The Pioneers
Come to
The Pioneers
Come to Utah
A Homeless People Go West
to Find A Home
Objective
 Today I hope you learn many
things, BUT I hope you at least
learn 1 thing:
 Other people in the PAST . . .
Did things to help you
Now!
 Thank them by learning what they did!
Here’s what you need to do!
1.
Fill out the heading on your assignment paper.
2.
Read each question on the paper before beginning.
Then as you watch each of the slides, all you have to do is:
1.
Look for a number on each slide (from 1 – 30).
2.
On your note sheet, write the underlined words that
follow each number on the screen.
3.
Study your sheet for the quiz that
will be given the day after these
notes and stories end.
Good Luck!
What Do All These People Have in Common?
Salt Lake City, Utah ~ 1897
What kind of Pioneer would you have been?
What kind of Pioneer are you NOW?
Just a Review…
• The people who followed Joseph Smith and the
Mormons were forced to move from:
• New York to Ohio
• Ohio to Missouri
• Missouri to Illinois
• And in Illinois, in 1844, Joseph Smith was killed.
– There was no immediate leader to take over.
– The Mormons were told by mobs and the governor of
Illinois that they had to move again.
Persecution in Illinois Led to the
Death of Joseph Smith
Reasons for the
persecution ~ reviewed
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Religious Beliefs – Joseph Smith’s prophet claims
The Nauvoo Charter – gave Mormons too much power
The Nauvoo Legion – seen as a threat by non-Mormons
Economic Rivalry – Mormon towns too powerful
Jealousy – Mormon towns too successful
Politics – Joseph Smith ran for U.S. President
Polygamy – The idea of having more
than one wife at the same time
• Nauvoo Expositor – newspaper was destroyed
Pioneer Photo of Nauvoo Temple
Joseph Smith Killed by a Mob
June 27, 1844
• Joseph, his brother Hyrum and others
were taken from Nauvoo to the near-by
town of Carthage, Illinois under promised
protection of the governor.
• The governor allowed a mob to attack the
jail, climb the stairs and kill
Joseph & his brother, Hyrum.
1 ~ Who would take charge after
the death of Joseph Smith?
An argument developed between three main
groups over who should lead the LDS Church:
a.
Sidney Rigdon
1. a former counselor to Joseph Smith
b.
Joseph Smith III
1. 11-year old son of Joseph Smith
c.
Brigham Young
1. President of the 12 Apostles
2 ~ Brigham Young was Chosen
by Most of the People
Reasons why most people supported him:



He had been faithful to Joseph Smith
He was president of the 12 Apostles
He was an experienced leader


He led the Mormons to Nauvoo
He knew how to build cities

including Nauvoo
The Mormons are Forced to Leave Nauvoo
The state militia was sent by Gov.
Ford to tell the Mormons they had to
leave the state of Illinois.
The Mormons promised to leave by
the next spring when the snow
melted & grass was growing.
During the fall/winter of 1845-46,
they prepared to leave by trying
to sell their houses and property and
trying to decide where to go.
Most were unable to sell for much
money because other people knew
they were going to leave anyway.
3 ~ Where to Go?
a.
d.
c.
b.

All these areas were outside the U.S.

But all these areas were too populated

The majority would tell them what to do
e.
• Again!

This would just lead to more persecution
• Again!

They would be kicked out of their homes.
• Again!
Mexico
4 ~ The Mormons Knew About the West
a.
b.
They had lived in Independence, Missouri
–
The beginning and end of the Oregon Trail
–
People coming back from the West told them about it!
Church newspapers carried reports of the West written
by mountain men and explorers
–
–
Fremont’s Report
Hasting’s Emigrant Guide
c.
They studied and wrote
about irrigation methods
d.
In 1842, Joseph Smith
said that the Mormons
would go to live in the
Rocky Mountains.
Lansford W. Hastings
John C. Fremont
They studied ALL the possibilities
before making a final decision
5 ~ They
finally decided to settle in the
Great Salt Lake Valley.
6 ~ Why choose the Salt Lake Valley?
a. It was outside the United States
b. It was still owned by Mexico
c. The U.S. government couldn’t hurt them again.
d. It was practically private (1,300 miles from Nauvoo)!
e. No one wanted Utah (Indians didn’t count then!)
f. It was relatively easy to get to
~ thanks to South Pass and the canyon trails.
7 ~ Many Groups left Nauvoo and
Scattered to Many Places
• Most (90%) went across the Mississippi River into the
new state of (a) Iowa.
• Some went south to (b) St. Louis
– Even though it was in Missouri,
– it was a big enough city to not be noticed.
Extermination
Order!
• Some went to (c) Canada & (d) Mexico
• Those people who were still east of Nauvoo
were told to stay where they were in (e) New York
and (f) Europe until a final settlement could be made.
The Longest Journey to Utah
 Some of the New York Mormons
wanted to leave for the West at once.
San
Francisco
New
York
 Sam Brannan was put in charge of
getting a ship.
Panama
Canal
 8 ~ They left New York on Feb. 4, 1846,
and sailed around South America past
Hawaii to San Francisco (then called
Yerba Buena).
 They arrived on July 31, 1846, and San
Francisco soon became a mostly
Mormon town.
Straits of
Magellan
Today
1800’s
The Brooklyn
Brigham Young
Sam Brannan
Sam Brannan






