When the Mormons Rebelled Against America

When the Mormons Rebelled Against America

From American History Hit by History Hit

April 13, 2026 · 41 min · Episode 374

About this episode

The episode discusses the Mormons' journey westward and their conflict with the United States over the Utah Territory.

Driven from the United States, the Mormons journeyed West to build a new society in the desert- one that would challenge the political, economic, and moral norms of the nation they had left behind. But when the United States lay claim to the Utah Territory, a tense standoff developed between the two sides... Our guest today is Prof. Peter Coviello, University of Illinois, who studies American literature and queer theory. His book, Make Yourselves Gods: Mormons and the Unfinished Business of American Secularism was published in 2019 and was a finalist for the John Whitmer Historical Association award for best history book. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe .   All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Guest: Prof. Peter Coviello

Topics covered

  • Mormon history
  • American West
  • religious conflict
  • American secularism
  • literature
  • queer theory

Keywords

  • Mormons
  • Utah Territory
  • American history
  • religion
  • secularism
  • Peter Coviello
  • literature

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Illinois, History Hit, Acast

Books & works: Make Yourselves Gods: Mormons and the Unfinished Business of American Secularism

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