Item Detail
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12560
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0
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18
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English
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The Mormon Influence on the Political Geography of The West
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Provo, UT
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Brigham Young University
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145
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Master's Thesis
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The vast colonization efforts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, in the nineteenth century has a profound impact on the population, culture, economy, and environment of much of the American West. This thesis examines the political geographic influence of the Mormons in the West and, more specifically, in the lands ceded by Mexico to the United States in 1848. This land comprises all or portions of the following states: California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
The original organization of the Mexican Cession at the hands of Congress in 1850 was drastically influenced by the fact that the Mormons had decided to settle in the Great Basin. From this initial territorial organization in 1850 to the early years of the twentieth century, the boundaries of each of the aforementioned states were significantly influenced by two key factors: the Mormon presence in certain areas and the strained relationship between Congress and the Mormon Church. In many instances, state and territorial boundaries were drawn, modified, or even left alone as a direct result of one or often both of these factors. This thesis identifies and examines all of these boundary-making decisions.
In order to better illustrate the actual impact of the Mormons on the political geography of the West, two hypothetical scenarios are presented in the final chapter. In the first scenario, the author hypothesizes as to how the West might look today if the Mormons had not come West and settled there. In the second, a West is envisioned in which the relationship between the Mormons and the Congress was not adversarial. -
A Geographic Sketch of Early Utah Settlement
Great Basin Kingdom : An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints, 1830-1900
History of Latter-day Saints in Bridger Valley, Wyoming
History of Nevada, Colorado, and Wyoming, 1540-1888
History of Utah, 1847-1869
In Mountain Shadows : A History of Idaho
Life of Joseph the Prophet
Mormon Perception and Settlement
Mormon Settlement in Arizona : A Record of Peaceful Conquest of the Desert
Political Deliverance : The Mormon Quest for Utah Statehood
The Fruits of Mormonism
The Kingdom of God, the Council of Fifty and the State of Deseret
The Mormon Boundary Question in the 1849-50 Statehood Debates
The Mormon Role in the Settlement of the West
The Origin of Non-Mormon Settlements in Utah : 1847-1896
The Story of the Latter-day Saints
The Story of the Mormons : From the Date of Their Origin to the Year 1901
Utah, the Story of Her People, 1540-1947 : A Centennial History of Utah