TURMOIL IN THE TERRITORY

THINK ABOUT IT In what ways do people of different religious, ethnic, and social experiences sometimes misunderstand each other today? Where are some of the places in the world today where conflict is based on different cultural backgrounds? What are some of the issues?

CLASH OF CULTURE We all know the Mormons settled the Great Basin, but what group had already established entire civilizations before the Mormons even arrived? Many Indian groups couldn’t understand why there was so much competition amongst these new settlers They also didn’t understand why they needed such huge farms The Indians believed that nature provided all that they needed “Extending one way of life meant destroying another” In 1846 before the pioneers arrived, there were about 20,000 Indians By 1900, there were only 2,500 Indians and 300,000 whites

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES The Indians suffered from starvation because they now had to share their food sources with mountain men and pioneers Many Indians suffered from diseases like typhoid, colds, influenza, chicken pox, tuberculosis, scarlet fever, measles and smallpox Why were these diseases so devastating to the Indians? 9 in 10 Indians will die from diseases from the white men These Indians had not built up the immunity that the Europeans had

COOPERATION BETWEEN SETTLERS AND INDIANS Every once in a while the Indians and the Pioneers did cooperate However, it was usually like the first Thanksgiving where the Indians mostly help the new settlers and not the other way around The Indians did begin to trade a lot with the settlers

CONFLICT AMONG TRIBES Settlers quickly learned which tribes held a great animosity towards each other Territorial conflicts often resulted in retaliation There was even conflict within tribes between the different bands The Paiutes saw the Mormons as protection from the more violent Utes

INDIAN WHITE CONFLICTS: THE WALKER WAR, Ute Indians began to raid Mormon towns for food and cattle Western Utes tried to drive Mormons out of their land Later on, a white man killed an Indian in a trade dispute over two fish and a cup of flower The Utes retaliated by killing the white man Disputes and fights started to break out all over the region Brigham Young told his people to make forts for defense, but not to engage the Indians Young met with the Ute leader Walkara to bring an end to conflict

EFFECTS OF THE WALKER WAR The main effect of the Walker War was the displacement of the Indians Most moved out of their area around Utah Lake and moved further south Many Ute bands joined with Goshute tribes

RELIGIOUS CONVERSION The LDS church began sending missionaries to Indian camps to convert them to Christianity Jacob Hamblin became one of the most import missionaries to the Indians He learned both the Ute and Paiute languages The Indians learned to trust Hamblin

THE UTAH WAR The people of Utah and the US government were constantly butting heads The US government appointed officials in Utah that the Utahns didn’t agree with Three federal judges, an Indian agent, and a surveyor left Utah and created false rumors against Utahns They were called the “runaway” officials and they spread rumors about corruption in Utah

JUDGE WILLIAM DRUMMOND Drummond was appointed to serve in Utah, though he never wanted to go there There was constant friction between Drummond and the Utahns He eventually left the territory and told people in the East about the corruption and plural marriage happening in Utah He also convinced Congress that Young had mounted an army of settlers and Indians to overthrow the US government

PRESIDENT BUCHANAN PREPARES FOR WAR Because of all of these rumors, President Buchanan organized a small army to put down what he believed was a rebellion He also sent a new territorial governor, Alfred Cumming, to replace Brigham Young The army was called the Utah Expedition led by Albert Sidney Johnston

TERRITORY PREPARES FOR WAR The size of the Utah Militia quickly grew to protect Salt Lake City A small army, known as Lot’s Army, rode to Wyoming to harass the federal soldiers by destroying prairie grass, driving off animals, and burning supply wagons They also burned down Fort Bridger They also fortified the road and canyon from Fort Bridger to Salt Lake City They painted logs to look like canons They dressed trees to look like soldiers They were also ready to blow a dam to flood the canyon if necessary

BUCHANAN’S BLUNDER The Utah Expedition struggled due to the harassment by the Utahns They also suffered major losses during the winter People in Washington began to criticize the President for sending troops to Utah without any real evidence This event is known as Buchanan’s Blunder Friend of the Mormons, Thomas Kane, told the President that he would talk with Young to see what was really happening in Utah Young said that the Mormons would welcome the new governor, Cumming, if he came without any troops

END OF ISOLATION Johnston and his troops were stationed just outside the Salt Lake Valley at Camp Floyd The soldiers brought money into Utah, but they also brought the “Wild West” Three years later the Civil War started and Lincoln called for all the soldiers to come back east Governor Cumming, who was considered to be a good governor by the Utahns, left shortly after the soldiers The Utah war brought many diverse people into Utah For many years after, Utans were considered rebellious and different by the rest of the nations