Runaway Officials of 1851
Encyclopedia
The "Runaway Officials of 1851" were a group of three federal officers, Judge Perry Brocchus, Judge Lemuel Brandenbury, and Territorial Secretary Broughton Harris, who were appointed to Utah Territory
by President Millard Fillmore
in 1851. These men arrived in Utah in the summer of that year, and though they were cordially welcomed, they soon came into conflict with the Latter-day Saint settlers of the territory. The confrontation centered around Mormon
social practices such as plural marriage
, which the appointees vocally and publicly denigrated, and disagreements over territorial administration with newly-appointed Governor Brigham Young
. By the end of September 1851, each of these officers left his Utah appointment for the east and their posts remained unfilled for the next two years. This was the first in a series of disagreements between the Mormon residents of Utah Territory and the United States government
which would finally result in the Utah War
of 1857-1858.
and come to what was then a part of Mexico
due to the severe persecution which they had endured in several eastern states since their religion was founded in 1830. They hoped that in the empty deserts of the Great Basin
they could worship as they pleased and create a utopian community called Zion
without outside interference. However, most of the American Southwest was transferred to the United States following the American victory in the Mexican-American War. In addition, discharged Latter-day Saint soldiers who had served in the Mormon Battalion
during the Mexican War helped discover gold at Sutter's Mill
in California
in 1848. The resultant California Gold Rush
brought thousands of emigrants across the country and curtailed the Mormons' short-lived isolation.
As a result, in 1849 the Latter-day Saints petitioned Congress
that a huge swath of land which they had settled be admitted into the Union as the State of Deseret
. Their proposed state stretched from central Colorado
to southern California, and from the middle of Idaho
to southern Arizona
. The Mormons hoped for statehood in order that they have the ability to elect their own leaders, and hopefully avoid the persecution which they had so recently escaped. Because of their previous experiences, the Latter-day Saints were convinced that self-governance
was the only safeguard to their religious freedom
, and they worried about the possible introduction of "unsympathetic carpetbag appointees" if Deseret were relegated to territorial status. However, Congress instead incorporated "Deseret" into the greatly reduced but still enormous Utah Territory
as part of the Compromise of 1850
. Dr. John M. Bernhisel, a Mormon representative in Washington, D.C.
, strenuously lobbied President Fillmore for an all-Mormon slate of territorial officials. He urged the President that "the people of Utah cannot but consider it their right, as American citizens to be governed by men of their own choice, entitled to their confidence, and united with them in opinion and feeling." The president therefore appointed Brigham Young
, President and Prophet of the LDS Church, as the territory's governor, and assigned prominent positions to several other Mormons. But, Fillmore also gave a number of territorial appointments to non-Mormons or "Gentiles."
Donald Moorman writes that the arrival of non-Mormon federal officials in Utah followed a predictable pattern, beginning with "an introductory phase of amicable relations with the Church that quickly degenerated into a period of acrimonious dispute."
to deliver to Governor Young. However, he refused to turn these funds or the seal over to Young when he discovered that the territorial census
had been taken without his certification
, despite the fact that he had not yet arrived in the territory. This condition was worsened by a public address from non-Mormon Judge Brocchus in September. July 24, or Pioneer Day as it is known in Utah, is the anniversary of the Mormons' arrival in the Salt Lake Valley
in 1847. At their Pioneer Day festivities in 1851, the Mormons' celebrations as they often did included orations which rehearsed their years of persecution in Missouri and Illinois, and condemned the US government and President Zachary Taylor
in particular for their ill treatment. Several months later, Judge Brocchus was given an opportunity to address the crowd at the General Conference of the LDS Church. Brocchus has been described as a man "at times disarmingly charming, at other times biterly sardonic...His face was marked by frequent brawls, for he often engaged his opponents with a quick resort to his fists." Having heard of the Mormons' accusations against the government on Pioneer Day, he took on this later visage and loudly reprimanded the Saints for their lack of patriotism
and morality
, and making an unmistakable inference to the Mormon practice of plural marriage, proceeded to lecture the women in the audience on the importance of virtue
. The Latter-day Saint crowd now in an uproar, Brigham Young calmed the audience but issued a blistering diatribe against Brocchus in which he stated that he could have "loosed the congregation upon Brocchus with a gesture of his little finger, but he satisfied himself with a tongue-lashing." In fact, Brocchus' aversion to polygamy
and other Mormon social practices was general among the non-Mormon officials. Furniss states that Secretary Harris and his wife in particular "were prepared to treat the Mormons as they would a tribe of Arapahoe Indians - not as animals, exactly, but certainly not as civilized people." The condescension with which the federal appointees and their families treated the Mormons created a further source of tension between them.
