By Julie Johansen
On Monday evening, 125 years of Utah statehood were celebrated with a television performance broadcast on Utah’s four major television stations at 6:30 p.m. as well as online at thrive125.utah.gov. All performances were pre-recorded and filmed following strict COVID-19 protocols.
The celebration, entitled “Thrive 125 – A Utah Celebration,” included musical and dance numbers from notable Utah performers and celebrity guests. The program emphasized Utah’s artistic heritage, cultural diversity and scenic wonders, and gave everyone a chance to participate virtually through the 30-minute TV special.
The TV performance was followed at 7:30 p.m. with a brief firework show in each of Utah’s 29 counties. Carbon County’s demonstration was held at Woodhill in Price while Emery County’s show was at Cheddar Park in Castle Dale.
The fireworks were provided by the state and were short shows, about five minutes in length. This offered every Utahn an opportunity to reflect on our shared history since joining the United States in 1896. A repeat of the performance was also aired on PBS at 8:30 p.m.
As bumpy as the road to this celebration was for the organizers under difficult circumstances, Utah’s trail to statehood was not without bumps and hurdles of its own. Some historians say that statehood for Utah was an extraordinary achievement for the majority Latter-day Saint population living in Utah in 1896.
Early settlers started West in the 1830s with Jim Bridger being one of the first to see the Great Salt Lake in 1825. Dominguez and Escalante went through Utah in the late 1770s, but Mormon settlers didn’t begin colonization until about 1846-1847.
At that time, Utah belonged to Mexico until the end of the Mexican War. The State of Deseret was established in 1849 and, in 1850, it became the Utah Territory with boundaries far to the east and west of present day Utah, with Brigham Young as the first territorial governor. These boundaries were changed many times during the 1860s, giving property to Nevada, Colorado and Wyoming. Congress established Utah’s present boundaries in 1868.
For four or more decades, Utah asked several times to be admitted to the Union, but congress refused each time because of the values and lifestyle, especially the practice of polygamy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1857, the “Mormon War” captured the Utah Territory under the control of Congress. This war further diminished the prospects for statehood. During the 1880s, federal courts began enforcing federal laws against polygamy. Church President Wilford Woodruff then announced the “Manifesto” in 1890, stating that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would renounce the practice of polygamy.
In 1893, Utah Congressman Joseph Rawlins introduced a bill for Utah’s admission to the Union. United States President Grover Cleveland issued a series of amnesty proclamations that restored rights to the Latter-day Saints.
Utah drafted a new constitution in 1985. This constitution was ratified at the general election in November 1895 and Utah was admitted to the United States on Jan. 4, 1896.