The Davenport Conspiracy
This hypothesis served two vital functions for the incoming settlers. Firstly, it fulfilled their desire for an ancestry in the United States, “a desire … [for] a great epical history in this newly adopted homeland” (Sabloff 1973: Vll, Hinsley 1996:184). This would be used to justify their colonization, as it would be seen as returning to their land, despite their varying backgrounds and kaleidoscope of nationalities. In an ironic twist, Hinsley (1996) refers to a quote by Ariel Dorfman, author of “the Lone Ranger’s Last ride”, in the Empire’s Old Clothes which stated “if they’ve [the native peoples] lost their lands it’s because they could not come up with the proper ancestors” (180). This was the belief the Americans in the 19th century wanted to believe, which is paradoxical because it would eventually be irrefutably proven that the Mound Builders were indeed the ancestors of the Native peoples. More importantly, the Americans’ attempt to claim European ancestry to the land, served to act as a “convenient rationale for the ongoing extermination of the Indians of the West” and the taking of land for themselves (Silverberg 1968 and Trigger 1980 in Meltzer 1985:253). Thus, the myth was instrumental in legitimizing such actions for their own advantage.
Also then the Mormons seeking to create a Biblical legacy with which to claim America.