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{{Short description|Provisional state founded by Mormons, 1848–1850}}
[[Image:Wpdms_deseret_utah_territory_legend.png|thumbnail|right|300px|The boundaries of the provisional State of Deseret (orange) as proposed in 1849. The area the Utah Territory as organized in 1850 is shaded in pink.]]
{{distinguish|Deseret Nation}}
{{Use American English|date = August 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| conventional_long_name = State of Deseret
| common_name = Deseret
| status = [[List of historical unrecognized countries|Unrecognized state]]
| year_start = 1849
| year_end = 1850
| p1 = Centralist Republic of Mexico
| flag_p1 = Bandera_de_la_República_Central_Mexicana.svg
| s1 = Utah Territory
| flag_s1 = Flag_of_the_Utah_Territory.svg
| image_map = State of Deseret, vector image cropped - 2011.svg
| image_map_caption = The boundaries of the provisional State of Deseret (orange with black outline) as proposed in 1849. Modern state boundaries are underlaid for reference.
| capital = [[Salt Lake City]]
| common_languages = [[English language|English]]
*[[Deseret Alphabet|Deseret Alphabet (limited)]]
| religion = [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
| government_type = [[Theodemocracy]]
| leader_title1 = [[Governor]]
| leader_name1 = [[Brigham Young]]
| year_leader1 = 1849–1850
| leader_title2 = [[Lieutenant Governor]]
| leader_name2 = [[Heber C. Kimball]]
| today = [[United States]]
*[[Arizona]]
*[[California]]
*[[Colorado]]
*[[Idaho]]
*[[Nevada]]
*[[New Mexico]]
*[[Oregon]]
*[[Utah]]
*[[Wyoming]]
| demonym =
| area_km2 =
| area_rank =
| GDP_PPP =
| GDP_PPP_year =
| HDI =
| HDI_year =
| image_flag = File:Mormon Flag of God´s Kingdom (2002).svg
| image_coat =
| flag_caption = Flags of the State of Deseret
| image_flag2 = Alleged Mormon flag 1877.svg
| alt_flag2 = Reconstruction of an alleged flag
}}


The '''State of Deseret''' (modern pronunciation {{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-Deseret.ogg|ˌ|d|ɛ|z|ə|ˈ|r|ɛ|t}} {{respell|DEZ|ə|RET}},<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/pronunciation?lang=eng churchofjesuschrist.org: "Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide"] (retrieved February 25, 2012), [[Wikipedia:IPA for English|IPA]]-ified from «dĕz-a-rĕt´»</ref> contemporaneously {{IPAc-en|d|ɛ|s|iː|r|ɛ|t}} {{respell|dess|ee|ret}},{{dubious|Pronunciation of the name|date=December 2024}} as recorded in the [[Deseret alphabet]] spelling 𐐔𐐯𐑅𐐨𐑉𐐯𐐻)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php/DESERET |title=DESERET |work=Book of Mormon Onomasticon |publisher=[[Brigham Young University]] |quotation=[[Deseret Alphabet]]: 𐐔𐐇𐐝𐐀𐐡𐐇𐐓 (dɛsiːrɛt)}}</ref> was a proposed [[U.S. state|state]] of the United States, promoted by leaders of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) who had founded settlements in what is today the state of [[Utah]]. A provisional state government operated for nearly two years in 1849–50, but was never recognized by the United States government. The name Deseret derives from the [[Deseret (Book of Mormon)|word for "honeybee"]] in the [[Book of Mormon]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ether 2|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/ether/2.3?lang=eng&clang=eng#p3|access-date=2020-10-11|website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org}}</ref>
The '''State of Deseret''' was a provisional state of the [[United States]], proposed in [[1849]] by [[Mormon]] settlers in [[Salt Lake City]].
The provisional state existed for slightly over two years and was never recognized by the United States government. The name derives from the word for "honeybee" in the [[Book of Mormon]].

(''see'' [[Deseret]])


==History==
==History==


===Proposed concept as territory, then state===
===Formation of the Proposal===
When members of the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]] (the Mormons) settled in the valley of the [[Great Salt Lake]], they wished to set up a government that would be recognized by the [[United States]].
When members of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]] (the [[Mormon pioneers]]) settled in the [[Salt Lake Valley]] near the [[Great Salt Lake]] in [[1847]] (then part of the [[Centralist Republic of Mexico]]), they wished to set up a government that would be recognized by their home country back east of the United States.


Initially [[Brigham Young]], President of the LDS Church, had intended to apply for status as a territory, and had sent John M. Bernhisel eastward to [[Washington, D.C.]] with the petition for territorial status. Realizing that [[California]] and [[New Mexico]] were applying for admission as states, Young changed his mind and decided to petition for statehood.
Initially, second L.D.S. [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|church president]] [[Brigham Young]] (1801–1877, served 1847–1877), intended to apply for status as a territory, and sent [[John Milton Bernhisel]] (1799–1881), to the national capital at [[Washington, D.C.]], with the petition for territorial status. Realizing that [[California]] and [[U.S. provisional government of New Mexico|New Mexico]] were applying for admission as states, President Young changed his mind and decided to petition for statehood.{{citation needed|date = October 2013}}


