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Brigham Young And The Expanding American Frontier Term Paper

Brigham Young At first, Young was ambivalent towards the Methodist -- or any other -- Church. He "held back from joining the Methodists" like his brothers had because of an "independent, deliberate personality" that rejected belief under pressure (8). Methodist revival meetings also turned Young off because of their "loud, crowded, and hyperactive" qualities," (8). Yet while living in the Auburn-Port Byron area, during an economic depression, he was "swept up by religious enthusiasm" and joined the Methodist Church in 1824 (13). The conversion turned out to be integral to Young's "program of self-improvement," (14). The Church prompted Young to give up swearing, one of his self-admitted habits. He experimented with vegetarianism, too, in an attempt to live an overall cleaner and healthier lifestyle. The religion also helped him to overcome his shyness and fear of public speaking (14). In addition to helping him on his personal path, the Methodist Church also introduced Young to Miriam Angeline Works, who he would later marry.

2. In February of 1838, Young, Smith, and other Mormons moved to Missouri to join a large Mormon settlement there. It was a thriving region socially, distant from other Mormon settlements and therefore conducive to greater political control (34). The new beginnings that had seemed so promising, though, grew increasingly filled with conflict and challenge. In March of 1838, dissention within the Church became a problem. Smith began to "purge" dissenters from the Church, "a move that involved reorganizing the High Council of Zion," (35). This led to the promotion of Young, and to his eventually being drawn "even closer to the center of Mormon power and influence,"...

Increased political power and his position of prominence placed Young in the awkward position of mediating between the Missouri non-Mormons and the Mormons. The Missourians who were not Mormon feared "Mormon political and economic domination" of the region (35). Young handled his role deftly: by avoiding conflict and confrontation and instead "maintaining a low profile," (35). However, more hot headed Mormons became political agitators. Some formed the Sons of Dan, the Danites, as a militia group determined to rise Mormon passions in opposition to the non-Mormon Missourians. The paramilitary Danite organization led to a small war: the Missouri Mormon War, in which seventeen Mormons died (37). The war also resulted in the official extermination of the Mormons by the governor. In 1838, Young was set to depart on a mission to England. Mormonism was already taking root there, and Young was able to capitalize on the groundwork laid by his predecessor missionaries. He helped to establish a Mormon magazine called the Latter-day Saints Millennial Star, and secured the rights to publish the Book of Mormon in England. His time in England "clearly demonstrated his abilities as an organizer and administrator," (45).
3. In Nauvoo, "Young sought to affirm his claim as Mormon leader, beating back the counterclaims of a series of rivals," (64). Young's increasing political power drew him into conflict with Smith. Polygamy became a point of dissent within the Mormon community, but Young's leadership was equally as controversial. "Smith assailed Young's tyrannical leadership and accused him of promoting polygamy," (66). Emma Smith, moreover, "strenuously opposed Mormonism's still secret practice of plural marriage," (67). While internal conflicts in the Church were brewing, Joseph Smith ran for the office of Presidency in 1844. He ran as an…

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5. The Gold Rush altered the course of westward expansion, driving increasing numbers of non-Mormons to western lands and especially to California. The Gold Rush was therefore instrumental in preventing Young from entertaining the idea of moving the Mormon camp to California. Young feared a "renewed Mormon/non-Mormon conflict," (94). Mormon Samuel Brannan struck gold and was later excommunicated because he refused to tithe on his huge fortune (94-95). A large number of fortune-seeking trailblazers had made the path to the Great Salt Lake basin easier, which solidified the decision to settle in what is now Salt Lake City (95). Therefore, the Gold Rush had a huge impact on the geography of Mormon settlement. The Gold Rush also directly benefitted the Mormons economically, as gold seekers would stop in Salt Lake City en route to California.

6. By the 1850s, Salt Lake City's Mormon businesses were prospering due to trade with gold seekers. Young encouraged economic self-sufficiency and diversification from what could have easily been an agriculture-dependent economy. Young and the Mormons had brought "to the Great Basin 75 to 100 black slaves," a fact that Young "tried to conceal from federal officials" due to the brewing controversy over slavery in the new territories (104). In spite of this, Young was ambivalent about the Civil War because it represented for him the spiritual end times. When it became apparent that the North was headed for victory, Young took an opportunistic stance of supporting the Union but for strategic reasons only. Young remained staunchly pro-slavery. In 1850 also, Young encouraged the development of an "Iron Mission" that would take advantage of the wealth of raw materials like iron in the region (108). By the end of the 1850s, Young was involved in three "broad categories" of business: first, deals involving partnership with the Mormon Church; second, those involving partnerships with other businessmen; and third, those in which Young was the sole investor (149).

7. Although the Transcontinental Railroad did not pass directly through Salt Lake City, it benefitted the Mormon economy. At the same time, Young feared the large numbers of non-Mormons it would bring to the territory (179). Young agreed with the prevailing patriarchal view that men have dominion over women; that women were inherently inferior to men; and were also less intelligent (192). Moreover, women represented sin, temptation, and spiritual corruption. The United Order was "a system of economic cooperation that called upon selected Mormon communities to pool their equipment, their property, and their energy and work together," (199). It was therefore a system of socialist cooperatives. Variations depended on different levels of economic commitment to the cooperative.
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