for the Territory and the territorial seal despite a lawsuit by Young to obtain them in the days before the officers left.
The day after the disgruntled officials departed Salt Lake City, Young wrote a strongly worded letter to President Fillmore defending the Mormons' patriotism, attacking the character of Brocchus and the others, and suggesting that territorial residents be appointed to federal office. When the officials arrived in Washington without incident, they wrote a report of conditions in Utah which "left unclear whether the people habitually kicked their dogs; otherwise their calendar of infamy in Utah was complete." Norman Furniss writes,
However, the accusations of the Runaways created a firestorm for the Fillmore Administration and in Congress. Dr. Bernhisel and Col. Thomas L. Kane
of Philadelphia patiently lobbied for the Mormons in Washington. However, rumors flew about the capital that Brigham Young would be replaced as governor, or even that federal troops would be dispatched to Utah. But, by June 1852, the controversy had subsided. Congress passed a statute depriving any territorial officials of pay if they were absent from their assignments without due cause, and Daniel Webster
advised Judge Brocchus to either resign his position or return to the territory.
, and while it allowed for efficiency in justice without a full complement of federal judges
, the move was denounced by later federal officials.
The eventual replacements of Judges Brocchus and Brandebury were both "Gentiles," but generally friendly to the Latter-day Saints. This brought a measure of peace between Utah and the federal government until both of these men died in 1855. They were replaced by Judge John F. Kinney
, and Judge W. W. Drummond, both of whom exhibited some hostility to the Mormons. The disputes between these officials and the Mormon hierarchy would result in the Utah War
two years later.
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
by President Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
in 1851. These men arrived in Utah in the summer of that year, and though they were cordially welcomed, they soon came into conflict with the Latter-day Saint settlers of the territory. The confrontation centered around Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
social practices such as plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
, which the appointees vocally and publicly denigrated, and disagreements over territorial administration with newly-appointed Governor Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
. By the end of September 1851, each of these officers left his Utah appointment for the east and their posts remained unfilled for the next two years. This was the first in a series of disagreements between the Mormon residents of Utah Territory and the United States government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
which would finally result in the Utah War
Utah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
of 1857-1858.
Background
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), sometimes called Mormon pioneers, settled in what is now Utah in July 1847. The Saints had purposefully left the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and come to what was then a part of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
due to the severe persecution which they had endured in several eastern states since their religion was founded in 1830. They hoped that in the empty deserts of the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
they could worship as they pleased and create a utopian community called Zion
Zion (Mormonism)
Within the Latter Day Saint movement, Zion is often used to connote a utopian association of the righteous. This association would practice a form of communitarian economics called the United Order meant to ensure that all members maintained an acceptable quality of life, class distinctions were...
without outside interference. However, most of the American Southwest was transferred to the United States following the American victory in the Mexican-American War. In addition, discharged Latter-day Saint soldiers who had served in the Mormon Battalion
Mormon Battalion
The Mormon Battalion was the only religiously based unit in United States military history, and it served from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican-American War. The battalion was a volunteer unit of between 534 and 559 Latter-day Saints men led by Mormon company officers, commanded by regular...
during the Mexican War helped discover gold at Sutter's Mill
Sutter's Mill
Sutter's Mill was a sawmill owned by 19th century pioneer John Sutter in partnership with James W. Marshall. It was located in Coloma, California, at the bank of the South Fork American River...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1848. The resultant California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
brought thousands of emigrants across the country and curtailed the Mormons' short-lived isolation.