Realizing that they did not have time to follow the usual steps towards statehood{{clarification needed|date=March 2024}}, Young and a group of church elders formed a convention in the capital town of Salt Lake City, where they quickly drafted and adopted a state constitution on March 6, 1849.<ref name= zanesville>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/37838998/ The State of Deseret]". ''The Zanesville Courier'' (Zanesville, Ohio). Newspapers.com. October 9, 1949. p. 2.</ref><ref name= progress>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/32258616/ The State of Deseret: Progress of a Mormon Settlement]". ''The New York Evening Post''. Newspapers.com. October 10, 1849. p. 2.</ref> It was based on that of [[Iowa]], where the Mormons had passed through and some had temporarily settled. The [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] state legislature had 17 senators in its upper chamber and 35 representatives, in the lower chamber, all free white male citizens.<ref name= zanesville/> The state government also had an elected governor, a lieutenant governor, and a supreme court with judges / justices.<ref name= zanesville/> The state constitution was silent however on the burning political / social / economic issue ripping the nation apart in the [[1850s]] on the matter of [[History of slavery in Utah|slavery]].<ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/767202428/ State of Deseret]". ''Alexandria Gazette'' (Alexandria, Virginia). Newspapers.com. October 10, 1849. p. 2.</ref><ref name= progress/> The state constitution went into effect on May 10.<ref name= zanesville/>
In March 1849, realizing that they did not have time to follow the usual steps towards statehood, Young and a group of church elders quickly drafted a state constitution based on that of [[Iowa]], where the Mormons had temporarily settled, and sent the legislative records and constitution back to that state for printing, since no printing press existed in the [[Great Basin]] at the time. They then sent a second messenger with a copy of the state's formal records and constitution to meet up with Bernhisel in Washington, D.C. and petition for statehood rather than territorial status.


They sent the legislative records and constitution back east to [[Iowa]] for printing, because no printing press existed in the [[Great Basin]] at the time. They then sent a second messenger with a copy of the state's formal records and constitution to meet up with Bernhisel in Washington, D.C., and to petition for statehood rather than territorial status.{{citation needed|date = October 2013}}
===Territory of Deseret===
The provisional state was a bold proposal, encompassing most of the territory that had been acquired from [[Mexico]] the previous year, as the [[Mexican Cession]].


===Geography of the proposed state===
It comprised roughly all the lands between the [[Sierra Nevada (US)|Sierra Nevada]] and the [[Rocky Mountains|Rockies]], and between the border with Mexico northward to include parts of the [[Oregon Territory]], as well as the coast of California south of the [[Santa Monica Mountains]] (including the existing settlements of [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] and [[San Diego]]). It included the entire watershed of the [[Colorado River (U.S.)|Colorado River]] (excluding the lands south of the border with Mexico), as well as the entire area of the [[Great Basin]].
[[File:Washington Monument Deseret Stone in 2000.jpg|thumb|The Deseret Stone used in the construction of the [[Washington Monument]]. The stone was donated by the territory in 1853 to represent the provisional state.]]
The provisional state encompassed most of the territory that had been acquired from [[Mexico]] the previous year as the [[Mexican Cession]].


The Territory of Deseret would have comprised roughly all the lands between the mountain ranges of the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] in the west and the [[Rocky Mountains|Rockies]] to the east, and between the first laid out southern border with Mexico and then northward to include parts of the [[Oregon Territory]], (recently split along the 49th parallel of latitude by treaty with the British further north in western [[Canada]]), as well as the coast of northern California south of the [[Santa Monica Mountains]] (including the existing settlements / missions and pueblos of [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] and [[San Diego]]). This included the entire watershed of the upper [[Colorado River (U.S.)|Colorado River]] (excluding the lands south of the 1854 new second border with Mexico), after the borderline [[Gadsden Purchase]] of [[1854]], as well as the entire area of the central [[Great Basin]]. The proposal encompassed nearly all of present-day [[Utah]] and [[Nevada]], large portions of [[California|eastern California]] along with [[Arizona]], and parts of western [[Colorado]] and [[New Mexico]], southern [[Wyoming]] and [[Idaho]], along with southeastern [[Oregon]].
The proposal encompassed most nearly all of present-day [[Utah]] and [[Nevada]], large portions of [[California]] and [[Arizona]], and parts of [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]], [[Wyoming]], [[Idaho]], and [[Oregon]].


The proposal was crafted specifically to avoid disputes that might arise from existing settlements of White Americans.<ref>Michael J. Trinklein (2010). Lost States: True Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It. Quirk Books. {{ISBN|978-1-59474-410-5}},</ref> At the time of its proposal, the existing population of the Deseret area, including Southern California, was sparse, since most of the California settlement had been in the northern [[California gold rush]] areas of [[1848]] - [[1849]] around [[San Francisco Bay]] and [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] not included in the provisional state. Likewise, the border with [[New Mexico]] did not reach the [[Rio Grande]], in order to avoid becoming entangled in the existing disputes of the western and northwestern borders of [[Texas]] after the old expansive [[Republic of Texas]] was admitted as the 28th state in [[1846]]. Deseret state also avoided encroaching on the fertile [[Willamette Valley]] further north in western [[Oregon]], which had been heavily traveled and settled by legions of wagon trains since the [[1840s]] with the famous [[Oregon Trail]]. Planners utilized "a map drawn by cartographer [[Charles Preuss]] (1803-1854), and published by order of the [[United States Senate]] in [[1848]]."<ref>"Constitution of the State of Deseret, With the Journal of the Convention Which Formed It, and the Proceedings of the Legislature Consequent Thereon" (Kanesville, UT: Orson Hyde, 1849).</ref> This map was drawn by Preuss, based on survey data from famous military officer and Western explorer [[John C. Frémont]] (1813–1890), and published in 1848.<ref>"Map Of Oregon And Upper California...to the Bay of San Francisco" (Washington, D.C.: Wendell and Van Benthuysen, 1848).</ref>


[[File:DeseretBeehive.png|thumb|upright|The Beehive symbol often associated with Deseret.]]
The proposal was crafted specifically to avoid disputes that might arise from existing settlement. At the time of its proposal, the existing population of the area, including Southern California, was sparse, since most of the California settlement had been in the northern [[gold rush]] areas not included in the provisional state. Likewise the border with [[New Mexico]] did not reach to the [[Rio Grande]], in order to avoid becoming entangled in the existing disputes of the western border of [[Texas]].
Since the proposal encompassed lands largely considered inhospitable for cultivation, it was hoped that it might avoid conflict over the issue of the expansion of [[slavery]]. Its size would make it easier to preserve the balance of power in the [[United States Senate|Senate]], by decreasing the number of [[Free state (USA)|free states]] entered into the Union. However, the proposal for the state was seen as too ambitious to succeed in [[United States Congress|Congress]], even setting aside controversy over the Mormons and the rumored but not yet publicly acknowledged practice of [[plural marriage|polygamy]].


