- LOGAN, Utah — William MacKinnon opened his speech at the 14th annual Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture by admitting that although this was his first visit to Logan, he could still claim a unique connection to the man the lecture is named after.That connection is through the book Arrington — former LDS Church historian who lived in Cache Valley and taught at Utah State University — wrote, "Great Basin Kingdom."Thirty-six years ago, on a deserted 24th floor of a Manhattan office tower overlooking Central Park, MacKinnon said he traded his "beloved first car," a 1961 VW Beetle, to a co-worker for a prize he coveted even more than that mustard-colored sedan: a copy of the book in mint condition. "Do you know anyone else who would do such a thing?" MacKinnon asked the audience in the Logan Tabernacle on Thursday evening.After staking that claim, MacKinnon, an independent historian, management consultant and former General Motors vice president, moved on to the focus of his lecture, "Predicting the Past: The Utah War's 21st Century Future."MacKinnon began by explaining why he labels the event the Utah "War" instead of the Utah "Expedition.""To me (the war) means the armed confrontation over power and authority between 1857 and 1858 between the civil-religious leadership of Utah Territory, lead by Governor Brigham Young, and the administration of President James Buchanan ... it was the nation's most extensive and expensive military undertaking during the period between the Mexican and Civil wars."MacKinnon said he starting using the term "expedition" in 1958 when he began his studies.But, MacKinnon's collaborator and late professor at Brigham Young University at the time, told MacKinnon that the term is too one-sided; it overlooks the Utah and Mormon side of the equation.So now, MacKinnon uses the term Utah Expedition only to mean the U.S. Army force lead by Col. Albert Sydney Johnston.Military historians and the institutionalized Army today, MacKinnon said, do not use the term "Utah War" because their view is it wasn't actually a war, because there was no massive bloodshed, no congressional declaration of war and no "pitch battles in the civil war sense.""I understand all that too, but I continue to think that 'war' is an OK, common-sense term.Until recently, there had not been much written history about the Utah War, MacKinnon said.But, when the turn of the century came, historians — many of them independent and unprofessional — began turning their heads to it.Part of the spike in interest was because of the approach of the Utah War's sesquicentennial celebration, part was because of the maturity of the efforts of individual researchers who had worked for decades to complete their work, and part was a rediscovery of the conflict's most morbid but fascinating atrocity of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.More and more materials about the war are going to start flooding out, MacKinnon said, some of it coming from him.Around Thanksgiving, MacKinnon said, he will publish an article in the fall 2008 issue of the Journal of Mormon History.MacKinnon ended his speech by predicting what else lies ahead for gaining knowledge about the Utah War, specifically in 2057-58.His predictions include:The overarching field of Mormon history will grow. Continuing interest in Mormon studies will result in uncovering more about the Utah War.
- Interest in the Mountain Meadows Massacre will continue to burn.
- Narrative histories of the Utah War will emerge. "Ditto for a film about the war."
- Neglected aspects about the war will emerge. These include the role women played on both sides, the cost and financing of the war, the role the Native Americans played, the U.S. Marines' involvement, and artwork of the war.
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"Fasten your seat belts: it's going to be a bumpy ride," MacKinnon said.