T H E STATE O F DESERET I. GENESIS OF T H E STATE OF DESERET—(1847-1849)
"Deseret" is almost a lost word in Utah. It survives only colorlessly, in the name of a few business firms and religious organizations. Latter-day Saint children sing hymns to "our lovely Deseret" with little understanding of the passionate devotion the name once commanded, or the aspiration which it encompassed. Most of the pioneers who fought for the cause of Deseret are no longer living, and except in the eyes of history, "Deseret" is dead. But for students of history and social institutions, the story of Deseret is of enduring interest. Deseret introduced Utah to national political life, indelibly shaping Utah life and institutions, and as an idea and an ideal persisted in the social and po!itic|al struggles of Utah for thirty years after its cause was lost. Among the states of the Union, only five made a spontaneous effort at self-creation. Texas is unique; Texas fought a war of independence with Mexico and then as a sovereign government secured annexation to the United States under terms accorded no other state. Of the other four which boldly laid hands upon their destinies Franklin, Oregon, and Deseret were unsuccessful, while California achieved its ends. 1 As an example of political organization Deseret is more significant than any of its fellows. It was "an efficient government; more so than the spontaneous governments of Oregon or Franklin had been.'" T h e Ordinances of the State of Deseret fully indicate 1 Franklin. the embryo state of Tennessee, made its first effort toward independent organization prior to the American Revolution. In 1772 residents of the unorganized western part of North Carolina established a form of government called the Watauga Association, designed to establish the minimum Institutions of government which North Carolina would not provide. This Association came to nothing, and the region was organized as a part of North Carolina, first as Washington District and then as Washington County, but in 1784, in protest at the neglect of the mother state, settlers again established an independent government, a constitution being adopted, elections held, a governor elected, and the state of Franklin (earlier Frankland) established in 1785. Like Deseret in after years. Franklin was held in suspicion of treason because of the forthright Initiative displayed by the settlers. Owing to the Influence of North Carolina, all the efforts of this state to secure recognition during Its three year life were fruitless. Congress finally organized the region In 1790 as the "Territory South of the River Ohio." Emigration to Oregon, which assumed important proportions after 1840, led in 1843 to an effort at Champoeg toward establishment of an Independent state government. The Oregonians created a local government based upon the laws of Iowa Territory. This governing body was at first an executive committee of three citizens, but in 1845 the committee was abolished and a governor chosen. The provisional government was not recognized by Congress, and no fully sanctioned government was established until Congress, after delays quite typical of its action on western problems, created a territorial government in 1848. The case of New Mexico Is somewhat different. Various military and' civil governments ruled after the proclamation of United States rule by General Stephen Kearny on August 22, 1846. Congress was petitioned for a territorial government in October, 1848, and again in September, 1849. In May. 1850, a convention at Santa Fe drafted a constitution for the state of New Mexico which was adopted by the people in a June election. The legislature met in July, with the result that the military government denied the authority of the provisional government until Congress should have recognized it. Colorado also established a provisional state, named Jefferson, In 1859, but the Colorado territory was nominally a part of five other Territories, and there were too many governments on the one hand and too much Interest in the gold mines on the other for "Jefferson" to acquire any real existence. Frederic L. Paxson, History of the American Frontier, 1763-1893 (Boston, 1924. 598 pp.). p. 339.
