Today is the 125th anniversary of Utah statehood, an event that was a half-century in the making and one that many thought would never take place. It's a fascinating tale of defiance, concessions, and compromise.

A #MormonAmerica thread. /1

When the Mormons marched to the Great Salt Lake in 1847, they were leaving American territory and settling in what was then Northern Mexico--which was on purpose. They were anxious to "flee" the United States, what they believed a failed empire. /2

However, with the US-Mexico War in 1848, the territory then became part of America. Brigham Young, trying to be pragmatic, then immediately shifted goals by organizing the Deseret Territory and petitioning for statehood. /3

As always, Mormons were audacious in their proposals. The Deseret "state" was to encompass a majority of the Mountain West, including a port in southern California. /4

As expected, American officials rebuffed Deseret statehood, instead creating Utah Territory (on a much smaller scale). Mormons couldn't be trusted due to their 2 threats to democracy: polygamy and theocracy, what Republicans called the "twin pillars of barbarism." /5

For the next forty years, they were America's problem child, the crow in the eagle's nest (as depicted in this political cartoon). Mormons resisted any attempt to be reformed, and America refused to grant them political sovereignty. /6

Things reached a tipping point in 1880s, when Mormon polygamists had to go on the run from arrest, & leaders governed from the "underground." Every court decision went against the Mormons, and the church itself was at risk of extinction. Something had to give. /7

Finally, Mormons changed course. In 1890, they (publicly) stopped practicing polygamy; the next year, they dissolved the church-run People's Party. These concessions finally opened up the possibility for statehood--even though there were more negotiations to come. /8

Since its formation, the Republican Party had been the leading antagonist against Utah; simultaneously, most political positions of the LDS People's Party aligned with the Democrats, the national party more sympathetic to statehood. Most assumed the Mormons would be Dem, then. /9

But the LDS First Presidency, particularly George Q. Cannon, saw a problem: they feared a mass-move to the Democrats would result in further Mormon/Gentile divide, as most non-Mormons in the state aligned with the Republicans. That schism would perpetuate national scorn. /10

Simultaneously, the Republicans, as @HC_Richardson has outlined in her recent book, were now remaking themselves as the leaders of the West, and corralling the Mormon vote would help them in their quest. So covert discussions between Cannon & national GOP leaders took place. /11

It also helped that another First Presidency counselor, Joseph F. Smith, was an ardent Republican, in part because he always blamed the Democrats for killing his father (Hyrum) and uncle (Joseph). So he publicly supported the GOP. /12

There's a modern myth that church leaders went to congregations and split them in half, one side voting GOP and other side Dem. That's not true. Instead what happened was church leaders urging equanimity by saying those who weren't already Dem to vote Republican. /13

At one point in Fall 1891, two apostles were sent on a speaking tour trying to peel off some Mormon Dems in order to prove to the Republicans that the state was in play. This pissed off some prominent LDS Dems like BH Roberts & Moses Thatcher. /14

It worked: within a couple years, Utah voting shifted from Dem to Rep by a thin margin, enough to entice the GOP. In return, Republican leaders in Washington finally supported Utah. In early 1893, they granted amnesty to polygamists; later that year, they supported statehood. /15

When the senate gave the final vote in summer 1894, only Democrats opposed, as they now saw it would strengthen GOP control of the West. The president signed the statehood bill in July, with it going into effect in 18 months. /16

The statehood ceremonies that took place on January 4, 1896, reflected the excitement from pent-up anxiety over 50 years. The largest US flag yet sewn hung from the Tabernacle ceiling. Everyone praised Cannon, whom they believed orchestrated the long-awaited compromise. /17

This was not the final move that made Mormons Republican, btw. That took a longer process that lasted another half-century. But it was the first alliance between LDS leaders and the GOP, setting the stage for what was to come. /fin

One final, belated note: this story is why I always chuckle at the modern use of "Dez Nat"--the original Deseret Nationalism was always 1) delusional, 2) unpatriotic, and 3) unsuccessful.

But knock yourself out, my dudes. /finX2

And to correct a mistake I made earlier:

The GOP’s “twin relics of barbarism” were slavery & polygamy, not slavery & theocracy. My mistake—they replaced slavery with theocracy in the 1870s, after the Civil War and with the rise of the Mormon problem.

Sorry for the confusion.