Since the beginning of modern American history, scholars have debated whether politics, economics, morality, or religious intolerance motivated the attack of the 19th century against the Mormon Church. Overall, this seems to point to one conclusion: all of these sects were motivated by an anti-Mormonism movement. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In Hocker and Wilmot's second chapter, they discuss the common misconception regarding negative views of conflict: "Anger is the only emotion in conflict interaction." .. the main emotion associated with conflict is anger or hostility. Instead, many emotions accompany conflict... Yet people often experience loneliness, sadness, anxiety, disappointment, and resentment, to name a few other feelings. This feeling of disappointment and sadness is a recurring theme in the Mormon polygamy dispute in Utah. At the most fundamental level, this moral outrage over the practice of polygamy is at its root. Most 19th-century Americans, especially Protestants, believed that plural marriage undermined the foundations of American Christian civilization. Sentimental Protestant novelists launched the attack on Mormonism while raising awareness in American society. These writers conditioned the popular mind to link polygamy to slavery and polygamous patriarchs to Southern slave owners. Their opinions led Republicans to denounce slavery and polygamy as relics of barbarism. Influenced by novelists and their followers, until the late 1880s, most Americans perceived Mormon women as helpless slaves, incapable of freeing themselves from the bondage of randy patriarchs. Furthermore, they believed that Mormon patriarchs held the entire society in their thrall, in part by keeping the population ignorant by opposing public education. Building on these beliefs, politicians like George Edmunds launched a legal attack. Congress passed a series of laws; courts began to incarcerate polygamous men. This still happens today and is actually what ultimately happened to Tom Green; the main character and Mormon fundamentalist in the documentary One Man, Three Women and Twenty-Nine Children. Historically, specifically in the 1880s, anti-Mormons became convinced that women supported the system. Congress then turned against women by creating the Edmunds-Tucker Act. This law disenfranchises Utah women, disinherits their children, and forces them to testify against their husbands. Attacking the economic power of the LDS Church and the alleged ignorance of the people of Utah, the act also escheated church property for the benefit of territorial schools. With the notable exception of the role played by female novelists, historians know much of the basic history. George Edmunds and his colleagues turned to their understanding of state laws to create “a national law on religion, marriage, and economic structure…based on the shared wisdom of the states.” This legislation demolished the bonds between faith, marriage, and property that protected polygamous families. In essence, Congress and the Supreme Court revised American constitutional law by relying "on state law to create a national vision, imposing on Utah many of the same rules and structures that they claimed guaranteed the development of..