Western Research
As part of our Western research, I browsed through several newspapers on the Library of Congress Website. The one I found the most interesting was the Salt Lake Herald. It is a daily paper that discusses both national and local politics as well as crime and scandals. Before actually reading the paper, I quickly did some background research on Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City was founded by Mormon pioneers on July 24, 1847 and is home to the Mormon Church headquarters, (the picture below is of the Mormon Endowment House which served as a temporary place of worship until it was destroyed in 1889 after the completion of the Salt Lake Temple). In 1889, the population of Salt Lake City was about 44,000 people.
I read parts of the February 10, 1889 publication of the paper. The paper first discusses politics, both local and national, like the upcoming election in Ogden and a former Florida senator classified as a "phenomenal liar." The paper also brings attention to the England's chaotic house, the Austrian Succession, and the "filthy capital of the Chinese Nation." In addition to international politics, the paper also covers national politics such as the U.S. Congress regarding what is happening in both the Senate and the House. In conjunction with their coverage of local politics, the newspaper also covers crime and scandal. I read a section about the fight between Native Samoans and Germans as well as a group of American Indians who have been accused of killing 8 Mexican prospectors after they found the Lost Mine. What I found surprising was the similarities between the West back then and today, the paper talked about demonstrations in the streets due to ratification meetings and disagreements. As I was reading, I also came across a wanted ad for Larsen Rasmussen and a family who had been poisoned by cabbage.
This newspaper was very thorough with its information. The sixteen page edition really gave me a clear insight into what the community was like. The first section about the upcoming election of Ogden gave me the impression that the people of Salt Lake City were very torn between the type of power they wanted to have. From my early research, Salt Lake City was a city founded and primarily run by Mormons. The section came across as negative toward electing a Mormon candidate into office. Scattered throughout the paper were ads for clothing, food, housing, and luxury items as well as medicine, labor, and liquor. One section even gave insight about the Utah Sugar Company. The thing that I found really interesting throughout my reading was the language that they used. I came across this section about the Gurleys who had been finally arrested for kidnapping a girl, "She[Mrs. Gurley] never suspected it belonged to Redmond, or she would have returned it." I was appalled by the jargon used here referring to the child as "it." In addition to the ads and there were stocks and even a section devoted to the train schedule which made it easy to understand the type of schedule people ran on, like our equivalent of 5 o'clock traffic.
After reading a local newspaper during the this time, I gained lots of new insight into the life of a Westerner. It was a very unique experience paired with the viewing of a Western movie, and I feel that I definitely deepened and broadened my perspective on life in the West in addition to reading the textbook.
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| Mormon Endowment House |
I read parts of the February 10, 1889 publication of the paper. The paper first discusses politics, both local and national, like the upcoming election in Ogden and a former Florida senator classified as a "phenomenal liar." The paper also brings attention to the England's chaotic house, the Austrian Succession, and the "filthy capital of the Chinese Nation." In addition to international politics, the paper also covers national politics such as the U.S. Congress regarding what is happening in both the Senate and the House. In conjunction with their coverage of local politics, the newspaper also covers crime and scandal. I read a section about the fight between Native Samoans and Germans as well as a group of American Indians who have been accused of killing 8 Mexican prospectors after they found the Lost Mine. What I found surprising was the similarities between the West back then and today, the paper talked about demonstrations in the streets due to ratification meetings and disagreements. As I was reading, I also came across a wanted ad for Larsen Rasmussen and a family who had been poisoned by cabbage.
This newspaper was very thorough with its information. The sixteen page edition really gave me a clear insight into what the community was like. The first section about the upcoming election of Ogden gave me the impression that the people of Salt Lake City were very torn between the type of power they wanted to have. From my early research, Salt Lake City was a city founded and primarily run by Mormons. The section came across as negative toward electing a Mormon candidate into office. Scattered throughout the paper were ads for clothing, food, housing, and luxury items as well as medicine, labor, and liquor. One section even gave insight about the Utah Sugar Company. The thing that I found really interesting throughout my reading was the language that they used. I came across this section about the Gurleys who had been finally arrested for kidnapping a girl, "She[Mrs. Gurley] never suspected it belonged to Redmond, or she would have returned it." I was appalled by the jargon used here referring to the child as "it." In addition to the ads and there were stocks and even a section devoted to the train schedule which made it easy to understand the type of schedule people ran on, like our equivalent of 5 o'clock traffic.
After reading a local newspaper during the this time, I gained lots of new insight into the life of a Westerner. It was a very unique experience paired with the viewing of a Western movie, and I feel that I definitely deepened and broadened my perspective on life in the West in addition to reading the textbook.
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