Abstract
The conflict between the US government and the Mormons in Utah Territory during the second half of the nineteenth century reflected shifts in the American territorial system. Through a repudiation of religious practices and dismantling of the Latter-Day Saints’ Church as an institution, the federal government demonstrated a willingness and ability to interfere with and regulate traditional local issues such as marriage and religion. This provided a foundation for the changes to the territorial system outlined by the Supreme Court in the Insular Cases. Scholars have overlooked the continuities between earlier territorial policy and the post-Insular Cases colonial system. Linking the struggle over authority in Utah Territory with the outcome of the Insular Cases as a component of territorial policy history fills this gap and helps to illuminate the policy connections between continental expansion and overseas expansion.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 52-77 |
Number of pages | 26 |
Journal | Journal of Policy History |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© Donald Critchlow and Cambridge University Press 2020.
Keywords
- Insular Cases
- Mormons
- Polygamy
- Territories
- Utah Territory