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In 1849, a handful of votes narrowly kept Utah from becoming Eastern California.
After two years in the Salt Lake Valley the pioneering settlers thought they could successfully push for admission to the union as the state of Deseret in 1849. But President Zachary Taylor had his own plan.
Wanting to rush as much western territory into the Union as quickly as possible, Taylor wanted to admit all the land from the Pacific Ocean to the Rocky Mountains as a California "superstate." Eventually, the Mormon settlers would be allowed to break off on their own. Brigham Young grudgingly accepted the concept. But, by a small margin, the California legislature rejected the plan.
California was admitted to the Union. . .and Utah would struggle nearly fifty years before earning the 45th star.
It's a page from our political history shaped by a few votes. In 2000, your vote can help write the next chapter of history. |
A mid-1800s map depicts President Zachary Taylor's plan for an immense California "superstate," stretching from the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains.