June 19-20, 2009 

Next Meeting:	April 17-18, 2009
	Thomas L. Kane (1822–1883), a crusader for antislavery, women’s rights, and the downtrodden, rose to prominence in his day as the most ardent and persuasive defender of Mormons’ religious liberty. Though not a Mormon, Kane sought to defend the much-reviled group from the “Holy War” waged against them by evangelical America. His courageous personal intervention averted a potentially catastrophic bloody conflict between federal troops and Mormon settlers in the now nearly forgotten Utah War of 1857–58.
Subject: Thomas L. Kane and  the Latter-day Saints.	Speaker:  Matthew J. Grow is assistant professor of history and director of the Center for Communal Studies, University of Southern Indiana.
Orange County	Friday, June 19, 2009  Morris and Dawn Thurston 9752 Crestview Cir., Villa Park, CA 92861 714-974-1878
Los Angeles County	Saturday,June 20, 2009 Russ & Christie Frandsen 4357 Chevy Chase Dr. La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011 (818) 790-5491; rfrandsen@charter.net
Time:	Program: 7:30 PM

 ABOUT THE TOPIC:  

Drawing on extensive, Prof. Matthew J. Grow will tell the full story of Thomas L. Kane’s extraordinary life. Hi will describe his powerful Philadelphia family, his personal life and eccentricities, his reform achievements, his place in Mormon history, and his career as a Civil War general. He will show how Kane and likeminded others fused Democratic Party ideology, anti-evangelicalism, and romanticism. 

"With graceful prose and mastery of the primary sources, Matthew J. Grow illuminates the story of Thomas L. Kane, one of the most complex and intense social reformers to hurdle into the wilderness of the American West. Grow's superb account of Kane's messianic mission to mediate the Utah War of 1857-58 alone warrants acquiring 'Liberty to the Downtrodden.'"—Howard R. Lamar, editor of The New Encyclopedia of the American West 

"Using the vast new trove of Kane materials, Matthew Grow offers a compelling full-length portrait of this entrancing figure."—Richard Lyman Bushman, Columbia University 

“This terrific biography by a talented young scholar reveals a complicated and narcissistic man, whose reformist impulses and personal bravery were tangled with selfishness and hypochondria.  Kane’s obscurity as well as his friendship with the Latter-Day Saints make this a fresh and intriguing story.”—Sarah Barringer Gordon, author of The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth-Century America 

"This is an important book not simply from the perspective of Mormon history but also because it opens to view the extraordinary length and breadth of reform in 19th-century America."—Jan Shipps, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis 

"This is an engrossing tale of an independent nineteenth-century reformer. It places our understanding of the relationship among party politics, reform, and evangelical impulses in a refreshing new light."—Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

NO RECORDING 

To assure an open and frank discussion, we request that our meetings not be recorded. 

SUPPORT FOR THE MILLER ECCLES STUDY GROUP
 

The Miller Eccles Study Group is supported by the donations of those who attend. We suggest a donation of $10 per person. For students and recent graduates, we suggest $5.00 per person. For those for whom these donations are a burden, please contribute what you can. The principal costs are transportation, lodging, and related expenses.

MISSION STATEMENT 

The Miller-Eccles Study Group seeks to encourage LDS gospel scholarship, enlightenment and understanding, with an emphasis in history. To this end, qualified speakers are invited to address the group on related subjects. Our format then allows for the kind of in-depth question and discussion that other local forums and activities are unable to accommodate. We aim to provide opportunities for honest inquiry and expression in an open, accepting environment of good fellowship. In such an atmosphere negativism and destructive criticism do not easily flourish. Instead, the exhilaration, upliftment, and unity amid diversity that the gospel affords can be fostered.

DIRECTORS:

Steve & Daryl Eccles, Russ & Christie Frandsen, Rob Briggs, Lael Littke

Armand & Ruth Mauss, Phil & Marilyn Bradford, Dawn and Morris Thurston

The Miller-Eccles Study Group (Established 1980) A Non-Profit, Tax Exempt Association

DIRECTIONS
 

From the North

• Take 5 Freeway SOUTH
• Exit onto 22 Freeway EAST, Orange
• Take 22 Freeway EAST to Glassell St Exit
• Exit on Glassell St, turn NORTH (left off the freeway exit ramp)
• Take Glassell St NORTH to traffic circle
• Exit the second exit of the traffic circle (Glassell St NORTH)
• Take Glassell St NORTH to Sycamore
• Turn LEFT on Sycamore
• Enter Chapman University Parking Structure (left)
• Refer to Chapman maps for building directions

From Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and West Los Angeles

• Take 405 Freeway SOUTH
• Exit onto 22 Freeway EAST
• Take 22 Freeway EAST to Glassell St Exit
• Exit on Glassell St, turn NORTH (left off the freeway exit ramp)
• Take Glassell St NORTH to traffic circle
• Exit the second exit of the traffic circle (Glassell St NORTH)
• Take Glassell St NORTH to Sycamore
• Turn LEFT on Sycamore
• Enter Chapman University Parking Structure (left)
• Refer to Chapman maps for building directions

From John Wayne/Orange County Airport (SNA)

• Exit airport, turn left on MacArthur Blvd
• Take the 405 Freeway NORTH (stay to the right)
• Exit onto 55 NORTH to Chapman Avenue Orange
• Turn WEST on Chapman Avenue (right off freeway exit ramp)
• Take Chapman Avenue West to traffic circle (Glassell St)
• Exit the first exit of the traffic circle (Glassell St NORTH)
• Take Glassell St North to Sycamore
• Turn LEFT on Sycamore
• Enter the Chapman University Parking Structure (left)
• Refer to Chapman maps for building directions

From the South

• Take 5 Freeway NORTH 
• Exit onto 55 Freeway NORTH
• Take 55 Freeway NORTH to Chapman Avenue Orange
• Turn WEST on Chapman Avenue (right off the freeway exit ramp)
• Take Chapman Avenue WEST to traffic circle (Glassell St)
• Exit the first exit of the traffic circle (Glassell St NORTH)
• Take Glassell St NORTH to Sycamore
• Turn LEFT on Sycamore
• Enter Chapman University Parking Structure (left)
• Refer to Chapman maps for building directions

From the East

• Take 15 Freeway SOUTH
• Exit onto 91 Freeway WEST (Beach Cities)
• Take 91 Freeway WEST to 55 Freeway SOUTH
• Exit onto 55 Freeway SOUTH (left lane exit)
• Take 55 Freeway SOUTH to Chapman Avenue
• Exit onto Chapman Avenue
• Turn WEST on Chapman Avenue (right off the freeway exit ramp)
• Take Chapman Avenue WEST to traffic circle (Glassell St)
• Exit the first exit of the traffic circle (Glassell St NORTH)
• Take Glassell St NORTH to Sycamore
• Turn LEFT on Sycamore
• Enter Chapman University Parking Structure (left)
• Refer to Chapman maps for building directions