The election of Reed Smoot, a Mormon apostle, to the American Senate in 1903 has been hailed as a watershed in America's religious history. The ensuing four years of congressional hearings and journalist coverage sparked a national fascination with whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had truly forfeited its polygamous ways and, if so, whether the American nation was willing to accept them as one of their own.

This new collection of essays, edited by two Smoot experts, adds many details and contexts to this important episode. Though the introduction rightly notes that none of the chapters radically challenge existing literature—and, indeed, mostly “build[s] on” the work of previous scholars like Kathleen Flake (16)—there is plenty provocative detail. The volume is split into two parts, one focused on the national context and the other the personal. A useful introduction provides a rigorous theoretical discussion on what the topic tells us about “American secularism,” summarizes broader historiographical issues, and includes useful summaries of each chapter.

While each chapter contains provocative material, a few deserve special attention. Byron and Kathryn Daynes’ work on the anti-polygamy crusades during the surrounding decades provocatively places the Smoot debate within the larger context of politics over marriage and women's rights, and Kenneth Cannon's ably demonstrates that opposition to Mormonism did not fully—or even substantially—disappear after Smoot's victory. In Part II, Kathryn Smoot Egan, granddaughter of Reed and Allie Smoot, dissects the letters between her ancestors to tease out the practical ramifications of the national trial on their domestic life, and Gary Bergera's examination of Smoot's personal assistant uncovers the important perspective of young, culturally assimilated Mormons who were offended by the whole ordeal.

Scholars of Mormon history will especially appreciate an appendix at the end, compiled by D. Michael Quinn, documenting 290 polygamous unions that took place between 1890 and 1907. Quinn, one of the preeminent historians of Mormon post-manifesto polygamy, passed away the same year this book appeared, making this one of his final historiographical contributions after a remarkable career.