BIO

My name is Stephanie Kirk and I am a Criminology major at Florida State University. I am an active member of the Honors College as well as Phi Alpha Delta, and I aspire to be criminal defense lawyer or hopefully join the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Federal Investigation of Polygamous Mormons Under the White Slavery Act

Abstract

With the hopes of describing the history and story of those engaging in polyamory as members of the FLDS, who have been marginalized by society, our research delves into FBI files from the 1930s to 1970s during the period of the federal White Slavery Act of 1910. Our objective aims to uncover various findings of the FBI by decoding reports, letters, and numerous other primary sources. Concurrently, we annotate Excel documents with all of the information we find to construct a timeline tracing the evolution of the group. These FBI files give insight into why some of these individuals involved in the FLDS have been surveilled throughout history and simultaneously provide enlightenment of the contrasting beliefs of members of this polygamous group. Early discoveries in these files consisted of the names of individuals involved in these practices, as well as the revealing of four main leaders in the group. In this presentation, our focus will be on the images and newspapers procured from these files as well as any additional compelling information associated with the FLDS.

Keywords: White Slavery Act