===Political context for creation of Utah Territory===
Moreover, the proposal encompassed lands largely known to be inhospitable for cultivation, thus avoiding conflict over the issue of the expansion of [[slavery]].
The [[California Constitutional Convention]] debates of [[1849]] in [[Monterey, California]], mentioned the Mormons or Salt Lake a number of times<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HfIJAAAAIAAJ&q=mormon |title=Report of the Debates in the Convention of California on the Formation of ... - California. Constitutional Convention, John Ross Browne - Google Books |chapter=chapters about Mormons |access-date=August 13, 2012|last1=Browne |first1=John Ross |year=1850 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HfIJAAAAIAAJ&q=salt%20lake |title=Report of the Debates in the Convention of California on the Formation of ... - California. Constitutional Convention, John Ross Browne - Google Books |chapter=chapters about Salt Lake |access-date=August 13, 2012|last1=Browne |first1=John Ross |year=1850 }}</ref> along with the continuing and intensifying North–South political and social / economic conflict over the extension of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] into the [[Territories of the United States|western territories]] of the [[United States]].. Advocates of smaller boundaries to be laid out for the new 31st state to the east (such as the longitude meridian line of [[116th meridian west|116° west]] or the crest of the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] range of the western [[Rocky Mountains]]) argued that the Mormons were unrepresented at the constitutional convention, culturally different, and apparently planning themselves to be applying for their own territorial government to be formed further to the east They also argued that the [[Great Salt Lake]] was too far away for a single territorial or state government to be practical and that the American Congress would not agree to such a second huge state (after the experience, controversy and debates about boundaries of five years earlier with the admission of the [[Republic of Texas]] as the 28th state of the American Union in [[1846]]). Those delegates for California advocating retention of all of the [[Centralist Republic of Mexico]]'s former province along the [[Pacific Ocean]] coast of [[Alta California]] (Upper California), from the [[Mexican Cession]] of their northwestern territories in the negotiated peace treaty following the defeat in the [[Mexican–American War]] of [[1846]] - [[1849]] recently concluded. It resulted in extensive lands acquired in the current [[Southwestern United States]].


With congressional action regarding Upper California's boundaries and status soon approaching, the provisional government to the east of Deseret sent Mormon apostle [[Amasa Lyman]] (1813–1877), and John Wilson, a federal [[Indian agent]] in California, as a delegation to the [[interim government of California]], then situated in the temporary capital of the coastal ocean town of [[Monterey, California|Monterey]]. The delegates sought to call a new statehood constitutional convention and include Deseret in the new state so as to settle the slavery question throughout the vast territory acquired from Mexico. However, the newly elected first [[Governor of California]], [[Peter H. Burnett]] (1807–1895, served 1849–1851), rejected the proposal on the basis that the community in the [[Great Salt Lake]] area was too far away to the east beyond the Sierra Nevada mountains and [[Great Basin Desert]] (in future [[Nevada]]) to combine under a single western government even temporarily.<ref>{{cite news | title = Deseret Asks Admittance to California | newspaper = Deseret News | date = July 6, 1850 | url = https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=2569801 | page=7 | access-date = November 26, 2023}}</ref>
The proposal for the state was largely considered too ambitious to succeed in [[United States Congress|Congress]], even disregarding the controversy over Mormon practices such as [[polygamy]]. Nevertheless, in 1849 President [[Zachary Taylor]], eager to avoid disputes as much as possible, sent his agent [[John Wilson (disambiguation)|John Wilson]] westward with a proposal to combine California and Deseret as a single state, which would have the desirable effect of decreasing the number of free states entered into the Union, and thus preserving the balance of power in the [[United States Senate|Senate]].


[[File:Utah Territory with Deseret Border, vector image - 2011.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Utah Territory is shown in blue, while the proposed State of Deseret is outlined by the dotted line. Modern state boundaries underlaid for reference.]]
===Government===


On September 9, 1850, as part of the negotiated [[Compromise of 1850]], in Congress in [[Washington, D.C.]], that the new [[Utah Territory]] was created by Act of [[United States Congress|Congress]], encompassing a portion of the northern section of the earlier proposed state Deseret.<ref name= settled>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/50252532/ The Question Settled]". ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' (Brooklyn, New York). Newspapers.com. September 9, 1950. p. 2.</ref> The Representatives and Senators in the Congress decided that the question of whether slavery would be allowed in the newly erected territory would be decided by voting referendum of the territory's residents.<ref name= settled/>
In the absence of other authority, the provisional government of Deseret became the ''de facto'' government of the Great Basin. Three sessions of the [[General Assembly]], a [[bicameral]] state legisture, were held. In [[1850]], the legislature appointed judges and established a criminal code. Taxes were established on property and liquor, and gambling was outlawed. [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] was incorporated, and a militia, based on the [[Nauvoo Legion]], was formed.


