Joseph Smith 1844 presidential campaign

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The campaign of Latter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith and his vice presidential running mate, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints First Presidency first counselor Sidney Rigdon, took place in 1844. The United States presidential election of that year was scheduled for November 1 to December 4, but Smith was killed in Carthage, Illinois, on June 27. Smith was the first Latter-day Saint to seek the presidency, and the first American presidential candidate to be assassinated. In 1844, Smith was the mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois, which was then the second most populous city in Illinois with 12,000 residents. Latter Day Saint leaders requested that adherents vote in a bloc behind candidates endorsed by church leaders. As a result, the city's Latter Day Saint residents held the balance of power between the Democrats and Whigs in state elections. Smith also commanded a quasi-public military force, the Nauvoo Legion, that with 2,500 men was almost one-third the size of the U.S. Army...

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