by Kasmak

Created on: February 16, 2009

Utah's journey to statehood was a long process of almost fifty years. Utah was first settled by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on July 24, 1847 seeking religious freedom and refuge in the Salt Lake valley. When the first pioneers entered Utah the area was still a Mexican territory. After the Mexican-American war and subsequent signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

in 1848 the region became part of the United States. The United States Senate ratified Guadalupe Hidalgo in March of that year and Fillmore was designated the capital of the Utah territory. This state gains its namesake from a tribe of Indians indigenous to the area called the Ute's.

During the following decades a constant stream of immigrants, mostly of the LDS faith, journeyed to the area from all over the world. Many were directed to settle other areas of the state such as the Utah and Weber valleys to the south and north respectively. Within a few years Mormon settlements stretched from Idaho south to Las Vegas, Nevada and even as far as Canada, Mexico and San Bernardino, California.

Originally settlers of the area under the leadership of Brigham Young tried to establish the area as the state of Deseret. However the federal government was reluctant to admit a state the size of the proposed
Deseret into the union. This coupled with disputes, such as the practice of polygamy, completely stymied the process. Eventually officials in Washington, D.C., convinced by false rumors the area was in rebellion, sent troops on the "Utah Expedition" to replace Brigham Young as territorial governor with Alfred
Cumming. Over the following years a steady stream of governors appointed by the president resigned their position usually citing the unresponsiveness of their apparent territorial government.

Salt Lake City became the last link of the First Transcontinental Telegraph completed in October of 1861. Just a few years later on May 10, 1869 the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in Northern Utah at Promontory Summit with the driving of the Golden Spike. After these events the population of Utah began to flourish. Industries such as mining and agriculture grew at an enormous rate. Yet applications for statehood were repeatedly denied.

During the 1870s and 1880s several laws were passed to punish polygamists. These laws were rarely enforced and generally met with disregard until 1890 when the LDS church issued a manifesto banning polygamy. This ban was written into the new state constitution for Utah that finally met with approval of the United States Government in the autumn of 1895. On January 4, 1896 Utah was admitted as the 45th state in the union.

Since its acceptance Utah has become a center of transportation, research, information technology and government services. The area is popular tourist destination for outdoor recreation. The Sundance Film Festival takes place in Utah while a great many movies and television shows have been made here. Utah has an abundance of natural mineral resources, coal and oil. The rocket boosters which propel the space shuttles into orbit are manufactured in Northern Utah. As of 2008 the U.S. Census Bureau listed Utah as the fasted growing state in regards to population growth.

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