===Lingering impact after territorial incorporation===
The legislature initially formed six counties, which covered only inhabited valleys. These "valley counties" initially encompassed only a small portion of the area of Deseret and were expanded and settlement grew [http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/nsla/archives/political/historical/hist04.htm].
[[File:Utah 9.svg|thumb|upright|The Beehive symbol used on Utah's [[State highway|state route]] [[Highway shield|shield]].]]
On February 3, 1851, Brigham Young was inaugurated as the first governor of the Utah Territory. On April 4, 1851, the General Assembly of Deseret passed a resolution to dissolve the state. On October 4, 1851, the Utah territorial legislature voted to re-enact the laws and ordinances of the state of Deseret.


After the establishment of the Utah Territory, the Latter-day Saints did not relinquish the idea of a "State of Deseret". From 1862 to 1870, a group of Mormon elders under Young's leadership met as a [[Government in exile|shadow government]] after each session of the territorial legislature to ratify the new laws under the name of the "state of Deseret".{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}} Attempts were made in 1856, 1862, and 1872 to write a new state constitution under that name, based on the new boundaries of the Utah Territory.
===Establishment of Utah Territory===


The idea of creating a secular political state in the American Union based on the religious tenets of [[Mormonism]] began to fade away, especially after the coming of the trans-continental railroad, which opened up the territory to many non-Mormon settlers of other religious faiths, particularly in the western areas of the territory. Church President and first governor of the Territory, Brigham Young and the LDS Church leaders / bishops supported the massive construction project of the east–west railroad, even taking members that were working on the landmark monumental [[Salt Lake Temple]] and even helping by reassigning them to work on the [[Central Pacific Railroad]] heading east from the Pacific Ocean coast and [[Sacramento, California]] to the Rocky Mountains to link up with the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] driving westward from [[Missouri]] and [[Nebraska]]. The legendary driving of the famous [[golden spike]] just 66 miles northeast from the Great Salt Lake, completed the [[First Transcontinental Railroad (North America)|first transcontinental railroad]] across [[North America]] at [[Promontory, Utah|Promontory Summit]] in the Utah Territory in May [[1869]], two decades after its establishment.
In September [[1850]], as part of the [[Compromise of 1850]], the [[Utah Territory]] was created by Act of [[United States Congress|Congress]], encompassing a portion of the northern section of Deseret.


==Government==
[[February 3]], [[1851]], Brigham Young was inaugurated as the first governor of the Utah Territory. On [[April 4]], [[1851]] the General Assembly passed a resolution to dissolve the state. On [[October 4]], the territorial legislature voted to re-enact the laws and ordinances of the State of Deseret.
Prior to the establishment of Utah Territory, in the absence of other authority, the provisional government of Deseret became the ''de facto'' government of the Great Basin. Three sessions of its General Assembly, a [[bicameral]] [[State legislature (United States)|state legislature]], were held. In 1850, the legislature appointed [[Judicial System of the State of Deseret|judges]] and established a criminal code. Taxes were established on property, and liquor and gambling were outlawed. The LDS Church was incorporated and a militia, based on the earlier [[Nauvoo Legion]] (from [[Nauvoo, Illinois]] where the Mormon pilgrims were formerly centered) was formed.


The legislature initially formed six [[County (United States)|counties]], which covered only inhabited valleys. These "valley counties" initially encompassed only a small portion of the area of Deseret and were expanded as settlement grew.<ref>[http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/nsla/archives/political/historical/hist04.htm Territory of Utah] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040115220959/http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/NSLA/archives/political/historical/hist04.htm |date=January 15, 2004 }}, Historical and Political Data, Political History of Nevada, Department of Cultural Affairs, Nevada State Library and Archives, accessed July 1, 2007</ref>
After the establishment of the Utah Territory, the Mormons did not relinquish the idea of the State of Deseret. Attempts were made in 1856, 1862, and 1872 to write a new constitution for the state based on the new boundaries of the Utah Territory. From 1862 to 1870, a group of Mormon elders under Young's leadership met as a [[shadow government]] after each session of the territorial legislature to ratify the new laws under the name of the "State of Deseret."


==Flags==
The idea of creating a state based on Mormonism began to dissolve after the coming of the railroad, which opened the territory to many non-Mormon settlers, particularly in the western areas of the territory. The driving of the [[golden spike]] to complete the [[First Transcontinental Railroad (North America)|first transcontinental railroad]] at [[Promontory, Utah|Promontory Point]] in [[1869]] was boycotted by church elders and territorial officials.
According to most descriptions, the Deseret flag was similar to the historic [[flag of Utah|Utah]] state flag. However, it was not standardized, and multiple other secular and religious alternatives were also used.<ref>[[Ronald W. Walker|Walker, Ronald W.]] [http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/dialogue&CISOPTR=22641&REC=2 "A Banner is Unfurled"] ''[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]]'' Volume 26 Number 4, Winter 1993, pages 71-91.</ref> Variants similar to the US Flag were also reported.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-utdes.html|title=Deseret Territory (Utah, U.S.)|website=www.crwflags.com|access-date=2019-10-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.loeser.us/flags/utah.html|title=Historical Flags of Our Ancestors - State of Utah - USA|website=www.loeser.us|access-date=2019-10-29}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Alleged Mormon flag 1877.svg|A modern attempt to recreate an unofficial flag used by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Based on an 1877 description by Don Maguire
File:Mormon Flag of God´s Kingdom (2002).svg|Deseret Flag as depicted by the flag atop [[Ensign Peak]] and created by [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
File:Pike Peaks Deseret flag.png|Remake of one of the flags that flew in [[Pikes Peak]] [[Colorado]] during the [[Pioneer Day]] Celebration, on July 24, 1856
File:1855 State of Deseret flag.png|This is recreation of a flag that flew on top of Livingston, Kinkead & Co building in [[Salt Lake City]], on [[Independence Day (United States)|July 4th]], 1855
File:Flag of Deseret (reconstructed).svg|Reconstruction of a flag, as described in contemporary newspapers
</gallery>

