Madison & Eben Contract Draft (updated)
Goal:
The goal of our project is to create a physical portrayal of the Latter Day Saint secession from the United States Government. Although this part of history is well known to most Utah residents, it is new or unfamiliar to others in the United States. We hope to create a user friendly and aesthetically pleasing website to educate general public on the secessionist movement of the LDS.
We will outline their path and the altercations they had with non-Mormons- peaceful and violent. Once they got to Utah, at that time part of Mexico, they believed they were free of U.S. control and Brigham Young (Joseph Smith’s controversial successor) established a theocracy in the territory. But after the Mexican-American War, the US gained the Utah Territory, and Mormons were subject once again to US jurisdiction. They were denied statehood for 50 years due to their polygamous practices, the third president of the LDS church (John Taylor) even stating “God is greater than the United States, and when the Government conflicts with heaven, we will be ranged under the banner of heaven against the Government. The United States says we cannot marry more than one wife. God says different”. The fourth president (Wilford Woodruff), however, ended polygamy in the faith after claiming to receive a revelation from God, and Utah gained statehood six years later. Therefore, our project will emphasize the pioneer movement of the Latter Day Saints and how they seceded from the United States Government.
Our project will include real photos and journal entries from the pioneers fleeing the persecution of the East and early settlements of pioneers in Utah. Our website will include a timeline of the Mormon secessionism from the United States Government as well as a map for the viewers to follow exactly when and where the Mormon settlers settled or came into conflict with the US government or other US citizens.
Timeline:
March 1: Visit to Southern Utah University Archives
March 13: Visit to Mountain Meadows Massacre
March 27: We will publish a rough start of our website
April 24: Final website published
Tools:
-Wordpress
-Timeline Tool
-Mapping Tool (possibly MyMaps)
-Photoshop CS
-Camera
-SUU Archives
Responsibilities:
Madison will create the timeline from the start of LDS religion to the arrival in Utah. She will emphasis the major events that led to secession.
Eben will create the map for website visitors to view the progression of LDS pioneers from Illinois to Utah. Each important stop they made on the way will have a marker and information, as well as any relevant imagery.
We will each be responsible for finding at least 5 primary resources to contribute to our final website. Together, we will visit the Southern Utah University archives to research subject for our final project. We will also meet every Monday after our class to work on our project together.