mormons and utah

7/30/2019 Mormons and Utah

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Mormons and Utah

Westward Expansion 1840-1896


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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 platescontaining a record of the ancient inhabitants ofAmerica

In 1830, he published The Book of Mormon


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Why did Mormons go West?

Many Christians thought the new religion was 'contemptiblegibberish

People disliked polygamy

The Mormons cut themselves offfrom 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 oflow social class little better than our blacks

People disliked the encouragement Mormons gave to slaves And that Mormons encouraged freed slaves to join them


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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.


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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 hisbrother 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


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Why did Mormons move to Salt Lake?

Mormons wanted to escape the non-

Mormons 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 sabbath-

breaking, horse racing and gambling."


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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


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Even More Reasons

Brigham Young's influence was the critical

factor

He was 'a firm believer, a man ofiron 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 themarch, and told Mormons that Salt Lake was 'the

promised land'.


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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 forthe travelers.


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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??


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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 wagontrain, and how to defend themselves against

attack at night.


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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."


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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


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More Problems at the Lake

Not enough people for the community to beentirely self-sufficient

Solution!

Young called Mormons from all over the world togo 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


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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, whowere envious, if not fearful, of his power


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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 troopsto Utah to deal with what it thought was a rogue sect

Tensions were high in Utah in 1857


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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


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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 calledMountain Meadows


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What Happened Next??

They were attacked by Mormon assailants

The remaining emigrants pulled their wagons into a tight circle forprotection

Over the next five days, the emigrants were held at siege intheir wagon circle and attacked two more times

On September 11, 1857, John D. Lee entered the wagon circlewith a white flag, convincing the emigrants to surrenderpeacefully

Required to put down their guns, the women and children wereescorted out first, then the men and boys

They escorted the men and boys out at gunpoint, walked abouta mile then militiamen turned and fired on each man and boy

Indians who had been convinced to participate in the massacrecame out from their hiding places to attack the women andchildren.


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Next Steps

Young directed the colonization and developmentof some 350 settlements in Utah, Idaho,Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona and California

In 1861 Young contracted to build thetranscontinental telegraph line from Nebraska toCalifornia

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.


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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


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Extended Argument

Set A

Why the Mormons were hated.

Why the Mormons decided to go west.

How important Brigham Young was, in theMormons' decision to go to Salt Lake.

Set B

How the Mormons moved to the West.

How the Mormons survived the journey to SaltLake.

How the Mormons succeeded in Salt Lake.

mormons and utah

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