Why did the Mormons settle in Utah?

1. Why did the Mormons settle in Utah? Enquiry 2- how and why were people reimagining the American West, 1839-1860? Starter- watch the video clip and create a key facts summary/mind map in the Mormons- their beliefs, customs etc. Extension- why do you think they were a target for persecution? Explain? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beGIl8rDmQA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM0toaRF1BQ

2. Some Will analyse ‘how far’ they achieved religious freedom they craved Gold Most Will explain how they were treated in Salt Lake CIty Silver All Will know why the Mormons left their lands and moved to Utah Bronze TARGET SETTING Learning Journey

3. Key words- summarise them • Mormons- a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a religion founded in the US in 1830 by Joseph Smith Jr. He claimed to have received a personal visit from God the Father and Jesus Christ who told him that all churches and their creeds were an abomination. Joseph Smith then set out to "restore true Christianity" and claimed his church to be the “only true church on earth”. They believed in polygamy- men have several wives. This set them apart as immoral outcasts. • Utah; State in the western United States. Its capital and largest city is Salt Lake City. The Great Salt Lake is located in the north-western part of the state. • Salt Lake City; Salt Lake City, Utah, was settled by Brigham Young and other Mormons who were escaping religious persecutionin the East and Midwestern United States. Traveling on what is now known as the Mormon Trail, which paralleled the Oregon Trail, Young’s followers began to till the land on the first day of their arrival in July 1847.

4. Where did they go? • They followed what is today known as the Mormon Trail • The trail passes through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah • The trail later extended to California

5. Answer these key questions as we work through the lesson (leave 5/6 lines between them) • Who were the Mormons and where were they founded? • How did the Mormons end up in Utah? • How did they fund their travels? • Why was their freedom so short lived? • How far was the Mountain Meadow Massacre responsible for the collapse of the Mormon ‘freedom’?

6. So who were the Mormons and when were they founded? • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon or LDS church) was started by Joseph Smith in 1830 in New York. Later, members of this church gathered in Nauvoo, Illinois.

7. How did the Mormons end up in Utah? • Some people disliked Mormon beliefs and practices and persecuted members of this church. • After a mob murdered Joseph Smith in 1844, his followers started to think about moving somewhere where they could live peacefully. • Enemies were still attacking Mormons in different ways. Because of this persecution, in the cold of February 1846 the Mormons began to leave Nauvoo. • For two years after Smith's death, conflicts escalated between Mormons and other Illinois residents. • To prevent war, Brigham Young led the Mormon pioneers (constituting most of the Latter Day Saints) to a temporary winter quarters in Nebraska and then, eventually (beginning in 1847), to what became the Utah Territory

8. How did they fund their travels? • Because they had left behind their lands, buildings, and many possessions, the Mormons asked the federal government for financial help. The U.S. had declared war on Mexico in May 1846, so President James K. Polk agreed to enlist a battalion of Mormon men, who would receive pay for their service. • Around 500 volunteers enlisted and began a gruelling march to San Diego (33 women and 51 children started out with them).  During 1846-47, these men blazed a wagon route across the Southwest, but they never fought in the war. • Their pay and their later explorations helped the Mormons become established in Utah. • Between 1847-69 about 70,000 Mormons migrated to Utah along the Mormon Trail. The Mormon Battalion at the Gila River in Arizona, a painting by George Ottinger (1833-1917).

9. Why was their freedom so short lived? • By 1857, tensions had again escalated between Mormons and other Americans, largely as a result of accusations involving polygamy and the ’deity’ rule of the Utah Territory by Brigham Young. • In 1857, U.S. President James Buchanan sent an army to Utah, which Mormons interpreted as open aggression against them. Fearing a repeat of Missouri and Illinois, the Mormons prepared to defend themselves, determined to torch their own homes in the case that they were invaded. • The relatively peaceful Utah War ensued from 1857 to 1858, in which the most notable instance of violence was the Mountain Meadows massacre, when leaders of a local Mormon militia ordered the killing of a civilian emigrant party that was traveling through Utah during the escalating tensions. (120 killed) • In 1858, Young agreed to step down from his position as governor and was replaced by a non-Mormon, Alfred Cumming. • The control of this new state was back in the hands of the US.

10. How far was the Mountain Meadow Massacre responsible for the collapse of the Mormon ‘freedom’? • The Mountain Meadows Massacre was the killing of roughly 120 emigrants who were passing through Southern Utah in September 1857. The massacre occurred on September 11, 1857. The emigrants–men, women, and children–were traveling from Arkansas to California, part of the Baker-Fancher wagon train. They were killed by a group of Mormons with the help of local Paiute Indians. • Because of all the past persecution and fear of being attacked or imprisoned by federal troops, it’s likely that local Mormons who participated in the Mountain Meadows Massacre acted out of a deep fear and paranoia. • It resulted in Mormons having to give control of the state to the US- ending their views of religious Utopia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8kcqpTkj6k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7rlA_Vr7yA

11. Summary • Mormons were pushed from place to place by persecution • They went through many hardships • They found a sanctuary in Utah where no one would bother them • They felt they were doing the right thing • This was taken from them after the Mountain Meadow Massacre

12. Write a paragraph to explain….. • Why the Mormons settled in Utah and why their ‘freedom’ was so short lived…. • Include the following words • Religion • Persecution • Joseph Smith • Brigham Young • Utah • Salt Lake City • Mountain Meadows Massacre

13. True or false? • The Mormons moved West to escape persecution • The mountain Meadow massacre was pre- planned by Brigham Young? • The Mormons lost control of Utah/Salt Lake City in 1858? TRUE FALSE TRUE

14. The Mountain Meadow Massacre was a justified persecution for the Mormons? Do you agree? Strongly agree Strongly disagree Stand at the correct side of the room and be ready to explain your opinion