Introduction

When people today look back on events in the past, they sometimes think that things turned out the only way that they could. They don’t usually think about the way that events may have gone differently. The concept of contingency is a historical idea that means that there are many ways that events can happen and that people in the past don’t know how things are going to turn out. Small choices can make a big difference in what happens.

One example of this was the decision of the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, sometimes referred to as the Mormon Church, to settle in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Brigham Young was the leader of the church at that time. In this inquiry you will develop an interpretation of why Brigham Young and other leaders of the church chose the Salt Lake Valley to settle instead of a different place.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1830 in Fayette, New York. Over the years, many people joined the church. One of the practices of the members of the church, sometimes called Saints, was to gather in communities. Large groups of Saints settled in Kirtland, Ohio, but financial problems and persecution led them to relocate to the frontier in Missouri. Persecution is when people are mean or even violent toward other people because of their religion, race, or some other thing that makes them different. As the number of Saints in various communities in Missouri grew, persecution increased there too. Eventually the Saints settled in Nauvoo, Illinois, where they built a large city. As persecution increased around Nauvoo the leaders of the church realized they needed a new place to live. But where would it be? In Nauvoo, Joseph Smith, the president of the church at the time, organized a group called the Council of 50. One of their jobs was to figure out a good place for the Saints to move if persecution continued in Nauvoo. After Joseph Smith was killed, the Saints were forced to leave Nauvoo. Why did Brigham Young, the new leader of the church, choose to settle in the Salt Lake Valley?

While the Saints were moving from place to place, and preparing to find a new home, much was happening in the West. In 1836 Texas declared independence from Mexico. Would the Saints leave the US and move there? John C. Fremont explored the Great Basin between 1843-45, building Americans’ interest in the region. In 1845 Texas became part of the US. The southwestern part of what is now the United States, including California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico was still claimed by Mexico as the Saints began to leave Nauvoo in 1846. That same year war broke out with Mexico. Later that year Oregon became part of the US. Through all these years, powerful Native American nations lived in the Great Basin and in other places where the Saints might choose to settle. How did the events that involved many countries and Native American nations play a role in the Saints’ decision to settle the Salt Lake Valley?

Here are five theories for why the Saints chose to settle in the Salt Lake Valley. Your job is to sort through several primary sources and see how these theories are supported or opposed by historical evidence.

1. Physical conditions theory:

   The Saints chose to settle in the Salt Lake Valley because the physical conditions of the valley were great for farming, building a large city, and for protecting them from their enemies.

2. National and international conditions theory:

   Conditions in the United States and in other countries, including countries’ borders in 1847, led to the Saints’ decision to settle in the Salt Lake Valley. Conditions of the Native Americans also contributed to the Saints’ decision.

3. Other places theory:

   The Saints thought about settling in other places but none of those other places worked out, so they settled in the Salt Lake Valley instead.

4. Instincts/inspiration theory:

   When Brigham Young, the man who led the Saints, saw the Salt Lake Valley he knew it was the right place, either through his instincts or, as the Saints believed, because of inspiration.

5. Explorers’ reports theory:

   Early government explorers and trappers who traveled into the West said good things about the Salt Lake Valley and the Saints and others read their reports and felt inspired.

These are some of the sources available to inform us about why the saints moved to Utah. Click on each source below to gather evidence and investigate why the Saints settled in the Salt Lake Valley. Most accounts include the original version, as well as a version simplified for student use.

7th Grade:

UT Standard 2.1: Students will explain the causes and lasting effects of the Mormon migration to Utah.

8th Grade:

US I Standard 6.1: Students will compare and contrast historians' interpretations of the ideas, resources, and events that motivated the territorial expansion of the United States.

Instructions for Graphic Organizer

Teachers: There are 2 different versions of the graphic organizer to choose from. When you make a copy of the google doc you will have access to both, however you may still want to simplify, adjust, or scaffold the activity for your students, depending on grade level/ability. This is just a jumping off point.

Graphic Organizer 1 (more support):

1. Choose 5 sources from the archive page to analyze. (Teachers: you may assign sources for students to look at, create groups, or let them choose. You can also add or remove rows from the table if you want students to look at more/fewer sources)
2. In the first column, write the name of the source, the author, the date it was published, and the type of source it is.
3. In the second column list evidence from the document that contributes to one of the 5 theories. You may use direct quotes or may describe the main idea of the evidence.
4. In the third column circle the theory that the document supports according to the evidence you cited.
5. Repeat the process for each additional source, once you have completed 5 sources move onto the second page of the worksheet.
6. Assign one color to each of the five theories and indicate which theory corresponds to each color on your pie chart.
7. Color in the pie chart according to the percentage of the decision to settle you believe can be attributed to each factor. Each segment of the pie chart represents 5%.

Graphic Organizer 2 (less support):

1. Choose 5 sources from the archive page to analyze. (Teachers: you may assign sources for students to look at, create groups, or let them choose. You can also add or remove rows from the table if you want students to look at more/fewer sources)
2. After close reading and annotating each of the 5 sources, write the name of each source in the column assigned to the theory you believe the source most directly supports.
3. Repeat the process for each additional source, once you have completed 5 sources move onto the second page of the worksheet.
4. Assign one color to each of the five theories and indicate which theory corresponds to each color on your pie chart.
5. Color in the pie chart according to the percentage of the decision to settle you believe can be attributed to each factor. Each segment of the pie chart represents 5%.