As a result, in 1849 the Latter-day Saints petitioned Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
that a huge swath of land which they had settled be admitted into the Union as the State of Deseret
State of Deseret
The State of Deseret was a proposed state of the United States, propositioned in 1849 by Latter-day Saint settlers in Salt Lake City. The provisional state existed for slightly over two years and was never recognized by the United States government...
. Their proposed state stretched from central Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
to southern California, and from the middle of Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
to southern Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. The Mormons hoped for statehood in order that they have the ability to elect their own leaders, and hopefully avoid the persecution which they had so recently escaped. Because of their previous experiences, the Latter-day Saints were convinced that self-governance
Self-governance
Self-governance is an abstract concept that refers to several scales of organization.It may refer to personal conduct or family units but more commonly refers to larger scale activities, i.e., professions, industry bodies, religions and political units , up to and including autonomous regions and...
was the only safeguard to their religious freedom
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
, and they worried about the possible introduction of "unsympathetic carpetbag appointees" if Deseret were relegated to territorial status. However, Congress instead incorporated "Deseret" into the greatly reduced but still enormous Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
as part of the Compromise of 1850
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five bills, passed in September 1850, which defused a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War...
. Dr. John M. Bernhisel, a Mormon representative in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, strenuously lobbied President Fillmore for an all-Mormon slate of territorial officials. He urged the President that "the people of Utah cannot but consider it their right, as American citizens to be governed by men of their own choice, entitled to their confidence, and united with them in opinion and feeling." The president therefore appointed Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
, President and Prophet of the LDS Church, as the territory's governor, and assigned prominent positions to several other Mormons. But, Fillmore also gave a number of territorial appointments to non-Mormons or "Gentiles."
Arrival of officials
Fillmore's territorial officials began to arrive in Utah in the summer of 1851, and they were warmly welcomed by the Mormons regardless of their religious affiliation. For instance, Judge Brandenbury, a non-Mormon, was the first to arrive and was honored by a banquet and several dances. Territorial Secretary Harris and his wife, both "Gentiles," traveled to Utah with Dr. Bernhisel, and upon arriving on July 19 were greeted by a group of Mormons with a basket of fruit and champagne. Historian Norman Furniss states that- "this enthusiastic reception was not a hypocritical pose, for Young and his colleagues were prepared to think well of their first Gentile officials. But for all that, the concord was soon broken."
Donald Moorman writes that the arrival of non-Mormon federal officials in Utah followed a predictable pattern, beginning with "an introductory phase of amicable relations with the Church that quickly degenerated into a period of acrimonious dispute."
Relations sour
The relationship between the "Gentile" officials and the Latter-day Saints quickly broke down despite the initial good will. For instance, Secretary Harris had been entrusted with $24,000 in gold and the territorial sealSeal of Utah
The Great Seal of the State of Utah was adopted on April 3, 1896 at the first regular session of the Legislature . The original seal was designed by Harry Edwards and cost $65.00...
to deliver to Governor Young. However, he refused to turn these funds or the seal over to Young when he discovered that the territorial census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
had been taken without his certification
Certification
Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, assessment, or audit...
, despite the fact that he had not yet arrived in the territory. This condition was worsened by a public address from non-Mormon Judge Brocchus in September. July 24, or Pioneer Day as it is known in Utah, is the anniversary of the Mormons' arrival in the Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Murray, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010...
in 1847. At their Pioneer Day festivities in 1851, the Mormons' celebrations as they often did included orations which rehearsed their years of persecution in Missouri and Illinois, and condemned the US government and President Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
in particular for their ill treatment. Several months later, Judge Brocchus was given an opportunity to address the crowd at the General Conference of the LDS Church. Brocchus has been described as a man "at times disarmingly charming, at other times biterly sardonic...His face was marked by frequent brawls, for he often engaged his opponents with a quick resort to his fists." Having heard of the Mormons' accusations against the government on Pioneer Day, he took on this later visage and loudly reprimanded the Saints for their lack of patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
and morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
, and making an unmistakable inference to the Mormon practice of plural marriage, proceeded to lecture the women in the audience on the importance of virtue
Virtue
Virtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a positive trait or quality subjectively deemed to be morally excellent and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being....
