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The Mormons moved west in search of a place where they could practice their religion in peace. The church was founded in upstate New York in 1830, but over the first 15 years moved from New York to Ohio to Missouri to Illinois in search of peace and acceptance. In each place, they were hated, beaten, robbed, had their homes burned, chased out of town, etc. After the Prophet Joseph Smith was murdered in 1844, the local government asked them to leave the state of Illinois in order to preserve the peace. They moved to the Salt Lake Valley, a mostly desolate land with little fresh water, little vegetation, and very extreme weather. Some explorers thought that it would be impossible for the land to sustain a permanent settlement, but Salt Lake City and the surrounding towns are still growing and thriving today.

From 1845 to about 1910, Mormons around the world were encouraged to move to the west. This was because long distance communication was difficult and made unity among the church a challenge. From 1845 to 1870, the primary source of transportation was by covered wagon, horseback, or handcart (a two-wheeled wagon which was pulled by hand, not by pack animals). Following this time, the railroad came through which allowed safer and faster travel. Railroad was the primary transportation the Mormons took to move west between 1870 and 1910.

Now, Mormons are encouraged to live abroad to build up the church wherever they may be. Still, many Mormons live in the west by choice (about 25% of all Mormons live west of the Mississippi in the United States) because they enjoy living near to other people with a similar lifestyle and belief system.

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The belief that Americans had a right or duty to migrate westward was referred to as?

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The Mormons travelled west to escape religious persecution. They were looking for a place where they could practice their religion in peace.


On what year did the Mormons start going westward?

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Was religious freedom a reason for westward expansion?

Religious freedom was not the primary reason for westward expansion, which was driven more by economic opportunities, land acquisition, and Manifest Destiny ideals. However, religious groups did contribute to the push westward, such as Mormons seeking religious refuge in Utah and missionaries spreading their faith to Native American tribes.


How did freezing wheather provide an advantage to Mormons leaving Nauvoo in the winter?

Nauvoo is located right on the Mississippi River. Freezing weather was an advantage to the Mormons as they left westward because it meant they could simply walk across the frozen river rather than use a ferry.


Where did Brigham young move to Mormons to?

After the murder of Joseph Smith in 1844, the majority of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called "Mormons") followed Brigham Young westward in search of peace and freedom. They arrived in the Great Basin area of Mexico in 1847, which was soon annexed into the United States and eventualy became the state of Utah in 1896. Today, about 10% of the world's 15 million Mormons live in Utah.


Where do most Mormons live outside the US?

Of the 13,824,854 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon" church) worldwide, 7,785,947 live outside the United States. That is, 56% of all baptised Mormons live outside the U.S. Nations with quite a few Mormons are: Canada 179,801 Mormons (1% of Mormons are Canadian, 0.5% of Canadians are Mormon) Samoa 69,224 Mormons (0.5% of Mormons, 39% of Samoans) Tonga 55,173 Mormons (0.5% of Mormons, 53% of Tongans) Mexico 1,197,573 Mormons (8.7% of Mormons, 1% of Mexicans) Guatemala 220,296 Mormons (1.6% of Mormons, 1.6% of Guatemalans) El Salvador 105,501 Mormons (0.8% of Mormons, 2% of El Salvadorians) Hondouras 136,408 Mormons (1% of Mormons, 2% of Hondourans) Brazil 1,102,674 Mormons (8% of Mormons, 0.6% of Brazilians) Chile 561,920 Mormons (4% of Mormons, 3.3% of Chileans) Peru 480,816 Mormons (3.5% of Mormons, 1.7% of Peruvians) Philippines 631,885 Mormons (4.6% of Mormons, 0.7% of all Philippinos) UK 186,082 Mormons (1.3% of Mormons, 0.3% of all UK) Australia 126,767 Mormons (0.9% of Mormons, 0.6% of Australians) New Zealand 100,962 Mormons (0.7% of Mormons, 2.4% of all New Zealanders) To compare, the United States has 6,038,907 Mormons. That's 44% of Mormons and 2% of all Americans. But you can find Mormons in nearly every nation of the World! The "Related Link" below has a great population statistics map related to Mormon Church membership.