Brannan headed east to catch Brigham Young before he
got to Utah.
9 ~ Brannon tried to convince Brigham to move everyone
to California.
Young told Brannan to bring everyone to Utah.
Brannon went back to California; others went to Utah.
He assisted in the discovery of
in California in 1849.
He became a millionaire overnight, but died totally broke.
The Mormons Leave Nauvoo

The Mormons left Nauvoo in February, 1846

The mobs in Illinois became impatient and
demanded the Mormons leave before spring.

The first wagons:

left on boats,

later on ice,

and then back to boats.
Painting by Pioneer C.C.A. Christensen
The Battle of Nauvoo

10 ~ It took until
September, 1846,
for everyone to
leave (almost 7
months).

The last to leave
were the old, sick,
and poor, who had
to hold back the
mobs in a battle
until everyone
could leave.
Painting by Pioneer C.C.A. Christensen
What Happened to Nauvoo?
11 ~ Other people took over the
Mormon’s homes, land and property in
Nauvoo and the surrounding area.
November, 19, 1848
Mobs used the temple
for a barn before
someone set it on fire.
The temple was eventually destroyed
by a tornado and the stones were
scattered and buried.
Nauvoo Today
• Today, Nauvoo is a town of about 1,200+ people
living in modern homes and buildings far beyond
the original boundaries of the city build by Smith.
• The original parts of town are
now being restored and turned
into a living museum park.
• The Nauvoo Temple was
recently rebuilt in 2002.
12 ~
Travel Across Iowa was Very Difficult
a.
b.
c.
Iowa was a brand new
state with only a few
scattered towns across
the whole area.
There were only a few
roads and trails across
the state.
Mud and snow caused
delays.
12 ~
Travel Across Iowa was Very Difficult
d.
Trees had to be cut
down to make
bridges and boats
for wagons to cross.
e.
Many had to stop
along the way for
several months to get
jobs to buy badly
needed supplies.
Travel Across Iowa was Very Difficult
• By the time the Mormons reached the
Missouri River on the west side of Iowa,
it was too late to travel the rest of the
way to the Salt Lake Valley.
• They only traveled 300 miles in a year
• They still had over 1,000 miles to go.
Nauvoo
Winter
Quarters
• They still had the worst of the journey to
make ~ the Rocky Mountains!
June-Aug
Winter Quarters
►
The Mormons established several cities along the banks of the Missouri River.
►
13 ~ Winter Quarters (Nebraska) & Council Bluffs (then Kanesville, Iowa).
►
The winter of 1846-1847 was bitter cold, and the people had little shelter,
wood for fires, or food.
Painting by Pioneer C.C.A. Christensen
►
Many men had left to be a
part of the Mormon Battalion
(see next 6 slides).
►
Many died waiting for spring
to come.
Nebraska
Iowa
The Mormon Battalion
•
14 ~ While the Mormon travelers were
stretched across Iowa, Brigham Young sent
Jesse Little to Washington D.C. to try to get
money and help from the government for
the Mormon refugees.
• No one offered help except the U.S. Army.
• The United States had just declared war on Mexico.
• The U.S. wanted the rest of the land to
the Pacific Ocean to
fulfill our
The Mormon Battalion
• The government was in need of
troops to fight Mexico
• The Mormons were seen as
potential troops (they were close!)
• Despite some protests, Brigham
Young agreed that the Mormons
would send 500 men (and
additional support people) to
fight
the U. S. Army
The Mormon Battalion
15 ~ Why send the troops?
a.
It would show Mormon loyalty to the
United States
b.
They were promised they could settle on
Indian lands in Utah
c.
Wages would be paid in advance to help
families by very badly needed supplies
d.
They could keep their guns and equipment
after the war, which would be needed living
in the West
e.
The troops could help discover and map
new lands for possible Mormon settlements.
The Mormon Battalion
The March to Mexico and California

16 ~ The Mormon Battalion marched under the command of
Phillip St. George Cooke
– A non-Mormon captain who became a friend

Capt. Daniel C. Davis led under Cooke
– Davis County named after him

The trip was uneventful – mostly walking

By the time the Battalion reached Mexico, the war was over,
– so they never had to fight.

