“Come After Us”

This chapter introduces the religious tensions created in Nauvoo, Illinois, by the return of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) to the region in the twentieth century and their historical restoration of the city that was once their headquarters. It places the restoration project, patterned after the historical recreation of Colonial Williamsburg, within the larger trend of memorials that swept across America in the twentieth century. Overviewing other studies, it positions historic Nauvoo as a case study in historical tourism and pilgrimage. Finally, it examines how Mormonism used restored Nauvoo as a staging ground for celebrating American westward expansion to position the faith within a larger national narrative.