God's Country, Uncle Sam's Land: Faith and Conflict in the American West (review)

Conflicts between the federal government and religious groups outside the mainstream and how those conflicts have uniquely shaped the identity of the American West is Todd Kerstetter's main focus in his new book. As Kerstetter illustrates, this theme runs deep in American history. He specifically argues, "Despite the West's well-deserved reputation for individuality and opportunity, the region has had little room for certain types of dissenters" (p. 12). Indeed the cover illustration, the inferno that engulfed the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, in April 1993 is a vivid example of this conflict and remains one of the more searing images in our nation's recent past.

The first chapter provides an overview of religion's role in the formation of American identity as well as an examination of how religion has shaped the American West from the origins of Pentecostalism to the attraction of unconventional religious groups to the region, such as the Rajneesh in Oregon. Kerstetter places his work in the realm of New Western history drawing from the writings of Patricia Nelson Limerick as well as more general scholarship on religion in America. This chapter acts as a bridge to the three case studies Kerstetter explores: the Mormons—specifically the Utah War of 1857–58, the Wounded Knee Massacre in December of 1890, and the Branch Davidian/BATF siege in the spring of 1993.

The first case study on the Mormons covers familiar ground with regard to the history of the religion's founding and the persecution the group faced as it migrated from Missouri to Illinois and finally Utah. Kerstetter's examination is particularly strong when he couches his analysis against the broader backdrop of American history. The significance of the Mexican-American War in easing the migration of the Mormons to Utah and the explicit emergence of anti-Mormon sentiment at the federal level in 1856 are highlights.

The next chapter focuses on the Ghost Dancer segment of the Lakota Tribe near the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Special attention is paid to the skirmishes between the federal government and the Lakota, culminating in the death of Sitting Bull and the tragedy at Wounded Knee. Kerstetter emphasizes the media's role in fostering white hysteria of Ghost Dancers and their militant beliefs. "The press regarded even traditional dances with suspicion, fearing that the news of the Indian messiah and the Ghost Dance would turn other dances dangerous to whites and spread 'hysteria' among tribes," writes Kerstetter (p. 103).

Finally, the case of the Branch Davidians again emphasizes the role of the media in portraying the sect's leader, Vernon Wayne Howell, later known as David Koresh, as a dangerous cult leader who brainwashed his followers. After the event's outcome, serious questions emerged about the government's handling of the siege. As Kerstetter points out, Waco's newspaper, the Waco Tribune Herald, despite intense vilification of Koresh, opined, "'Rambo-style assaults by enforcement agencies' seriously hurt the government's credibility with law abiding Americans" (p. 162).

Kerstetter too often relies on secondary source material, particularly in the case of the Branch Davidians, where firsthand interviews with survivors and participating federal agents, as well as residents in Waco, would have added much dimension to the book. He instead relies on newspaper articles and previous scholarship to flesh out his analysis. While media analysis is helpful, particularly in the other two case studies in making relevant connections across time, the lack of engagement with primary sources in the case of Davidians is a bit glaring. Overall, however Kerstetter's analysis is tightly argued and would be appropriate for courses that address religion or the history of the American West.