==Deseret in fiction==
*In [[Ward Moore]]'s 1953 [[Alternate history]] novel ''[[Bring the Jubilee]]'', set in an alternate timeline reality where the [[American Civil War alternate histories|Confederacy won the U.S. Civil War]] and the United States in the North became a corrupt and dysfunctional [[rump state]], Deseret is mentioned as being the only prosperous state in the Union's Far West (where polygamy is still practiced).
*In the [[Car Wars]] board game first published in 1980 (and fiction set in its near-future alternate universe), Utah secedes from the U.S. under the name the Republic of Deseret in the aftermath of a second Civil War, but eventually agrees to rejoin as an "autonomous region". More specific details are provided in ''Volume Seven: Mountain West'' of ''The AADA Road Atlas and Survival Guide''.<ref>The AADA Road Atlas and Survival Guide: Volume Seven: Mountain West</ref> According to the ''Car Wars Sixth Edition''<ref>Car Wars Sixth Edition</ref> first published in 2020, this will happen in 2065.
*In [[Harry Turtledove]]'s ''[[Southern Victory]]'' series of post-Civil War alternate fiction books, published 1997 to 2007, the Mormons of Utah attempt to secede from the United States as Deseret during the supposed [[How Few Remain|Second Mexican War]] and the [[Great War (series)|First]] and [[Settling Accounts|Second Great Wars]]. This results in the LDS Church being banned by that futuristic U.S. government.
*In [[Paradox Interactive|Paradox Interactive's]] [[Grand strategy wargame|grand strategy game]] ''[[Victoria II]]'', as well as its sequel, ''[[Victoria 3]]'', Deseret is a formable nation which may gain independence from Mexico or the United States.
*In [[Francis Spufford]]'s 2023 alternative history novel ''[[Cahokia Jazz]]'', Deseret is an independent republic, negotiating for admission to the Union in the slightly different 1920s.


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Latter Day Saint movement}}
*[[Utah War]]
*[[Council of Fifty]]
*[[Deseret Alphabet]]
*[[Deseret News Publishing Company]]
*[[Deseret Book Company]]
*[[Deseret News]]
*[[Deseret Ranches]]
*[[Territories of the United States]]
*[[Territorial evolution of the United States]]
*[[List of United States territories that failed to become states]]
*[[Mormon colonies in Mexico]]
*[[Mormon Corridor]]
*[[Theodemocracy]]
*[[Utah War]] (1857–1858)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Works cited==
*[[James B. Allen (historian)|Allen, James B.]] and [[Glen M. Leonard|Leonard, Glen M.]] ''[[The Story of the Latter-day Saints]].'' [[Deseret Book Co.]], Salt Lake City, UT, 1976. {{ISBN|0-87747-594-6}}.
*{{cite journal |first= Peter |last= Crawley |title= The Constitution of the State of Deseret |volume= 29 |issue= 4 |journal= BYU Studies |date= Fall 1989 |pages= 7–22 |jstor= 43041402 |url= http://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2634&context=byusq }}
*{{Citation
|last = Leonard
|first = Glen M.
|author-link = Glen M. Leonard
|title = The Mormon Boundary Question in the 1849–50 Statehood Debates
|pages = 114–136
|journal = [[Journal of Mormon History]]
|volume = 18
|issue = 1
|year = 1992
|url = http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/jmh,14815
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120414223315/http://content.lib.utah.edu/u/?%2Fjmh%2C14815
|archive-date = April 14, 2012
}}.
*[https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/19f454cd-1bfc-40f8-bb49-bf36010f207f/0/14 4th of July "CELEBRATION OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, AT GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH TERRITORY" Historical Department journal history of the Church 1855 July-September], ''LDS archives.'' Page 15
*[https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/cfb09404-ec21-47e9-a661-0233ac831191/0/408 "PIKE'S PEAK" Historical Department journal history of the Church 1856 May-September], ''LDS archives.'' Page 409

==Further reading==
* (1994) [https://web.archive.org/web/20240321165241/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/COINS_AND_CURRENCY.shtml "Coins and Currency"] article in the [https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ ''Utah History Encyclopedia''.] The article was written by Leonard J. Arrington and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from [https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/COINS_AND_CURRENCY.shtml the original] on March 21, 2024, and retrieved on April 12, 2024.
* (1994) [https://web.archive.org/web/20240321165247/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/d/DESERET.shtml "Deseret"] article in the [https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ ''Utah History Encyclopedia''.] The article was written by Richard D. Poll and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from [https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/d/DESERET.shtml the original] on March 21, 2024, and retrieved on April 16, 2024.
* (1994) [https://web.archive.org/web/20240402222734/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/s/STATEHOOD.shtml "Statehood for Utah"] article in the [https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ ''Utah History Encyclopedia''.] The article was written by Edward Leo Lyman and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from [https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/s/STATEHOOD.shtml the original] on April 2, 2024, and retrieved on April 12, 2024.


