Paul Formisano                                                                                                          paf@unm.edu

Department of English                                                                                               505-459-1400

University of New Mexico                                                                                                    

MSC 03 2171

Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001

Exciting the Imagination: Campbell’s Philosophy and the Mormon Overland Experience

While recent scholarship on the history of rhetoric has noted the influence of George Campbell’s Philosophy on Rhetoric on the development of rhetorical theory and instruction during the 18^th and 19^th centuries, such scholarship has yet to consider how Campbell’s rhetorical program, and particularly his emphasis on exciting the imagination, impacts the understanding of place.  As the American West has long captured the attention of the nation’s imaginary, a useful means for examining the region’s development in the 19^th century as facilitated by the writings of countless explorers, pioneers, and boosters who each represented the West within a particular rhetorical paradigm is through a Campbellian lens. 

            For the purposes of this presentation, I will consider how Campbell’s foregrounding of the imagination sheds light on the rhetoric and actions of one unique group who looked to the American West for hope.  Specifically, I will consider the Mormon migration from the Midwest to the Great Salt Lake Valley as captured in the trail journals of four prominent Mormon pioneers.  To understand how the articulation of the Mormon trail experience connects with Campbell’s philosophy, first, I will elucidate Campbell’s view of the imagination, considering both the purpose and effect of its excitation.  Second, I will then consider how the trail journals of Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo and Eliza Snow, and Emmeline Wells follow Campbell’s philosophy to express their expectations for their new home in the West.  By reading the trail journals in light of Campbell’s rhetorical program, I argue that a unique Mormon environmental rhetoric emerges which begins to explain just how this group would shape the region to meet their specific needs.