Settling the Great Basin


If you do not turn in your book on tomorrow,
the day of the test, you will be calling home
for it.
If you remember it, you will get an extra
treat!
This is a no gum
class. Please dispose
of it properly!
Take
out your packet and spend 15
minutes working on incomplete items.
Staple your packet.
Study Guide
Newspaper article
Graph
Bubble organizer (might be on the back of
the graph paper)
Settlement map
 Where
should your backpack be?
This is a no gum
class. Please dispose
of it properly!
Take
out your study guide and the
Deseret News papers (notes and
final draft).
You have 5 minutes to finish your
final draft.
If you are done or get done, work
on the essay portion of your study
guide.
 Where
should your backpack be?


History Objective –
We will prepare for
tomorrow’s exam by
reviewing the study
guide.

Language Objective –
We will listen to, give
answers and write
the important details
from the activity.
Behavior Objective – Participation & Work
Ethic: We will listen to each questions,
answer the ones given to us, and write the
important details in our notes.
Question #1
Why did Mormons
choose the Salt Lake
Valley to settle instead
of other sites in the
west (like California)?
Question #2
How did the discovery
of gold in California
benefit the settlers in
Utah?
Question #3
Why did Mormon
leaders send members
of their church to begin
settlements in other
areas of the Great
Basin?
1st detail
1st detail
1st detail
2nd detail
2nd detail
2nd detail
3rd detail
3rd detail
3rd detail
1. What were the three most
important tasks facing the
Mormon pioneers once they
arrived in Salt Lake?
1)Planting fields
2) Building homes and structures
3) Exploring the valley
2. Why were the first cabins
built inside the Old Fort?
To protect them from Indians, wild
animals, and to keep their own
animals safe.
2)
3)
3. Salt Lake City was organized
into a grid. Where did the
Mormons get the idea of a grid
pattern?
From Nauvoo and the ancient
Romans.
4. What were some of the
problems the Mormon settlers
had to overcome in the first
year?
1)
2)
3)
4)
Crickets
Early winter
Starvation
Cattle ate all the crops except
potatoes.
5. Why is the seagull Utah’s
state bird?
When the Mormon’s crops were
being destroyed by crickets, the
seagulls came and ate some of the
crickets in some area, which helped
to save some of the people’s food
supply.
6. Why were the streets in
Mormon communities so wide?
So a wagon with a team of 8 oxen
could turn around in the street
easily.
7. How did the California gold
rush benefit Utahns?
1) 49s brought more supplies than they
could use, and sold them to Utahns
for fresh food.
2) 49ers worked on farms in the winter.
3) They also paid to have their wagons
repaired. Their money boosted the
economy.
8. What is the difference
between emigrant and immigrant?
An immigrant enters into a country,
an emigrant exits a country.
9. What was the Perpetual
Emigrating Fund?
The fund was created to help poor
Mormon immigrants get to Utah by
loaning supplies, etc.
10. Where did most Mormon
immigrants come from during
this time period?
Canada, British Isles, Scandinavia,
Germany and other countries.
11. How were people chosen to
settle new places?
People were chosen by their skills so
their community would have all the
people they needed to be selfsufficient, i.e. blacksmith, doctor,
etc.
12. Why did Mormons build so
many settlements?
Different settlements were created
for specific purposes, like St. George
farmed cotton, Las Vegas was a
mission to Native Americans, and
others were for trading like Carson
Valley.
13. What were some of the
characteristics of early Mormon
communities? List four.
1)They were all laid out using a grid.
2)They all had wide streets.
3) Businesses were at the center of
town, farms outside of town.
4)Irrigation ditches ran along roads
to provide water.
14. What was the main
occupation of most settlers?
Farming
15. Why was life in the
settlements considered unique?
1)Polygamy
2)Church was the government
3) Communal lifestyle
4)Isolated from country
15. Why did Mormons participate
in plural marriage (polygamy)?
Viewed as a renewed
commandment from the Old
Testament in the Bible.
17. How did the Mormon
communities get food during
these early years in Utah? (2-3
ways)
1)
2)
3)
4)
Farming
Gathering
Hunting
Sharing
18. How did communities
celebrate and what did they
celebrate?
They held parades, picnics, had
dances and sang. They celebrated
many of the typical American
holidays, like the 4th of July, but also
Utah centered days like Pioneer Day.
19. Who was Peter Maughan and
what did he do?
He was the leader of the first group
of settlers to come to Cache Valley,
and he helped settle Wellsville.
20. What happened in Manti from
1849-50, and how were Walkara
and Isaac Morley involved?
Chief Walkara invited the pioneers to
settle in the Sanpete Valley and Isaac
Morley lead a group of pioneers there.
Winter began before they were able to
build shelters, but they got supplies
from SLC and were able to survive.
21. What was the State of
Deseret?
The first attempt at gaining
statehood by the Mormon
communities in Utah. Deseret was
very large, surrounded by mountains
and deserts, and had access to the
ocean and valuable minerals.
22. Why did Brigham Young want
such a large state?
To protect the Mormon settlements
and make them self-sufficient. It
also would have helped keep nonMormon communities away. It was
almost a mini country.
23. How did the Great
Compromise help Utah become a
territory?
The U.S. was split over the issue of slavery and the
southern states threatened secession and war if
slavery’s continued existence wasn’t guaranteed.
When California wanted to become a state, it set off
a fight over the issue. In the end California was
allowed to become a free state, but all the territories
had to vote on whether they would be a free or slave
territory. Utah became a territory because of this
compromise.
24. Utah’s territorial
government was mostly run by
the ______________ government.
federal
25. Why did Congress name the
new territory “Utah”?
They thought that Deseret sounded
too much like desert and decided to
name the territory after its largest
Indian tribe.
26. Who was Millard Fillmore
and what did he do in this
chapter?
He was the president of the U.S. at
the time and sign the law that made
Utah a territory.
27. What was Utah Territory’s
first capital city?
Fillmore
28. Who was Brigham Young and
what happened to him in this
chapter?
He was the leader of the Mormons.
He helped establish many
settlements and was eventually
appointed governor of the Utah
Territory.
29. What were some
disadvantages to have Utah
become a territory rather than
a state?
Territories could not vote for
president and could only partially
choose their local officials. They
could only make part of the laws that
governed them and did not have a
voting representative in Congress.
30. Why did people use
handcarts to travel West?
It was cheaper than using wagons.
31. How many people came by
handcart to Utah?
About 3,000 out of the 70,000
pioneers that came during the first
20 years of settlement.
This is a no gum class.
Please dispose of it
properly!
Bell Activity
Review your study guide and
vocabulary. Make sure your essay
organizer is finished.
Where should your backpack be?
8. How did most early
immigrants from other countries
come to Utah?
They came first by ship, then by
either wagons, handcarts or freight
companies to Utah.
How did Brigham Young help
other Mormons get to Utah?
Brigham Young created the
Perpetual Emigration Fund which
loaned animals, wagons, money,
and supplies to immigrants who
would pay the loan back later.
This is a no gum class.
Please dispose of it
properly!
Bell Activity
Have your study guide and a pencil out
and be ready to work when the bell
rings.
Review your study guide and
vocabulary. Make sure your essay
organizer is finished.
Where should your backpack be?
Essays
 #1 Why did Mormons choose the Salt Lake
Valley to settle instead of other sites in the
west (like California)?
 #2 How did the discovery of gold in California
benefit the settlers in Utah?
 #3 Why did Mormon leaders send members
of their church to begin settlements in other
areas of the Great Basin?