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/17391 1849 Constitution of the State of Deseret] (PDF scans of 1849 printing)
*[http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/nsla/archives/political/historical/hist04.htm State of Nevada: Utah Territory]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040115220959/http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/NSLA/archives/political/historical/hist04.htm State of Nevada: Utah Territory]
*[http://historytogo.utah.gov/deseret.html Utah History Encyclopedia: State of Deseret]
*[http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/statehood_and_the_progressive_era/struggleforstatehoodchronology.html Struggle For Statehood Chronology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923053232/http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/statehood_and_the_progressive_era/struggleforstatehoodchronology.html |date=September 23, 2006 }} Compiled by Linda Thatcher

{{Former sovereign or unrecognized states within the United States}}
{{Zachary Taylor}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:U.S. historical regions and territories|Deseret, State of]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deseret, State Of}}
[[Category:History of the American West|Deseret, State of]]
[[Category:1849 in the United States]]
[[Category:Great Basin|Deseret, State of]]
[[Category:American frontier]]
[[Category:Defunct organizational subdivisions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
[[Category:Utah history|Deseret, State of]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint history|Deseret, State of]]
[[Category:Former regions and territories of the United States]]
[[Category:Former theocracies]]
[[Category:History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
[[Category:Nauvoo Legion]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Utah]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Wyoming]]
[[Category:Proposed states and territories of the United States]]
[[Category:1849 establishments in the State of Deseret]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1849]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1850]]
[[Category:Mormonism and politics]]

Latest revision as of 20:15, 16 December 2024

Not to be confused with Deseret Nation.

State of Deseret
1849–1850
Flag of Deseret
Reconstruction of an alleged flag
Flags of the State of Deseret
The boundaries of the provisional State of Deseret (orange with black outline) as proposed in 1849. Modern state boundaries are underlaid for reference.
The boundaries of the provisional State of Deseret (orange with black outline) as proposed in 1849. Modern state boundaries are underlaid for reference.
StatusUnrecognized state
CapitalSalt Lake City
Common languagesEnglish
Religion
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
GovernmentTheodemocracy
• Governor
Brigham Young
Heber C. Kimball
History 
• Established
1849
• Disestablished
1850
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Centralist Republic of Mexico
Utah Territory
Today part ofUnited States

The State of Deseret (modern pronunciation /ˌdɛzəˈrɛt/ ⓘ DEZ-ə-RET,[1] contemporaneously /dɛsiːrɛt/ dess-ee-ret,[dubious – discuss] as recorded in the Deseret alphabet spelling 𐐔𐐯𐑅𐐨𐑉𐐯𐐻)[2] was a proposed state of the United States, promoted by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who had founded settlements in what is today the state of Utah. A provisional state government operated for nearly two years in 1849–50, but was never recognized by the United States government. The name Deseret derives from the word for "honeybee" in the Book of Mormon.[3]

History

[edit]

Proposed concept as territory, then state

[edit]

When members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormon pioneers) settled in the Salt Lake Valley near the Great Salt Lake in 1847 (then part of the Centralist Republic of Mexico), they wished to set up a government that would be recognized by their home country back east of the United States.

Initially, second L.D.S. church president Brigham Young (1801–1877, served 1847–1877), intended to apply for status as a territory, and sent John Milton Bernhisel (1799–1881), to the national capital at Washington, D.C., with the petition for territorial status. Realizing that California and New Mexico were applying for admission as states, President Young changed his mind and decided to petition for statehood.[citation needed]

Realizing that they did not have time to follow the usual steps towards statehood[clarification needed], Young and a group of church elders formed a convention in the capital town of Salt Lake City, where they quickly drafted and adopted a state constitution on March 6, 1849.[4][5] It was based on that of Iowa, where the Mormons had passed through and some had temporarily settled. The bicameral state legislature had 17 senators in its upper chamber and 35 representatives, in the lower chamber, all free white male citizens.[4] The state government also had an elected governor, a lieutenant governor, and a supreme court with judges / justices.[4] The state constitution was silent however on the burning political / social / economic issue ripping the nation apart in the 1850s on the matter of slavery.[6][5] The state constitution went into effect on May 10.[4]

They sent the legislative records and constitution back east to Iowa for printing, because no printing press existed in the Great Basin at the time. They then sent a second messenger with a copy of the state's formal records and constitution to meet up with Bernhisel in Washington, D.C., and to petition for statehood rather than territorial status.[citation needed]

Geography of the proposed state

[edit]
The Deseret Stone used in the construction of the Washington Monument. The stone was donated by the territory in 1853 to represent the provisional state.

The provisional state encompassed most of the territory that had been acquired from Mexico the previous year as the Mexican Cession.

The Territory of Deseret would have comprised roughly all the lands between the mountain ranges of the Sierra Nevada in the west and the Rockies to the east, and between the first laid out southern border with Mexico and then northward to include parts of the Oregon Territory, (recently split along the 49th parallel of latitude by treaty with the British further north in western Canada), as well as the coast of northern California south of the Santa Monica Mountains (including the existing settlements / missions and pueblos of Los Angeles and San Diego). This included the entire watershed of the upper Colorado River (excluding the lands south of the 1854 new second border with Mexico), after the borderline Gadsden Purchase of 1854, as well as the entire area of the central Great Basin. The proposal encompassed nearly all of present-day Utah and Nevada, large portions of eastern California along with Arizona, and parts of western Colorado and New Mexico, southern Wyoming and Idaho, along with southeastern Oregon.

