At no time was there more than assumption by this central Salt Lake
government of authority over any part of the area of the State of
Deseret, save within the central Utah district, where the settlers, less
than two years established, were striving to carve out homes in what was
to be the nucleus of this commonwealth of wondrous proportions.
There was nothing very unusual about the constitution. It was along the
ordinary line of such documents, though the justices of the Supreme Court
at first were chosen by the Legislature. Brigham Young was the first
Governor, Willard Richards was Secretary and Heber C. Kimball Chief
Justice.
[Illustration: OUTLINE OF THE STATE OF DESERET]
The first Legislature met July 2, 1849, at Great Salt Lake City and
supported an application to Congress for the organization of a
territorial government. The boundaries of the Territory of Deseret were
somewhat changed from the original. The northern line was to be the
southern line of Oregon and to the east there was to be inclusion of
most of the present State of Colorado. Another memorial, soon thereafter,
asked admission as a full State and still another plan, later proposed,
was that Deseret and California be admitted as a single State, with power
to separate thereafter. This suggestion was not well received in
California and had short life.
September 9, 1850, President Millard Fillmore signed a bill creating the
Territory of Utah, to be bounded on the west by California, on the north
by Oregon, on the east by the summit of the Rocky Mountains and on the
south by the 37th parallel of north latitude. South of this parallel
there had been recognition of New Mexico, which included the present
Arizona. Thus was denial of the dream of an empire state that should
embrace the entire inter-mountain region.