Twin Contributions | Eugene E. Campbell, Establishing Zion: The Mormon Church in the American West, 1847-1869

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While Gene Campbell lived through much of the twentieth century (1915-86), the focus of much of his historical research and interest was the nineteenth century. His earlier research and writing on Brig ham Young, Fort Bridger, Fort Supply, Mormon colonization in the West, and polygamy all served as foundation stones for what he no doubt considered to be the capstone of his career, Establishing Zion. 

During virtually all of his professional career, Campbell was employed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He began as a seminary teacher in Magna and later became an Institute of Religion instructor and director in Logan. From 1956 until 1980, he was a member of the history faculty at Brigham Young University, serving part of this time as chair of the department. Although well known throughout his professional career of nearly four decades for his sense of humor and easy-going manner, he was best known for his uncompromising search for historical truths. On one occasion in describing his method of teaching he said, “I will never knowingly teach my students something they will have to ‘unlearn’ later on” (p. ix).

Establishing Zion is not a history of Utah or of the Great Basin, but rather a history of the growth of Mormonism in those areas between 1847 and 1869. From time to time Campbell focuses on the larger scene of western history, setting the stage for discussions about mining, settlement, and territorial expansion. He does not discuss Mormon immigration from Eu rope or generally from the eastern United States but rather concentrates on the growth and development of Zion in the West. The book was published two years after Camp bell’s death, and the publisher’s forward suggests that Campbell had completed research on the manuscript by the end of 1982 and had “virtually finished writing by 1984-85.” 

While nineteen chapters, photographs and maps, and a bibliography and index all serve to make this a handsome volume and an important contribution to Utah and Mormon history, the lack of footnotes is a flaw that must be laid at the doorstep of the publisher. Including footnotes would have required an extensive effort by the publisher, but such an addition would have immeasurably increased the book’s value to both general readers and historians. With footnotes this volume would indeed have been the capstone of Campbell’s career. As the book is, it is often impossible to trace quotations, used widely throughout the volume, to a specific reference in the bibliography. Campbell and the public could have been better served. 

While chronicling the first two trying decades of colonization in the Great Basin, Campbell describes the colonization process, the lure of California gold, relationships with Indians, religious developments including polygamy, the Mormon Reformation, the Utah War, economic development of Zion, and the Civil War. Campbell seems interested in having the Latter-day Saints and their experiences viewed from various angles, exposing and exploring the divergent views produced by differing historical documents. He notes that irrigation, although widely practiced by the Saints, did not originate with them; they had observed its practice in Lebanon, the Holy Land, Syria, Egypt, the Great Basin, and in old and new Mexico. Campbell details the Saints’ early irrigation and agricultural experiments in the Great Basin, including the seagull and cricket “miracle” of 1848, and notes: 

Although little was said about the role of the gulls in saving the crops at the time, the inspirational aspects of the episode were emphasized over time until it came to be regarded as a unique incident in Mormon history. Such an interpretation ignores the fact that gulls and other birds returned regularly each spring to Mormon settlements, devouring crickets, grasshoppers, worms, and other insects. But the episode was providential to the colonists who needed food. (p. 30) 

Campbell’s recounting of this incident is typical of his approach — he seeks historical truths with balance and with empathy. 

When discussing colonization, Camp bell suggests, as he has done in earlier articles, that outer colonies—Idaho’s Salmon River country, Nevada’s Carson Valley, Las Vegas, San Bernardino, and the Colorado crossing at Elk Mountain—were all generally unsuccessful. He maintains that as early as April of 1857, Young was willing to give up the “Mormon Corridor” to the Pacific because it was much easier to charter immigration ships from Europe to the eastern United States than to California, the railroad was being extended, and Congress had rejected the State of Deseret with its proposed Pacific ports. Saints were be coming increasingly more attached to the Great Basin, and Young also felt that the Saints could never “dominate” and thus survive in the San Bernardino area. Camp bell notes that “like many great leaders, Brigham Young was responsible for both the church’s successes and failures” (p. 146). 

Establishing Zion reads well and is very much a “people’s” history of Zion, recounting the lives and difficulties of the common folk as well as the decisions and changes effected by Church leaders. Campbell’s love of the people and of this era are apparent. There is, however, little evidence that Campbell utilized recent research (since 1978) in either the text or the bibliography. The volume does give readers new insights into the era of the establishment of Zion in the West. It also serves as evidence that the historical community is much better off for having known Gene Campbell.

Establishing Zion: The Mormon Church in the American West, 1847-1869 by Eugene E. Campbell. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1988, ix, 346 pp., $20.95.