Utah Public Schools (K-12) in 1897 : The First Year of Statehood
Provo, UT
Brigham Young University
1998
Ed.D diss.
'In 1897, fifty years had passed since the first Mormon pioneers bad entered the Salt Lake Valley, in the Great Basin region. The Mormon people were determined to establish themselves in the region and become a great people. Brigham Young, the Mormon prophet and first territorial governor of Utah, wanted the Mormon people to learn everything that the children of men knew and create the most refined society upon the face of the earth. He maintained that no other people on earth were more anxious to learn and understand truth. In 1897, just three months after the Mormons arrived the first 'school'was in session. A seventeen year old girl, Mary Jane Dilworth, was teaching a small group of children in a military tent. This study examines Utah public schools (K/12) fifty years after those first Mormons entered the Salt Lake Valley. 1897 is significant because Utah had just been granted statehood in 1896. As a condition of being granted statehood, the federal government required specific changes in education. This study gives a historical overview of schools from 1847 to 1896, as well as the historical basis for the Mormon emphasis on education. The study then examines in detail the public school system (K/12) as it existed in 1897. The study specifically examines the legal framework, financing, school organization, school day and year, school activities, certification requirements, and school facilities. The study uses many original documents found in the Utah State Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Archives, the Utah State Office of Education and the Utah State Historical Society. Also cited are many newspaper articles from 1897. The appendix contains a copy of The Enabling Act, copies of school report cards and a map showing the county divisions in Utah.' (author's abstract)