Extra Stuff About The Believer

How did I create New America?

On the LDS Women's Book Review podcast discussion of The Believer, there were questions about the founding of New America, the breakaway nation where Believer takes place. The founding of New America is a parallel to the founding of a nation in the Book of Mormon where evil men try to take over the government, fail, and run away to form their own nation. Here are some comments on New America that I originally posted to the LDS Women's Book Review Forum:

The best way to understand the history of the founding of New America is to read 3 Nephi 6 and 7. The history of New America is a modern version of this story. That’s why a quote from these chapters is the prologue to The Believer.

Here are some parallels between the Book of Mormon history and the history of New America immediately prior to and during Separation.

3 Nephi: The Nephites had just finished a war with the Gadianton robbers.

U.S/New America: The United States had spent years fighting international terrorist organizations.

3 Ne: After a brief period of peace, the Nephites become proud and wicked.

U.S./N.A.: The U.S. is becoming more proud and wicked.

3 Ne: Prophets call the people to repentance. Chief judges and lawyers are angry. They take the prophets and put them to death secretly, in violation of the law of the land.

U.S./N.A.: Many in the legal community work to reduce the power of religious organizations, using tactics such as false accusations, trials before judges who ignore the law and rule as they please, thwarting of the appeals process and death sentences that amount to judicial murder.

3 Ne: A complaint arises against those judges who illegally executed the prophets.

U.S./N.A.: Complaints arise against those in the legal community who are working outside the law in an effort to reduce the power of religious organizations.

3 Ne: The friends and kindred of the judges join in a secret combination to destroy the people of the Lord, free the judges accused of murder, destroy the government, and place a king over the land.

U.S./N.A.: The friends and colleagues of the judges accused of abuses of power unite in a pact to defend them. They vow to destroy the government and build it up again as the strong, centralized government they think it should be, with religion banned.

3 Ne: The conspirators murder the chief judge

U.S./N.A.: The conspirators assassinate the President of the United States

3 Ne: The Nephite government disintegrates and the Nephites split into tribes.

U.S./N.A.: The U.S. is politically and socially fragmented and their government is in chaos

3 Ne: Jacob becomes the head of the secret combination that destroyed the government

U.S./N.A..Senator James Tremont assumes visible leadership of the secret combination that tried to destroy the government.

3 Ne: The Nephites, though split into tribes, are united in their hatred of Jacob’s group.

U.S./N.A.: The U.S., though socially and politically fragmented, is united in their hatred of James Tremont’s group.

3 Ne: Jacob sees he has more friends than enemies. He flees the land and establishes his own kingdom, flattering his people that many dissenters will join them and they’ll become strong enough to contend with the tribes of the people. Their march is so speedy that they make their escape before anyone can stop them.

U.S./N.A.: James Tremont gathers his followers and establishes New America, flattering his people that eventually dissenters from the U.S. will join them and they’ll big enough and strong enough to form a New America that stretches from coast to coast—with themselves as the leaders.

There was no war. After years of fighting international terrorists, the U.S. was tired of war, and the last thing they wanted was to fight their own people. Plus, this was not a small group of separatists—many of the most powerful people in the nation were involved and Tremont had millions of followers. As Ian puts it when talking to Eric about why the U.S. had allowed James Tremont to form his New America, “Borders were preferable to a bloodbath.” They didn't want civil war.

Here are a few places in the novel where it discusses the history of New America: pp 13-15, 47-53,165-176.

Now to address a couple of other questions.

New America is not a large country. It’s a chunk of the east coast, stretching inland as far as western New York, with the capital city of Tremont located about forty miles from the western border.

The wasteland strip is a hundred-mile-wide swath of territory between the United States and New America. It was established by treaty at the founding of New America and forms a buffer zone between the two nations. (see pp 204, 206) Neither nation can occupy it.

As for what the U.S. is like at the time of The Believer, it’s pretty much where you’d expect the U.S. to be fifty years down the road if we don’t repent--still hanging on to its form of government, but more fragmented, more violent, more chaotic, more wicked, but in the midst of that, the church still strong.