THE MORMON STATE OF DESERET: A STUDY IN POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

On July 24, 1847, the vanguard of the Mormon migration reached the valley of the Great Salt Lake. By December, 1849, the Mormon population had increased to over 8,000, and was spread over 26 settlements from Ft. Bridger west to near Carson City, and from Ogden south to Manti. Within two and a half years the Mormons had established the foundation of their theo-democratic kingdom in the Great Basin. This presentation will deal with the Mormon's expansion between 1847 and 1851, and the political unit, the "territory" and "state" of Deseret, that was an attempt to claim the Great Basin unto themselves. Within this very brief time span is contained one of the most rapid and best planned colonizations witnessed in world history, and the establishment of an independent political state, attempted only five other times in U.S. history, exclusive of Congressional organizations. This enormous migration, rapid and expansive colonization, and establishment of an exaggerated political unit is characteristic of the change effected upon an individual person or group by the available land, spaciousness, abundant resources, and great distances of the Western United States