Chapter 8: Living in Territorial Utah (Culture, Business, Transportation, and Mining)
Introduction When a new community was founded the first people slept in or under their wagons until a more permanent home could be built. Through cooperation, the settlers soon built stores and other places of business, churches, and schools. Businesses such as a bakery, blacksmith s shop, and a furniture store could be found in the territory. The people ate mostly bread, meat, milk, and cheese.
Continue Even with all the new businesses, the majority of the people still farmed. They grew corn, potatoes, squash, cabbage, peas, beans, lettuce, dandelion greens, and beets. They also ate apricots, cherries, plums, peaches, currants, gooseberries and raspberries. The children in the territory worked hard, attended dances, and celebrated on holidays. July 24 th of each year commemorates the arrival of the pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley.
Describe the kind of schools that were started in the territory and explain how and why they changed? 1) The first schools were private, run by the Mormon Church. 2) Students learned reading, writing, and arithmetic. The students also read from the Bible and the Book of Mormon in school. This meant the Church and state affairs were not separated in the territory.
Continue 3) As more non-mormons came into Utah, they set up other schools. 4) Their main goal was to provide a good public education and to get the Mormon children to see the error of their religion, especially polygamy. 5) In 1890, the state legislature passed the Free Public School Act, which funded free public elementary schools for all children. 6) In 1850, the University of Deseret was the first college in the territory.
Why did Mormon Church leaders practice polygamy? In 1852, the LDS Church officially announces the practice of polygamy. Polygamy is a marriage wherein a man has more than one wife. Mormons viewed plural marriage as a revival of the plural patriarchal family of the Old Testament and believed it was a direct commandment from God.
Continue Only a small percentage of Mormons practiced polygamy. Most of the members followed a monogamous lifestyle which is having one spouse (husband or wife) As the territory grew, other groups moved into the territory such as the Catholics, Protestants, Jewish, and Presbyterians. They came to provide needs for their followers and again, to convince the Mormon population the errors of their ways.
Continue One important name in Utah s Catholic history was Reverend Lawrence Scanlon. This important Catholic leader organized missions, schools, hospitals, and churches. All people, Mormons and non-mormons, living in the territory did want to become part of the United States. Polygamy was a major factor that prevented it from ever occurring.
What was Utah s first newspaper? The Deseret News was the first newspaper in the Utah Territory.
What were some of the services available in Utah and which came first, second, etc? In 1860, the Pony Express was started. This new company had a plan to carry mail from Missouri to California in ten days. In 1861, the telegraph companies began which officially ended the Pony Express. Messages took only seconds to cross the plains and mountains.
Continue At Promontory, Utah in 1869, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met together in what became known as the wedding of the rails. It was called a transcontinental railroad because it stretched across an entire continent or nation. Charles R. Savage, a photographer who documented life in early Utah, was credited for taking a photograph of the wedding of the rails.
Continue The railroads brought the following changes to Utah: (1) Extensions were built throughout Utah to join the main lines (2) Some businesses couldn t handle the competition and went out of business (3) The railroad was used to export goods produced here.
How did the railroad affect the mining industry in Utah? The railroad made mining a lot easier. Ores were dumped onto wagons and it was pulled by horses or oxen. It was a very slow process to move the heavy ore. After the tracks were laid to the mines between towns, it became much easier to ship large amounts of heavy ore to buyers outside of Utah. The end result was mining grew.
Continue Mining towns began to grow such as Salt Lake City, Alta, Bingham, and Park City. Copper made Bingham Canyon a profitable place to work. Once the ores ran out, the mines closed and people moved away. What happened to many of these early mining towns? (1) They are now ghost towns (2) They are now ski resorts (3) They now have other businesses keeping them alive.
Why was the cattle industry so important to Utah? When the Mormons first arrived at Fort Bridger, Jim Bridger would trade the traveler s skinny weak cattle plus goods for his well rested fat cattle. Brigham Young encouraged pioneers to bring extra cattle with them so they could do the same. The pioneers would typically trade two strong well-fed cows for three worn-out cows to travelers on their way to California.
Continue To help the church financially, the tithing cows began when Brigham Young encouraged LDS Church members to pay their tithing to the church with cattle. The cattle industry changed Utah in the following ways (1) Farmers in San Juan County could raise cattle easier than crops (2) Brigham Young encouraged the people to raise and buy cattle (3) There were many more cattle than sheep on Utah ranges.
Continue One last thing: Gifts from the Spanish-Mexican culture occurred during this time. Words such as ranch, buckaroo, rodeo, and lasso are Spanish terms. The designs of the pioneers boots, bridles, saddles, and spurs came from the Spanish culture. To sum it up, many cowboy terms are from the Spanish culture.
The End Study Your Notes! Jeopardy will be November 17 th! (Monday) Ch. 8 Test will be November 18 th, 2014. (Tuesday)