USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Mormons, as they were commonly known, had moved west to escape religious discrimination. After the murder of founder and prophet Joseph Smith, they knew they had to leave their old settlement in Illinois. Many Mormons died in the cold, harsh winter months as they made their way over the Rocky Mountains to Utah.

Detailed explanation-2: -Nauvoo grew rapidly and for a few years was one of the most populous cities in Illinois. Within two years of Joseph Smith’s being killed by a mob in 1844, most of the Mormon population had departed, fleeing armed violence.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Mormons were persecuted for several reasons: They didn’t keep slaves, which was seen as a threat to the surrounding slave-owning culture at a time when the abolition of slavery was a big issue. Their doctrine of plural marriage was seen as a serious attack on the social and ethical rules of the period.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Mormons also had other reasons for moving: The Gentiles persecuted them. In 1846 Brigham Young (by now leader of the Mormons) told the US President, James K. Polk, that the Mormons had decided to leave the country for the sake of peace .

Detailed explanation-5: -Over the next two decades more than 60, 000 Mormons would journey to the Utah Territory; thousands came by wagon, and thousands more pulled handcarts across the harsh terrain. Many died along the way, and the survivors found the country they sought to escape would soon expand its borders to encompass them.