I understand that religion was a FAR more sensitive issue at the time, but Why was it so bad that the Mormons were basically chased out of the state of Missouri and had to go to the other side of the country to find peace. I feel like the fact that they were claiming to be a new Denomination of Christianity wouldn't make it as scary for the American populous to accept. But then again I know that Joseph Smith basically added an entirely new section to the already agreed upon bible, not to mention that the bible doesn't speak kindly of adding or taking words out of the bible. But what i really want to know, is is there some type of underlying detail about Mormons as people that made them so easy to hate? Did they have obnoxious accents, were they kinda snobby to the rugged Missourians? Is there some type of detail i'm Missing that made them so Hated in early America?
Mormons were not necessarily hated from the outset of early America, of course there was controversy though. To better understand how or why the Mormons were expelled from Missouri, one must place the religion into a historical framework. The Mormon religion arose out of the Second Great Awakening during the early 19th Century. Scholar Whitney R. Cross, The Burned-over District, described a religious excitement that took root in western New York, and coined that geographical area a "burned-over district." This was a special time in American history where new religious communities sprung up, not only the Mormons, but also the Methodists, the Baptists, the Universalists, ect. "All the spiritual experiments of western New York were alike genuine growths, rooted in a heritage of moral intensity and blossoming in the heat of evangelistic fervor." (Cross, 144) Historian Daniel Walker Howe, in What Hath God Wrought, noted a similar trend in early 19th Century America. Mormon historian Richard Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, noted the founding of the church was on April 6, 1830 in western New York. As Cross noted, the Mormons went westward, Bushman mentions this too, as is common knowledge. But, this westward journey was unique because it moved at the apex of this second great awakening, where other religious movements were setting up foundations to spread there faith, Joseph Smith moved westward right after founding the Church, bringing that "burnt over" religious zeal that Cross argued with them.
In brief, the Mormons settled in/around Jackson County, Missouri, but also in Kirkland, Ohio. At first it was political and economic. The population increased, as more Mormon pilgrimages from the Eastern U.S. moved westward into these areas. Political power waned, especially in Missouri, Mormons had the capacity or soon could have the capacity by 1833 to run the local government. Bushman noted the Mormons "tested democracy" wherever they stayed. It pissed off the local people, and they started clashing, which led to Governor Lilburn Boggs's executive order to "exterminate" the Saints and exile them from the state. These perceptions caused the Mormons to be disliked because they came and settled in areas already inhabited by people that really did not want that type change. Yes, polygamy and doctrine did influence the "hate" towards the Mormons, but to a large extent it was rooted in Missouri/Ohio where Mormons dug in and tried to settle. TL;DR of all this: Missourians' don't like change.