The proposal was crafted specifically to avoid disputes that might arise from existing settlements of White Americans.[7] At the time of its proposal, the existing population of the Deseret area, including Southern California, was sparse, since most of the California settlement had been in the northern California gold rush areas of 1848 - 1849 around San Francisco Bay and Sacramento not included in the provisional state. Likewise, the border with New Mexico did not reach the Rio Grande, in order to avoid becoming entangled in the existing disputes of the western and northwestern borders of Texas after the old expansive Republic of Texas was admitted as the 28th state in 1846. Deseret state also avoided encroaching on the fertile Willamette Valley further north in western Oregon, which had been heavily traveled and settled by legions of wagon trains since the 1840s with the famous Oregon Trail. Planners utilized "a map drawn by cartographer Charles Preuss (1803-1854), and published by order of the United States Senate in 1848."[8] This map was drawn by Preuss, based on survey data from famous military officer and Western explorer John C. Frémont (1813–1890), and published in 1848.[9]

The Beehive symbol often associated with Deseret.

Since the proposal encompassed lands largely considered inhospitable for cultivation, it was hoped that it might avoid conflict over the issue of the expansion of slavery. Its size would make it easier to preserve the balance of power in the Senate, by decreasing the number of free states entered into the Union. However, the proposal for the state was seen as too ambitious to succeed in Congress, even setting aside controversy over the Mormons and the rumored but not yet publicly acknowledged practice of polygamy.

Political context for creation of Utah Territory

[edit]

The California Constitutional Convention debates of 1849 in Monterey, California, mentioned the Mormons or Salt Lake a number of times[10][11] along with the continuing and intensifying North–South political and social / economic conflict over the extension of slavery into the western territories of the United States.. Advocates of smaller boundaries to be laid out for the new 31st state to the east (such as the longitude meridian line of 116° west or the crest of the Sierra Nevada range of the western Rocky Mountains) argued that the Mormons were unrepresented at the constitutional convention, culturally different, and apparently planning themselves to be applying for their own territorial government to be formed further to the east They also argued that the Great Salt Lake was too far away for a single territorial or state government to be practical and that the American Congress would not agree to such a second huge state (after the experience, controversy and debates about boundaries of five years earlier with the admission of the Republic of Texas as the 28th state of the American Union in 1846). Those delegates for California advocating retention of all of the Centralist Republic of Mexico's former province along the Pacific Ocean coast of Alta California (Upper California), from the Mexican Cession of their northwestern territories in the negotiated peace treaty following the defeat in the Mexican–American War of 1846 - 1849 recently concluded. It resulted in extensive lands acquired in the current Southwestern United States.

With congressional action regarding Upper California's boundaries and status soon approaching, the provisional government to the east of Deseret sent Mormon apostle Amasa Lyman (1813–1877), and John Wilson, a federal Indian agent in California, as a delegation to the interim government of California, then situated in the temporary capital of the coastal ocean town of Monterey. The delegates sought to call a new statehood constitutional convention and include Deseret in the new state so as to settle the slavery question throughout the vast territory acquired from Mexico. However, the newly elected first Governor of California, Peter H. Burnett (1807–1895, served 1849–1851), rejected the proposal on the basis that the community in the Great Salt Lake area was too far away to the east beyond the Sierra Nevada mountains and Great Basin Desert (in future Nevada) to combine under a single western government even temporarily.[12]

The Utah Territory is shown in blue, while the proposed State of Deseret is outlined by the dotted line. Modern state boundaries underlaid for reference.

On September 9, 1850, as part of the negotiated Compromise of 1850, in Congress in Washington, D.C., that the new Utah Territory was created by Act of Congress, encompassing a portion of the northern section of the earlier proposed state Deseret.[13] The Representatives and Senators in the Congress decided that the question of whether slavery would be allowed in the newly erected territory would be decided by voting referendum of the territory's residents.[13]

Lingering impact after territorial incorporation

[edit]
The Beehive symbol used on Utah's state route shield.

On February 3, 1851, Brigham Young was inaugurated as the first governor of the Utah Territory. On April 4, 1851, the General Assembly of Deseret passed a resolution to dissolve the state. On October 4, 1851, the Utah territorial legislature voted to re-enact the laws and ordinances of the state of Deseret.

After the establishment of the Utah Territory, the Latter-day Saints did not relinquish the idea of a "State of Deseret". From 1862 to 1870, a group of Mormon elders under Young's leadership met as a shadow government after each session of the territorial legislature to ratify the new laws under the name of the "state of Deseret".[citation needed] Attempts were made in 1856, 1862, and 1872 to write a new state constitution under that name, based on the new boundaries of the Utah Territory.

The idea of creating a secular political state in the American Union based on the religious tenets of Mormonism began to fade away, especially after the coming of the trans-continental railroad, which opened up the territory to many non-Mormon settlers of other religious faiths, particularly in the western areas of the territory. Church President and first governor of the Territory, Brigham Young and the LDS Church leaders / bishops supported the massive construction project of the east–west railroad, even taking members that were working on the landmark monumental Salt Lake Temple and even helping by reassigning them to work on the Central Pacific Railroad heading east from the Pacific Ocean coast and Sacramento, California to the Rocky Mountains to link up with the Union Pacific Railroad driving westward from Missouri and Nebraska. The legendary driving of the famous golden spike just 66 miles northeast from the Great Salt Lake, completed the first transcontinental railroad across North America at Promontory Summit in the Utah Territory in May 1869, two decades after its establishment.

Government

[edit]

Prior to the establishment of Utah Territory, in the absence of other authority, the provisional government of Deseret became the de facto government of the Great Basin. Three sessions of its General Assembly, a bicameral state legislature, were held. In 1850, the legislature appointed judges and established a criminal code. Taxes were established on property, and liquor and gambling were outlawed. The LDS Church was incorporated and a militia, based on the earlier Nauvoo Legion (from Nauvoo, Illinois where the Mormon pilgrims were formerly centered) was formed.

