The Struggle for Statehood

“Thank God Utah is a State after 50 years struggle We have Conquered.... Although we have seen some interesting days in Utah We have Never seen such a Day as this." (Wilford Woodruff, Letter to his son A. H. Woodruff, January 1896)

The primary issue preventing Utah's statehood was The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' institution of polygamy, or plural marriage. Deemed "immoral" by many, polygamy underscored the nation's fears of the region's "un-American" theocratic government, which combined the roles of church and state.

In 1850, shortly after the Mexican-American War ended, federal lawmakers established Utah Territory, part of a national compromise balancing slave-owning and free states. However, fierce opposition to polygamy prevented Utah’s admittance to the Union until 1896. Attempting to curb the practice, the federal government passed various anti-polygamy laws over the next thirty years.

The turning point came in 1890 when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published its Manifesto wherein, President of the Church Wilford Woodruff proclaimed an end to the practice of polygamy. This led to the federal government passing Utah’s Enabling Act in 1894, which authorized the calling of an eighth constitutional convention. Utah’s elected officials wrote an anti-polygamy statement in the proposed state constitution, which voters approved on November 5, 1895. Church officials also showed their willingness to compromise by disbanding the People’s Party — which had dominated local politics — while non-members left the Liberal Party. Residents entered the national political conversation by joining either the Democratic Party or Republican Party.

For a detailed chronology of Utah's struggle for statehood, click here.