Mormons and Utah

Westward Expansion 1840-1896

Who was John Smith?

From Palmyra, NY
at 14 prayed for inspiration God and Jesus Christ appeared and said ALL the churches were wrong

In 1823, he received another revelation

angel named Moroni revealed that golden plates containing a record of the ancient inhabitants of America

In 1830, he published The Book of Mormon

Why did Mormons go West?

Many Christians thought the new religion was 'contemptible gibberish People disliked polygamy The Mormons cut themselves off from ordinary people ('the Gentiles) A group of Mormons called the Danites attacked Gentiles, and robbed them People were afraid of the growing numbers of Mormons
Feared that the Mormons would take over the government and courts

People said the Mormons were of low social class

little better than our blacks

People disliked the encouragement Mormons gave to slaves

And that Mormons encouraged freed slaves to join them

 1831 Kirkland, Ohio 1832 Smith was tarred and feathered by locals
In 1837 economic depression caused the bank he had founded to go bankrupt, and the Mormons were driven out altogether.

1837 Missouri
Smith tried to defend the church with arms The Mormons were attacked by mobs, and an extermination order was issued by Governor Boggs.

 1838 Far West, MO

In November, Smith was imprisoned on charges of robbery, arson, and treason, but escaped execution by fleeing to Illinois

1839 Nauvoo, IL
Most successful settlement rivaled Chicago The Mormons were hated by the locals, especially when Smith began to sanction polygamy. In 1844, while awaiting trial for promoting a riot along with his brother Hyrum, Smith was killed by a mob.

1846 Great Salt Lake Migration

An 'unpopulous' country where 'a good living will require hard labour, and consequently will be coveted by no other people

Why did Mormons move to Salt Lake?

Mormons wanted to escape the nonMormons they despised, and called the Gentiles.
Gentiles were "...the lowest of men. Many of them fled to the frontier country to escape the law. We disliked their midnight parties, their sabbathbreaking, horse racing and gambling."

More Reasons
The Gentiles persecuted them
In 1846 Brigham Young told the US President, James K. Polk, that the Mormons had decided "to leave the country for the sake of peace

The government persecuted them

The state governor of Illinois asked them to leave
Until 1848 the Great Salt Lake was part of Mexico Outside of US jurisdiction altogether

Even More Reasons

Brigham Young's influence was the critical factor
He was 'a firm believer, a man of iron will, an organizer He was believed by the Mormons to be their prophet - appointed by God to lead them. He decided to go to Salt Lake, organized the march, and told Mormons that Salt Lake was 'the promised land'.

Problems Moving West

Poorly prepared
In Spring 1846, mobs looted Mormons' workshops, forcing them to leave Nauvoo before they were ready for their long trek to Salt Lake.

Solution!
Brigham Young sent advance 'pioneers' ahead, to plant crops, build houses, set up staging posts for the travelers.

More Problems
The journey
The Mormons faced a journey of 1,398 Made them 'weary and footsore They endured 'stormy weather' in winter and 'excessive heat' in summer

Solution??

More Problems
Organization
16,000 Mormons migrated between 1846-52 Faced accidents, breakdowns, moldy food, fever, lack of medical facilities and Native American attacks

Solution!
Young taught Mormons how to manage a wagon train, and how to defend themselves against attack at night.

Even More Problems

Faint hearts
Some Mormons preferred Oregon Others suggested California Said 'nobody on earth' would want to live at Salt Lake

Solution!
Young said: "If there is a place on this earth that nobody wants, that's the place I'm looking for."

Problems at the Lake!

Life at Salt Lake was hard, and the Mormons were 'tired out and worried Salt Lake was a 'desolate and forsaken spot There was little rain
Developed irrigation schemes using snow water from the mountains By 1859 Salt Lake was "well-filled with peach, apple and other fruit

More Problems at the Lake

Not enough people for the community to be entirely self-sufficient Solution!
Young called Mormons from all over the world to go to Salt Lake to help out Served as a missionary in Great Britain 1840-41 Established the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Co. 1852-77
Approx. 8,000 Mormons migrated from Great Britain, Scandinavia, and continental Europe

Governance
Utah became a territory in 1851 Young was the first governor and superintendent of Indian affairs
Served until 1858 As governor, he had repeated difficulties with 'outside' non-Mormon presidential appointees, especially judges and territorial secretaries, who were envious, if not fearful, of his power

More Problems
No manufacturers
Several failed attempts at setting up industries Necessary items often had to be made by hand

Situated in US occupied New Mexico

US government refused Young's attempt to have a 'free and independent' Mormon state of 'Deseret In 1857 the federal government sent 1,500 US troops to Utah to deal with what it thought was a rogue sect Tensions were high in Utah in 1857

Mountain Meadows Massacre

Roughly 120 emigrants were killed killed by a group of Mormons with the help of local Paiute Indians on September 11, 1857 Baker-Fancher wagon train
The emigrantsmen, women, and childrenwere traveling from Arkansas to California

What Happened??
Cedar City was the last stop before California
In Cedar City, the Fancher party attempted to buy grain and supplies Refused by the local Mormons due to the Mormons suspicion of aiding potential enemies Fancher party left Cedar City and continued southwest through the mountain pass called Mountain Meadows

What Happened Next??

They were attacked by Mormon assailants The remaining emigrants pulled their wagons into a tight circle for protection Over the next five days, the emigrants were held at siege in their wagon circle and attacked two more times On September 11, 1857, John D. Lee entered the wagon circle with a white flag, convincing the emigrants to surrender peacefully Required to put down their guns, the women and children were escorted out first, then the men and boys They escorted the men and boys out at gunpoint, walked about a mile then militiamen turned and fired on each man and boy Indians who had been convinced to participate in the massacre came out from their hiding places to attack the women and children.

Next Steps
Young directed the colonization and development of some 350 settlements in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona and California In 1861 Young contracted to build the transcontinental telegraph line from Nebraska to California
Erected the 1200-mile Deseret Telegraph line from Franklin, Idaho, to northern Arizona Connected all Mormon villages with one another and with Salt Lake City.

More
Contracted to prepare the roadbed for part of the transcontinental railroad line Organized railroads to provide rail transportation for most Mormon communities in Idaho, Utah, and Nevada

Extended Argument
Set A Why the Mormons were hated. Why the Mormons decided to go west. How important Brigham Young was, in the Mormons' decision to go to Salt Lake. Set B How the Mormons moved to the West. How the Mormons survived the journey to Salt Lake. How the Mormons succeeded in Salt Lake.