Polygamy

instituted and practiced by the Mormons under the leadership of Joseph Smith in 1830, in New York. In 1838 the Mormons emigrated to Mi ouri, and in 1839 to Illinois. Their polygamous institutions could not be tolerated in either of these, so they gradually emigrated to Utah, where, from 1848 to 1882, they practiced polygamy unrestricted. Polygamists controlled and held all local offices, with a few exceptions. In 1882, Senator Edmunds submitted a bill to restrict and eventually abolish polygamy. Under its provisions polygamists have been excluded as office-holders. A great number of persons have been convicted and sentenced for polygamy, and the Supreme Court has upheld the law.