History of Utah Radicalism - 9780874218145

"McCormick and Sillito write about the Utah manifestations of the international Socialist movement, in particular the Socialist Party of America, which reached a peak of political success and influence in the early twentieth century--in Utah as well as the nation at large. That history is the centerpiece of this narrative, but the authors connect it to a broader tradition of radicalism in Utah. As they state, "Utah has a long-standing radical tradition of such movements, beginning with the arrival of theMormons in 1847 and continuing to the present, that have challenged the fundamental principles on which society has been established and have offered alternative visions of how to live and organize life." The Socialist Party was particularly successful in the first two decades of the twentieth century. At least 115 Socialists in over two-dozen Utah towns and cities were elected to office in that period, and on seven occasions Socialists held governing majorities, in five different municipalities. The authors note that the historiography of Socialism in the United States has been limited by a lack of attention to details, to case studies, and to specific actualities but has instead favored general overviews, and therefore, they seek to contribute to a better understanding of what specifically was involved in Socialism's brief flowering and rapid decline in the first part of the last century"--