Question

How did westward settlement and expansion impact the Mormons?

Answer 1

The Mormon Church, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830.  Joseph Smith had prophetic visions that inspired led him to build a better society.  Many of his beliefs angered a large number of people, such as the idea of communal or shared property and polygamy (the idea that a man can have multiple wives).  Initially, Smith had formed a community in New York, but due to disapproval of the Mormon religion, the group was forced to move westward.  The Mormons settled in Ohio, then onto Missouri and eventually Illinois.  In Illinois, Joseph Smith was murdered by an angry mob and his leadership in the Mormon Church was taken over by Brigham Young in 1844.

After Smith's death, Brigham Young decided that the Mormons should move west to avoid further persecution and form the ideal community that Smith envisioned.  In the 1830s and 1840s, America was expanding westward into Oregon Territory and Texas.  Utah, however, was still largely unsettled because the terrain was considered harsh and unsuitable for farming.  Young led the Mormons to settle around the Great Salt Lake in 1846.  This migration was the single largest movement of people in American history.  The Mormons made the area flourish with hard work and resilience, by building towns, irrigation systems, industries, and educational institutions.