17 ~ Today, their march of over
1,500 miles still holds the
record for being the longest
march in U.S. military history!
The Mormon Battalion
• 18 ~ Many others went to work
at Fort Sutter at a lumber mill
where
was discovered
in 1849.
Planning the Trip to the Salt Lake Valley


During the winter at Winter Quarters, Brigham
Young and the other leaders planned for the
best way to get to Utah the following spring.
It was decided that most
of the group would stay
in Winter Quarters
for one more year while
a small advance group
would go first to prepare
the way.
19 ~
The Pioneer
Company

The first group to leave was small and fast
–
71 wagons, 1 boat, and a cannon

20 ~ The group left Winter Quarters in April, 1847

21 ~ Brigham Young was the leader

The group had 143 men (including 2 Black men),
3 women and 2 children
–
93 horses, 66 oxen , 52 mules, 19 cows, 17 dogs, and some chickens!
The Pioneer
Company
The advance party’s jobs would be to:

Make and mark the trail to the Salt
Lake Valley for others to follow.

Set up rest stops along the way that
was near water.

Explore the Salt Lake Valley to find
the best place for the first settlement.

Plant fields and build irrigation
ditches so there would be food for
those who came the next year.
Firsts for Utah
22 ~ 1st White Women Settlers



Ellen Saunders Kimball
Harriet Wheeler Young
Clarissa Decker Young
24 ~ 1st Black Woman Settler

Jane Manning James
– (she came later in the
summer of 1847)
23 ~ 1st Black Man Settler

Green Flake
The Westward Trek
101 Days to “Zion”
25 ~ As the group traveled, they met missionaries from other churches,
trappers, and others who were heading back East.
a.
Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, an Oregon Catholic missionary
b.
Moses (Black) Harris, a Rocky Mt. Fur Company trapper
c.
Miles Goodyear, who sold
his fort to Brigham Young
d.
Jim Bridger (July 7, 1847),
who [according to legend]
bet them they couldn’t
grow a bushel of corn in the
Salt Lake Valley ~ too dry!
The Westward Trek



Once the Company got to the Platte River, they
followed the same basic trail as the Oregon
Trail through South Pass to Fort Bridger.
26 ~ The Company followed the north side of
the Platte River to Fort Laramie
It had more grass and less
traffic than the south side
Oregon Trail
Orson Pratt’s Advance Group
As the Pioneer Company came near the Salt Lake
Valley, Brigham Young sent a scouting party ahead
to;
• Find the best route down Emigration Canyon.
• Clear more trees and rocks away from the trail
• Make irrigation ditches.
• Begin planting.
Finding a Home in the Salt Lake Valley
•From Fort Bridger they followed the Hastings Cutoff
route made by the Donner-Reed party the year before.
•They came down Emigration Canyon to the east side
of the Salt Lake Valley (near today’s Hogle Zoo).
• Orson Pratt’s team moved to
the mouth of City Creek
Canyon to plant the 1st crops.
• The rest of the Pioneer
Company moved to today’s
City Building to make the
first camp.
Syracuse
Jr. High
Ft. Bridger
First Crops
(Hogle Zoo)
First Camp
First to See the Valley!
27 ~ Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow led the
scouting party and went ahead of them to
mark the trail.
They became the first Mormons to see the Salt Lake Valley, on
July 21, 1847.
The rest of the scouts entered on July 22 and July 23 and started
digging irrigation ditches from City Creek Canyon.
• 28 ~ The rest of the Pioneer Company (including Brigham
Young) entered the Salt Lake Valley on the 24th of July, 1847.
– (This is NOT Utah’s birthday as a state!)
Seeing the World Through
Different “Lenses” [Perspectives]

29 ~ Upon first seeing the Salt Lake Valley, different people
had very different views about what they saw:
– Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow shouted,
“Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!” [A shout of joy!]
– Harriet Young said, “I would rather go a thousand miles further
than to remain in such a place as this. . . . My feelings were such
as I cannot describe . . . everything looked gloomy.”
– Wilford Woodruff wrote, “We saw a vast, rich fertile valley . . .
Clothed with the heaviest garb of green vegetation . . . abounding
with the best fresh water springs, rivulets, creeks, brooks,
and rivers of varied sizes.”
Famous First Words
• Brigham Young had been ill for several days laying in the
back of Wilford Woodruff’s wagon.
• No one thought to write down what Brigham Young first
said when he saw the Salt Lake Valley for the 1st time.
• 30 ~
40 years later Wilford Woodruff recalled
President Young as having said something like:
– “It is enough! This is the right place. Drive on!”
Remembering Their Sacrifice
Pioneers Enter The Salt Lake Valley ~ Utah State Capitol Building
The Mormons Enter
the Salt Lake Valley

The rest of the Pioneer Company rode down
Emigration Canyon into the Salt Lake Valley to
settle and build new homes!

They settled on the land that is covered today by
the City Building (across from the Salt Lake Library).

They later built a fort south and west of the first
camp where today’s Pioneer Park is located.
Quiz Tomorrow!
 Be ready to take the 10-question quiz at the
beginning of class tomorrow!
 You will not be able to use your question/note
sheet!
 Study it very well tonight!
 I know you will do very well!