other candidates, the third parties, the independents running on their own platform?

So instead of focusing on 1844’s major candidates James K. Polk (Democrat) and Henry Clay (Whig), we’ll focus today on a third candidate in the 1844 race for the presidency: Joseph Smith. As the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Smith’s influence extended across the country in the second quarter of the 19th century. But Smith wanted his influence to go beyond religion. He sought the White House to implement a long list of political ideals, including especially his hope to protect the Mormon community who remained under persecution. His goal would be cut short when in 1844, a mob murdered him, making him the first presidential candidate to be assassinated.

This episode, we follow Joseph Smith’s run for president and explore tremendous shifts in the American religious and political landscape of his time. As our guide, we welcome Dr. Spencer McBride, one of the leading historians on Joseph Smith’s legendary political journey. Dr. McBride has written about the evolving role of religion in American politics for the Washington Post and the Deseret News and authored three books discussing the complicated relationship between religion and the American political landscape. He is also the creator and host of The First Vision: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast.

Guest:

Spencer McBride is a historian, writer, speaker, and podcaster. He is the author of multiple books on religion and American politics. Along with his books, podcasting, and speaking engagements, McBride has written for the Washington Post and the Deseret News.

Spencer McBride is associate managing historian of the Joseph Smith Papers Project and the author of Joseph Smith for President: The Prophet, the Assassins, and the Fight for American Religious Freedom. He has also contributed his expertise to three podcast miniseries produced by the Joseph Smith Papers Project, which he created and hosted. The documentary style podcast miniseries has garnered over 1 million downloads and streams to date.

He is the author of books Joseph Smith for President: The Prophet, the Assassins, and the Fight for American Religious Freedom, Contingent Citizens: Shifting Perceptions of Latter-day Saints in American Political Culture, and Pulpit and Nation: Clergymen and the Politics of Revolutionary America. He is also the creator and host of The First Vision, The Priesthood Restored, and The Nauvoo Temple, three installments of the Joseph Smith Papers Project Podcast.

Follow him on Twitter @spencerwmcbride and check out his website www.spencerwmcbride.com.