The legislature initially formed six counties, which covered only inhabited valleys. These "valley counties" initially encompassed only a small portion of the area of Deseret and were expanded as settlement grew.[14]

Flags

[edit]

According to most descriptions, the Deseret flag was similar to the historic Utah state flag. However, it was not standardized, and multiple other secular and religious alternatives were also used.[15] Variants similar to the US Flag were also reported.[16][17]

  • A modern attempt to recreate an unofficial flag used by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Based on an 1877 description by Don Maguire
    A modern attempt to recreate an unofficial flag used by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Based on an 1877 description by Don Maguire
  • Deseret Flag as depicted by the flag atop Ensign Peak and created by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
    Deseret Flag as depicted by the flag atop Ensign Peak and created by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  • Remake of one of the flags that flew in Pikes Peak Colorado during the Pioneer Day Celebration, on July 24, 1856
    Remake of one of the flags that flew in Pikes Peak Colorado during the Pioneer Day Celebration, on July 24, 1856
  • This is recreation of a flag that flew on top of Livingston, Kinkead & Co building in Salt Lake City, on July 4th, 1855
    This is recreation of a flag that flew on top of Livingston, Kinkead & Co building in Salt Lake City, on July 4th, 1855
  • Reconstruction of a flag, as described in contemporary newspapers
    Reconstruction of a flag, as described in contemporary newspapers

Deseret in fiction

[edit]
  • In Ward Moore's 1953 Alternate history novel Bring the Jubilee, set in an alternate timeline reality where the Confederacy won the U.S. Civil War and the United States in the North became a corrupt and dysfunctional rump state, Deseret is mentioned as being the only prosperous state in the Union's Far West (where polygamy is still practiced).
  • In the Car Wars board game first published in 1980 (and fiction set in its near-future alternate universe), Utah secedes from the U.S. under the name the Republic of Deseret in the aftermath of a second Civil War, but eventually agrees to rejoin as an "autonomous region". More specific details are provided in Volume Seven: Mountain West of The AADA Road Atlas and Survival Guide.[18] According to the Car Wars Sixth Edition[19] first published in 2020, this will happen in 2065.
  • In Harry Turtledove's Southern Victory series of post-Civil War alternate fiction books, published 1997 to 2007, the Mormons of Utah attempt to secede from the United States as Deseret during the supposed Second Mexican War and the First and Second Great Wars. This results in the LDS Church being banned by that futuristic U.S. government.
  • In Paradox Interactive's grand strategy game Victoria II, as well as its sequel, Victoria 3, Deseret is a formable nation which may gain independence from Mexico or the United States.
  • In Francis Spufford's 2023 alternative history novel Cahokia Jazz, Deseret is an independent republic, negotiating for admission to the Union in the slightly different 1920s.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ churchofjesuschrist.org: "Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide" (retrieved February 25, 2012), IPA-ified from «dĕz-a-rĕt´»
  2. ^ "DESERET". Book of Mormon Onomasticon. Brigham Young University. Deseret Alphabet: 𐐔𐐇𐐝𐐀𐐡𐐇𐐓 (dɛsiːrɛt)
  3. ^ "Ether 2". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d "The State of Deseret". The Zanesville Courier (Zanesville, Ohio). Newspapers.com. October 9, 1949. p. 2.
  5. ^ a b "The State of Deseret: Progress of a Mormon Settlement". The New York Evening Post. Newspapers.com. October 10, 1849. p. 2.
  6. ^ "State of Deseret". Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, Virginia). Newspapers.com. October 10, 1849. p. 2.
  7. ^ Michael J. Trinklein (2010). Lost States: True Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It. Quirk Books. ISBN 978-1-59474-410-5,
  8. ^ "Constitution of the State of Deseret, With the Journal of the Convention Which Formed It, and the Proceedings of the Legislature Consequent Thereon" (Kanesville, UT: Orson Hyde, 1849).
  9. ^ "Map Of Oregon And Upper California...to the Bay of San Francisco" (Washington, D.C.: Wendell and Van Benthuysen, 1848).
  10. ^ Browne, John Ross (1850). "chapters about Mormons". Report of the Debates in the Convention of California on the Formation of ... - California. Constitutional Convention, John Ross Browne - Google Books. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  11. ^ Browne, John Ross (1850). "chapters about Salt Lake". Report of the Debates in the Convention of California on the Formation of ... - California. Constitutional Convention, John Ross Browne - Google Books. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  12. ^ "Deseret Asks Admittance to California". Deseret News. July 6, 1850. p. 7. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "The Question Settled". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York). Newspapers.com. September 9, 1950. p. 2.
  14. ^ Territory of Utah Archived January 15, 2004, at the Wayback Machine, Historical and Political Data, Political History of Nevada, Department of Cultural Affairs, Nevada State Library and Archives, accessed July 1, 2007
  15. ^ Walker, Ronald W. "A Banner is Unfurled" Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought Volume 26 Number 4, Winter 1993, pages 71-91.
  16. ^ "Deseret Territory (Utah, U.S.)". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  17. ^ "Historical Flags of Our Ancestors - State of Utah - USA". www.loeser.us. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  18. ^ The AADA Road Atlas and Survival Guide: Volume Seven: Mountain West
  19. ^ Car Wars Sixth Edition

Works cited

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
  • (1994) "Coins and Currency" article in the Utah History Encyclopedia. The article was written by Leonard J. Arrington and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024, and retrieved on April 12, 2024.
  • (1994) "Deseret" article in the Utah History Encyclopedia. The article was written by Richard D. Poll and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024, and retrieved on April 16, 2024.
  • (1994) "Statehood for Utah" article in the Utah History Encyclopedia. The article was written by Edward Leo Lyman and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from the original on April 2, 2024, and retrieved on April 12, 2024.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=State_of_Deseret&oldid=1263461262"