Thomas G. Alexander

Toward a Twentieth-Century Synthesis: The Historiography of Utah and Idaho

UTAH AND IDAHO have much in common. Both share a land-locked and arid-mountain environment, and both were creatures of American westward expansion in the late nineteenth century. Occupied by many Indian tribes, the largest group of which spoke Shoshonean languages, both territories were invaded by traders and trappers, colonized by Mormons, subjected to the vicissitudes of the mining frontier, and crossed by transcontinental railroads. Both states were hit harder than the national average during the Great Depression, and the Second World War had a drastic impact on their economic and social development. Moreover, both states, like their neighbors, are sharply influenced by decisions in Washington, D.C., since nearly two-thirds of the land in both is owned and managed by the federal government. The historiography of the two states is also similar. Books dealing with the nineteenth century, particularly on early settlements, conflict, and the unique, have dominated the literature. Authors writing on Idaho have concentrated on Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce, and on the Coeur dAlene and labor conflict. Some of the labor disputes-for example, the controversy over the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)-have carried over into the twentieth century, but they generally do not touch themes with significant contemporary impact. For

Utah's Small Arms Ammunition Plant during World War II

LIKE A GIGANTIC ELEVATOR, World War II lifted the state of Utah from the depths of depression to the heights of prosperity. During the war, the federal government expended between

Red Rock and Gray Stone: Senator Reed Smoot, the Establishment of Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, and the Rebuilding of Downtown Washington, D.C.

600 million and

Friendly Fire: The ACLU in Utah Linda Sillitoe

650 million on buildings and equipment at military installations, and more than

Necessary Fraud: Progressive Reform and Utah Coal Nancy J. Taniguchi

240 million on the construction of buildings at privately operated defense plants. Between 1940 and 1945, payrolls in the counties of Box Elder, Weber, Davis, Tooele, Utah, and Salt Lake jumped from about

Waters of Zion: The Politics of Water in Utah Daniel C. McCool

100 million to almost

Trails: Toward a New Western History Patricia Nelson Limerick Clyde A. Milner, II Charles E. Rankin

250 million, and population rose from 300,000 to 350,000. The impact is all the more impressive when one notes that the day before Hitler attacked Poland (September 1, 1939), 40,000 people were on Utahs WPA payrolls, and the Salt Lake City Commission debated the wisdom of employing a supervisor for a WPA project at

To Reclaim a Divided West: Water, Law, and Public Policy, 1848-1902 Donald J. Pisani

10 a day when we can get all we want at

Mormons and Cowboys, Moonshiners and Klansmen: Federal Law Enforcement in the South and West Stephen Cresswell

150 per month. 1 Second only to the Geneva Steel plant in construction cost was Salt Lake Citys Utah Ordnance plant, also called the Remington Arms plant.2 Used since World War II for diverse purposes, the Utah Ordnance plant makes an interesting study in the effect of federal defense spending on an underindustrialized region.