| Show CHAPTER ONE It Began AtMemorable Time The year was 1893 Population of the steadily-growing United States of America had passed 63 million Bymargin of nearly 6-to-4 more of them were rural residents than urban The Union was still adding states Idaho and Wyoming had been admitted just three years earlier Washington Montana North and South Dakota only four Utah agitated for -and impatiently awaited acceptance as the 45th member of the United States The White House was occupied by Grover Cleveland man unique in the nationhistory since he was both the 22nd and 24th president The second term of Cleveland an attorney and ex-Governor of New York state would be marred by four-year depression one of the worst yet to befall the centuryold nation Benjamin Harrison had interrupted Clevelandtwo presidential terms The Ohio attorney and United States Senator won in the electoral college in 1888 though trailing in the popular vote When they again faced one-another in 1892 Republicans attempted to discredit Cleveland by charging he had paid his way out of the Civil War draft Nevertheless he accumulated the greater total in popular balloting as well as the electoral college Both presidents would leave their mark on Utahhistory In 1886 Cleveland had named Caleb West as Governor of what was thenremote Territory stilldecade removed from Statehood Harrison in 1889 replaced West with Arthur Thomas inpolitically-motivated move When near the end of his White House tenure Harrison also granted amnesty to disfranchised Mormon polygamists While Utah didnescape the financial panic that began in Digital image 2005 Marriott Library University of Utah Al rights reserved |