. The Latter-day Saint crowd now in an uproar, Brigham Young calmed the audience but issued a blistering diatribe against Brocchus in which he stated that he could have "loosed the congregation upon Brocchus with a gesture of his little finger, but he satisfied himself with a tongue-lashing." In fact, Brocchus' aversion to polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
and other Mormon social practices was general among the non-Mormon officials. Furniss states that Secretary Harris and his wife in particular "were prepared to treat the Mormons as they would a tribe of Arapahoe Indians - not as animals, exactly, but certainly not as civilized people." The condescension with which the federal appointees and their families treated the Mormons created a further source of tension between them.
Runaways
Brigham Young tried to repair the breach between the community and the non-Mormon officials through a series of letters in late September. However, by this point the damage had been done. Harris, Brandenbury, and Brocchus concluded that they could not fulfill their assignments in Utah, and they feared for their physical safety. The three men therefore left Utah for the east on September 28, 1851, less than three months after they had arrived in the Territory. The "Runaways" maintained possession of the $24,000 earmarkedEarmark (politics)
In United States politics, an earmark is a legislative provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees...
for the Territory and the territorial seal despite a lawsuit by Young to obtain them in the days before the officers left.
The day after the disgruntled officials departed Salt Lake City, Young wrote a strongly worded letter to President Fillmore defending the Mormons' patriotism, attacking the character of Brocchus and the others, and suggesting that territorial residents be appointed to federal office. When the officials arrived in Washington without incident, they wrote a report of conditions in Utah which "left unclear whether the people habitually kicked their dogs; otherwise their calendar of infamy in Utah was complete." Norman Furniss writes,
- "It is of no value to weigh the truthfulness of Brigham Young's assertions and the Runaways' counterattack. The Church, whether understandably or not, was in a mood incompatible with submissive acceptance of territorial status. For their part, Brocchus and the others had shown a remarkable indifference to the feelings of their temporary constituents, had without due cause deserted their offices, and had explained their behavior with statements of at best partial accuracy."
However, the accusations of the Runaways created a firestorm for the Fillmore Administration and in Congress. Dr. Bernhisel and Col. Thomas L. Kane
Thomas L. Kane
Thomas Leiper Kane was an American attorney, abolitionist, and military officer who was influential in the western migration of the Latter-day Saint movement and served as a Union Army colonel and general of volunteers in the American Civil War...
of Philadelphia patiently lobbied for the Mormons in Washington. However, rumors flew about the capital that Brigham Young would be replaced as governor, or even that federal troops would be dispatched to Utah. But, by June 1852, the controversy had subsided. Congress passed a statute depriving any territorial officials of pay if they were absent from their assignments without due cause, and Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
advised Judge Brocchus to either resign his position or return to the territory.
Results
The "Runaways" never returned to Utah Territory and their positions remained unfilled until 1853. This is no doubt the reason that the Utah Legislature conferred original jurisdiction in both criminal and civil cases to the probate courts in 1852. This essentially gave the local Mormon-controlled probate courts concurrent jurisdiction with the federal district courtsUnited States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
, and while it allowed for efficiency in justice without a full complement of federal judges
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
, the move was denounced by later federal officials.
The eventual replacements of Judges Brocchus and Brandebury were both "Gentiles," but generally friendly to the Latter-day Saints. This brought a measure of peace between Utah and the federal government until both of these men died in 1855. They were replaced by Judge John F. Kinney
John F. Kinney
John Fitch Kinney was a prominent American attorney, judge, and Democratic politician. He served as Justice of the Supreme Court of Iowa, twice as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Utah and one term as the Territory of Utah's Delegate in the House of Representatives of the...
, and Judge W. W. Drummond, both of whom exhibited some hostility to the Mormons. The disputes between these officials and the Mormon hierarchy would result in the Utah War
Utah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
two years later.
See also
- John W. DawsonJohn W. DawsonJohn W. Dawson was Governor of Utah Territory in 1861.Born on October 21, 1820, in Cambridge, Indiana he was a lawyer, a farmer and a newspaper editor before he entered politics, unsuccessfully running for a seat in the Indiana House of Representatives in 1854, Secretary of State of Indiana in...
- Governor of Utah Territory in 1861 who left the territory and his post as governor after only three weeks